ZacCupples.com

March 10, 2020 Zac Cupples

Breathing Made Easy

The starting point for learning about breathing This breathing stuff is confusing, isn’t it? You hear all of this foreign terminology, see crazy exercises, and are trying to visualize where the viscera and air is going when you are doing an exercise ahhhhhhhhh!??!! Yet you see the positive results that others get. Heck. you may even get great results just messing around with this line of thinking. You know there’s something there, but where in the hell do you even start? Maybe you’ve lost hope and don’t think you are smart enough to get it. I want to tell you that you are wrong my dear friend. Dead wrong! The problem with continuing education As educators, it’s our fault. We don’t do a great job of preparing you to learn and accept the material. We don’t help you succeed. We expect you to figure it out. That ends today. What’s missing with all of this breathing stuff is a way to grasp the fundamentals. What are the key tenets you need to learn to better learn and apply the material taught on my site and others? That’s why I’ve beefed up the Human Matrix Foundations course. In this free course, you’ll get all the fundamental anatomy, biomechanics, and more that you need to better grasp all the breathing stuff you want to learn; allowing you to get those results you so desire for your client. With this class, you’ll get the following: Become automatic with common breathing terminology and lingo

March 8, 2020 Zac Cupples

Hip Rotation Explained – Movement Debrief Episode 111

Movement Debrief Episode 111 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 is the relationship of the infrasternal angle (ISA) to the compressive and expansive strategies at the pelvis? What would hip rotation limitations look like in these compensatory strategies? What does limited hip internal and external rotation signify? What interventions would need to be done to improve hip rotation? Do I have any favorite moves? Why would unilateral Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain occur? How does sacral rotation occur? What types of activities could improve sacral rotation capabilities? How can tensor fascia lata (TFL) cramping be reduced during the hip shift?

February 23, 2020 Zac Cupples

Is Spinal Flexion Bad? – Movement Debrief Episode 110

Movement Debrief Episode 110 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: Is spinal hyperextension useful for weightlifting? How do I balance the need for extension during these moves? Is there a risk of disc injuries with spinal flexion? Are spine sparing exercises necessary to reduce trauma throughout the day? Do we want to minimize spinal movement? How should we move to encourage healthy spines? Are crunches safe? Do they help with abdominal development? Is it safe for someone with back surgery to perform spinal flexion?

February 11, 2020 Zac Cupples

Movement Principles and Breathing

There are a lot of exercises to choose from, tons of methodologies to practice, and lots of areas to focus on when it comes to training and rehab. How do you determine which stuff is most important for your clients? In a time where noise is at an all-time high, having sound principles that you operate from can help you stay focused on what matters most with helping your clients reach their goals. Principles, breathing, and so much more were on the setlist for the Flat White Podcast I had recently done. Topics discussed include: How to get the most out of attending seminars What are the top priorities one must focus on when working with a new client How programming differences in rehab and training scenarios to help the client reach their goals How to navigate when clients hit plateaus Which movement tests are my key decision-makers for designing programs Why anthropometrics matter with movement limitations The difference between movement variability and movement options and why everyone needs both The importance of developing movement fundamentals How all body systems influence each other How knowing the fundamentals of movement makes you better at assimilating information from seminars What are some basic activities that improve infrasternal angle dynamics The differences between a squat and a hinge, and how to improve each Click here or the links below to check it out. Flat White 36 – Movement Principles & Breathing With Zac Cupples on Apple Podcasts Image by Ichigo121212 from Pixabay

February 9, 2020 Zac Cupples

All About the Scapula – Movement Debrief Episode 109

Movement Debrief Episode 109 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 normal scapular movements during respiration? Are these scapular respiration movements paired together as we move? Is passive exhalation a thing? What are the primary compensatory scapular positions for a wide and narrow ISA? What happens if further compensatory activity occurs? What type of compensatory strategy is a swayback posture utilizing? What are the best ways to gain proximal hamstrings to elicit a posterior pelvic tilt? How would you test whether a client needs inferior or superior posterior thorax expansion?

