Category: Improving Athleticism

Pullover Exercise Proper Form | Why EVERYONE Gets it WRONG

Textbook performance of every pullover exercise variation ever! The pullover can be an awesome move for CRUSHING the abs and enhancing shoulder mobility, assuming that your technique is on point. But if you do any of the following: Arch your back Pull the shoulders back Flare your ribs Then that’s a poor assumption. AKA YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. But don’t worry, I got you covered.  Today’s post will go through pullover biomechanics (which will better inform you when and who should get this move), the coaching keys needed to crush the abs and loosen up the upper body, and how to fix common errors with this move. Check out the video and post below to learn about it.

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Elevated Heels vs Toes – Which Should I Choose?

Foot position changes everything You might’ve been perusing the internet, witnessing a bunch of peeps elevate heels on this exercise, or elevate the toes on that exercise.  What gives? These strategies could be beneficial depending on your goals, but in order to know which is best, you MUST grasp the biomechanical underpinnings. I’ll teach you that today!

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Assessing Basketball Players

Learn the key tests to help basketball players move better! When you work with super tall athletes like basketball players, their movement demands and compensatory strategies are going to appear a bit differently than those of us closer to earth. But what tests matter the most? What will give us the information needed to make sound training decisions for these athletes? In order to determine what tests will give us the most information about basketball players, we have to look at what movement challenges they possess, the injuries they are most likely to sustain, and the movement qualities needed to mitigate injury risk. Be prepared to dive into these areas and take your basketball movement testing to a different level with Movement Debrief Episode 158.

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All About the Hinge

Hinging biomechanics, coaching, and programming Movement Debrief Episode 121 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the setlist: What mechanics are involved in hinging? What range of motion restrictions does hinging improve? What are my favorite hinging exercises and when do I prescribe them? What regressions do I use to improve hip extension? How can I improve hinging for different infrasternal angle presentations? What mechanics does the Camporini Deadlift improve? How can a snatch grip RDL improve thoracic spine mobility? What is the foot position for a hinge and how do I coach it?

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All About Squats – Movement Debrief Episode 112

Movement Debrief Episode 112 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the setlist: What are the biomechanical differences between a squat and a hinge? Would squatting not increase anterior pelvic tilt and hip flexor strength? Does squatting put too much shear force through the knee? Does ramp squatting put too much shear force through the knee? Is there such a thing as a “normal” infrasternal angle? Why does a hip shift occur in a squat? What are some strategies for reducing a hip shift in a squat? How do the following squat variations impact thoracic expansion: Goblet, Zercher, front, and back?

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How to Teach Kids to Skip

I’ve been seeing a lot of kiddos lately who have leg injuries. Once we’ve gone through lower level rehab activities, it’s time to start our jumping program. Need to expose these young ones to some explosive activity after all. Typically, I start most jump programs skipping. The reason why I start here is because the jump itself is not very high, is relatively low impact, and is a low risk exposure to the stretch shortening cycle. The problem I’ve noticed with most kids nowadays (#getoffmyporch) is that no one learned how to skip. Like, at all. It’s like they’ve skipped skipping or something. Below is the typical problem solving sequence I see kiddos go through when I ask them to skip: Look at left and right hand look at left and right leg Look up and to the side thinking “how am I going to put this together?” Try to move one arm forward, and shake their head no All of a sudden, try to go for the skip and do the same side Phil Collins’ “I Can’t Dance” skip For those of us who are visual, it looks like this: I am deeply saddened at the lack of movement competency our kids have. Our very own CDC tells us that most kids should be able to skip by the age of 5, yet The unskippable kids I work with range from 11 to 16 years old. Can’t skip. What the heck happened? This fundamental movement is essential for our

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Acceleration

I utilize a notecard system to help me organize similar material I come across from various resources. My intent over the next few years is to share and continually update these notecards with you. This notecard is all about building the essential quality of acceleration. Acceleration Mechanics Effective acceleration relies positioning the body to maximize force application into the ground. “The ground is the well from which you draw speed” ~Dan Pfaff There are three keys to acceleration: Rhythm – pace and steps should follow a crescendo (like a slow clap). Rise – There should be an incremental rise in center of mass (like an airplane taking off) Projection – the system continues to go forward1 Trunk Mechanics The most important key to accelerating well is a fast and large first step2. It is this first step, and the distance gained from the first step, that initiates the desirable acceleration crescendo. Keeping the body and shin angle at 45 degrees allows horizontal and vertical forces to merge in a manner that is necessary for acceleration2,3. If short, choppy steps are performed during this phase, then less force is applied into the ground. Lower Extremity Mechanics The leg and toe should stay low to generate push-off in the first few steps, though this is not something we wish to cue4. Some sprint coaches will cue dragging the toe to reinforce position, but this strategy is undesirable. Toe drag increases friction and slows the athlete down2. Equally problematic is staying too low. If

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How to Deadlift – A Movement Deep Dive

Deadlift – A Total Body Workout It is hard to find a better fundamental exercise than the deadlift. A time-tested move that ought to be learned by all—whether you’re a professional athlete, bodybuilder, fitness client, or grandma with back pain. What if you don’t know how to deadlift? Or maybe you just want to get better at coaching it? You’ve come to the right place. This “Movement Deep Dive” focuses on the deadlift and all of its variants. You’ll learn why the deadlift is so important, how to do it progressing and regressing the moven, and how to fix common errors. So grab some chalk, branched chain amino acids, pen, and paper. This one’s a mother. If you can’t watch the video right away, I’ve provided a modified transcript below. I would recommend both watching the video and reading the post to get the most out of the material. Learn on!

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