1) Be sure to check out my updated speaking schedule HERE. Early bird rate still applies for mine and Dean Somerset’s workshop at Vigor Ground Fitness in Seattle at …..hint, hint, nudge, nudge.
2) Still haven’t tried Athletic Greens? What’s the dealo? Check THIS out for 50% of your first month.
One of the most thorough articles in recent memory on what “mobility” really is and how we can effectively train for it (if it’s deemed necessary). Hint: it rarely involves stretching.
To check out Simple Shoulder Solution by Max Shank. It was just released this week, and is getting awesome feedback.
It takes a more unconventional approach to shoulder health, but that’s what I dig about it. I LIKE when coaches think outside the box and take more of a “lets do some cool shit and train” mentality. I’m 100% stealing some of his material. But, you know, giving credit. Max could kick my ass in 2.3 seconds.
I always enjoy when I have the opportunity to introduce my readers to someone new; coach’s who are “in the trenches,” doing great things, and are well articulate in conveying their message.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you Chris Abbott. He’s a coach and gym owner based in Chicago. As it happened, he sent me a t-shirt out of the blue as a “thank you” for what I do on this blog. It was a class move and nice gesture to say the least.
Not long after Chris expressed some interest in writing a guest post, and well, it took me all of three seconds to say yes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Strength Starts Here
Life is better when you’re strong, and that’s a fact.
Over the years as a trainer I’ve worked with average Joes, stay at home moms, significant weight loss clients, professional athletes, and a wide variety of broken and damaged people ranging from hip replacements and torn labrums to herniated/broken discs and torn knee ligaments – to name a few. Every one of these clients had one thing in common; they all reached their goals by becoming stronger.
Perhaps I’m stating the obvious, but based off of the people I see and work with daily I feel people may know they need to get stronger, may know they need to get in better shape, but they really have no idea how to actually get stronger, hence strength starts here.
Commonalities in Strength
There are certain aspects of strength that are required for success – this goes for sport, individual hobbies, and most importantly quality human movement.
My approach to those aspects can be viewed in the following way; you have attachment sites – your arms at your armpits and your legs at your hips. All movement will come from these attachment sites.
In addition you have your thoracic spine (T-spine).
Your neck, shoulders, and t-spine are all tied together; therefore healthy movement of the neck, head, and shoulders (really the entire upper body) requires healthy t-spine functioning. One could go on to describe how the upper body and more importantly a lack of alternating, reciprocating movement affects your lower body (hips and knees), but that goes beyond this post.
Furthermore, my approach can be summarized by this relationship:
Positional breathing leads to increased control
Increased control leads to increased strength development
Being stronger allows you to do whatever you’d like in life
Let’s break this down a bit further and see how you can own all to generate massive strength gains – and really enjoy life more!
Position and PRI
Are your shoulders really tight or are your scapula maybe just in a poor position which is limiting your range of motion?
This is usually the first time someone looks at me with a sideways head tilt expression of “huh?”
When searching for strength your key to performance will reside within your ability to take a breath properly.
All my sessions start with a common goal; restore proper breathing mechanics and allow your diaphragm to work as a primary breathing muscle rather than a postural stabilizing muscle. This does a few things:
Triggers parasympathetic activity in the body which results in the body “letting go” or relaxing more
“Letting go” will lead to increased range of motion at the attachment sites and T-spine
You’ll feel “lighter” – which never hurts anyone
You’ll be more focused – which is awesome just about any time
And most importantly, you’ll be in a better position to get stronger
The approach and exercises I use to correct someone’s breathing mechanics (and ultimately help restore control) stem from an organization called the Postural Restoration Institute, PRI for short. The Institute’s director, Ron Hrsuka, has devoted his life to PRI. It’s a powerful concept and one that immediately grabbed my attention after I first took one of their home study course a few years ago.
In a nutshell, PRI’s take on the relationship of posture, movement, and performance begins with asymmetries and the fact that everyone, whether you’re “righty” or “lefty”, has the same features internally – one heart, one liver, etc.
