CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise mobility Program Design

4 Ways to Fire Up Your Belly

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Gavin McHale, a Certified Exercise Physiologist from Winnipeg, Canada (in his words, straight north of Fargo). Gavin attended a workshop I did with Dean Somerset in Minneapolis a few weeks ago and he wanted to write up some of the things he picked up from it.

Read on to find a breakdown of how you can clean up your shoulders and hips, lift more weight and allow yourself to relax, just by changing the way you breathe.

Copyright: sunlight19 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

4 Ways to Fire Up Your Belly

Let me paint you a picture.

A client or physical therapist refers someone to me and they walk in ready to get their ass handed to them. After our initial conversation, I tell them we’re going to start the session with some breathing drills.

They often glaze over and assume it means something else, until I tell them to lie down and take a deep breath.

“Wait, you just want me to breathe?”

“That is correct.”

Almost every time, I can provide a new client a take-home benefit with a couple of breathing cues, all inside the first 2 minutes on the gym floor.

Image courtesy of Crossfit Southbay, via A.D.A.M

Why, you ask? Well there are lots of reasons why breathing is a good practice to get into, and I’m not talking about the breathing we do mindlessly, day-in day-out. I’m talking about mindful “diaphragmatic” or “belly” breathing.

We live in what I’d call a very sympathetic world. Our sympathetic nervous system, also known as fight-or-flight, is cranked up all the time. We have to drive to work in traffic, get a project done, feed the kids, manage the mortgage… you get the point.

All this stress kind of shuts down our parasympathetic nervous system, also known as rest-and-digest. You know, the one that fixes all our shit? Ya, that one.

The diaphragm is actually intended to be our body’s primary breathing muscle, but as a consequence of modern life, it’s been shunned like Tony and I are by all those cat haters (I see you). Instead, the much less efficient breathing muscles of the upper chest and neck then must take over, creating all sorts of issues.

Although it doesn’t look very sexy, diaphragamatic breathing allows us to create a better balance between fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest, and could be the key to fixing a lot of movement issues as well.

When we breathe, this dome-shaped muscle contracts, allowing the lungs to take in air. What we should see is the stomach rising as the dome compresses the abdominal cavity. This is why I tell my clients to try and “get fat” if they’re having trouble figuring it out. I often see the exact opposite, and while it may present a more pleasing side profile, it only allows the lungs to partially expand and results in weaker core stabilization.

 

So why do we do it?

Not only is it a good idea to get back to the muscles we should be using for an activity like breathing, but an under-active or dysfunctional diaphragm is going to lead to movement issues as well. Neck and shoulder issues are the bulk of what I see, but back and hip irritation have also been linked to breathing concerns.

Proximal stability leads to distal mobility.

If we can create more stability in the core and centre of the body, the limbs and other areas where we need to be more mobile are free to do their job as well.

Test/Re-Test

Below, I’m going to give you several tests to try based on areas that you may have trouble with or issues you want to clean up. The protocol here is to test the movement, correct with a breathing drill, the re-test to see if it got better.

If it did, great! If not, we may have to do some more digging. The breathing correctives are outlined at the end of the article.

1. Shoulder Issues

I found it very interesting how many people had shoulder pain and dysfunction when I first started training. I cleaned up their technique, had them pull way more than they pushed and focused on opening up their thoracic spine. Things got better, but never really got better, ya know?

Then I went further down the rabbit hole and recognized there was more to it. I realized that almost all shoulder problems are somehow tied to breathing mechanics, and a couple of simple drills can make a world of difference, especially when done consistently. Here are two (related) tests to see where problems may lie and outline the path to correcting them.

Shoulder Test/Re-Test #1: Active and Passive Shoulder Flexion

*Ideally, the shirt is off for all tests of shoulder function. Although it can be awkward, this allows someone to see exactly what the scapulae are doing during these movements.

You may have to stand against a wall to do this properly, but stand tall and proud and slowly brings your hands up over your head in front of you. Your ribcage should stay down (the back should stay against the wall) and the head should stay in a packed position (no poke-necks).

How high did your arms get? Was there any pain?

Here is Tony showing an example of a bad active shoulder flexion (left) and a good active shoulder flexion (right). If you’re not careful, you may think the “bad” test is better than the good one. A closer looks reveals that Tony is flaring his ribcage, overextending his lower back and poking his head forward. The test on the right is a true test of his active shoulder flexion. Not bad T, but why is your shirt still on?

