The Law of Repetitive Motion

Let me take a guess? You're still working that desk job. Fine. I get it. I mean, I already told you to quit, but I guess you have bills to pay and such. Nevertheless, I'm obligated to continuously hound you lot to make minor adjustments that will have major implications on your health, posture, and performance.

Once again, sitting down for extended periods of time is bad news bears. Our glutes are in a stretched/weakened position, our hip flexors and hamstrings closed, our spine and shoulders rounded anteriorly all stupid-like, a forward head posture, and so on. I've quoted Eric Cressey numerous times, but it always bears repeating: "The best posture is a constantly changing one." So get up out of your desk chair as often as possible. Put your arms overhead, stretch your hip flexors, do some weighted neck bridges.

I'm kidding. Please don't do these. Especially at work. You'll look like a real asshole.

Basically, move around. Don't sit in front of your computer any longer than absolutely necessary. A concept I learned from Cressey is called "the law of repetitive motion." Here's the formula:


Looks a little confusing, right? He elaborates on it in this newsletter and finishes it up in this newsletter. Read them. Seriously. It's important stuff.

Since I know some of you jerks didn't read it, the basic point is constantly putting your body in poor positions, either through bad form/technique or simply lackluster posture, can drastically increase the potential for injury to the affected tissues. For instance, do you ever experience shoulder pain? Is it normally in your right shoulder? Did you every think it may be from sitting at a computer, moving that goddamn mouse around all day?

You little dick.

I'm not saying this is the sole reason you may have shoulder pain, but don't be so quick to blame the exercise. Yes, performing a push press incorrectly might contribute to the problem, but possessing already weakened tissues in the shoulder girdle is likely a culprit as well. Basically, I want you to be more conscious of the positions you put yourself in everyday. Maybe move the mouse to the left side of the desk. Sure, it'll be frustrating at first, but improved dexterity is never a bad thing. Stretch your hamstrings and hip flexors. Do some birddogs. Think about your posture, sit up straight and true, tuck in your shirt, and have a sense of pride for God's sake. In fact, go take lap...

There's more to this whole exercise thing than weights and workouts. Put and keep yourself in favorable positions at all times and you'll improve your performance, decrease your likelihood of injury, and look and feel better. Being proactive always trumps being reactive.

Mobility Abounds!

It's no secret that I'm a fiend for mobility. Why? Because yours sucks. Don't worry, most everyone's does. Even mine. And I'm awesome. Fitness, or better yet, the general improvement of overall health revolves around more than just the "workout of the day." Exercise, sleep, nutrition, etc - these are all just pieces to the puzzle. Mobility is just another piece, yet one of the most often overlooked.

The human body is amazingly capable of adaptation - varying temperatures, changing foods, elevated stress, and unique movement patterns as well. Depending on where your inefficiencies lay, your body will do whatever it has to in order to help you do whatever crazy nonsense you're doing. Not using your glutes during deadlifts? Your body will call on your lower back and hamstrings to bear more of the load. We can only get away with this for so long until our progress stalls, or worse, we get injured. Improving mobility can have almost immediate implications on strength, speed, power, and movement efficiency.

After class one day, Cram asked if I could help her stretch her hamstrings. Since I'm such a gentleman, I obliged. Nick took some pictures as we did a little test/retest.

Before

I took her through a pretty basic PNF stretch sequence. PNF stands for Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation - see it in action here.

After

That's a pretty significant change for less than two minutes of stretching. This isn't permanent, though, so Cram will have to continue working towards improving her hamstrings.

It should be said that PNF is not a comfortable experience. But to be honest, if something is easy, then it probably doesn't work. "Look, facilitating the muscles...it's like a dogfight. You need to be ready to bite down on a bullet. You need to fight tooth and nail for this. And you need to go after it seriously. It's not pleasant and mobilizing should never be pleasant." -Kelly Starrett

If you find yourself stalling, plateauing, or just feel like you're not getting the most out of your body's potential, it's not always a strength or "lung" issue. A lot of times you're limited by your own crap-ass range-of-motion. So make an effort to resolve this issue. Sign up for one of Lauren Polivka's Functional Movement Screens, foam roll before class, stretch after class, go to one of Michael Hall's yoga classes, peruse K-Starr's awesome mobility blog, or just ask me what you suck at. I'm sure I'll have an answer.

All kidding aside, this stuff is important. Because...

Mobility is serious business.

Stand Up! Pt.2

To go into more depth on my last post regarding posture, desk jobs, and the negative effects on fitness, performance, and appearance, here are a few articles you may find useful.

First is from Steven Low of Eat. Move. Improve. Steve covers how prolonged sitting and modern footwear can be detrimental to one's health. It's an incredibly in-depth and well sourced article. Long, but top notch. The second is a four-part series from Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson. It covers not only the science behind muscle shortening, but case studies involving classic postural problems as well as loads of exercises to help improve and correct it all. And lastly is a classic/brilliant article from Mike Robertson regarding the relationship between your hip flexors and glutes.

I highly encourage you to give them a read. Enjoy.

Shoes, Sitting, and Lower Body Dysfunctions


Neanderthal No More
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4


Hips Don't Lie: Fixing Your Force Couples

Stand Up!

Let me start this one off with a series of questions...

1) Do you ever experience low back pain? Would you like to alleviate/prevent it?
2) Is your deadlift weaker than you'd like? Would you like to improve it?
3) Do you sit at a desk all day at work? STOP!

First off, regarding #3, I'm not telling you to quit your job. Nevertheless, if you sit at desk for hours on end almost everyday, it's going to negatively affect your performance and long-term health. This quote from Mike Robertson says it all:

"Tight hips lead to weak glutes."

