How to develop relationships with CrossFit gyms….the right way.
NOTE FROM ZACH: I’m constantly asked for advice on developing relations within the CrossFit community. My friend Danny Matta has done a wonderf...
Blog
Bar Muscle Up Assistance Drills
Thanks to Pamela Gagnon for joining this week to discuss some bar muscle up assistance drills. This is a movement that a lot of fitness athletes have ...
The Best Books For Fitness and Rehab Professionals
Continually improving your skill set is an absolute must for all fitness and rehab professionals. A better understanding of how the human body works w...
Toes To Bar Efficiency Tips
Thanks to Pamela Gagnon for joining this week to discuss Toes To Bar efficiency. This is a movement that a lot of fitness athletes have difficulty wit...
The Safety Of Deep Squats
I am excited to have my good friend Dr Mitch Babcock of FitnessTx contribute this amazing research review on the safety of deep squats. Squats unfort...
Rib Cage Flare During Overhead Lifting
Rib cage flare during overhead lifting is a common movement fault seen in fitness athletes. While it is not always an issue, quite often it needs to b...
Shoulder Extension Mobility Drills
A few weeks ago I published an article on BENCH PRESS MOBILITY where I outlined several of the key mobility areas to address to allow for proper benc...
Treating Low Back Pain Using DEADLIFTS
While deadlifts are commonly blamed and thought of as a low back destroyer, research on back pain tends to say just the opposite. Crazy right? An exer...
Bench Press Mobility
When most fitness athletes think of improving their mobility for squats and overhead presses, few consider the mobility needs of the bench. While it d...
Analyzing Strength Ratios for Improved Training
No two athletes are the same. And while we believe that in a group training setting all athletes will improve follow the same training, it is importan...
Push Press Technique – Insights Into Athletic Ability
The push press is a great exercise for improving sports performance, but for a lot of people in the strength conditioning world, it’s a really u...
Get Your First Pistol Squat! Mobility and Strength Needs
The pistol squat is a challenging body weight strength exercise that requires not only strength but significant control and mobility. Quite often the ...
The Truth About CrossFit Injuries
No matter what recreational activity you choose to follow, if you are moving with intensity, training with volume, and pursuing this activity for mont...
Top Articles of 2017
As 2017 comes to a close, I want to reflect on the past year. I published 48 new articles on TheBarbellPhysio.com this year, launched Performance Plus...
The Truth About Kipping Pull-ups
Kipping pull-ups are among the most controversial exercises in CrossFit and other extreme fitness workout programs. Non-CrossFitters bash the m...
Lifter’s Guide to Treating Tendinopathy
Note: This article is a bit heavier on the science than what I typically put out. BUT understanding WHY tendinopathy occurs is vitally important to pr...
Fix Your Hip Flexor Mobility!
Without a doubt the most common complaint I hear from athletes is that they have “tight hip flexors”. Most of the time they’ve spent...
Plank 2.0 – Building Serious Core Strength
Front and side planks are great for teaching core positioning and beginning to develop strength. But quickly they become more of an endurance exercise...
Improving Positioning In The Snatch
James Tatum joins me this week to discuss improving positioning in the snatch for optimal performance and decreasing excessive strain on the body. Jam...
Simple Squat Cues You’ve Probably Never Used
Note from Zach: This article was written by my current DPT student Sean Jacobs who also has six years of coaching experience. If you want a high quali...
5 Unconventional Exercises To Strengthen Your Pull-Ups
Note from Zach: Big thanks to Meghan Callaway for writing this KILLER guest article. If you want to really dive deep into strengthening your pull-ups ...
Five Drills to Improve Your Overhead Squat Fast!
The overhead squat provides a significant challenge to many athletes as the combination of lower body power, core stability, and overhead strength can...
Get More Out Of Your Mobility Work
In sports and fitness, the ability to get your body into proper positions is incredibly important to properly executing movements with efficiency to m...
The Most Overlooked Training Variable: Training Volume
When athletes exercise or coaches program training plans there is no lack of attention to sets, reps, variation in exercises, and providing sufficient...