These asymmetries predispose us to shift our center of gravity and throw off our position; which in turn affects our posture, limits our movement abilities, and decreases performance. As a result, areas such as your shoulders, t-spine, and hips (sound familiar?) are placed under distress – compensation patterns develop and your ability to get strong has been diminished.
Positional breathing can be viewed as achieving the following:
Re-training your diaphragm from being used as a stabilizing muscle to a primary breathing muscle – this allows your body to “let go”
“Untwist” your body, positioning it in more of neutral state thus giving you more joint centration and ultimately greater potential for building strength
Positional breathing will open doors that lead to increased control. Remember, increased control leads to greater strength development so taking 5-7 minutes on positional breathing can and will make a difference during your set of heavy deadlifts. Here are a couple of my favorite positional breathing exercises:
90/90 Hip Lift
All Four Belly Breathing
Control is King
Flexibility seems to be the rabbit everyone wants to chase when something goes wrong.
However, as we just discovered, a lot of your flexibility concerns might in fact stem from your inability to breathe properly and your poor position. It’s not uncommon to see a significant increase in range of motion in your attachment sites after performing some positional breathing exercises.
Now that you’re in a better position, you can more easily gain control!
I view flexibility as your ability to passively pass through a specific range of motion – no ownership here, just swinging by to say hi to grandma.
Mobility on the other hand is your ability to control a specific range of motion – you’re laying the foundation and moving in!
Mobility = Control. Control = Strength.
Therefore Strength = Mobility.
In order to be strong you need to have control – you need to have the mobility needed to perform your sport, hobby, or live as a healthy functioning human being. Perhaps another head tilt “huh?”
Your sport/activity will determine how much control is needed at said attachment site(s) in order for you to perform at a high level.
A gymnast for example needs far more control than a basketball player.
You can name plenty of other comparisons that support this notion. However here’s my argument; wouldn’t you rather be able to control a much larger range than you need so as to not only become freakishly strong, but also increase your longevity by decreasing your risk of injury?
I’m not suggesting a football player be able to move like Neo in the matrix – it’s not needed, in fact for some athletes having too much range of motion is detrimental to performance.
But in the game of life – that’s a much different story and can in fact tell you from personal experience and client experience, yes you do want the increased control!
I’m falling more and more in love with Dr. Andreo Spina’s FRC system and its ability to give you loads of control. More importantly it’s blending very nicely with the positional breathing exercises I have my clients perform.
Dr. Andreo Spina is a world-renowned musculoskeletal expert. His system stands for Functional Range Conditioning. Its focus is on three main goals; mobility development, joint strength, and body control (fits pretty nicely with what we’re talking about).
The end result is people doing some crazy sh** that would likely land most people in the hospital.
I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from colleagues who are FRC certified. I myself cannot wait to join them!
Through various series of controlled articular rotations (think searching through your end range in various joint motions) one can find where he/she is limited. Once limitation is found, applying progressive and regressive isometric loading (PAILs and RAILs as he calls them) can be used to increase your usable range of motion – more control = more room for strength.
From there you can play with lift offs and other fun movements but the overall takeaway is clear; you will gain loads of control which can lead to loads of strength!
One of my favorite non-FRC exercises for control is the Arm Bar as it allows the athlete to simultaneously gain shoulder and t-spine control
Life is better when you’re STRONG
This is the fun part. In my mind the end of my little equation is whatever you want.
If you’re an athlete maybe it’s run faster, jump higher, or get stronger.
Or, maybe it’s longevity – for athletes this can mean millions and millions more in income. For people who are injured or de-conditioned it could mean a fresh start or at least a new perspective on life.
The key I’ve realized is this; no matter what sport you play or what hobby you enjoy, everyone needs to be strong and there IS a relatively easy way to get there. It all starts with a breath followed by owning your body – gaining control.
Once you have control you are in fact in control – do what you want!
Until then, keep practicing.
