BREATHING FOR RESULTS… three necessary tips for reducing stiffness and increasing range of motion! Sooo here’s my first crack at getting in front of the camera on the GRAM… it’s a lot harder than I anticipated. It’ll get better… I promise. Anyway, keep reading… If you’re doing a breathing based technique for the purpose of reducing stiffness and improving range of motion (i provide a couple of examples during the video), then you must do these three things to down regulate your nervous system and expand your ribcage in the desired areas to drive necessary gains in range of motion! 1. Breathe in through your nose with your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe out through your mouth. This will optimize your ability to get air into and out of your lungs. 2. Breathe gently. You should not be able to audibly hear yourself breathe. Forcing your breath will upregulate your nervous system and trigger a fight or flight response that will negatively impact your ability to relax! 3. Breathe deeply. At the end of your exhale, you should feel your obliques kick on. Think 3-5 seconds in and 3-5 seconds out. Keeping your obliques on is absolutely necessary for diaphragmatic breathing, and true expansion and compression of the ribcage.

AVOIDING THE HOLIDAY FLUFF! Oftentimes, it’s not your poor dietary choices on the day of the holiday that ruins your results, but rather your lack of hopping back on the bandwagon immediately afterwards that does! And while I see this trend more frequently during the holiday season, it 100% happens during the summer months as well! You lose focus and take your foot off the gas pedal, letting your diet slide for days on end… and that’s where the trouble starts! Now your 15lbs heavier than you were before your holiday binge and having to start the process of losing weight and reimplementing healthy habits all over again! Look… The 4th of July is one day. Christmas is one day. Valentine’s Day is one day. And if you approach your nutrition with that mindset, you can easily avoid packing on the holiday fluff!

CONDITIONING YOUR UPPER BODY WITH THE BALL SLAM TECHNIQUE! If you want to target your upper body during conditioning using a ball slam technique, then elevate the surface that you slam the ball onto with a soft box. 1. Soft boxes are bouncy 2. An elevated surface shortens the distance that the ball has to travel These factors combined will decrease the amount of time between reps and allow fatigue to accumulate in your arms! This will allow you to target many of your upper body muscles for the purpose of increasing local muscular endurance, as opposed to just conditioning for general cardio respiratory function. Switch up your cardio routine and give something like this a try. Your upper body muscles will burn a tonnnn, but you definitely won’t regret it! ;)

You already know how much i love blood flow restriction training. Since it requires nothing more than 10-30% of your max, now is your opportunity to experiment from home using just a few household items (like a backpack) and cheap plastic tourniquets. Perform this routine 2-3 days/ week and i guarantee that you arms will actually grow while in quarantine! NOTE: when you apply the tourniquets, your arms should feel heavy, not sure cold or numb. They might appear slightly discolored, but not purple. While you are exercising, your arms should burn... and a lot more than they normally do during high volume sets. In fact, they should burn inbetween sets while youre resting. Your arms should feel weak. STEP ONE: buy cheap plastic or rubber tourniquets on amazon. You should be able to purchase 5 tourniquets for 10-12 dollars. STEP TWO: perform as many pushups as you can without the tourniquets, and divide that number by 4. So if you performed 40 reps, your new number is 10. STEP THREE: apply the tourniquets and perform as many sets of pushups as you can using your new number (ex: 10) without having to stop in the middle of your set. Rest 30 seconds between sets. STEP FOUR: perform the next three exercises using the following format. During your first set, perform 30 reps. For sets 2-4, perform 15 reps, resting no longer than 30 seconds between sets.

BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION (BFR) TRAINING How it works: Veins shuttle blood from muscles to the heart, while arteries do the opposite. Veins are more superficial than arteries. With just the right amount of pressure, you can use a tourniquet or a specialized cuff to clamp down on your veins and not your arteries , trapping blood and metabolites in exercising muscles (same amount of blood going into + less blood leaving muscle = more blood in muscle). Following? Well, In order for a muscle to grow, its rate of synthesis must exceed its rate of degradation. Current research suggests that BFR training increases markers of muscle protein synthesis and not degradation, making it a strongggg training method for the stimulation of muscular hypertrophy. LIFTING HEAVY PRODUCES GAINS. WHY NOT JUST DO THAT INSTEAD? Common BFR training protocols utilize loads as light as 20-40% of max, while Traditional training methods require in excess of 65%. Using a much lighter load to achieve a similar effect protects your joints, connective tissues, muscles, etc. from excessive strain, making it a great rehab tool and active rest day or deload alternative... SOLD YET? DO THIS: AMOUNT OF PRESSURE: 40-80% (more is not better) SENSATIONS TO AVOID: numb, tingling, cold. WHERE: upper arms / legs to stimulate your biceps, triceps, quads, and hamstrings FREQUENCY: 1-3 days/ week PARAMETERS: 2-4 exercises/ muscle group; 15-30 reps/ set; 2-5 sets/ exercise; 30 seconds rest between sets