Aerobic System Development for the Fitness Athlete
I’m really excited this week to have Josh Jeffery of Carolina Performance Training join us to discuss the need for fitness athletes to develop t...
Squat Variations to Fix Your Problem Areas
The back squat is considered by most in the strength & conditioning world to be the king of all lifts, BUT what do we do when our squat progress s...
Blood Flow Restriction Training for Endurance Gains
Blood flow restriction training has recently emerged as a game changer in the rehab and sports performance worlds. While typically strength & hype...
The Ultimate Guide to Hamstring Strain Rehabilitation
Hamstring strains are one of those stubborn injuries that far too often become recurring injuries or more chronic strains. Their high rate of recurren...
Back Friendly Leg Strength
Back injuries happen when you’ve trained hard and long enough. While I will be the FIRST medical professional to tell you that heavy training should...
The Best Thoracic Spine Mobility Exercises
Thoracic spine mobility is crucial to overhead lifting and mobility and one of the most commonly limited areas in the fitness athletes that I work wit...
Suck Less at Foam Rolling
By Chris Gai and Madison Franek (Evidence Based Movement) If you’re on this site you’ve probably heard of, seen, or maybe even been that athlete, ...
The Best Hip Hinge Fixes
The hip hinge is a fundamental movement pattern needed for both sports training and activities of daily living. But many individuals struggle with per...
Keys To The Hollow Body Hold
This week I’m joined by CrossFit games athlete and gymnastics & body weight strength specialist Pamela Gagnon to discuss the hollow body pos...
The 8 Best Drills To Unlock Your Hip Mobility
Hip mobility is absolutely crucial to the fitness athlete wanting to perform optimally. When working on mobility, we want long-standing improvements i...
Abdominal Separation: Is Your Exercise Form To Blame?
NOTE: if you are interested in diving deep into providing top quality health & fitness care for postpartum women, PLEASE check out Dr Sarah Ellis ...
Fix Your Front Rack
The front rack can be a very difficult position for many fitness athletes to get into, and without a solid front rack, Olympic lifting and front squat...
Is Blood Flow Restriction Training Safe?
Blood flow restriction training has emerged in the fitness and rehab worlds as the latest modality to help patients get their strength and muscle mass...
Top Five Core Moves to Improve Olympic Weightlifting
In all athletics core strength is necessary for optimal sports performance. Olympic weightlifting is no exception, especially when hundreds of pounds ...
Pec Tears in CrossFit Regionals : Lessons on Training Volume & Injury Prevention
After the first two weekends of the 2017 CrossFit Regionals there have been SEVEN pec tears and/or strains during the second of six planned workouts f...
Stop Destroying Your Hips with Bad Squats! Squat Hip Mobility Testing for Proper Positioning
I’ve seen too many patients come to my physical therapy clinic with hip pain secondary to poor advice given by mistaken trainers & therapists. W...
Scaling The Pull-Up
The best fitness professionals have a plethora of exercises they can pull out at a moment’s notice to scale a movement based on a client or athl...
Scaling the Overhead Press
The best fitness professionals have a plethora of exercises they can pull out at a moment’s notice to scale a movement based on a client or athl...
The Best Ankle Dorsiflexion Mobility Exercises
Big shocker coming….ankle dorsiflexion mobility is very important for optimizing movement in athletics. Okay maybe that isn’t the most shocking ne...
The Psoas March – The Key to Strong, Flexible Hip Flexors
The psoas march is among my favorite corrective exercises to prescribe for athletes needing improved lumbopelvic control. This exercise has helped ath...
Scaling The Squat
The best fitness professionals have a plethora of exercises they can pull out at a moment’s notice to scale a movement based on a client or athl...
Individualization of Squat Technique – Sports Demands
We’ve covered how specific mobility limitations, hip socket alignment, and bone lengths can impact squat performance in the last three parts of ...
Femur Length and Squat Technique – How Individual Differences Impact Squat Performance
In Parts I and II in this series on how individual anatomical differences can impact squat performance we covered the effects of various levels ankle ...
