Are you ready for the shock and awe of knowledge bombs Stop Chasing Pain (SCP) style? I hope so because the brain invasion is about to begin. No fluff! No bull! Just straight in your face learning. This is my opportunity to share with you things that resonated with me in my never ending quest to do what I love better. That quest is to helping the world by equipping others to reach their world! What is your world? Whatever it is I hope these bombs help get you one step closer to living it!

Open up that brain and get ready for some gray matter stimulation. 1….2….3….GO!

Bomb #1:

Rest is the silent workout! One of my all time favorite truths of recovery and regeneration. Your muscles grow when you are outside of the gym. Working out breaks down and tears muscle tissue. Resting allows your body to repair the muscle and grow. If you workout too much, too long, with too many sets and reps without adequate recovery you will reach a state of overtraining. Progress stops cold! Muscles become smooth looking (the flat look), your strength takes a dive, you feel tired, fatigued, sleeplessness, irritable and hit the dreaded training plateau. Smart people understand the value of rest and recovery combined with intensive training. The body can only take so much stress before it begins to shut down. I encourage my clients to take an entire week off from weight training every 3-months and concentrate on other fitness activities. Examples include: running, hiking, swimming, biking, hiking, bodyweight training, etc. You will find that when you return to training you will be stronger!

Bomb #2:

Fascia is the tissue that gives our body its structural form or shape. How the skeleton is positioned, how the muscles are shaped and the body’s general posture is determined by fascia. It is an extensive, membranous continuum composed of connective tissue, which connects all parts of the body, enclosing yet at the same time separating muscles.. The subcutaneous -or superficial -fascia surrounds the whole body and can be described as a living bodysuit. The so called ‘fascia bags’ in which organs develop is the subserous fascia. Deep fascia envelops the muscle groups and individual muscles. This membrane is made of white, collagen fibers. It is sometimes known as the investing fascia because it completely surrounds muscle. The periosteum is the fascia which encases the bones and is also considered to be deep fascia. The bones float in a sea of connective tissue and it is the balance of the muscles and the connective tissue that determine where the bones go. Due to its intricate connection with all tissue, fascial restrictions affect human movement patterns. Tight or restricted fascia will inhibit and restrict proper mobility and stability throughout the kinetic chain of motion.

Bomb #3:

The infraspinatus may have several trigger points within the muscle fibers. Each point refers pain to different zones of the body. If you assess the entire muscle when you render therapy, you will have success alleviating all referral symptoms. Referred pain patterns from infraspinatus trigger points are associated with anterior shoulder pain, bicep pain, mid-scapular pain even tingling and numbness into the forearm/hand. The pain can be sharp, dull, burning, aching, tingling and numb. It knows no limits in its pain patterns, so suspect it with everything. I evaluate the infraspinatus on every client regardless of their presenting complaint. I have yet to find a client that did not have an issue with an underlying trigger point and/or asymmetry between left and right infraspinatus muscles.

So the take away here is; every client should have the infraspinatus muscle evaluated. Never over look it!

Awesomeness Link #1: Gray Cook (My Mentor) MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES PDF

http://bit.ly/KDjK1o

Awesomeness Link #2: Rehabilitative ultrasound measurement of select trunk muscle activation during induced pain

http://bit.ly/J9BUtF

Awesomeness Link #3: Charlie Weingroff (Mentor and friend)

http://charlieweingroff.com/

Feel free to drop this bomb on others! It’s all about helping others. Share awayJ

Get the Flow On!

Bodyweight training is my absolute favorite form of exercise for all it does to maximize  physique enhancement, injury prevention, injury recovery, performance, durability and metabolic fat burning. People often make the mistake of thinking body weight training is easy since you are not using an additional load (weight training). They would be wrong!

How many people do you know that can actually do a bodyweight pullup? How about a standard pushup with locked in technique? The additional load in bodyweight training is  ‘your own body’ weight magnified by altering movement vectors, sequencing muscle patterns, neural coordination and controlled tempo. Training global patterns of full body movement as opposed to traditional isolated exercises is the ‘secret’ to its effectiveness.

