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 …
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 »
Squats have long been a staple in the strength and conditioning world. They are a core component of training programs for both novice lifters and competitive athletes. Despite how ubiquitous the squat is, most people lack a deep understanding of everything involved in the movement pattern and what it takes to have good squat form. …
Squat Form Deconstructed Part 1 – Overview of the Squat Read More »
SAID stands for Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands and essentially states that the human body responds to the stresses placed upon it. In practice, this means that your training should aim to replicate your specific goal activity as closely as reasonably possible. The more closely your training matches your sport, the greater chance your progress …
Smarter Performance Training – The SAID Principle Read More »