Hip Sockets and Squat Depth – How Individual Differences Impact Squat Performance
Last week in Part I of this series on individualizing squat technique prescriptions, we covered how an athlete’s hip and ankle mobility (or lack the...
Movement Control and Mastering The Basics
I was fortunate enough to sit down with Jeff Tucker, head of CrossFit Gymnastics, to have a great discussion around movement mastery and techniques to...
Loading Movement Patterns for Motor Control and Strength – Eccentric Isometrics
On a near daily basis, I am asked what new technique I’m currently employing that is helping my clients move, feel, or function better is. As a hybr...
Muscle Up Mobility
The muscle up is a CrossFit skill that often takes athletes a long time to develop and perfect. I’ve previously published two articles (1 and 2)...
Scapular Control and Fixing the Overhead Squat : A Case Study
There is a lot of discussion right now in the rehab to performance worlds on the need for scapular control. While many argue about the importance of t...
Fixing The Squat Butt Wink
The squat butt wink is one of the most well known and dreaded of all squat movement faults. If you haven’t heard of butt wink before, it is the term...
Maximizing Squat Gains With Bar and Load Squat Variations
Talk to the majority of strength & conditioning professionals, and they will call the squat the king of all exercises. While the back squat is the...
Top 5 Mobility Needs for the Olympic Weightlifter
Weightlifting Mobility As much as any other sport, olympic weightlifting requires incredible mobility if an athlete is to perform the lifts with prope...
Controlling Rep Speed for Better Results
Zach Greenwald of StrengthRatio.com joins us again, this time to discuss why we need better tempo control during weightlifting for both strength gain...
Squat Assessment Checklist
The squat, perhaps more than any other movement pattern, allows the opportunity for the analysis of an athlete’s mobility and stability as they per...
Tip: Use Kettlebells for Hip Mobility
Kettlebells are undoubtedly one of the most effective pieces of equipment for the development of strength and conditioning. But most don’t yet ...
The Best TRX Rehab Exercises
TRX and other suspension trainers are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment for the physical therapist, chiropractor, or other rehab professio...
Five Ways to Increase Strength Off the Floor
Strength off the floor is very commonly a limiting factor in individual’s deadlifts, cleans, and snatches. With these lifts, the “first pull”, f...
Female Fitness, Exercise Incontinence & The Kegel Myth
Exercise Incontinence Do you sometimes leak urine when you lift heavy weights during your workout? If you have to do jumping jacks or jump rope, do yo...
The Application of Blood Flow Restriction for Performance Gains
As we previously covered in Parts I and II, blood flow restriction training has emerged as a game changing rehab and performance tools. While traditio...
The Science of Blood Flow Restriction Training
Blood flow restriction training is one of the newest training tools to hit both the rehab and performance worlds and with good reason, there is a lot ...
Assessing Readiness and Recovery During Training
Assessing Readiness to Train I recently had the opportunity to speak with Zach Greenwald of StrengthRatio.com to talk about a simple test he uses for...
The Best Blood Flow Restriction Bands and Devices
The Best Blood Flow Restriction Bands I am frequently asked about the best devices for performing blood flow restriction training. As with any trend i...
Returning to Exercise after Pregnancy
NOTE: if you are interested in diving deep into providing top quality health & fitness care for postpartum women, PLEASE check out Dr Sarah Ellis ...
Improve Your Overhead Press by Testing These Five Areas
Overhead lifts such as pressing, snatching, and jerking are staple movements in the strength and conditioning and performance worlds to improve streng...
Rest, Restore, Rebuild for Better Performance
Note from Zach: I can’t thank Melissa Murphy enough for writing on this topic, some of the most under-valued aspects of performing optimally. Meliss...
Why Your Mobility Work Isn’t Working!
I hear it all the time…athletes telling me they cannot get consistent gains in their mobility. Or, they get some mobility work (soft tissue, spinal ...
Overhead Lifting After An Injury
Overhead Lifting After An Injury We’re going to talk a little bit about my three favorite exercises for helping an athlete who’s dealt wit...