What do you see in the above picture? We have a rounded spine, closed hips, closed hamstrings, and overall poor posture. Lovely pullover, though. This seated position is very likely how most of you sit for hours on end during the work week. With this position, we have a shortening of the hip flexors, which puts our glutes into a stretched position for a prolonged duration. Over time, this weakens our glutes and they eventually do not "fire" properly. This can lead to our hamstrings and adductors bearing more of the load, an anterior pelvic tilt, and lower back issues. All of these are common symptoms of Lordosis.

In order to avoid this, we need to take action in two different ways: Hip Flexor Stretching/Mobilization and Glute Activation.

Hip Flexor Stretching/Mobilization

We do the Samson Stretch everyday before working out to loosen up our hip flexors, but if you spend most of your day in a desk, you should probably be doing this stretch much more often. Also, check out the first two stretches from this StrongLifts article (the other stretches are good as well). For mobilizing the hip flexors, check out this drill from Eric Cressey.

Glute Activation

The posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors) is the key to athletic development. Unfortunately, most people have weak glutes and under-developed hamstrings - many have beefy spinal erectors because they compensate for the weakness of the other two. Activating the glutes is paramount. Here are some solid exercises you may consider incorporating into your daily warm-up:

Bird Dog
X Band Walk
Supine Bridge

And lastly, another great exercise to possibly throw in after your workout is the reverse crunch. It's a great correction for lordosis and - best of all - it will give you abzz!!!


These are some options open to all of you. Stand sideways in front of a mirror and see if you have an anterior pelvic tilt. Think about how often you find yourself in a seated position with closed hips and poor posture. If you really want to look, feel, and perform better, actively working to improve these issues will pay off greatly. Take this bit of advice from Eric Cressey, "Make a point of getting up and moving around as often as you can. Reach up to the sky, walk around, and do some doorway stretches for your pecs and lats (and your hip flexors, IT band, and calves, while you're at it). The best posture is the one that is constantly changing."

The Need For Mobility

You guys have heard me ramble on and on and on and on about the importance of mobility, likely to the point where it's borderline annoying. Well, I've been annoying since I could talk so I'm not stopping now. And if you are dedicated to improving your performance, you'll embrace the importance of mobility.

I wanted to provide some quick anecdotal evidence supporting my stance on this issue. In training for the Blue Ridge Open, I was having some trouble with my split jerk - my lockout was poor, my shoulders and elbows were soft, bad posture, etc. It's no secret that my thoracic spine was lacking in mobility. So, I decided to be proactive about it. I began doing this routine from Mark's Daily Apple to improve my thoracic mobility (hat tip to Nate Nash for the link). With only a few weeks of work, the results were significant.


Both lifts are within 5lbs of each other and as you can clearly see in the first picture, my torso is leaning backwards to compensate for my tight upper back and shoulders. In the second picture, my torso is upright, my shoulders are back, the barbell is over my midline, and I look just plain fantastic in a singlet. All three of my jerk attempts at the meet were successful and solid - I actually wish I tried for a little more on my third attempt. Obviously, improving my mobility in that area paid dividends at the competition.

I continue to do the above-mentioned routine daily, as I sit at a desk for 10-hour shifts and my posture still isn't optimal. So take the time to think about which movements you have problems with. Chances are, your ability to perform them is being hindered by a mobility issue.

Currently, I'm researching/learning different assessments to test for mobility impairments so when I have more, I'll be sure to let you guys know...

Mobility

I blame myself. It's just plain irresponsibility on my part. I could come up with some of the coolest, most effective workouts ever, but I'd still be disappointed in myself. I have failed you guys as a trainer/coach/whatever you call me behind my back. Why? Because I have neglected incorporating a a greater focus on mobility. Sure, every now and then I tell you guys to get on a foam roller or a lacrosse ball, but that's not enough. I might offer a few drills or stretches, but still some of you appear lost now and again. I went to an awesome seminar dedicated to this stuff and all I've done is offer casual advice here and there. And you all deserve better damn it. Then again, just because you deserve better, doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it...

Yes, specific mobility exercises and protocols will become staples in our daily routine. How many of you are uncomfortable in the bottom of a snatch or overhead squat? Who's got a weak shoulder press or split jerk? Who's rack position in the front squat or clean still sucks? Who's got tight hamstrings? Who's got back, knee, or shoulder pain? You all fall somewhere along this spectrum - maybe not Eric and Jess so much, but I'll get to them later.

Here is a quick list of reasons why mobility work will pay dividends in our training:

1) Injury prevention
2) Improved recovery
3) Better force production and muscle utilization
4) Increased range-of-motion
5) Better dance moves

That last one hasn't been scientifically proven yet, but I imagine it's gotta be true. In short, improved mobility will help make you a better athlete. HMS (160lbs) has pretty solid flexibility and he overhead squatted more than Nate (220lbs) yesterday. And trust me, HMS is not exceptionally strong (BURNED!).

As for Eric and Jess, they are an excellent juxtaposition of mobility with strength and mobility without strength (sorry, Jess). And although Jess is not terribly strong (yet), her likelihood of injury is extremely low because of her excellent flexibility. While its important to achieve optimal ranges in various movements, it's also necessary to be strong at these ranges. Eric is a great example of this - 17 years of gymnastics will do that.

We will begin this conquest of mobility this week with Joe DeFranco's Agile Eight warm-up routine. Steps 1-4 will be covered on Monday, while 5-8 will be done on Tuesday.

No, this is not glorious shit. It's not as fun as getting a PR on a lift or metcon. But if you wish to continue hitting PR's while improving the way you look and feel, this is what you need to do. Why? Because...

Mobility is serious business.