The MS GYM

07/22/2025

ADDUCTOR LIFTS

Let's get you sitting, standing, and walking better!

Improving adductor strength is directly connected to improving BALANCE & FOOT DROP.

Why, because your adductors control your pelvis and when you have better neurologic control
of your pelvis, the signals between your brain and feet improve = BALANCE & REDUCED LOWER
BODY SPASTICITY.

As you do this exercise, focus on keeping your body in a straight line and lift your leg from your
high groin area and not your foot.

When you improve adductor strength, it will help you:
- Reduce leg spasticity
- Reduce knee hyperextension
- Improve hp flexion
- Improve balance
- Prevent falling

Focus Gymmer, this one is effective!

07/18/2025

BANDED FACE PULL

Having a strong upper back is necessary for upper body strength, stability, pain
management and overall shoulder health.

However, it is sometimes difficult to find an exercise that targets that area.

The banded face pull targets the upper back, rotator cuff, and scapular stabilizers.

The KEY to this exercise is the following:
- Pull SLOWLY back on the band using the muscles between the shoulder blades.
- As you get near your face pull your hands outwards.
- Hold that muscle contraction.
- Slowly return the band back to the starting point.

Perform 10-15 reps of this exercise with a LIGHT band so you can master the technique of
the movement.

07/16/2025

BENEFITS of Box Breathing :

🧠 Mental & Emotional Benefits:
1. Reduces anxiety and stress:
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower cortisol levels and reduce the “fight or flight” response.
2. Improves focus and clarity:
Slows down racing thoughts and improves attention, which is especially helpful before high-pressure situations or when feeling overwhelmed.
3. Enhances emotional control:
Regulates breathing patterns, which helps stabilize mood and prevent emotional outbursts.
4. Promotes mindfulness:
Anchors your awareness in the present moment, similar to meditation.

⸻

🫁 Physical Benefits:
1. Lowers heart rate and blood pressure:
Helps the body relax and shift out of a stress state.
2. Improves lung function and oxygen efficiency:
Trains you to breathe deeply and more effectively.
3. Supports better sleep:
Calms the nervous system and prepares the body for restful sleep, especially useful at night if you’re anxious.

Watch how to effectively use Box Breathing to counteract symptoms and reduce stress!

** FREE MINI BALANCE CAMP PROGRAM ** https://themsgym.mykajabi.com/mini-balance-camp-----------------------------------------------------------Whether you ...

07/16/2025

SA FRONT RAISE

An MS GYM mantra for strength training:
If you want to use strength training to effectively reduce your symptoms, improve your walking,
and SAVE ENERGY during your activities of daily living, you must SIMULATE WALKING PATTERNS
& BUILD STRENGTH AROUND THEM.

The Staggered Stance single arm FRONT RAISE (shoulder flexion) is a powerful kinetic chain
exercise that improves your ANTERIOR CHAIN which is responsible for storing kinetic energy and
propelling you forward.

We put your body in a walking stride position.
We then have you stabilize your upper body.
We then have your do a shoulder raise (flexion) with the OPPOSITE ARM from the leg that is
forward.

WHY?... because that is what happens when you walk. When you swing your right leg forward,
your LEFT arm swings forward to pull you forward using the kinetic energy stored in your
posterior fascial chains.

This exercise is SUPER FUNCTIONAL and will help you balance and walk better. You just need to
stay relaxed and stable throughout the entire movement.

Continual practice of this drills will improve:
- Walking balance
- Fall prevention
- Walking speed
- Walking agility
- ENERGY / ENDURANCE – due to improved efficiency
- Spacticity

Let’s move better, feel better, be better Gymmer!

07/13/2025

STAGGERED BAND RDL

BIG DOORS SWING ON SMALL HINGES ... so let's get your body's HINGE stronger.

Today, we are gonna be working on the HIP HINGE.

The Hinge is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTONAL movement patterns in your Human
Movement System.

You literally HINGE every time you stand up, sit down, reach down, reach up, and walk.

This area you target during a Hinge is called your LUMBO-PELVIC-HIP Complex and it is
responsible for:
- Allowing your trunk to bend forward
- Allowing you to stand up straight
- PREVENT FALLING forward and backward
- Stabilizing your spine
- Transferring force from your foot to your opposite side neck & arm
- Maintaining BALANCE as you move your body

Therefore, it is very important to STRENGTHEN that pattern using external resistance SO THAT
bending forward, standing upright, AND cancelling too much forward or backward movement
as you walk becomes EASIER.

Today, I’m going to teach you to a staggered stance (more spine friendly) banded (to strengthen
your spine too) HIP HINGE (aka RDL – Romanian deadlift).

As you work on these HINGE patterns, PLEASE focus hard on BGB:
Keep your blades down.
Keep your abs in.
Keep your butt driving the movement.