You combine a wonderful flow of energy with all Four (4) Primary Pillars of Movement:

1. Pushing

2. Pulling

3. Level Changes

4. Rotation

Your body becomes the machine integrating all 4 Pillars.  It’s a real eye opener!

Stop Chasing Pain‘s paradigm is ‘Move Smarter. Move Better. Perform Great.‘ Precision movement with quality helps you feel great and optimize energy transfer. Part 1 Animal Flow solidified many things that I talk about on my Facebook page. It was wonderful to hear Mike explain the benefits of Animal Flow and know they align perfectly with my philosophy of movement. I am sure there will be more take homes in Part 2, however I wanted to give you a glimpse of my day moving like an ANIMAL.

Here are 13 things that hit home for me. Hope they jog a few brain cells in you too.

1. Make movements purposeful. I talk about precision of movement all the time, which is another way to say quality. I love that word purposeful. What is your body doing? What does it want to do without you thinking about it? Stay focused and in the movement zone. Why it matters: Less stress on the joints from heavy loads and controlled movements decrease injuries.
2. Regress to Progress. Sound familiar? Take a step back and modify your movements until you can gain control and not be in a state of movement chaos. Challenging not difficult is the goal. Why it matters: Clients can earn the right to progress in system that may be monitored for progress and motivation
3. The brain learns from failure, but not too much at once. Give your nervous system a chance to integrate new patterns. The nervous system software switch will flip to the next level of motor learning as long as you don’t overload its capability. Why it matters: Brain body connection heightens the performance of tasks associated with activities of daily living.
4. Animal Movements open up fascial lines and slings. Full movements within all
   

   See that white stuff? Fascia

   vectors help to uncover hidden fascial restrictions and optimize muscle activation patterns to alleviate tensile stress on the joints. Why it matters: Increased mobility. Decreased stress. Optimal muscle range of motion for more dynamic movements and greater calorie expenditure

5. Your metabolic rate will hit a new thermal high with the stability required to control the body. Move the body, not body segments. Challenging four points of stability simultaneously requires essential muscle patterning and neural sequencing. Why it matters: More fat loss. Nuff said!
6. My wrists need work. Supporting your bodyweight in extension patterns of stability gives you a new appreciation for how critical the fascia, joint, and soft tissue extensibility is in the wrist. Why it matters? Soft tissue extensibility in the wrist is a critical player in shoulder stabilization and neck function.
7. Locking the shoulder into the socket with external rotation and compression to the
   

   Load that shoulder

   ground in a closed kinetic chain pattern enhances shoulder stabilization. Amazing way to fire the rotator cuff muscles with sensory input from compression. A must to add in my shoulder rehab program. Why it matters? More stable, stronger, and injury resistant shoulder.

8. The closer you get to the ground the more obvious your asymmetries. Taking the power global body movers out of the equation (cheater muscles) with large movements altering vectors reveals a lot of information about your left and right side balance. No cueing is necessary because the client will instinctively feel the asymmetry. The Static Beast Position will find your flaw quickly. Why it matters: Feedback to body symmetry for energy leaks. Own the central core stability to increase distal mobility.
9. Relearning alternating patterns of movement takes time. Opposite leg to opposite arm. Learning to move like we did as infants. Crawling, reaching, forward, reverse and lateral movements helped increase my intensity because my brain had to process where I was going and how. Totally different than sitting in a machine and mindlessly pushing and pulling in one vector. I actually feel like I got smarter. Lol Why it matters: Increased body awareness, faster reaction times, and increased brain- body reactive timing.
10. Strength development is full throttle. The necessary stability required to move thru these patterns stimulates the neuromuscular system leading to more power. The joints are locked in. How do you get better at the exercise? Do the exercise?  Explosive power is unleashed. Why it matters: Stronger and more muscle. Nuff said!

11. The Crab Movement is a shock and awe muscle activation pattern for the upper body posterior chain. What an awesome exercise to engage the lats, traps (all three sections), external shoulder rotators while opening up and stretching the tight anterior chain. What I loved about this movement is the muscles engage simply by doing the movement. Clients can ‘feel’ what it is like as opposed verbally trying to cue them on what to feel.Why it matters: Posterior chain optimization. Simple.

