I see people in my practice all the time who tell me they’re always getting injured and feel trapped in a revolving door of injury after injury after injury. They usually feel hopeless that they’ll ever break free of this vicious cycle. Understandably, this is an immensely frustrating experience. It is often helpful to know …
When designing a training program, how much emphasis do you place on the workout parameters (load, frequency, reps, sets, volume, etc.) vs. your recovery between workouts? You may have heard that recovery is important, but you’re not quite sure how important or what that even means. In truth, recovery after a workout is just as …
Running is a complex movement involving coordinated action at many joints throughout the body. In addition to strength, endurance, and motor control; runners must have the prerequisite mobility. While the average person may not be able to identify the specific nuances of faulty running mechanics, most can tell when someone has especially good running form. …
Most people immediately think of running, lifting weights, or taking fitness classes when hoping to burn more calories. While these are all effective and important for burning calories and improving health, there is a simple strategy you can start leveraging every day to significantly increase your caloric expenditure. I’m talking about something called Non-Exercise Activity …
This will be a short post going over a breathing technique called box breathing. I’ll discuss where this practice came from, how to do it, and the effect it has in your body. If you have deeper questions about breathing, check out my previous post on the physiology of breathing and one highlighting the diaphragm …
We all breathe constantly throughout the day. Our bodies breathe almost automatically, with no thought at all unless something brings it into our conscious awareness. On the other hand, when we exercise hard, experience pollution, or get sick, breathing can suddenly consume our full attention. Throughout history, various cultures have engaged in breathwork practices involving …
The psoas muscle comes up frequently with my clients. It may not be as well known as some other muscles like the pecs or hamstrings, but this low key muscle plays an essential role in movement and stability. Due to its attachment points, it can be involved in issues involving the hip, pelvis, and lower …
Now that you’re an expert on how knee mobility affects squat form (you did read this already, right?), let’s dig into stability at the knee joint. Since the muscles that cross the knee joint primarily exert force in only one plane of motion (the sagittal plane), the side-to-side (a.k.a. medial/lateral) stability must come from the …
Squat Form Deconstructed Part 4 – Knee Stability Read More »
This installment in the Squat Form Series will focus on mobility at the knee joint. Squatting with good form requires mobility into both flexion (bending) and extension (straightening) at the knee joint. In this article, I will describe the anatomy of the knee joint, the biomechanics as they relate to squat form, common limitations to …
Starting from the ground up, this installment in the Squat Form series will focus on the ankle. In order to squat well, you must have adequate mobility and stability at the ankle to create a stable base to work from. Lots of people I see who have trouble squatting lack these necessary prerequisites at the …
Squat Form Deconstructed Part 2 – Ankle Mobility Read More »