We often think of nutrition, hydration, and mobility work in our preparation for sports. But how often have you considered your internal core temperature or ways to regulate that to improve your performance? Probably not very often. But, simple tactics like palm cooling have been shown to have dramatic effects in athletics. Let’s discuss how. Thermoregulation and Performance In the...

There are several fantastic fitness apps for your phone or tablet that can make your fitness journey (or that of your athletes) better. Over the past few years, I’ve used the following apps and highly recommend each of them. Important note: I’m a Mac user and haven’t verified these for their work with Android phones. The Best Fitness Apps On...

Before discussing hamstring flexibility, we need to talk about testing hamstring flexibility. Many athletes believe their hamstrings are tight. But, often they have all the hamstring flexibility they need to perform all of their sporting activities. If an athlete passes the following tests, they do NOT need to work on hamstring flexibility. Unless they participate in sports requiring extreme hamstring flexibility...

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 their aerobic energy system. This is often skipped over in the fitness world but greater aerobic fitness will improve performance greatly. Josh does a fantastic job sharing the need to develop aerobic fitness, the limiters of...

Blood flow restriction training has recently emerged as a game-changer in the rehab and sports performance worlds. While typically strength & hypertrophy gains aren’t seen without lifting weights greater than 65% of an individual’s one-rep maximum, with blood flow restriction training (BFR) similar gains have been seen with loads as low as 20% of an individual’s 1RM! Even more impressive...

A hamstring strain can be one of those stubborn injuries that far too often become recurring injuries or a more chronic strain. Their high rate of recurrence is usually due to a lack of careful rehabilitation and training following the injury. If you are experiencing chronic hamstring strains, there is a specific and well-understood way to begin to exercise 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...

TRX and other suspension trainers are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment for the physical therapist, chiropractor, or other rehab professionals to use in the treatment of injuries. The exercise variety and ease of quickly altering the load of the exercise makes it great for individuals of all fitness levels. I’m thrilled to share this compilation of the...

Your Don’t Have Tight Hip Flexors More than any other area in the body, athletes regularly tell me that they have tight hip flexors or pain in their hip flexors. Commonly this has been something they’ve self-diagnosed after watching a youtube video or reading a blog. Or maybe they’ve had a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist diagnose tight hip...