12. Animal movements are wonderful for rehabilitation (when done within the scope of pain and proper progressions). Let’s face it. Most rehab exercises are useless. They are isolated, run of the mill movements that rarely challenge the body to learn. How many times have you heard a client say, “The exercises they had me do at rehab I already do in the gym.”? Get the client into regressed animal based positions that challenge full body engagement. Doctors and therapist who understand movement will grasp this principle and embrace working with fitness professionals who can program these workouts.Why it matters: The human body was designed to move. It knows how to heal itself if you just give it the tools to do the job. The site of pain is not the same as source!

13. Empowering people to gain confidence in themselves and feel alive with energy. Getting closer to the ground and training in bare feet puts you in closer contact with your body and the energy within/and around you. I witnessed a profound change in every workshop attendee. They had more energy and vitality, posture was improved, intuition of discovering how their body moves, confidence in how they moved, and an overall change in the physical and mental body. And these were all fitness professionals. Imagine how empowering this will be for your clients. Why it matters: Because it’s about helping people maximize their life potential. The greatest reason of all…changing a LIFE!

Animal Flow is and will continue to be a central part of my workout. I am also adding components to my client rehab program. Stimulate the global body to lock in durability and stimulate the mind to keep clients engaged. The SCP rehab program involves the FLOW. Simply teaching a client Crab Walk regressions and progressions can make astounding positive impact.

What are you waiting for? Move like an Animal to unleash your inner BEAST!

Thank you Mike Fitch for being a great friend and allowing me the opportunity to learn from you. My clients/patient’s thank you too!

Check it out today.

Animal Flow Workout Website

Me and Mike Fitch

Well, let me be the first to burst your bubble. Clients could care less how smart you are or how much research you can read or show them. Remember to communicate with your clients in their language, not yours!

Clients usually have one of three goals or a combination of all three. (My opinion)

1. Look good naked
2. Win and be a champion
3. Get out of pain so they can do #1 and #2

Simple really. If you can communicate to them WHY and HOW something will help them reach THEIR goals they will do it. When I teach proper breathing for optimizing performance invariably someone asks me how they can get a client to do this when all they want to do is workout. My answer: ‘If they knew what you knew about breathing and how critical it is to fitness and health do you think they would do it?’

Your job is to teach them in a language they can understand.

Now if I just want a quick go for the kill answer to a client that asked a question of why they should be breathing. They just want to train hard. I always ask, ‘How good to you want to be?’ (Insert their goal here). If you want to be your best and reach that goal this will help you get there faster. Enough said!

The points below will help you give a bit more details if needed. This post is not an anatomy lesson or a corrections protocol. That you must learn on your own. This is just a small glimpse into why YOU and YOUR client should care about breathing. If you have dysfunctional breathing patterns where the lungs and chest work too much and the diaphragm not enough, you will pay the price in poor performance and health. It’s that important!

Show me a champion and I will show you someone who owns their breathing.

Diaphragm Dome (black lines)

1. Labored breathing tells me you have an underlying stability problem and you will over tighten in the outer core to add stability. Tightness leads to inefficiency. Stability is the foundation of power!
2. You lose endurance when you don’t maximize diaphragmatic breathing since you depend too heavily on the upper chest for air. You will tank out faster. Durability will start to really suck!
3. Your ribcage loses mobility leading to alteration in lung capacity and altered shoulder mechanics. Can you say impingement?
4. T-spine mobility is compromised leading to excessive movement in the thoracolumbar fascial matrix altering gait cycle power. Inefficient athlete using more to generate less.
5. Your body will do everything to get air and at the cost of efficient movement. Respiration is automatic. Breathing is conscious based on emotions and actions.
6. Increased tightness in your psoas and frontal flexion mechanism leading to ribcage approximation to the pelvis and feed forward head carriage. You lose hip extension power. Now the chain of pain begins and that’s BAD!
7. Intraabdominal pressure is compromised and the inner core unit is dysfunctional. Stabilizers in your lower back and central core become inhibited leading to increased injury.
8. Lose hip extension and gluteal activation from the forward flexion pattern and the lats become tight altering shoulder power. Then the lats feed into weakness and the pectoral over facilitate. Say hello rotator cuff tear and decreased throwing power.
9. Lose the neck. Neck flexors go offline and you get the ‘chicken peck’ neck. Core stability is gone from inability to control the neck. Want headaches and constant neck tension/pain? This is how you get it.
10.  Too much tension in the traps, not enough in the gut. The body must relocate tension to continue moving and it does not care where it has to go! Too much in the upper trap leads to inhibition in mid/lower and altered fascial lines of the arm lines.