I myself am a simple man. I’ve become attached to swings and getups everyday for my workout. My workout is short, effective, and to the point. My newest warm-up routine has 1 rule – I can’t use anything other than my bodyweight. This has not only placed me in a great position to start my swings, but also led to some fun movement sessions prior to my “workout”.
To summarize; strength starts with a breath, is enhanced with control, and transforms into greater strength – which leads to all around awesomeness in life.
Be STRONG!
About the Author
Chris Abbott has been a personal trainer for the past 7 years. He and his wife recently moved to Chicago where he started Evolution Strength and Performance – a company dedicated to getting people strong through postural restoration, body weight training, and kettlebell training. He develops programs used for weight loss, total body strength, and overall health and wellness. Additionally, he works with clients who have suffered from back, knee, hip, and shoulder pain.
Along with neighborhood clients, he has worked with a variety of professional athletes including NFL, NHL, MLB, MMA, Pro Lacrosse, and European Basketball.
“I want people to realize there is more to life than the gym, and that life is better when you’re strong. It unlocks opportunities to enjoy life more, become a faster, more powerful athlete, or return to hobbies you’ve been unable to do for years.”
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Dean Somerset, who’s excellent new resource, High Tensile Strength, is set to be unleashed today to the masses. It’s a 6-month, semi-custom based training program based on how you move, where you need to work the most, and what your specific goals may be.
Even if you’re trying to be Jason Bourne. It’s that good.
Enjoy!
5 Mobility Exercises You’ve Probably Never Done, But Should
Mobility is a simple word with big implications.
In many circles, it determines whether you can progress from a basic exercise to a more advanced exercise. For instance, if you don’t have the ability to actively bring your arms over your head, the chances of doing a solid overhead squat or even overhead press without having some negative compensation through the spine become limited.
There’s also those who say mobility to a specific benchmark is needed to maintain health.
Things like squatting to the floor sound awesome and are a great way to show off for those who have the innate ability to do it, whereas those who might not have the anatomy to get there will be frustrated with their lot in life.
I’ve always viewed mobility a little differently and with a much less extreme “yes/no” kind of ideal:
“How much do you have versus how much do you use?”
Let’s say you can grab your knee and hug it to your chest, but when you have to do a squat you wind up looking like you’re more of a marionette puppet whose strings aren’t quite long enough.
Note From TG: or you can perform and nail this simple “deep squat” assessment from the floor (seen below). But, like Dean said, when you stand up and try to squat without assistance from the floor, you resemble a baby giraffe learning to walk.
This disconnect between where you could get to by hugging your knee to your chest and where you managed to get to when asked to squat means you may have to get some more control over your motion, and maybe not as much time spent doing static stretch or “muscle lengthening” exercises.
This doesn’t mean there’s no use for them, but that the use is not as well spent as others.
So in this vein, I wanted to showcase a few mobility drills that teach how to use a range of motion effectively, while also trying to use as much of it as possible. Some people will have anatomical structures that will allow massive excursions during these movements and some won’t. There isn’t a standard I would want anyone to work to in order to say they’re a sufficient exerciser or good person, but just use as much as you have, and work hard at using it.
Here’s a simple hint to make each of these exercises even more diabolically intense:
Whenever you get to the end of the range of motion, try to contract the muscles pulling it in that direction as hard as possible to try to coax a little more room out of each position. If you find a sticking point in the range, this would be a good point to try those max isometric tension developments.
#1: Rolling Cossacks
This movement works on getting some adductor stretch while also imparting some controlled rotation through internal and external rotation. Considering how overlooked adductors are to general health and function of the hips and knees, they can definitely stand having some direct work once in a while.
#2: Half Kneeling Elastic Thoracic Rotations
This is an active and vertical movement similar to the side lying thoracic rotation.
With most mobility drills, there should be a progression to coming off the floor into a more vertical position so that the usability of that mobility can be more applicable. This movement relies on core control to develop hip and thoracic spine rotation, plus some extension of the spine to accommodate the arm movement.
