scapula – ZacCupples.com

December 29, 2020 Zac Cupples

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).

April 19, 2020 Zac Cupples

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?

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?

December 15, 2019 Zac Cupples

November 2019 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 November. 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!”]

November 24, 2019 Zac Cupples

October 2019 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 October. 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!”]

October 4, 2019 Zac Cupples

Rib Rotation, Shoulder Issues, and Biomedical Education – Movement Debrief Episode 98

Movement Debrief Episode 98 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 does rib external and internal rotation look like? How do I approach improving shoulder mechanics? Any current training considerations for shoulder issues? Why do medical providers often educate in a manner that induces fear-avoidance and fragility? How, as movement professionals, can we deal with these issues?

September 22, 2019 Zac Cupples

Movement and Breathing Fundamentals

Choosing movements that are best for a client requires knowledge of basic biomechanics. That includes the biomechanics of respiration. Yet oftentimes developing the biomechanical knowledge base can be incredibly challenging. It’s easy to get lost in terminology and being able to classify what you see. Let me help you solve this problem. For those of you who haven’t attended Human Matrix: The Code for Maximal Health and Performance, part of the pre-course material involves developing the terminology and knowledge base. I wanted to share this material with you. In Human Matrix: Foundations, you will learn biomechanical principles that will help you make better movement-based decisions for you patients and clients. Having the fundamentals down will allow you to appreciate movement differently, and improve you ability to classify various movements. This course includes the following subject areas: Terminology – planes of motion Physiological movements Movements of the scapula Movement of the hip Ribcage respiratory mechanics Spinal respiratory mechanics Pelvis respiratory mechanics Scapular respiratory mechanics Unsure if you got the material, that’s why I had my guy Levi Kirkpatrick create some amazing quizzes to test your capabilities. Application is the best way to learn, and we’ve provided that for you. Here is one of the videos featured in this course: The best part? It’s 100% free to you, the fam, to sign up. If you’d like to check out this course, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. You’ll get an email with access to this course, 5

November 8, 2018 Zac Cupples

Hip Separation, Spinal Extension, and Too Much Serratus? Movement Debrief Episode 67

Movement Debrief Episode 67 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 hip separation? Why is hip separation necessary? How does one go about coaching hip separation? Do I teach clients to extend the spine? What is the role of serratus anterior? Can we have too much serratus anterior? What do we need for a good relationship between the scapula and the thorax? 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: 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) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 9th-10th in Boston. MA Bill Hartman Lucy Hendricks Hip Extension Debrief Below is the wall stride technique Below is a picture of serratus anterior from a superior view 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 learning goodies: [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ submit=”Get learning goodies and more”]

November 1, 2018 Zac Cupples

Shoulder Abduction, Chiropractic Adjustments, and Ending Passive Care – Movement Debrief Episode 66

Movement Debrief Episode 66 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 does one go about improving shoulder abduction? What are my thoughts on adjustments or manipulations? Could adjustments potentially create laxity over time? When could these techniques prove useful? How do I get patients out of the “I need to be fixed” mindset? How do I encourage patients to buy in to an active approach to their recovery? 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: 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) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 9th-10th in Boston. MA If you want to learn about all the things thorax-wise that I talked about, go here Spinal Manipulation Institute If you’d like an older rendition on chiropractic adjustments, then check it out here. The Mechanisms of Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Comprehensive Model Unraveling the Mechanisms of Manual Therapy: Modeling an Approach.

September 27, 2018 Zac Cupples

Ribcage Pump Handle, Hip Rotation, and Compliance – Movement Debrief Episode 62

Movement Debrief Episode 62 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 are pump handle mechanics at the ribcage? How do pump handle mechanics impact thorax mobility? What treatment would you use to restore pump handle mechanics? What hip rotation limitations would you expect with various infrapubic angles? How would you treat hip rotation deficits? When a client says “it’s not hard for me anymore, why do I need to keep doing it?” how would I respond? 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 (early bird ends September 30th) Portland, OR on November 10-11 (early bird ends September 30th) December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ Want to get a handout that explains normal respiratory mechanics? Click here You can learn about infrasternal angles here, here, here, here, here, and of course, here (protip – go in the order of here’s) Below is a move I like to restore pump handle mechanics Hip Extension debrief Below is a move I like to restore hip

August 27, 2018 Zac Cupples

Neurodynamics, Thorax and Pelvis, Scapula, and Muscle Activation

I recently had the opportunity at to do a Q&A session at Enhancing Life, the gym of my dear friends Lucy Hendricks and Dave Wilton. In this Q&A, personal training students from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy asked me a bunch of questions, to which I had to answer immediately. Topics include: Neurodynamics Infrasternal and infrapubic angles Pelvic tilt and rotation Pulling the shoulders down and back The myth of muscle activation Does the warmup transfer? This was an absolute blast, where we dove in deep into these topics. I hope you get a lot out of it. Enjoy! and the audio version Neurodynamics 101 The Relationship Between Infrasternal and Infrapubic Angles The Difference between Pelvic Tilt and Rotation Shoulders Down and Back The Myth of Muscle Activation Human resting muscle tone (HRMT): narrative introduction and modern concepts. Does the Warmup Transfer? Photo Credits Cover photo courtesy of Lucy Hendricks 😉

Tag: scapula

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