So is breathing important? If you want to be a champion it is!

Optimal breathing is the SECRET WEAPON your clients need.

If they don’t use it….they LOSE!

Legendary Success Coach Jim Rohn said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” So true, mega-ditto that statement!  Most people don’t do the basics because they seem boring and simple. There is no quick fix magic answer and no pizazz.

At first glance the fundamentals seem simple. However, simple does not mean easy…when you do them right. Master the fundamentals to make big changes in your physique and performance.

Mastery of Fitness Fundamentals is like learning to read. You must master the fundamentals of the alphabet before you can read a book. Learn the ABC song first. Even then you have to earn the right to read Shakespeare by starting with Sesame Street and working your way up.

This was my childhood inspiration

30-years of working out in-the-trenches started for me after reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography and I have seen pretty much everything you can imagine in the fitness game. Lots of things come and go, but the fundamentals are always there waiting for you.

My fundamentals are not cushioned with endless research studies to prove they work. I am more of a research by experience kind of guy. I write about stuff that works in the real world. The stuff just works. You don’t have to prove to me that jumping into a pool will make me wet, I just gotta jump in and I will experience it myself. Sometimes it’s just that simple.

So let’s jump in and get wet!

Here are fundamentals that made all the difference for me. Hope they do the same for you. Short. Sweet. Simple.

1. Lifestyle. Fitness must be a part of your life. It is not a 6-week goal of losing weight for vacation and killing yourself to get there. Think long term. Think the rest of your life. It puts those cheat days in perspective. Let the guilt go. You have the rest of your life to burn off the donut and fit into a bathing suit.

2. Consistency. SHOW UP! Make it a habit. Make it a foundational part of your week. Working out has given me confidence and discipline that has transcended into every aspect of my life. It takes dedication and persistence to show up and never quit.

3. Balanced Nutrition. Extreme diets never last. Keep a balanced plan and don’t go to extremes. If you equate pain to dieting you will not be consistent. We are programmed to avoid pain. Keep your nutritional yin and yang intake balanced. Too much of anything can be bad. Calories are not the enemy. You need them to fuel your body. Starve yourself and you take away any chance your body has to recover and excel.

4. Don’t Over Exercise. Rest is the silent workout. You must rest to recover and grow. Repair of the body is essential to performance and physique enhancement. The number one mistake I see with working out is people doing too much, too long, with inadequate rest. Regress to progress.

5. Add supplements. If you train hard and play hard you better give your body the nutrients to perform. It is very difficult to get all the nutrients you need as an athlete strictly from whole foods. Adding additional protein and recovery drinks are a secret weapon to obtaining your goal. Just adding a drink after training will make a huge positive impact. Simply add a protein shake into your daily meal plan and you will feel the difference.

6. Variety. You gotta spice up your routine. Your body is designed for adaptation to its environment and to stressors. It is called homeostasis. The dreaded plateau or sticking point hits if you don’t vary training principles. Change tempo, load, vectors, stability, environment, exercise selection. Try something new. Never did yoga? Give it a go. How about cycling? Spice up your life. Arnold took ballet for goodness sakes. He won Seven Mr. Olympia titles. I think he was onto something.

7.  Go Primal. Own the pushup. Pull up. Deadlifts. Squats, cleans, and a Farmer walks. Establish a solid foundation of basic power movements that you can build on with confidence. Notice these don’t involve machines. YOU are the machine.