The passive test is the same as the active test, only lying down on your back. The knees should be bent and feet flat on the floor or table. The ribcage should stay down and lower back flush to ensure a true test.

We will review correctives later in the article.

Shoulder Test/Re-Test #2: Scapulo-Humeral Rhythm (probably need a friend for this one)

Stand in the same position as your active shoulder flexion test, but this time we’re going to bring the arms overhead by your sides, trying to touch the backs of your hands together above your head.

As the arms move overhead, the scapula should rotate ½ as much as the humerus does. So, to get overhead (180 degrees total), the humerus should rotate upward 120 degrees and the scapula should rotate the remaining 60 degrees.

Image courtesy of BEST Performance Group

If there is any pain with this movement, you should see a registered healthcare professional (or refer to one, if you’re a trainer).

However, if you’re a trainer and you notice the scapula isn’t moving as it should (i.e. the medial border isn’t at 60 degrees) see if you just help it along by manually moving it to the desired position.

Better? Great, let’s get to breathing and fix that shit. Still painful? Refer.

2. Back Issues

Everyone who’s ever had or worked with people with back issues raise their hand! Ya, a lot of us have, myself included and it’s no fun. Whether it’s chronic back pain or a little tweak here and there, worrying about blowing your back out is a real concern for many people.

They’re scared to lift things around the house, scared to bend over the wrong way and especially scared to lift a shit-ton of weight off the floor in the gym (covered later). We can’t be having that… let’s fix it.

I said that lower back and shoulder issues can be related because their main structures are intimately connected via the thoracolumbar fascia. You can see the lats (major players in the shoulder) and the glutes (major players in the lower back) in the image below. If you have issues getting your arms overhead, you may very well have lower back problems as well, and vice versa.

Image courtesy of Neil Asher Healthcare

Back Test/Re-Test #1: Active Straight Leg Raise

This one is nice and simple. Lie on your back, legs straight. Lift one leg as high as you can before you stop or you feel pain. The knee should stay straight. Note how high you got. A good score is 90 degrees with no movement in the opposite leg.

Image courtesy of www.FunctionalMovement.com

Back Test-Re-Test #2: Passive Hip Rotation (bring that friend back, you’ll need em)

Lie flat on your back with legs straight and lift one leg. Bend the leg at the knee, coming up to 90 degrees hip flexion. Move the hip into external rotation (foot to opposite hip) and internal rotation (foot outside hip) while supporting the knee. Note the angle achieved with each movement. A good score is 90 degrees from midline for external rotation and 45 degrees for internal.

Photo courtesy of geekymedics.com.

LIFTING HEAVY A.F.

(if you have to ask what it means, you’re not ready for it)

There’s no question that if you’ve ever done a heavy squat or deadlift and not wrecked your back, you know that you need to be able to create massive amounts of tension through your core. If you can’t, you get hurt, pretty simple.

The diaphragm plays a massive role in stabilizing the core. It forms the lid on the “core box”, working with the obliques, QL, pelvic floor and transverse abdominus. Being able to take in air and maintain a high-pressure area in the abdominal cavity is crucial for lifting heavy (another reason I start with breathing drills).

RELAXATION

Remember that sympathetic world I spoke about earlier where most of us live that wreaks havoc on our breathing patterns? Needless to say, it can also create difficulty with relaxation and sleep.

I’m pretty sure most of us (and our clients) can agree we’d like to sleep better.

So, when you watch the videos below, don’t just put them in the “workout” box, but remember they can also have a positive impact on your ability to relax and even fall asleep.

Not only will these breathing drills assist in improving movement patterns, they’ll set up the context for creating tension before and during a heavy lift.

THE BREATHING CORRECTIVES

Prone Crocodile Breathing

If you’re new to the diaphragmatic breathing game, this is your place to start. Maybe you scored poorly on one of the above tests or you have an itch to throw more weight on the bar but aren’t yet comfortable doing so.

Either way, give this drill a shot before moving on.

 

Prone Lengthening

This one is particularly useful if you have trouble with your shoulder and/or struggled with the shoulder flexion and scapulo-humeral tests. Many people’s shoulder dysfunction comes from a number of factors, one of those being tight/ropey serratus anterior. This drill will help to release that muscle, allowing it to do it’s part in moving the scapula to get that arm overhead.

