I was fortunate to come across Thomas Myers book Anatomy Trains (@anatomytrainsofficial) early in my career (great recommendation from @michael_boyle1959), and it continues to influence how I view movement.
In the book, Myers breaks down the anatomy of 7 important fascial pathways. The lateral line extends from the foot through the peroneals, IT Band, hip abductors, lateral obliques, lateral intercostals up through the splenius capitis and SCM to the lateral aspect of the cranium.
This video shows a “Lateral Wall Lean w/ Triceps Stretch” that emphasizes stretching the lateral line from the ground up. While the triceps aren’t included in Myers lateral line, actively flexing the elbow adds tension along the pathway.
A few notes:
✅ Slide the inside leg under the outside leg and roll the ankle so the outside of the foot is on the ground
✅ Sink the hips toward the wall to feel a stretch through the lateral hip, obliques, and rib cage.
✅ Think of reach your elbow slightly up the wall to increase the tension through the lateral line and through your lat.
✅ Keep this position while you bend your elbow to reach down your back.
✅ Every few reps, see if you can reach your leg further or sink your hips closer to the wall to “take up the slack”
This quickly becomes a favorite with the athletes that try it, in part because it’s addressing areas typically overlooked with more common mobility routines.
Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com
P.S. For more information on how to assess movement and integrate specific strategies to improve mobility and movement quality in training, check out Optimizing Movement. Don’t have a DVD player? Send me a note through the contact page after you checkout here Optimizing Movement and I’ll get you a digital copy of the videos!
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