Why the toe touch matters Can you reach down and touch your toes with your knees straight? I consider a proper toe touch as a demonstration of basic competency in the multisegmental flexion pattern and aim to improve it with most of my clients (exceptions being flexion intolerance such as acute disc pathology). While it is […]
A QUESTION The street in front of our house turns sharply and soon my wife and I are punishing the drive train of our tandem up a 12% grade. At a combined weight of 330lbs and a combined continuous rep pull-up max of 35 reps, we clearly aren’t your average bike monkeys. Nay, we are […]
A Question Tendon problems include traumatic injuries such as rupture, rapidly worsening problems such as tendonitis (inflammation) and slow developing chronic problems such as tendinosis (non-inflammatory tendon breakdown)[1]. These later two are often blamed on overuse and poor bio-mechanics. But you might be asking “Why is my achilles sore when that other guy with terrible running form is […]
Below are the slides of a presentation I give on the basics of bike fitting. The lecture is catered to those with little to no experience with bike fitting. The presentation answers the questions: 1. What is the difference between bike sizing and bike fitting? 2. What are the key bicycle adjustment points? 3. What […]
Questions My wife and I were traveling in Bulgaria when she asked me “why does that woman have a bulge in her upper back?” This bulge is technically called thoracic hyperkyphosis and suddenly, we were noticing it everywhere: a young woman holding a baby, and older woman walking with a cane, the taxi driver, the […]
You might have tight shoulders if… You have ever asked yourself “Why do I have a hard time reaching up overhead.” For the gym junkies this often comes up as “Why is it so hard to hold weight overhead?” For the frequent flyer this comes up as “why is it so hard to put things […]
References: Vivek V. Venkataraman, Thomas S. Kraft, and Nathaniel J. DominyTree climbing and human evolution. PNAS 2013 110 (4) 1237-1242; Neil T. Roach, MadhusudhanVenkadesan, Michael J. Rainbow & Daniel E. Lieberman. Elastic energy storage in the shoulder and the evolution of high-speed throwing in Homo. Nature 498, 483–486 (27 June 2013) Jeffrey L. Halbrecht, M.D., Phillip Tirman, M.D., David Atkin, M.D. Internal Impingement of the Shoulder: […]
THE QUESTION The question “How low should I squat” is one that wafts through the air of weight rooms and fitness centers almost as often as the unique malodorous scent of nitrogen rich sweat from protein supplementation. Everyone from your gym rats to physicians to your aunt Betty seem to have an opinion on the appropriate […]
A Question In physical therapy school I was taught that a young adult should be able to stand on one leg for 30 seconds with their eyes closed. I assumed this number was derived from a large study measuring the average balance time from a large number of individuals but I never took the time […]
Perusing the articles on my blog, you will find that I have a predilection for writing about squatting. The most conclusive research to date on the factors effecting deep squatting range of motion indicates that the ankle is the key variable. If you have excellent ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, chances are you will be able to […]
Posture Movement Pain 