The serratus anterior (SA) works in concert with the upper traps (UT) and lower traps (LT) to allow the scapula to upwardly rotate.

Note From TG: props to Dr. Evan Osar for introducing me to this exercise a few years ago.

 

Crook Lying Belly Breathing

This is another great beginner drill as the lower back is supported and the table or floor can provide external feedback. This is also the best position for belly breathing, allowing the belly to fully expand. Along with the others, this one is great for those with back or hip issues.

 

Quadruped Breathing

This is another great drill for those with issues rotating that scap when going overhead. The serratus anterior is a massive player and if we can get it rotating properly (or at least better than it was), we may be able to provide relief and learn what it is we need to focus on moving forward.

So there you have it, a good, hard look at what we should be looking for and how to make it better, just by changing the way we breathe.

One final note for trainers, make sure you try these yourself as you may find that different cues work better. If you do, please tell me. I want to know all your secrets!

OBLIGATORY PROMOTIONAL PLUG FROM TG (sorry not sorry)

Pretty much everything discussed above is covered in more detail in mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint which is being released this week (Nov. 1st).

hipandshoulderfb-banner

In fact the site goes LIVE tonight. You can check back HERE at midnight to get in on the action. It’s totally going to be like a Harry Potter book release! Except, you know, without wizards and Sorting Hats and shit.

Author’s Bio

gavinGavin McHale is a Certified Exercise Physiologist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (straight North of Fargo).

He loves getting people to lift things they never imagined they would both in-person and online.

He also likes to lift said heavy things and, much like Tony, loves cats.

Check him out at www.gavinmchale.com.

CategoriesAssessment Exercise Technique

What We’re Really Saying When We Discuss Breathing

I read a recent article by my good friend, Jordan Syatt, on the Personal Trainer Development Center’s website titled No One Ever Got Better Solely From Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises and I liked it for two reasons:

Photo Credit: Shawn Rossi

1. It’s a message that needed to be said. Breathing drills (and to be more specific, diaphragmatic breathing drills) aren’t going to add 50 lbs to your deadlift, nor improve your vertical jump, and they certainly aren’t the “x-factor” when it comes to improving one’s sex appeal.

Last time I checked no one ever thought to themselves, ” Whoa, that’s one sexy Zone of Apposition goin on there. I need to get naked with that person, like, right now!”

I’m sure there’s someone out there with some sort of creepy ribcage/thorax re-setting fetish, but for the sake of argument lets just agree that breathing drills won’t land you on the cover of People Magazine anytime soon.

2. Jordan gave props to Cressey Sports Performance in the article. What what!

There’s no denying that “breathing” is all the rage right now – especially in the fitness industry. And more to the point, there’s no denying that the peeps over at the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) are leading the charge.

Funnily enough: while the breathing hype has gained momentum in the last 2-3 years, PRI has been around for DECADES. I guess it just goes to show there’s a tipping point for everything.

I wrote a post a few months ago calling some trainers out who go a little too far down the PRI rabbit hole. I highlighted the fact that I like PRI; I use PRI; I just feel it’s crippling many fitness professionals who take it too far.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when trainers and coaches forget that they’re trainers and coaches and stop training their athletes and clients. Instead they start treating them, which isn’t their scope of practice in the first place. Worse is that their clients rarely (if ever) get a training effect!

I’m sorry but if your client is 30 lbs overweight or just interested in going to a Bootcamp class, they don’t need to be breathing into a balloon for 20 minutes.

Having Said That…..

At CSP, because we work with a lot of athletes who live in a constant state of (spinal) overextension, in addition to general fitness clients who come in with a wide variety of movement dysfunctions, we have found that these drills are a nice fit for our demographic. It’s borderline voo-doo(ish) how much improvement we can glean – both from a postural standpoint and pain reduction standpoint – from having someone focus on their quality of breathing for a few minutes.

There’s a bit of self-auditing required, though. I.e., It’s not going to be an ideal fit for some coaches and trainers.

Take for example a trainer who, while attended mine and Dean Somerset’s workshop in LA last weekend rolled his eyes and made the off-handed comment, “if I did this stuff with my clients, I’d be fired” as I was taking the attendees through a few drills.

