Back pain and injuries happen when you’ve trained hard and long enough. While I will be the FIRST medical professional to tell you that he,avy training should not be avoided and that long term back strength is great for your health, there are times where athletes need to alter training to decrease loading on their low back. But what if...

You’ve probably heard other athletes attempting to “break up adhesions” or “realign fascia” in the name of self-care and recovery. There’s no doubt that foam roller and lacrosse ball sales have skyrocketed now more than ever. However, what if we told you that you’re foam rolling for all the wrong reasons? What if you’re not actually optimizing your performance with...

Hip mobility is crucial to the fitness athlete wanting to perform optimally. When working on mobility, we want long-standing improvements in hip joint mobility that also translates to improved performance. And that’s exactly what you’ll get with these eight hip mobility drills. If you want a done-for-you hip mobility program, check out our HIP MOBILITY OVERHAUL. This is a four-day...

achieving a solid overhead position won’t be possible making overhead pressing, snatches, overhead squats, and efficiency suffer. Far too often, athletes waste time foam rolling and performing band distraction drills that only temporarily improve their range of motion. Then the next day they must repeat the process again, never seeing the long term improvements they want in their performance. The...

The psoas march is among my favorite corrective exercises to prescribe for athletes needing improved lumbopelvic control. This exercise has helped athletes with everything from: Psoas strains Low back pain Squat technique Hip impingement pain “Tight” hip flexors (because often weak muscles become tense) If you are ready for a stronger core and better control then give the psoas march...

In Parts I and II in this series on how individual anatomical differences can impact squat performance. We covered the effects of various levels of ankle mobility, hip mobility, and hip boney anatomy. These two articles provide evidence for the need to individualize our squat technique prescription to every athlete that we work with. This week’s article will further investigate...

How squat mobility impacts performance One of the biggest misconceptions I see and hear when working with various fitness coaches is that there is a certain way to squat and certain keys to proper squat mobility. Knees must be positioned in a certain spot, feet must be pointed a certain direction, and coaches try to force their athletes to squat in...

I am all for women exercising during pregnancy. I have reaped the benefits of exercise through two pregnancies and have seen plenty of patients experience the same benefits. A few of these benefits include decreased musculoskeletal complaints throughout pregnancy, improved body mechanics and posture, prevention of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and stress reduction (1, 2, 3). In general, society seems...

We’ve all used foam rollers, stretching, band joint distractions, and lacrosse balls to improve mobility. But there is a big gap between having the available range of motion and being able to use that available motion. Eccentric isometrics fix that! It is rare to find athletes that can functionally utilize their full available range of motion. I commonly see athletes...