Testing the Hips and Core with the Push Press
Thanks for joining me today. We’re going to take a little bit about the push press and how it can be used as a tool to analyze an athlete’...
The Best Kettlebell Rehab Exercises
The kettlebell is a fantastic training tool for athletes and the general population to build strength, stability, coordination, conditioning, and spor...
The Keys to a Proper Squat
The keys to a proper squat There are a few important keys to a proper squat that we need to follow as we look at what makes a safe and efficient squa...
Keep The Bar Close! Shoulder Internal Rotation
Many athletes have difficulty keeping the barbell close to their body during the turnover phase of the snatch (between completion of triple extension ...
Quick Ankle Mobility Fix
Ankle mobility is without a doubt the most commonly found mobility limitation I see in the fitness athletes that I work with, whether that is the week...
How to Warm Up for Squats
How to Warm Up for Squats What’s up barbell nation? Dr. Zach Long from thebarbellphysio.com here. Thanks for joining me today. We’re going...
Using Hanging Band Technique to Build Serious Shoulder Stability
The use of hanging band technique for shoulder rehab and performance gains has become very popular on my various social media accounts and for good re...
The Band Pull Through
The band pull through is an often forgotten exercise that really needs to be in more athletes fitness and rehabilitation programs. This loaded variati...
Best Warm Up Movements
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked by CrossFit athletes and coaches are what the best mobility movements are for a CrossFit athlete...
Improving Overhead Strength & Stability
Overhead stability is often a problem in the fitness athlete leading to lots of missed reps in exercises like the snatch and jerks. This week’s ...
Is Knee Valgus Always Bad in Weight Lifting?
If you aren’t willing to read this entire article then please don’t waste my time commenting. Knee valgus is a very hot topic right now and I’m ...
Preparing to Overhead Press
In a workout with lots of overhead work (pressing, jerks, snatches) getting in some solid prep work is crucial to optimal performance. The below vide...
Fixing the Quad Dominant Squat
One of the most common conditions I treat is patellofemoral pain, which is just a fancy way of saying anterior knee pain around the patella. While a v...
Brace Yourself! A bigger squat is coming…
More people than ever are squatting and squatting often. Whether for performance or personal goals, many have become focused on improving their squat;...
Fixing Hip Pain During Squats
The squat is the king of all exercises, unrivaled in its ability to build explosive hip strength, power, and develop athletes. Unfortunately, anterior...
Eccentric Isometrics for Mobility, Strength, & Hypertrophy
Eccentric Isometrics might be the best technique you haven’t heard of in the strength & conditioning world…and may also have a great role for ...
Side Plank for Hip Internal Rotation
A lot of athletes are limited when it comes to hip internal rotation. side plank for hip internal rotation When hip internal rotation is limited, it c...
Addicted to Mobility Bands?
The use of banded joint mobilizations to improve mobility has become commonplace in CrossFit boxes, gyms, and into physical therapy clinics. People a...
Dead Bug 2.0: Progressing this Basic Move For Athletic Development
Core stability is the key to unlocking an athlete’s optimal performance potential. Without it, forces cannot be efficiently transferred from the low...
Great Exercises You Are Not Doing
Great Exercises You Are Not Doing For Performance, Injury Prevention, & Rehab Great Exercises You Are Not Doing Single Leg Raise So, you want to...
Debunking the “Bad Exercises” Myth
There is a huge misconception in the fitness and rehab worlds. Far too often, we label exercises as good or bad for all athletes. Many preach that squ...
Five Advanced Thoracic Spine Mobility Drills
Thoracic spine mobility is vital to optimal performance and execution of the overhead lifts, such as the snatch or overhead squat. But proper mobilit...
Execution of Glute-Ham Sit Up for Safety and Efficiency
In this video, I work with Dr. Brian Campbell of Xcel Movement and Performance to cover the proper way to protect your spine during the performance of...
How to Get Your First Muscle Up : Your Ultimate Plan
Muscle Up Series Part I – Framework Movement Circuit The muscle up is a complex skill requiring great strength, coordination, and flexibility. In pa...
