Tag: pull

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?

Read More

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?

Read More

Top 10 Posts of 2018

At the end of each year, I like to see what you beautiful…sexy…outstanding people liked. What the fam….recognized (fam). This year, it seems like errbody was loving all of the movement-based work that was discussed. You want practical application as a coach or clinician, you got it! I also loved how all the guest posts I had this year made the top 10. There were some rock solid contributions from my fellow colleagues. Guess I’m going to need more album features if you know what I’m sizzlin’. I want to thank you, the fam, for making 2018 an outstanding year. It has been all the comments, questions, stories, and praise that keeps me outputting content for you. I think we will keep doing this another year. Why not? 😉 But enough rambling. Let’s check out the top 10. First off… 10. The Reckoning: Part Deux Course Review This was an excellent seminar that was run by two of my favorite doctors in the game: Pat Davidson and Ben House. The topics covered were a great variety of areas I needed more exposure in. If you want to learn how our movement limitations are evolutionary, the ins and outs of hypertrophy or fat loss, blood sugar regulation, you’ll just scratch the surface of what this course covered. If you ever get a chance to hear Pat or Ben in person, do so. In fact, you can hear Pat, myself, and Seth Oberst in February.  9. Why You Need Sun Exposure My man Iordan

Read More

August 2018 Links and Review

Every week, my newsletter subscribers get links to some of the goodies that I’ve come across on the internets. Here were the goodies that my peeps got their learn on in August. If you want to get a copy of my weekend learning goodies every Friday, fill out the form below.  That way you can brag to all your friends about the cool things you’ve learned over the weekend. [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ submit=”Hell yes I want weekend learning goodies every Friday!”]

Read More

The Most Important Cues for the Fundamental Movements

Finding that one cue that completely changes a client’s movement quality is beyond gratifying. A cue that makes an exercise go from cringeworthy to oh so pretty. But with so many available moves to choose from, it can become challenging to find the right cue for each individual exercise. Thus, attempting to condense moves into similar buckets may reduce the amount of cues we need. A good cue produce results across similar movements. One concept that Pat Davidson has really made me think about is the concept of a movement archetype. That is, a typical example of a given activity. Regardless of which variation you choose, there are certain qualities that make a squat a squat. You will never confuse a squat with a pushup. These similarities pose a question then. Can I devise an archetypical cue? A cue that would address a particular quality of a given movement task across all variations? That is what my mentee Aadil has challenged me to do, and is going to be a major part of my course: Human Matrix. So today, we are going to look at the following moves: Squat Hinge Reach Pull Press Accessory (aka “core”) What I am going to provide for you today is one cue that you can use for each of these base moves. A cue that is useful among all variations, and ought to maximize performance in each of these endeavors. Let’s dive in.

Read More

Improve How Your Clients Move By Signing Up for the Human Matrix

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 become a master of understanding and affecting movement systemically, building up your client’s movement repertoire from the ground up and better than ever before. What you’ll learn when you Enter the Human Matrix ■ The impact maximizing movement variability can have on your clients. ■ How to normalize range of motion of the entire body to both reduce pain and improve how your clients move with a few simple movements. ■ How to integrate breathing into your practice to reduce your clients’ pain and improve their ability to move. ■ How to effectively coach squatting, deadlifting, pushing, pulling, and more to build the fitness and resiliency of your clients. ■ How to coach speed, agility, and power training to take your client’s performance to the next level. Course Outline Here is the tentative schedule of this two day seminar Day 1 9:30-10:30am: Model and Theory 10:45am-12:30pm: Axial Skeleton and Respiration 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch 1:30pm-3:00pm: Axial Skeleton Variability Assessment and Treatment 3:15pm-4:45pm: Pelvic Variability Assessment and Treatment 5-6:30pm: Putting the thorax and pelvis together Day 2 8:30am-10am: Variability Review 10:15am-12:30pm: Power Establishment – Mastering fundamental movement patterns 1:30pm-3:30pm: Power

Read More