Static Stretching: What is Actually Happening?
10 March 2024
Think of that someone that perhaps you see in the gym or in yoga that is super ‘flexible’ and ‘bendy’. Can fold and touch their toes effortlessly without feeling any ‘tightness’ at all. Now does this mean that this person can move well, change shape at the joints, distribute force well, produce force, own great mobility? Probably not. What is happening here is; we probably have someone that has held these end-range stretches regularly for so many years that the…
Golfer’s Elbow – The Do’s & Dont’s
06 May 2024
The names ‘tennis’ and ‘golfer’s’ elbow always make me laugh. The pain is not caused by playing golf or by playing tennis. This is of course is a movement limitation issue. Let’s break down what is happening: With golfer’s elbow, you’ll tend to see people with a valgus elbow presentation. This is simply an elbow that looks more twisted-in and therefore close to the body from the rear view. It is basically the same as a valgus knee (knock-knee) but…
5 signs that you are having a hard time moving freely
06 May 2024
Here’s 5 signs that you are having a hard time managing gravity and therefore not moving very freely: Clenching your toes or fingers/fists. This is a sign that your centre of mass has gone too far forward and the fingers and toes are clawing to stop you falling over. If you are completing an exercise in the gym and you notice your toes go yellow or they claw/squeeze the ground, you are shoving your centre of mass so far forward…
Decoding Kyphosis
02 June 2024
So, you may have been doing some textbook T-spine extension exercises, ‘chest openers’ and some stretching for a while now without any results? It’s time to understand the root cause and how to address it. Some people’s T-spines are more kyphotic, some less so. The shape of someone’s T-spine will impact movement availability. It is so important to note that the nervous system aims to keep us upright and facing forwards. To stay upright against the force of gravity, a…
You are most probably diminishing mobility every time you train!
25 August 2023
Years ago I was solely focused on training for aesthetics. As many of us do, I wanted to look more muscular, so I pushed myself to lift heavier and heavier weights, arching my back to produce heavy overhead presses, squatting down as low as I possibly could past my range of motion, squeezing my shoulder blades hard together whilst rowing and pulling up. What I didn’t realise was that by focusing on the weight, rather than my body’s ranges of…
The misconception of ‘weak’ glutes!
08 September 2023
Have you ever been told by a fitness professional that you have ‘weak’ glutes? If so, you may have been advised to include exercises like a single glute bridge in your training. But is this really the best solution? The truth is, simply squeezing your glutes with lumber extension may feel like it’s working the muscle group, but it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. First of all, a muscle is neither ‘weak’ or ‘strong’. They can however,…
Lower Back Pain: It isn’t due to ‘weak’ glutes
06 August 2024
Ever been told your glutes are ‘weak’ or ‘aren’t firing’? Been prescribed countless glute ‘strengthening’ exercises to clear-up your back pain – but struggling to see any long-term results? Let’s decipher this. First of all, understand that muscles are not weak or strong. They respond to the joint shape and position. They will become long or short depending on the joint shape/position around them. Someone with persistent lower back pain is going to be rather compressed and squeezed front to…
We are predisposed to shift forward
12 August 2024
Evolutionary, due to the natural, lordotic curvature of our spine and nutation of our sacrum, we as humans are predisposed to shift our centre of mass forwards towards our toes. As we push our centre of mass more forward, the more we lock-up at the joints, diminishing movement options and mobility. The vast majority of people go into the gym without any form of assessment from a biomechanics/movement specialist and just accelerate these reductions in ranges of motion. For context,…
Why chest ‘openers’ or ‘stretches’ could be detrimental
01 September 2024
First let’s understand that muscles will feel ‘tight’ due to the joint shape and position. For example, if I lack internal rotation (ability to put force into the ground), I may orient/dump the pelvis forward as I arch my lower back. Now the hamstring muscles – as a quick example, will be ‘lengthened’ with this orientation of the pelvis. Therefore, the hamstrings will now contract hard to stop any damage from occurring (pulling muscle off the bone). There are your…
Why our left and right side will always feel different
19 November 2024
Whether it’s performing a stretch in yoga, balancing on one side in reformer pilates or just completing a unilateral exercise in the gym – we can all agree one side always feels different to the other. Here’s why it’s nothing to be concerned about: For the most part, the left side of our body tends to feel slightly ‘tighter’, ‘stiffer’ and more ‘restricted’. The body is biased towards the right hand side and this is perfectly natural! This is due…
Stop training like this for improved movement
19 November 2024
Compensations, inevitable in life, in exercise, in sport. But in the gym or our exercise classes – the last thing we want to be doing is cranking through these compensations. This will diminish range of motion at the joints quickly, make tissue feel tight and stiff and see our overall movement/mobility negatively impacted! Now if you’ve ever worked with me or seen me on the gym floor – I will talk a lot about internal rotation throughout the body. Let’s…