Try to reach the arm as high as possible and get the biceps as close to the ear as possible.
#3: Standing Hip Circles
These look deceptively simple, but can be massively challenging.
The key here is to make the movement come entirely from the hip socket doing the work. This means keeping the knees locked out and trying to not have any twisting from the hips, side leaning, or any deviation from neutral at all.
#4: 2-Step Kneeling Hip Stretch
This stretch focuses on developing tension into the hip flexors and glutes in reciprocal manner.
When in the half kneeling position, try to get the glute of the down leg to flex hard and drive into the hip flexor without letting the low back extend. When in the pigeon pose on top of the knee, try to drive the knee into the floor to get the glutes to respond to the stretch reflex more effectively. Don’t forget to breathe either.
#5: Shin Box
This is a solid way to start up a workout and work on improving hip internal and external rotation simultaneously.
It’s a simple movement with some excellent carry over into many of the activities you would want to include in your workout, and can be scaled down by simply putting your hands on the ground behind you, and scaled up by doing something like this:
You could even work into something like this if you’re feeling up for it:
To see these exercises, as well as over 200 others in action, pick up Dean’s brand new product, High Tensile Strength.
As noted above, it’s a 6-month training program that’s customizable based off a handful as self-assessments and it focuses on building strength, improving usable mobility, and making everyone feel like a million bucks.
Moreover, the workouts can be taken from the gym to the living room to the hotel room seamlessly, making it one of the most user-friendly and portable programs available.
In addition, and this is something I hope people can (and will) appreciate, Dean took 18 months to brainstorm, build, and hone this program before releasing it.
This isn’t some “quick money grab” project he wrote in 20 days. He put in a lot of work to make it right, and I think it’s his best to date. What’s more, the program is designed for both men AND women and it’s undoubtedly going to help a lot of people and provide a ton of direction in their training.
High Tensile Strength is on sale all this week at 50% off the regular price, and for a 6-month program is a steal!
Today I have an excellent guest post by Boston based strength coach, Matthew Ibrahim. I love pointing people in the direction of coaches in the industry who are on the up and up, and Matthew definitely falls into that camp.
He’s someone who I feel provides a ton of great content and has a lot of great things to say. Today he discusses mobility, what it is (what it isn’t), and some new drills I think you’ll enjoy.
Craig: “Hey bro, I can’t wrap my right hand all the way around my back and grab my left arm.”
David: “Really? Everyone can do that. You definitely need some shoulder mobility to fix that.”
The word ‘need’ is quite subjective here.
Does Craig really need mobility in his right shoulder? Is that particular range of motion and pattern important enough to warrant this need? How much mobility is truly enough?
Think about these few questions. Let them marinade for a bit. We’ll jump back to them soon, but first let’s talk about the why, the where and the when.
WHY MOBILITY IS IMPORTANT
Everyone needs mobility, to a certain extent and in certain areas more than others.
It’s just a common thing to see in clients/athletes/patients: a lack of mobility in a joint.
Regardless of the reason, more often than not, that particular individual will benefit a great deal by incorporating more mobility drills in order to increase the overall range of motion for that joint to have access to. We see this both in the strength and conditioning world and in the physical therapy world.
Perfect example: if you can’t perform lunges properly due to hips that just don’t seem to function correctly, then a quick fix may be to perform a few hip mobility drills to open these areas up.
Most recently, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a big group of NFL Combine Prep college football players from Division I programs at Athletic Evolution in Woburn, MA.
One incredibly glaring thing I noticed right from the start: all of their hips were jacked up, so much so that each of their gait patterns were altered due to this imbalance, which was ultimately affecting their performance.
I knew this problem needed to be fixed, especially if they had high hopes of making some noise in the next couple months during their Pro Day.
Luckily, I was given the task of creating and implementing a mobility program, specifically designed with their needs in mind.
In this case, mobility in their hips has been most important since it has helped a great deal in restoring their gait pattern, improving their posture, and most notably, optimizing their overall performance in the weight room and on the field.