8. Keep a journal or App. Oh have times have changed. I used a spiral notebook to document my nutrition, exercise program, how I felt, weight used and progression. Now they have iPhone Apps for everything. I am old! How can you determine where you are going if you don’t have a history of where you have been? A journal helps personalize your program. It solidifies dedication. It separates you from the masses. If your life is worth living, it’s worth documenting. Not to mention it shows you what worked and what did not. That is sort of important.

9.  Train the chain you don’t see. Most people blast out training the ‘mirror’ muscles. You know the ones posing in the gym (biceps, shoulders and chest with toothpick legs). For maximum change in physique train the posterior chain. Calves, hamstrings, glutes, all three sections of the trapezius. Lats and neck. It’s the muscles you don’t see that make all the difference.

Posterior Chain

10. Regeneration workouts. Take days to actively recover. Concentrate on soft tissue, mobility, stability, stretching, core and dynamic movements. Decrease the chance of injury. Increase Durability. Build muscle. Optimize function. These are all good things.

11.  Take a week off. Yeah that’s right!  If you train with intensity on a regular basis, every six months take a week off. Do nothing. Except eat clean and healthy. Watch what happens. You will get stronger. Thinking you will get fat and lose muscle in a week is all on your head. Get over it. Little known secret….the champions take time off because they KNOW it makes you better!

There ya have it. No infomercial promises here or fad gimmicks. If you want to play in the fitness game for a long time take the time to do it right. Don’t learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade!

 Perry Nickelston, DC,FMS,SFMA

Stopchasingpain.com

Rotational movement integrated with precise timing/sequencing of the hip and glutei muscles will help give you the elusive power you seek. So few people understand how to rotate at the hip and engage the glutes with powerful contraction combined with rear foot plantarflexion.

This lack of sequencing and movement patterning means a loss of durability and inhibited optimum performance. Lack of ‘hip whip’ manifests itself in too much muscle recruitment from the upper torso and the client will ‘bleed’ unproductive energy. ‘Whipping the hip’ is not a sadomasochistic term, (that is for another article).   It is a term that represents the motion of powerful active contraction of the glute with rotational power of the hip joint.

Whip It!

It’s the ‘snap’ of activation with intent of movement that counts. No sloppy follow thru .The rear leg should have a tense activated glute and the rear foot should be plantar flexed with minimal weight resting on the ball of the foot.  I tell my clients if I walked behind you and hit that butt I better bounce off. No loosey goosey!

Don’t worry about the front leg glute. That will be activated because you are standing on it with more transferred weight. Pay attention to the rear leg.  Try the rotation without active glute contraction and then with contraction. Tell me what difference you feel? You feel much more powerful and stable right? Take a look at this picture below to see a representation of an end phase ‘hip whip.’ This is a high stability, loaded movement pattern. Top of the ‘food chain’ in the 4-stages of owning the whip you will see listed below.

Right Side Hip Whip

The glutes are really nice to look at I know, ( well some are) but the important thing in performance is how they function.  Can they activate? Can they sequence? You may need to spend time teaching clients how to disassociate the top and bottom of the body first and then move into locking in transitional patterns. Start with no load and then increase to resistance bands, and finally cables.

If you can master the power of the hips and glute you will unleash the secret weapon of performance. All things being considered you must own the ‘hip whip’ by progressing thru 4 stages.

1. Insure adequate mobility is on board in the hips. Particularly in extension and internal rotation. Look for asymmetries.

2. Fascial snags and glutei trigger points must be released and addressed because they will cause soft tissue extensibility dysfunction and loss of mobility.

3. Glutes must be activated in relationship to the calves and iliacus  Glutes are often inhibited and weak in relationship to facilitated calves and iliacus. Release the iliacus by manual pressure and foam roll the calves, followed immediately by supine hip bridges to activate the glutes. Be careful of doing the wrong thing to the psoas. It is often tight and weak, indicating a need for stretching then immediate strengthening. Simply stretching a tight and weak muscle is asking for TROUBLE!

4. Movement patterning and motor control. Gaining stability of the hips in static position, then proceeded by dynamic, and finally loaded high threshold movement so you can lock in the new mobility with neural control.

Precision of movement. Quality over quantity.  Better is better, more is not better. These are your guiding principles of power. Now go have fun whipping your hip!