UPPER TRAP TRAINING: BUILDING AN UPPER BACK THAT IS STRONG AND FUNCTIONAL
The Big Picture: A misinterpretation of upper-crossed syndrome has led clinicians to believe that the “overactive” upper trap should only ...
Sumo Deadlift High Pull Safety, Effectiveness, & Fixes
Had the opportunity to speak with Dan Pope of FitnessPainFree.com recently to discuss the Sumo Deadlift High Pull safety and effectiveness . The Sumo ...
Working Out After Rhabdo
Rhabdomyolysis is a rare medical condition that can result from intense physical exercise. When “rhabdo” occurs, severe muscle damage lead...
Pistol Squat Progression
The pistol squat is a highly challenging bodyweight movement common to CrossFit workouts. This exercise not only requires strength, but balance and a ...
Shoulder Rotation: A Key Mobility Piece for Performance and Injury Prevention
Shoulder Internal Rotation ’s Impact on the Athlete and Fitness Shoulder internal rotation (IR) mobility is one of the most commonly restricted moti...
Improving Overhead Strength & Stability
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked by the fitness athletes that I work with is how to improve overhead stability, as they feel weak during...
Five Hacks to Fix Your Squat
The squat is a fundaments movement to athletic performance, but a shocking number of athletes demonstrate a faulty movement pattern during a squat. Fr...
Twelve Variations of Loaded Carries
Loaded carries are great for conditioning, rehabilitation, and stability work in individual’s of all physical activity levels. Loaded carries ca...
The Need for Regressed Core Training in Athletes – A Gymnastics Case Study
As a sports physical therapist, it never ceases to amaze me how athletes can perform at high levels despite often times having huge deficits. One of t...
Using the Hip Hinge to Assess Athlete’s Movement
If asked to analyze an athlete’s mobility and movement patterns with just one test, I would choose the overhead squat test. If allowed a second, I w...
Your Hip Flexors AREN’T Tight – How to Truly Fix "Tight Hips"
Whether in the clinic or in the gym, on a daily basis people tell me they have tight hip flexors. They’ve seen a YouTube video about how tight h...
Top Glute Activation Exercises
Sub-optimal glute activation is one of the most common faults I see in athletes. This can lead to a host of injuries as well as decreased performance....
The Truth About Squat Depth, Injury Rates & The "Knees Out" Cue
Here’s what you need to know Simply said, our Western society has lost the ability to squat. And no, just because you participate in CrossFit does...
Improving the Handstand Position Part II: Stability
In my recent CrossFit Journal article “Analyzing the Handstand Position“, I outline a series of tests that can be employed to determine th...
Improving the Handstand Part I: Handstand Mobility
In my recent CrossFit Journal article “Analyzing the Handstand Position“, I outline a series of tests that can be employed to analyze han...
Case Study: Quadriceps Inhibition and TENS Post Knee Surgery
Over the past two months I’ve used TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) more than I ever have and with great results. Normally, TENS i...
How to Prevent Shoulder Impingement in the CrossFit Athlete
The shoulder is a complicated structure. As I wrote in my CrossFit Journal Article “The Optimal Shoulder” over 80% of CrossFit workouts involve ...
Dissecting the Squat
My latest article was just published in CrossFit Journal on the mobility and motor control needs of the squat. Great read for any athlete or coach loo...
The Five Best Squat Mobility Movements
The fitness athlete must be able to perform a full depth squat. The squat is the single most important training tool for developing hip power in ath...
The Best Exercise You’re Not Doing to Improve Your Snatch and Overhead Squats
The snatch and overhead squat tests whole-body mobility as much as any other exercises do… Both require optimal range of motion if they are to...
BULLETPROOF MOBILITY
Attention Fitness Athletes, Many athletes spend too much time trying to improve their mobility and reap little benefit from their hard work. To...
The Four Squat Mobility Tests You Must Do
Far too often, mobility restrictions take the blame for athlete’s squat technique not being optimal. Often times, it is not mobility tha...
Top Five Thoracic Mobility Drills to Improve Your Overhead Pressing
Thoracic mobility is one of the most important mobility drills for the fitness athlete. The thoracic spine plays a huge role in keeping the shoulders ...