Mobility is crucial to certain joints in your body that are either limited or don’t have full access to certain ranges. It’s important for you to find the areas of most need and to constantly address them through daily maintenance.
Note From TG: it IS important to note (and I know Matthew would agree) that sometimes lack of mobility at a certain joint is due to a stability/alignment issue. We shouldn’t set our default to always thinking it’s a mobility issue.
WHERE AND WHEN TO APPLY MOBILITY
I see too many individuals performing mobility drills without actually having a legitimate reason. They just feel that they need to do it. It’s almost as if they truly believe that their entire body “needs” mobility.
Stop. Please, STOP!
Before you go any further, put the foam roller, the lacrosse ball and the stretching strap down for two minutes.
I’ll use the shoulders as an example. Here’s what you need to know:
Should you perform an excessive amount of mobility drills if your shoulders already have plenty of range without any limitations? No.
Should you perform a couple short mobility drills for your shoulders if they’re especially tight/naggy due to a recent workout, but typically have very few limitations? Yes, go for it, but keep it light.
Should you perform a handful of mobility drills for your shoulders if they’re especially tight/naggy due to a recent workout, but are usually limited in several areas? Yes, definitely: address what needs to be addressed.
My point: have a legitimate reason for performing mobility drills with a thoughtful goal in mind. Don’t just do it to do it; have a purpose.
Case in point: apply mobility where it is needed most at the time of most need.
Simple enough? Yes, but that’s the point!
For example: it wouldn’t make much sense for me to focus the mobility program solely on shoulder/thoracic spine drills for the aforementioned college football players. They wouldn’t benefit much since they aren’t really lacking in those areas.
Always make sure there is a reason as to why you are doing what you are doing when it comes to mobility.
Referring back to the introduction
Is it truly that important for Craig to wrap his right hand all the way around his back and grab his left arm?
Think about what we just went over.
With those items in mind, I’m not so sure it is that important. Plus, we haven’t even discussed anything about his overhead shoulder range of motion or shoulder external rotation range of motion.
These are the angles you need to start viewing mobility from. Be conscious of how much is enough, and also how much is needed in order to perform the exercise task (i.e., overhead shoulder press) and the daily task (i.e., grabbing a snack from the top cabinet).
CHOOSE AREAS OF PRIORITY
You’re not always going to need mobility everywhere in your body.
Note From TG: Read THIS (<— it will melt your face)
It’s important to be able pinpoint what areas may need the most attention.
I’ve created three short mobility sequences below, where the body has been divided up into three separate compartments: lower, middle and upper. Select the compartment that you need to focus on the most.
MY GO-TO MOBILITY SEQUENCES
1.) Lower Compartment
If you’re someone who has a tough time loosening up the areas of the calves, ankle and feet, then give this mobility drill series a try for 2-3 rounds:
Lacrosse Ball Rolling
Lacrosse Ball Pin and Extend/Flex
Tibial External/Internal Rotation Shifting
1-Leg Ankle Rocking
2.) Middle Compartment
Do you find it challenging to get limber in the hips, glutes and posterior chain areas? Try out this sequence for 2-3 rounds:
Quadruped Rocking
Inchworm
Hip Series: Spiderman, External Hip Rotators, Lateral Lunge w/Toes Up
3.) Upper Compartment
Tight shoulders? Naggy thoracic spine? Give this series of mobility drills a shot for 2-3 rounds:
Always remember: address what needs to be addressed, and always keep it simple.
Now, go get limber!
About the Author
Matthew Ibrahim is a Strength and Conditioning Coach and Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Aide with an evidence-based approach to human movement, biomechanics and injury-prevention, and is knowledgeable on how each area impacts performance in sports and life. He delivers training methods that are aimed at bridging the gap between rehabilitation and performance through proper movement education and basic human maintenance. Feel free to read more at www.mobility101blog.com and follow ‘Mobility 101’ on Facebook and Twitter.