1. No shit Sherlock! If the bulk of your clients are celebrities more interested in shadow boxing and looking good for the camera, then of course you’re not going to place a premium on alignment and how breathing mechanics play a role in improving it.

2. So, yeah, placing some emphasis on breathing and breathing mechanics isn’t a good fit depending on who you work with.

Thanks for the insight, dick.

I’ve stated this in the past, but it bears repeating here: GETTING PEOPLE STRONG IS CORRECTIVE!!!!!! This happened to be the larger point I was trying to make which said trainer seemed to overlook. Or maybe he missed it because he was too busy texting on his phone the duration of my presentation.

Okay, okay….not a big deal Tony. You know, people are busy and need to keep in touch with their clients. It’s not th end of the wor…….GODDAMMIT!!!!!! [punches wall].

Why I stress this point is important, because when I do talk about breathing drills and how we incorporate them with our athletes and clients at CSP (regardless of sports played, injury history, and postural imbalances), it’s important to understand that it takes up roughly 2-5% of the total training volume.

That’s it.

Call me crazy, but that’s a pretty awesome minimal investment of time given the profound effects it can have!

Which begs the question: What effects DOES it have?

From my perspective here are a few bullet points.

NOTE: a MAJOR shout out to Michael Mullin, ATC, PTA, PRC, Mind-Jedi Level II for much of what follows. He’s visited the facility a handful of times to enlighten the CSP staff on some PRI basics.

1. Airflow drives the nervous system. More importantly, the respiration you learned about in school is gas exchange. BREATHING is movement.

2. Taking this a step further, much of the advantage of the PRI approach – and why addressing breathing patterns is important – is that it leads to better outcomes for clients and athletes. Teaching and grooving more efficient breathing is every bit as important as teaching and grooving a proper hip hinge or squat pattern.

3. People who present with a more scissor posture will have a harder time recruiting and using their diaphragm.

In short, the diaphragm is kind of a big deal, and because many of us are locked into a scissor pattern in conjunction with a left rib flare – what PRI refers to as a Zone of Apposition – we have a hard time breathing correctly.

Ideally the diaphragm will act as a superior and inferior “canister,” descending/compressing when we inhale and elongating/doming out when we exhale….which in turn provides optimal stability up and down the kinetic chain.

Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned scissor posture (to the far right in the pic above), we tend to see more anterior translation of the diaphragm locking us into more extension, which in turn doesn’t allow it to perform optimally.

For the more visual learners out there, here’s how the diaphragm should work:

4. All of this to say: these drills help to “encourage neutral.” The body WILL NEVER by symmetrical due to our anatomy, but when someone lives in extension these drills help to get someone closer.

5. Likewise, the brain wants efficiency and will do whatever it takes to get you there. If you watch how most people stand, they’ll revert to what’s known as a Left AIC (Left Anterior Interior Chain) stance, like this….

The right side of the pelvis will be more internally rotated and ADD-ucted and the left side will be more externally rotated and AB-ucted. This, too, causes all sorts of wackiness and effects posture all up and down the kinetic chain. PRI helps to address this and tries to “encourage neutral.”

6. Lastly, if nothing else, the real benefit to all this is that it helps people to chill the eff out.

Exercise drives the sympathetic nervous system and put people on “alert.” I like to incorporate basic breathing drills to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and help people to tone it back down closer to homeostasis.

In addition, anecdotally, so many people are type-A, live in a sympathetic state, and are always “switched on” that they’re unable to relax. Breathing helps to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system and allows people to smell the roses so-to-speak.

There’s obviously A LOT more to all of this and I’m only scratching the surface with this post. It’s a topic that requires a bit more time (and I encourage you to seek other resources if it interests you). That said, everything I alluded to above hits on a few BIG ROCK points that I hope resonates with everyone.

Whether it’s a good fit for YOU and YOUR clients is a discussion that needs (and should) to be considered. In the end, like anything….it depends

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 4/18/14

I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning, so I don’t really have much to say at this point.  I’m thiiiis close to injecting some caffeine directly into my left ventricle.

For those who celebrate it, I hope you have a great Easter weekend.  Try not to overdo the peanut-butter eggs….;o)

And for those who don’t, I hope you, too, have a great weekend.

I’m out!

Accept Regression to Allow Progression – Anthony Dexmier

This is a topic I’ve touched on in the past: where regressing an exercise can be viewed as a progression.

