The Foam Roll Pushup w/Deficit This diverse and unique pushup variation combines shoulder stability/centration, potential chest and shoulder hypertrophy and endurance, upper body warm-up/preparation, improved flexibility and mobility, and basic levels of strength in beginner-level clients, or de-load and neural maintenance in advanced-level lifters. If you were to pick one exercise type that provides the most training variation, then the push-up would undoubtedly be at the to

i think this topic pretty much goes without saying at this point. The training industry has done a great job collectively in convincing the public and educating trainers and coaches on what truly matters in both preventing and treating injuries. Progressive Overload, tissue remodeling techniques, inflammation support, active recovery, strength tests, and more are common practices used through strength training that help heal and strengthen various injuries. I want to intr

Now I'm sure many of you have heard of the three hip flexors which comprise the Iliopsoas muscle group (Psoas Major and Minor, and Iliacus). Right now we are going to cover this very powerful and still misunderstood muscle group thoroughly. T he reality is that if you want to become your best athletically and remain healthy, then you need to emphasize the Iliopsoas in your training program regularly. Reports from elite coaches years back showed greater cross-sectional areas o

Here is a fresh set of training tips to help support your hamstring health. Hamstring injuries are still running rampant in sport and training culture today, and it's at the expense of an athlete's goals and showcasing all of the prior hard work and blood, sweat, and tears that were put into practice. Fortunately, hamstring issues can be either prevented or reduced in severity. Here is a fresh set of training tips to help support your hamstring health. Active stretching durin

I thought it would be helpful to coaches, trainers, athletes, and general gym goers if I disclosed my top go-to sled training drills. The sled can seem a bit bland and limited if you look at the web, and it can be difficult to identify variations that satisfy the purpose outside of just pushing and sprinting a loaded sled. Fortunately for you, there are some applications that you can implement with anyone to immediately develop or sustain several training skills which I wil

Let's take a look at the remainder of the upper half of the human body and identify which areas need stretching, and vice versa. In part #1, you were introduced to a foundational stretching principle and gained valuable practical insight into how to go about selecting stretches for specific joints of the lower body. Recall that some areas are designed to be stretched, while others are naturally geared towards stability and not so much stretching. Next, we are going to look a

It's more than safe to say that the notion of stretching for athletes hasn't lost any traction in recent times. Like core training, I don't think that it ever will, regardless of whether or not it's benefiting you, which is highly debatable, to say the least. I digress, though, and for this article specifically, the focus will remain almost solely on what areas of the lower body you undoubtedly need to stretch. The next follow-up article will cover the remaining upper half of

If there is one exercise that even the top coaches tend to shy away from it would be overhead pressing, and with good reason. In order to be successful with the movement there is so much that has to go right from head to toe to elicit proper shoulder mechanics, rhythm, and functioning, otherwise injury is a certainty. If the hips, core, low back, upper back, or shoulder joint itself are dysfunctional in any shape or form it can affect the shoulder in a negative fashion result

The reality is that people will often tell you that you need to be stretching and performing some form of manual therapy or soft tissue work to the Illiopsoas group. But what they wont tell you is that your Psoas is more than likely weak, and could use some extra focus in training. Drills like the one below along with sled sprints, prowler sprints, deep squats, mountain climber progressions, and single leg work with and without deficits will all recruit the psoas more and ens

The glute bridge has been a staple for quite some time now, and there are plenty of variations of the exercise to go around. Initially, it was promoted to increase activation of the glutes and minimize overuse of the hamstrings and other surrounding muscles, but the bridge can offer more benefit if you get creative and start to think outside of the box a little. One of the more significant challenges as a competing athlete or someone that trains hard regularly is being able t

The rotator cuff muscles serve as part movers of the shoulders through various actions occurring at the shoulder joint, but most importantly, they’re critical to primarily maintaining “stability” and control at the shoulder while the outer, more prominent, and more powerful perform a majority of dynamic motion. Failure to properly “centrate” or center the ball of the humerus inside the Glenoid Fossa (socket) will render eventual injury to either the labrum, capsule, and or v

When we consider our innate structural anatomy, everyone needs to perform some form of horizontal pressing motion regardless of their experience level, age, injury history, or training goals. This has been documented by top-notch coaches and scientific literature for quite a while now. Even if your day-to-day life wouldn’t require an exact pressing motion, you’d still need to make sure your deltoids, head of your pecs, biceps, and all other supportive anatomy that resides o