The squat butt wink is one of the most well known of all squat movement faults. If you haven’t heard of butt wink before, it is the term used to describe the excessive rounding of the lower back as an athlete drops down into the bottom of the squat. This puts the body in a sub-optimal position for developing and...

In my last article, I discussed what I believe to be the six most common causes of shoulder pain in CrossFit. To review, usually, shoulder pain results from doing too much volume or too high of skills for what that athlete is prepared for. As a result, the soft tissues of the shoulder get overloaded and become irritated. The following...

With any form of intense training, the occasional injury happens. CrossFit is no exception to this. While research has repeatedly shown that CrossFit injury rates are not higher than other forms of recreational fitness activities, we have seen multiple studies agree that the shoulder is the most commonly injured area. If you are dealing with shoulder pain, understanding the most common causes of CrossFit...

Having a variety of exercises to choose from is important not only for continual performance increases but also for mental breaks from always doing the same old moves. One of my favorite tools for changing my training up is to incorporate landmine exercises into my workouts. Landmine setups are incredibly versatile and allow us to provide great stimuli for strength...

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 back faster than ever. A huge amount of research has shown that hypertrophy (muscle mass) gains can be achieved at very low loads (20-30% of an individual’s one-rep max) versus conventional training requiring loads at...

If you’ve spent any significant time working to push your performance to the next level, you know that an occasional tweak will happen that creates some soreness with exercise. Usually, these tweaks though are nothing to worry about, and training can continue as normal. But what can you do when a more significant injury occurs? After months or years of...

Lat Strength In Fitness Athletes Lat strength is incredibly important for CrossFit athletes. I commonly describe this muscle as the glutes of the upper body. In so many movements performed by fitness athletes, the lats are the prime mover and also protect joints such as the shoulder from unnecessary stress. It is essential to understand the role of lat strength...

If you’ve trained hard and worked to push your performance to the next level for any extended period of time you know that the occasional tweak of a muscle or joint is inevitable. But when it comes to a tweak in your back many athletes tend to become more concerned than other areas. Continuing to remain highly active as your...

Working on improving squat depth can be a long and frustrating journey. And while there are lots of available information on different mobility drills, it can be difficult to determine where to start. Often, I see athletes working a variety of random movements with no laid out plan for improving squat depth. For example, they are stretching their hips because...