A great example would be Goblet squats.

Many people will roll their eyes and think I’m crazy when I tell them to take the barbell off their back and revert to performing Goblet squats.  How can one possibly get stronger and jacked if they’re not back squatting?

What am I trying to do:  steal their gainz!?!?!

The thing is, a lot of people think they’re more advanced than they actually are.  It’s similar to what we see the first week of every season of American Idol, where those people who have been told by their Aunt Grace all their life they have the “voice of an angel,” when in fact they actually sound more like a rhinoceros passing a kidney stone.

The same can be said about squatting.  Some people just aren’t ready to get underneath a bar on day one.  A regression can be a progression.

Diaphragmatic Breathing: Implications in an Exercise Program and On-Field Performance – Miguel Aragoncillo

Talking about breathing – how we suck at it, how we can correct it, and how it can affect posture/performance/and a bad hair day – is all the rage in the fitness industry nowadays.

I understand why some people are skeptical and feel it’s just a trend that’s hot right now. I mean, Skechers used to be cool too.

I’ve seen how addressing one’s breathing patterns can have a profound influence on everything from pain to ROM deficits to posture to movement quality.  Sorry, it can’t fix a bad hair day.

In this post Miguel does a nice job in explaining some of the ins and outs of diaphragmatic breathing and how “owning your rib position” can make you a beast in the weight room.

P90x and Muscle Confusion: The Truth – Charles Staley

The whole idea of muscle confusion and how it’s important to place credence in it is a bunch of bullshit.

The human body is a lot smarter than some infomercial gives it credit for.

Stealing a line from the article itself:  “Muscle confusion isn’t about preventing plateaus; it’s about giving beginners enough variety so they won’t immediately get bored and quit. And when you constantly vary your training, you might not be as likely to quit, but you’re not going to make any real progress.” 

Also, as a friendly reminder:  TODAY (Friday) is the last day to purchase Bret Contreras’s 2×4 Program at the sale price.

It’s a great resource, especially for those looking to get strong (and to add muscle).  I’ve started the program myself this week and am loving it.

The introductory offer ends tonight at midnight, so be sure to check it out HERE before then.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Rehab/Prehab

Why Are We Breathing Inefficiently (and What Are the Ramifications)?

Last week I wrote a quick synopsis of a staff in-service we participated in that consisted of  Michael Mullin stopping by for a few hours and proceeding to melt our faces off with the number of knowledge bombs he dropped regarding some of the “inner workings” behind the PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) philosophy.

For those who missed it, you can check it out HERE (< — click me, don’t be shy).

In a nutshell (if that’s even possible to do):  we breath like poop.

I’m more of an analogy guy, so using one that most people reading can appreciate:  if our breathing patterns are like the worst karaoke singer we’ve ever heard, we’d sound like a whale passing a kidney stone.

Yeah, not pretty.

As a corollary to the above post I linked to, current Cressey Performance intern/coach (and resident break-dancing/ Gangham style guru), Miguel Aragoncillo, wrote a quick follow-up that I felt many of you would enjoy.

Why Are We Breathing Inefficiently?

Everyone is breathing incorrectly. We are all stuck, we are all patterned. The real question is… Do you want to get out of the pattern?

Take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and believe what you want to (and still breath like an asthmatic Darth Vader).

Take the red pull, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The stance that the Postural Restoration Institute takes (pun intended) is that yes, we have two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, etc. To elaborate on the PRI aspects of Tony’s blogpost, we have one heart on the left/central part of our body, liver on the right, along with different diaphragmatic discrepancies such as more crural attachments on the lumbar spine, right versus left lung control, and lung structure.

With this anatomy refresher, you have to wonder: how does this affect our ability to use our diaphragm effectively?

To break down how the body compensates, here are a few factors that are involved in the PRI philosophy:

1. Posture

What is your posture like? If you are constantly standing or moving around (or coaching), you are subjecting ourselves to being in a more extended position.  Comparing by contrast, if you’re a desk jockey – a phone pressed to your ear, a keyboard to crouch over and work on, and more often than not, a not so comfortable chair that you plop yourself into everyday – you’re most likely a walking (or more appropriately, a sitting) ball of flexion.

Whether you are extended or flexed for the majority of your day, it is safe to say that the posture you assume for most of your day will definitely affect you in the long term.

