Shoulder Flexion Troubleshooting

Can’t get overhead? Let’s figure out how! If you can raise your arm fully overhead WITHOUT compensating, don’t read any further! But if you are like most of us, reaching overhead probably draws its fair share of LOLZZZ. Yet raising your arm overhead is HELLA important for things like lifting weights, moving your neck freely, and even rotation through the ribcage.  So if ya ain’t got it, you might want to work on it! That’s why I put out this debrief for you that dives into mechanics, what directions to reach and clarifies any confusion that may surround arm elevation biomechanics.  Let’s channel our inner Josh Groban and raise you up (your arm that is).

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All About the Ribcage

Learn how reaching and improve upper body mobility Movement Debrief Episode 117 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 order should I prioritize improving ribcage expansion? What is the manubriosternal joint? What happens when I have mixed compensations at the sternum? How can I encourage ribcage dynamics without increasing secondary compensations? What visual cues can I look at to see if someone can “stack?” What is different about infrasternal angle presentations between 90-110 degrees? How do I go about improving these particular infrasternal angle presentations? How can thoracic sidebending be useful with improving ribcage dynamics?

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Reaching: Theory and Practice

Learn how reaching and improve upper body mobility Movement Debrief Episode 116 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 does airflow change at various reaching angles? How does airflow change with trunk rotation? What is the scapular orientation during shoulder extension? How does one with a posterior thorax tilt present? How do different carry variations impact airflow?  How does forearm supination and pronation impact reaching? How can we sequence carries in a manner that allows for maximal airflow expansion? How can you tell if someone is using a compensatory strategy when they are lifting weights?

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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?

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Pecs, Extreme Postures, and Foam Rolling – Movement Debrief Episode 81

Movement Debrief Episode 81 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 set list: Are pecs still useful in improving lower thorax variability? Do you still use pec squeezes in treatment? With extreme kyphosis or thoracic spine flattening, what test results are expected? What treatment recommendations are there for these posture types? Should visual postural changes be expected in these folks? Is self-myofascial release useful?

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Perfect Posture, Excessive Knee Bend, and SFMA – Movement Debrief Episode 68

Movement Debrief Episode 68 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 set list: What is perfect posture? Why do extension-based exercises not improve posture? How does respiration impact default posture? Why would the back knee bend in a yoga pose when it needs to be straight? What is occurring when we see knee bend when the hip is placed into extension? What can we do to rectify this issue? What are my thoughts on the SFMA? Why do I not use the SFMA? What is my current thought process instead? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook . They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 9th-10th in Boston. MA A bunch of stuff on improving posture can be found here. Here is a debrief on occlusion. Below is a picture of the high lunge pose Here is the hip separation debrief. Below is an activity that I use to improve hip separation. Here is the hip

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Breathing, Thoracic Spine, and When it’s Safe to Load – Movement Debrief Episode 63

Movement Debrief Episode 63 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 set list: How should the ribcage move during normal respiratory mechanics? How should the abdominal wall expand during normal respiratory mechanics? How should breathing during variability-based activities be coached? What are normal compensatory thoracic spine presentations with narrow and wide infrasternal angles? How can someone present with different thoracic spine orientations despite these “normal” strategies? What can you do to improve thoracic spine mobility in these cases? Is it safe to load compensatory movement strategies? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th  Portland, OR on November 10-11  December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC (early bird ends November 11th) February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) Want to get a handout that explains normal respiratory mechanics? Click here, you’ll see pictures of the ribcage mechanics I mentioned Here is a link to the infrasternal angle debriefs Here is a link to the pumphandle debrief. Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages

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Reaching, TMJ and Neck, and Pooch Belly – Movement Debrief Episode 61

Movement Debrief Episode 61 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 set list: What is the difference between reaching for posterior thorax expansion and trunk rotation? Can you explain neck and TMJ limitations? What activities do I like for cervicocranial limitations? How does variability loss in the thorax and pelvic affect belly fat distribution? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Sign up for the Human Matrix in Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th here Sign-up for the Human Matrix in Portland, OR on November 10-11 here Read here to learn more about Human Matrix Bill Hartman Below is the cervical spine moving into flexion and extension in an MRI. You can see how as the head extends, the airway opens, and as it closes, it flexes. Here is a link of sphenobasilar movement in relation to the OA joint. Here is a link to several of the cranial strain and malocclusion articles. You’ll want the ones by James and Strokon Retrospective Study of Cranial Strain Pattern Prevalence in a Healthy Population Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages of content, a free acute:chronic workload calculator, basketball conditioning program, podcasts, and weekend

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Infrapubic Angle, Manual Ribcage Work, and Graded Exposure – Movement Debrief Episode 60

Movement Debrief Episode 60 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 set list: What is the relationship between the infrasternal and infrapubic angles? What are some key muscles to consider in the various infrapubic angle presentations? What movement strategies should be focused on to restore infrapubic angle variability? Is there value in manual ribcage work to increase expansion? What type of techniques do I use to improve ribcage expansion? What is graded exposure? What is my opinion on graded exposure? Do people in persistent pain have to push through pain during movement? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                    Here were the links I mentioned: Sign-up for the Human Matrix in Seattle, WA on September 15-16th here Sign up for the Human Matrix in Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th here   Sign-up for the Human Matrix in Portland, OR on November 10-11 here Read here to learn more about Human Matrix Three-dimensional Movements of the sacroiliac Joint: a systematic review of the Literature and assessment of clinical utility Sacroiliac joint motion in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disorders Hip extension debrief Bill Hartman Shoulder rotation debrief Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages of content, a

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Learn Normal Respiratory Mechanics from the Human Matrix Manual

Do you… Have patients who hurt multiple areas and are unsure where to start? Have training clients who can’t perform the exercises you want to despite extensive coaching? Want to maximize your client’s movement capabilities better than ever before? Want to know why incorporating breathing into your skillset is exceedingly important? Then welcome to Human Matrix: The Code for Maximizing Health and Performance. A course where you will develop a thorough understanding of how to systemically view and affect movement. By entering the Matrix and affecting movement systemically, building up your client’s movement repertoire from the ground up better than ever before. What you’ll learn when you Enter the Human Matrix How to build a sound movement foundation to increase the exercise variations your clients and patients will be able to do. How to assess your client’s movement capabilities to make precise decisions for improving pain and movement quality. How to normalize range of motion of the entire body to both reduce pain and improve how your clients move with fewer exercises than you have ever needed before. How to effectively coach squatting, deadlifting, pushing, pulling, and more to build the fitness and resiliency of your clients. Course Outline Here is the schedule of this two day seminar: Day 1 9:30-10:30am: Model and Theory 10:45am-12:30pm: Axial Skeleton, Respiration, and Thorax Variability 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch 1:30pm-3:00pm:  Thorax Variability 3:15pm-4:45pm: Pelvic Variability 5-6:30pm: Systemic Variability Day 2 8:30am-10am: Systemic variability 10:15am-12:30pm: Power Establishment – Mastering fundamental movement patterns 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch 1:30pm-3:30pm: Power Establishment

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