A few weeks back we took a look at Lower Crossed Syndrome (Part I / Part II) in which the glutes and rectus abdominus are weak and inhibited and the hip flexors, and lumbar erectors are tight and overactive. Today, we’ll look at that equivalent in the upper body. Again this is the pioneering work of Vladamir Janda. He was one of the first therapists to …
A Pain in the . . .Joint!
Most athletes will experience pain due to dysfunction at some point in the career. We’re talking knee pains, low back pains, shoulder problems, and hip pain, hamstring pulls, etc. You name it and most competitive athletes will experience one of the above. What a lot of coaches, and athletic trainers for that matter, haven’t grasped is that movement dysfunction above or below the …
The Other Shrug
I’m sure a lot of coaches and athletes out there have seen the overhead shrug done before but may wonder why it’s good for shoulder health. Lets start out by examining the anatomy of the scap a little bit. There are three muscles responsible for upward rotation of the scapula. Again, upward rotation of the scapula is extremely important for …
What you don’t know about the pushup!!!
The pushup is quite easily one of the best exercises athletes can do. Most will only associate pushups for the chest, and triceps. But it’s a great exercise for the total body and even more so the upper back. Reaping the benefits of the pushup means focusing on correct technique first and foremost. Quite possibly the best part of a correct pushup for …
The overlooked ankle
If your big guys can’t get low when it comes to squatting chances are their ankles and calves may be balled up like shotputs. The ankle is the most overlooked joint in the human body when it comes to sports performance. Ankle mobility has huge implications on not only squat depth but especially knee pain and can even affect the …
Beginner T-Spine Mobility
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4vSrltrc8M]Today, I’m putting a few more of our rotational t-spine mobility movements. The first is Knees Side to Side. Most coaches have probably seen this one done. The emphasis should be reaching out with the arms as far as possible. Make sure the shoulders don’t come off the ground as the knees approach the floor. When this occurs reverse the …
T-Spine Mobility Videos
Back in November I posted some of our T-Spine Mobility exercises. At the time I uploaded pictures of the exercises and gave a little background on each of them. Here’s the video for each of those exercises as well as the links back to the previous posts. Hip Flexor Steps w/ Rotation can be found HERE. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHEUZSd8hD0] All Fours – …
Hip Mobility Series
I’ve had several questions lately about the Hip Mobility Series that I presented at the Metroplex Strength and Cond. Clinic this past weekend. I have finally created a YouTube Channel HERE so that I can link the videos to our site. Here’s our 1st video series on Hip Mobility. Our hurdle duck unders are the 1st movement in our hurdle …
Thoracic Spine Mobility
One of the t-spine mobility exercises we always put into our warm-up is All Fours – Single Arm Rotations. It allows for extension and rotation of the t-spine, which is extremely important for any rotational athlete. Immobile t-spines can not only create problems up and down the spine, they can cause oblique injuries, and serious shoulder problems. Teaching and mobilizing thoracic …