Perry

Dr. Perry from stopchasingpain.com shares a brief section of his educational webinar done on behalf of Litecure Medical Lasers on how laser therapy can help TMJ pain. He also shares some of the unique treatment approaches and assessments he teaches other doctors who treat TMJ.

Dr. Perry from stopchasingpain.com shares a brief section of his educational webinar done on behalf of Litecure Medical Lasers on how laser therapy can help TMJ pain. He also shares some of the unique treatment approaches and assessments he teaches other doctors who treat TMJ.

What is a ‘Landmine?’ It’s not the kind you are thinking of! Nothing explodes. Except perhaps your metabolism and lean muscle. ‘Landimine’ is a ground-based rotational training device that works the entire body. You can perform single and double arm movements and other rotational exercises simply by inserting any Olympic-size bar into a pivoting sleeve at the units base. This form of movement and vector based training is the epitome of developing and refining coordination, power, stability, mobility, and metabolic durability. You will NOT see machine based training principles with this workout.

Ground rotational training is one of my all-time favorite workouts and is an essential component of my rehabilitation program. Yes, I said rehab program. This is not just for fitness professionals. It fits perfectly into the world of corrective exercise and movement based rehab. The landmine has a fundamental place in training and corrective exercise programming or may integrated into existing routines.

You will discover many things about your body movements when you begin using the landmine. Become ‘body aware’ and attuned to what your body is trying to communicate.

Just a few things you may notice during initial use of this training technique: (Self Assessment)

Note: These are MY OWN observations, and not necessarily included in the DVD.

1) Asymmetries: Can you move better on one side compared to other? If so, that is a signal you must be aware of in regards to potential injury or asymmetrical muscular development. Pay attention to how natural the movements feel from one side to the other. Strive for each side feeling the same.

2) Strength: Do you feel a more precise and stronger movement pattern in various positions? (Lying down, tall kneeling, seated, standing and offset scissor stance)

3) Power: Do velocity and range of motion differ from side to side. ‘Energy leaks’ of power will manifest quickly and you will ‘bleed’ endurance.

4) Stabilization: How much control do you have during the start, concentric, eccentric and stopping positions? The landmine helps you own stability quickly. The ‘cheat factor’ is off the table when you abandon machine based linear training. Your core muscles will be in high demand for precision movement and control.

5) Endurance: Think you are in metabolic shape from doing endless hours of cardio machines and miles of running? Well, the landmine may humble you quickly. When you involve varying degrees of loads, velocities, vectors, and transitions you are engaging complete sequence patterns to initiate and reduce movement. This is the ‘secret weapon’ to enhanced metabolic activity and optimal endurance.

Let me begin by saying I love this type of training. If you want to make quick changes in performance, physique transformation and skill, this is the DVD for you. Bruce Lee once said, ‘Simplicity is the key to brilliance.‘ This a textbook collection of exercises based on this paradigm. Notice I said simple, I did not say EASY! The movements and exercises in this DVD will be callenging and it will take time to master before moving into progressions. However, this is where the FUN begins. Yes, FUN! These exercises are exhilarating and at the opposite end of the boring scale:)

They keep you ‘locked in’ to intensity and execution of movement. You can’t ‘lollygag’ (go through the motions with zero energy) your way through these moves! It takes focus and concentration. Not like sitting on a gym machine daydreaming about tomorrow or rethinking about your stressful day.

Why do I like this video so much?

1. Shawn Windle is a great coach. He explains thing simply and straight to the point.

2. Great cueing from Shawn. Telling and showing what to do in execution and common mistakes to avoid.

3. Regressions and progressions demonstrated so people of any skill level may workout.

4. One camera angle that encapsulates the movements

5. Exposes viewers to alternative workouts with minimal and inexpensive equipment. No more boring exercises for the ‘core’ or stabilization with stability balls and bosu balls. Feel the iron in your hand.

So let’s look at some of the movements.                                                                          (Starting Positions listed with my favorite exercise from each category)

Kneeling Position …requires high demand of core and hips.That’s a good thing!