Happy Hinging Gymmers 😊

07/09/2025

New YT video just released on upper body spasticity:

Living with upper body spasticity, tight arms, or curled elbows from a neurological condition like stroke, MS, or cerebral palsy? This video walks you step-b...

07/09/2025

Post tib roller

If you struggle with overly stiff or weak, floppy ankles this drill is for you.

If you struggle with flat feet, fallen arches, or feet that turn our when you walk, this drill is for
you.

If you have foot drop, this drill is for you.

The POSTERIOR TIBIALIS is a muscle that runs along the inside of your lower leg and it hooks
under the arch of your foot.

If we can improve the activation of this stability muscle, we can greatly improve:
- Foot and ankle atabilikty
- Reduce lower leg spasticity
- Improve balance
- Correct gait imbalances.

The KEY to this exercise: keep your toes turned in and lift from your heels!

Let’s rock this!

07/07/2025

LEAN AND HOLD

If you want to walk better, you need to train your brain to feel safer during the different
phases of walking.

To do that we want to PURPOSELY put our body in ranges of motion that are most
challenging during walking.

In this exercise, we will be in a staggered stance with one hand on a support for balance.

Then you will bend your knee and LEAN as far as you can while keeping your front heel on
the ground and, here’s the key, HOLD.

When you are in the hold: RELAX.

If you strain or panic, your body will deem that range of motion as a threat.
- Gently hold you’re abs in.
- Gently pull your shoulder blades down.
- Settle into your hips and let your GLUTES do the work.

This simple exercise can be a game changer!

If you want more exercises to boost your balance and core strength for walking, type
BALANCE into the comments below.

07/01/2025

BIRD DOGS

If you want to build a strong spine, core, and upper body, the bird dog is THE exercise for
you.

What’s so effective about this exercise is that it activates the entire POSTERIOR KINETIC
CHAIN which is the chain responsible for helping you stand, lift, and transfer mechanical
energy as you walk.

The KEY to make get the most out of this exercise is to HOLD the “up” position for 5-10
seconds.

Isometrics are insanely powerful strength builders for the postural muscles of the body –
what we call BGB (Butts-Guts-Blades).

Here are some tips:
- Lift your arm from your shoulder blade, avoid shrugging that shoulder.
- Pull your belly button up toward your spine.
- Lift your leg from your GLUTE and squeeze it once it’s up.

I use this exercise EVERY DAY as a pre-movement activator and it has greatly reduced my
back pain.

06/28/2025

SEATED LATERAL RAISE

An MS GYM mantra for strength training:
** If you want to use strength training to effectively reduce your symptoms, improve your
walking, and SAVE ENERGY during your activities of daily living, you must SIMULATE WALKING
PATTERNS & BUILD STRENGTH AROUND THEM. **

The Seated LATERAL RAISE (shoulder abduction) is a powerful kinetic chain exercise that
improves your LATERAL KINETIC CHAIN which is responsible for stabilizing your body and
PREVENTING FALLING TO THE SIDE as you move.

We put your body in a vertical postural position.
We then have you stabilize your upper body as you lift your arm.
We prevent your body from tipping to the side as you move your arm.

WHY?... because that is what happens when you walk. You MUST have the skill of preventing
lateral movement or sway in order to go forward.

This exercise is super functional and will HELP YOU BALANCE AND WALK BETTER.

You just need to stay relaxed and stable throughout the entire movement.

Continual practice of this drills will improve:
- Walking balance
- Fall prevention
- Walking speed
- Walking agility
- ENERGY / ENDURANCE – due to improved efficiency
- Spacticity

Let’s move better, feel better, be better Gymmer!

06/27/2025

BANDED FRONT ARM CIRCLES

If you want to improve the way your shoulders move or reduce upper body pain / spasticity, you
gotta move your shoulder joint.

More specifically, you must activate the joint receptors inside your glenohumeral joint.

One of the best ways to do this is to move your upper arm bone (humerus) in a 360 degree
circle.

As your shoulder gets better at moving and feels more confident in many joint angles, you will
notice less stiffness, pain, and spasticity in not only your shoulder joint but your arm and
possibly your mid back.

When we add a resistance band to the movement, your brain can more effectively connect with
your shoulder and also increase your shoulder joint strength.

As you do this movement, move slow and use a small range of motion to begin.

If you feel any pain, slow down or reduce the size of the circle you are creating.

Move from your upper arm and try to keep you trunk stable with no twisting.

This movement will help to reduce:
- Shoulder pain
- Neck pain
- Upper body spasticity
- Mid back pain
- Loss of balance.

Circle up and let’s go!

06/26/2025

Walk better with resistance band steps !

Struggling with poor balance, circumduction gait (leg swinging out), or weak hip flexors due to a neurological condition like MS, stroke, or Parkinson’s? Thi...