2. Patterns

After attending a 2-day PRI seminar at Endeavor Fitness, my brain was mush on the ride home. So to spare your face from getting melted like Tony from our most recent in-service, understand that there are different patterns that we can be classified into, along with the breakdown of what exercise we should use to not only inhibit these patterns, but also “encourage” us into a better working posture.

Further, if you’re an athlete that has extreme unilateral demands (ie: baseball), it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’re an ideal candidate for PRI’s corrective exercises.

Personally, as a breakdancer, I’m full of dysfunction and asymmetry – rotating in one direction along with favored limbs for other dance movements falls neatly within the PRI philosophy.

During the PRI Seminar, I had many “A-ha!” moments as to why I move the way I do, along with why I favor one side versus the other during years of dancing.

Now take a look at any sport – baseball exhibits handedness (right-handed vs. left-handed pitcher), soccer shows favor for a dominant leg, and swimmers favor one side over the other to rotate towards their flip turns.

The constant demands of a chosen sport, coupled with your structural posture (thanks to the above reasons) will more often than not “feed into your dysfunction,” which in turn can often exacerbate common injuries seen in specific sports.

These dysfunctions alter how we breathe and how we respond to certain exercises or stretches.

3. Positioning

When we got into the practical portion of our in-service at CP, we were asked to get into some rather crazy positions, even blowing up a balloon. However, by getting into an ideal position, we are more readily able to get ourselves out of this pattern. So do not fear – most of us are able to get out of this pattern, much like Neo did in The Matrix. 

WARNING – I’m going to geek out a bit…

 “The activation/setting of the abdominals pulls the lower ribs down and in (caudad and posterior) and helps to inhibit/relax the paraspinals muscles (trunk extensors) which may help to decrease the patient/athlete’s lumbar lordosis and pain in the paraspinal region through reciprocal inhibition.”-1

(Side note: After performing these exercises, a few mentioned that they felt immediate results – loss of tension in their back, or even getting rid of back pain upon movement after being “repositioned”. Some pretty magical stuff.

On another aside: I asked Michael Mullin to walk me through some of the advanced tests, as I had only experienced the lower half of the assessments. After breathing into a few positions, I had seen immediate results with my shoulder issues. Craziness – I know.)

Putting It All Together

So putting the pieces of this puzzle together shows that a large majority of us may fall into a few of these categories from the get-go. What can we do now? Luckily for us, PRI gave us a few corrective exercises that they use often enough for the unlucky few that are still caught up in “The Pattern.”

Sounds like a Stephen King novel, I know, but bear with me.

One question that’s often been asked: where can we fit more exercises into an already jam packed session of foam rolling, mobilizations, and strength exercises?

The few things I’ve been experimenting with on my own along with coaching at CP are using these correctives after foam rolling, and before a dynamic warm-up, and also between sets of heavy compound lifts.

Note from TG:  For those who feel it a bit strange to use a balloon, you can also use a standard straw for this exercise.  Just be sure that when you inhale, you do so through the nose (which means you’ll have to block/pinch the tip of the straw in with your tongue against the roof of your mouth).

And for those who feel it’s a bit weird or “funky” to do this exercise in your gym, it’s no stranger than the moron who’s performing one-legged squats on an inverted BOSU ball while curling pink dumbbells.

Further, we have even gone on to emphasize with our athletes the importance of fixing our posture when we are standing during games, during our travels, and even at rest – sleeping and sitting. If your commute to work is long, making a conscious effort at shifting your posture can go a long way towards reducing overall symptoms.

What can we expect after appreciating these factors?

Whether you call it diaphragmatic breathing or the zone of apposition, we need to be mindful of how we position ourselves not only during exercise, but during our “resting” posture, and most importantly during our respiration.

With these things under our belt (or diaphragm!), I recommend watching the diaphragmatic video one more time to “see” how the above factors can affect our ultimate goal of performance and getting out of The Pattern.

Author’s Bio

Miguel Aragoncillo, CSCS, graduated from Temple University with a B.S. in Kinesiology. His focus as a trainer is getting people to move better and lift heavy things. Miguel is currently interning at Cressey Performance, and openly enjoys Techno Tuesdays, breakdancing, and powerlifting. Check out his writing at www.miguelaragoncillo.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @MAragoncillo1.

References:

-1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2971640/ – The value of blowing up a balloon