Favorite:-Single Arm Press (SAP) with throw and catch…great for learning core control. Learning how to stop momentum.

Half Kneeling...magnifies stability requirements

Favorite: One Arm Press…think of it like a ‘Farmer’s Walk’ with high demand required for opposite side core engagement and lateral control.

Standing…progression that requires base support from leg and glutes.

Favorite:  Rotational Press. Wow, did I like this one. This move requires rotational control combined with powerful hip driving and glute contraction at the end. If you don’t feel it in your body after this one, you may be dead. lol

Split Stance...Great for alternate weight shift and learning to power off one hip.

Favorite: Lunge to Press…excellent maneuver. Opens up the front fascial line of support while learning to maintain integrity of extension. The pressing movement engages core and you learn cross body patterning of human locomotion with loads.

Lying Down...taking it to the ground is always my favorite. The ground is the great equalizer in movements. Does not matter how good you look here, you must own the core.

Favorite:  Crunch…Note, this is not an endorsement of crunching. Everyone has their own opinion on the value and validity of cruching. However, I can tell you that the crunch on this DVD is top of the food chain in working the abs. Sweet move here! You will be working muscles you never knew existed when trying to flex up of the floor with an Olympic bar over your head.

Seated: Don’t even think this comes close to being easy because you are sitting down. If anything, it gives a whole new appreciation in learning to ‘reverse shoulder rounding syndrome.’ Natural postural inclination of a weak core is to flex forward at the waist and round the shoulders. The Olympic bar acts to magnify this flexion pattern in an RNT (Reactive Neuromuscular Training) feed forward mechanism which actually helps you improve posture. RNT pulls you into dysfunction so you innately pull back into correct pattern alignment with minimal coaching.

Favorite: Twists: No more medicine ball. Taking on the Olympic Bar with fast and focused rotations. This one looks easy, but don’t let that fool ya. You feel the abs quick, fast and in a hurry.

 Who can benefit from purchasing this DVD?

1) Personal Trainers: Take your tool box to a new level with exercises that deliver results. Separate yourself from other trainers. Don’t be just like everyone else. Uniqueness combined with fun training that delivers results is what you will get.

2) Strength Coaches: Well, build strength obviously. Build a foundation of stability, mobility, endurance, durability and body awareness. This is a mandatory tool for your programming.

3) Health Professionals: A rehab tool like no other! Don’t think this can be used in rehab? Think again! Part of your job is to restore health and teach clients how to prevent injury. What better way to prepare them for ‘real world’ activities than to use a tool in a safe, supervised environment to teach them  proper movement. Progressing to active care using inexpensive functional equipment is the foundation for success.

4) YOU: Anyone can use this program. Invest in yourself. When people ask how you got so lean, toned, and strong you can say I ‘Landmined.’

I highly recommend this video for your collection. So click below and get on the fast track of movement. Your clients are waiting!

PURCHASE DVD HERE!

See my previous article on the Joint by Joint Theory on this link:

JOINT BY JOINT ARTICLE in Advance PT Magazine

Each joint has a dominance of either (mobility or stability) depending on their role in the kinetic chain. In a perfect movement world (there is no such thing by the way); joints would maintain their given role in the system. Mobility dominant joints would maintain mobility, and stability dominant joints would do their thing. However, the wear and tear of just getting through stressful days, trauma, injuries, intensive workouts, poor posture, and the never-ending ilk of other bad karma the body has to compensate for just to survive makes this impossible.

Your brain and nervous system have one primary purpose, SURVIVAL AT ALL COSTS! This system is the Master Controller that manipulates everything in your body down to the smallest micron in attempt to maintain balance or what we call ‘homeostasis.’ It must adapt to its environment 24/7 to maintain control, and it does not care how it accomplishes this task. Your body is trying the best it can at every moment to protect you from injury or harm. Sadly, the body’s ‘best’ is not necessarily the right choice for the long term.