February 7, 2020 Zac Cupples

The Unsexy Side of PT

Struggle with mouth breathing? Much of the stuff taught on my site focuses on maximizing your breathing skills from the neck on down, but what happens when that is not enough? What if you still have issues with neck or jaw symptoms? Or worse yet, struggle with sleep? These are the topics we dive into on The Optimize Your Capacity podcast I did recently. You’ll learn all types of things featured in the netherworld of performance, including: Craniocervical posture and how to test for movement limitations in this region The “ideal” tongue posture to promote nasal breathing What a proper swallow entails to reduce neck strain What the keys are to having a dynamic respiratory strategy that maximizes movement options through the body Is there a “best” posture to sleep in? That depends on your body 🙂 and more! Click the links below to check it out! The Unsexy Side of PT: Zac Cupples (Apple Podcasts) Spotify Stitcher

January 23, 2020 Zac Cupples

Anterior Pelvic Orientation, Breathing During Squats and Deadlifts, and Handstands – Movement Debrief Episode 108

Movement Debrief Episode 108 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 is anterior pelvic orientation/tilt? How does this happen with different infrasternal angle presentation? When do I coach breathing sequences within a lift like the squat and deadlift? How does the breathing sequence differ if I am coaching a squat/deadlift for movement options versus max effort? What could a squat be useful at improving movement-wise? How about a hinge? What are the benefits of handstands? How can headstand and handstand variations be used to improve movement options?

January 21, 2020 Zac Cupples

The Learning Process, The Axial Skeleton, and Squats – Rebel Performance Podcast

Are you struggling at structuring your learning? Or perhaps this whole inhalation and exhalation mechanics in regards to movement is confusing AF. Or maybe you are caught up in social media squat debates and don’t know what to believe anymore, or what is safe. If this sounds like you, then you’ll definitely want to check out this podcast I did on Rebel Performance. In it, we deep dive into all of these topics, and why it’s important for both your programming and that of your clients. I also make a surprise announcement on it 🙂

January 11, 2020 Zac Cupples

Pulling, Reaching, and Stacking During Big Lifts – Movement Debrief Episode 107

Movement Debrief Episode 107 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: Should one be hesitant to work on pulling exercises if the goal is to improve movement options? When would the following exercises be useful: lat pulldowns, face pulls, one-arm dumbbell rows? And when should they be avoided? Are band pull apart, Ts, Ys, and Is no-gos? What is reaching at the 0-60 degrees of shoulder flexion useful for? How about 60-120 and 120-180? Does encouraging a posterior pelvic tilt during a squat or a deadlift go against the lifting mechanics or support them?

January 4, 2020 Zac Cupples

Pregnancy, Pectus, and Bruxism – Movement Debrief Episode 106

Movement Debrief Episode 106 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: How can pregnancy affect one’s ability to move? Can pregnancy change one’s infrasternal angle? What type of adjustments and considerations should we make for those who are pregnant? What is pectus excavatum? How can this structural change impact movement options? What type of exercises can we use to improve movement when someone has a pectus? What is bruxism? What is bruxism’s relationship to upper airway? What are other potential related factors to bruxism? What are some treatment considerations for someone who has bruxism?

January 3, 2020 Zac Cupples

Top 10 Goodies of 2019

It can be incredibly challenging to keep up with the information overload that is the internet. This is why every Friday I send my newsletter subscribers (aka the fam) the select few things I found useful. What did the fam enjoy the most in 2019? Exercise, exercise, exercise. The overwhelming majority of goodies the fam loved were exercise variations that I’ve been employing with my peeps. If you want to see some good shit (you’ll laugh when you see it), sleep better, and move better, then definitely check out the top goodies from 2019. What’s crazy is there were a ton of high-ranking goodies that did not make the list. That’s why I encourage you to sign up for these on the newsletter, as 2020 will make the majority of the goodies fam exclusive. You’ll also get access to a free course, 5 hours of lecture on pain and breathing, and an acute:chronic workload calculator. I won’t even charge you extra, because it’s FREE! [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ submit=”Yes, I want goodies and free stuff”] Without further ado, here are the top 10

January 1, 2020 Zac Cupples