How A Long Time Lifter Gained 20 Pounds on His Clean In Two Months
Over the past two months, my clean has gone from 275lbs to 295lbs! Given that I’ve been weightlifting for a long time, this big of a jump in such a ...
Lateral Tibial Glide Assessment & Treatment for Ankle Mobility
Dr. E of themanualtherapist.com recently shared a video for assessing lateral tibial glide which is commonly restricted in those with ankle mobility ...
Tibial Internal Rotation – The Mobility Test You Need to do for Knee Pain
Tibial internal rotation is often limited in athletes with knee, calf, and ankle problems. Find out how to assess and treat it! ...
Top Five CrossFit Mobility Limitations
Wanted to share this shortened version of an article I wrote at themanualtherapist.com on the five most common mobility restrictions I see in CrossFit...
Mobility Minute #15: Wall Facing Squat
The wall facing squat is a great tool for assessing and exercising the squat pattern. See the below quote from renown Strength Coach Pavel Tsa...
Mobility Minute #13: Handstand Positioning
The handstand provides an excellent opportunity to examine an athlete’s mobility and motor control abilities. Have the athlete assume a handstan...
Analyzing the Handstand Position in CrossFit Journal
Read my latest article published in CrossFit Journal “Analyzing the Handstand Position”...
Mobility Minute #7: Hip Flexor Flexibility
From my most recent CrossFit Journal Article available HERE....
Mobility Minute #5: Hamstring Flexibility
Last week’s Mobility Minute covered the Hip Hinge pattern and how to assess if an athlete has difficulty loading the hips without putting the s...
Mobility Minute #2: Reach, Roll, & Lift
Last week we discussed how to test flexibility of the latissimus dorsi (lat) muscle to improve overhead mobility. This week we will look at the...
Mobility Minute #1: Assessing Lat Flexibility
Tightness in the latissimus dorsi (lats) muscles is one of the most common dysfunctions I see in athletes. Lat tightness contributes to both decreased...
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Reach, Roll, and Lift
The Reach, Roll, Lift (RRL) is one of my favorite upper extremity exercises. For me, it makes both a great treatment as well as a good assessment tool...
Easiest Shoulder Internal Rotation (GIRD) Fix Ever
Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (or GIRD for short) is defined as loss of internal rotation of the shoulder while positioned in 90 degrees of ...
Squat Hip Pinch Fix
Pinching in the hips during squats is one of the most common complaints I hear from CrossFitters and weightlifters. A variety of restrictions can le...
Weightlifting Ratios Calculator: Identifying Weaknesses
While not an exact science, examination of the ratios of various weightlifting ratios can help a lifter identify what areas to focus on in their progr...
Assessing Ankle Mobility
A variety of lower extremity injuries can occur as a result of decreased ankle mobility, specifically decreased dorsiflexion (see my posts on t...
Biomechanics of The Olympic Snatch
The Olympic snatch is a frequently used exercise is strength & conditioning programs, and for good reason. This exercise allows the athlete to l...
Compression Band Techniques
Over the past 6 or so months I have been experimenting with VooDoo bands promoted by Kelly Starrett of mobilitywod.com Mobility bands from Edge Mobil...
The L-Protocol for Hamstring Rehabilitation
In many sports, hamstring injuries are commonly. Unfortunately, rehab from this injury can be slow and recovering from an initial hamstring injury d...
Hamstring Rehab Protocol Using Lengthened State Eccentrics
With hamstring injuries being around 16% of all athletic injuries and reports of re-injury rates as high as 34%, identifying risk factors and appropri...
Weightlifting for Children
Weightlifting for Children For years, strength training and weightlifting have been used by adolescents and adults to improve their sports performance...
The Importance of Dorsiflexion, Part II
As a follow up to my first post on the importance of dorsiflexion (HERE), I wanted to follow up by quickly reviewing the research on the effects of de...
The Importance of Dorsiflexion
The Importance of Dorsiflexion for Lower Extremity Functioning I have spent the last year working on research projects around the need for proper dors...