Unfortunately, the body typically compensates in a short term ‘rescue mode’ dysfunctional pattern that your brain and nervous system then hard wire into long term dysfunction. That dysfunction rears it’s ugly head later and puts a hurt on you when least expected with an alarm signal called PAIN! Hence, a possible underlying answer as to why a simple sneeze can destroy your back and bring you to your knees wincing in pain. The survival mechanism is not concerned about the future, it is only concerned with the here at now. The present! It deals with the current painful episode and worries about the repercussions later. So, in essence, your abnormal functional movement compensations will become your new normal! Until you teach it otherwise! How is that for a brain twister thought?

Ok, back to the neck!. According to the Joint theory your upper cervical spine (neck) comprised of the skull (occiput) and first cervical C1 (Atlas) and second Cervical C2 (Atlas) bones should be more mobile than stable. Lots of rotation happening up there. Or should be happening up there. Your lower cervical spine (the remaining 5 bones in the neck) should be more stable than mobile. BUT, most individuals have a neck where this pattern is reversed. This reversal contributes to poor movement and likely future injury and pain. When pain or tightness bites down on you, the first instinct is to fix the painful area. And rightly so! It is damaged and in need of help. So we may try to stretch, move, rack/crack and try everything possible to alleviate tension and stress in the lower neck while neglecting the upper neck. My question is, why is it damaged?

The secret is to increase mobility in the upper neck, so the lower neck can rest and recover. The lower neck is probably just hurting from too much work! It’s moving all the time because the upper neck is asleep at the wheel and not doing its fair share of movement. They are slackers!

Two primary factors decrease mobility; the first is soft tissue tightness in (muscle, fascia) also known in the therapy world as TED ‘Tissue Extensibility Dysfunction.’ A tongue twister way to say tightness! The second is JMD ‘Joint Mobility Dysfunction’ In other words, bones are stuck and not moving well. These typically go hand in hand with what I call the 1…2 punch. I always take care of both dysfunctions. JMD conditions if significant may require a healthcare professional trained in joint manipulation therapy to restore proper motion. Basically, that means, they move the joints for ya!

***Please consult your healthcare professional if any condition worsens with conservative self intervention or lasts longer than 72-hourwith rest.

The self stretch video below is very effective at reducing soft tissue restrictions and opening up that restricted joint with slight a distraction (separation) pressure. You can often experience dramatic positive impact on reducing neck pain, headaches, tension, and tightness in the neck with this simple maneuver. I teach it to all of my clients.

Here are some key bullet points to explain how to do the maneuver correctly and with precision. The video will demonstrate precisely what to do.

DO NOT apply too much pressure on the head. More is not better. Better is better!

DO NOT hold your breath.

DO NOT continue to stretch if you feel discomfort or pain that goes beyond 20-seconds

DO NOT perform more than the recommended sets and hold times.

DO perform 3 sets of 20 second holds.

DO maintain precision of movement with ‘forward and upward’ pressure on the back of the head. It is not a push forward movement only. Think about someone lifting your head off your spine.

DO follow the 20-seconds rule. Some stretches (like this one) may initially cause discomfort or pain. HOWEVER, it should fade or disappear within 20-seconds. If it does, proceed to do all 3 sets. If it does not, STOP the stretch. It is not the stretch for you.

(IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANOTHER PERSON TO PUSH ON THE NECK)                Hence the word ‘self’

See video below and try it out. See how it feels. You might just be surprised at how much this little maneuver helps you. Effective little sucker I can tell ya that. The simplest ones usually are in my experience. It’s just the understanding and learning you should look at this area for relief. Not every stretch works for every person or condition. But, you must try it to discover that answer for yourself!

If you like it and it works for you, share it with others. Help someone else feel better. That is what it’s all about!! And remember, don’t be tricked and deceived by the site of ‘perceived pain.’ In other words, don’t get ‘PUNKED’ by pain. It’s a tricky little sucker that loves to make you chase after the wrong things. More aptly put, STOP CHASING PAIN. Locate the ‘source’ and fix function!

Dr. Perry shows you how to isolate and self stretch the upper neck at the base of the head. This area is usually very tight and stiff with restricted range of motion leading to headaches and overall neck pain. Most people move and stretch the lower neck, but the upper neck is the secret to relieving tension. Learn how to help yourself with this easy and effective maneuver. Discomfort or pain should begin to fade in 20-seconds!