This particular progression will teach you how to flex and extend at the hip joint without over extending or bracing through the low back. A lot of athletic movements, like squatting and jumping, occur bilaterally. Resisting extensive or compensatory lumbar extension while the hip joint flexes and extends is important for optimizing the performance of these movements. Use this progression, in conjunction with others that i have and will post, to string together the ultimate core workout. Progression: 1) Bent knee leg raise - Lift both knees up to your arms and back down to the ground 2) Deadbug heel taps - Lower both of your knees to ground and back up to the dead bug position 3) Deadbug leg extension - Extend both legs (knees) as you lower them to the ground 4) Weighted dead bug leg extension - Add weight to exercise 3

DESTROY YOUR CHEST, TRICEPS, CORE using only a swiss ball! Do not rest between exercises, rest 1 minute between rounds, perform 3 rounds 1) eccentric push ups (4-6 seconds down) - as many reps as you can each round 2) tricep dips - as many reps as you can each round 3) reverse crunches - 20 reps 4) rollout - 10 reps, using the variation that matches your strength level! total your reps per exercise over the course of all three sets, and strive to beat that number the next time you do it!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY PROUD OF ALL OF MY PEEPS FOR SHOWING UP AND SHOWING OUT YESTERDAY. We threw the most patriotic of celebrations, and deadlifted to the tune of country and classic rock… for America, of course. But before we could dive into our heavy singles, we had to prime the body for load! -we used a posterior hip capsule stretch to create space in the joint for hip IR to occur, which is necessary for proper hinging mechanics -we loosened up the muscles that help to create hip IR around 90 degrees (remember that quite a few ER’s become IR’s at this degree of ROM) -we did a few hinging specific dynamic drills to lubricate the hips -then we got down to business…. And the result was astounding! Several people PR’d their deadlift, while others surpassed major milestones! Great work y’all as always, thank you coach Jess for partaking in the shenanigans!

CASE STUDY - Lateral lower leg pain Ten days ago, Jenn "twisted" her knee at yoga and has been experiencing pain along her lateral leg ever since (along her peroneals and biceps femoris). These just so happen to be muscles that attach to the fibula and are a part of the body’s lateral fascial line. coincidence... nehh! After ruling out a fracture and other potential pathologies, we gave this technique a try... and low and behold, it worked. We combined this technique with “rolling” exercises to loosen up the muscles that pull on the fibula, and plan on taping the fibula so that it isnt excessively yanked on during exercise! If Jenn’s pain persists after some time, then we will readjust her care plan accordingly!

A STRONG SQUAT DEMANDS A STABLE FOOT But cueing everyone to stabilize the foot by creating a tripod through three points of contact (underneath the first metatarsal head, underneath the fifth metatarsal head, underneath the heel) may notttt be enough to optimize squatting mechanics if you do not have strong and mobile hips! If your lack of hip strength pulls your knees inward during your squat, then: (1)Planting your big toe into the ground and (2)corkscrewing your feet outward throughout the entire range of motion can stabilize your hips enough to prevent your knees and feet from collapsing inward (and destabilizing your feet)! If your extreme external rotation bias continually spins your feet outward during your squat, then: (1)Applying pressure through the inside part of your feet and (2)spreading the floor can stabilize your feet enough to stop them from rotating outward… Rationale: When you drive your medial arch into the ground, you tension your adductors, creating an opportunity (and space) for your femurs to IR, limiting the excessive ER that causes the feet to spin out to begin with. Additionally, by spreading the floor, you promote femoral abduction, shifting your efforts to stabilize the pelvis from the transverse plane (ER) to the frontal plane (abduction), further preventing the feet from spinning out. ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS -For all you “hingy” squatters- elevate your heels -For those of you with severely limited hip mobility- use a wider stance -For those of you with severely limited hip IR- turn toes out, but keep them out and still spread the floor *work on your hip mobility, friends! Im finally working on mine!

Bet you've never trained your core from this position before. Yeah, its a little bit different... somewhere between supine and a reverse plank. But it is great for targeting your core while maintaining active shoulders. STARTING POSITION: Lay on your back with your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Drive your forearms through the floor and push your shoulders away from your ears. Pull your shoulder blades down and back and open up your chest. Tighten your abs. From here, follow the progression. 1) Alternating, reciprocal hip flexion- When you lift one, you lower the other. Make sure that the leg that you lower is fully extended and does not touch the ground. When you can perform 15 reps on each side, move on to the progression. 2) Knees to chest- lift both knees to your chest. When you can perform 20 repetitions of this variation, move on to the next exercise in the progression. 3) Leg lift- with your knees fully extended, simultaneously lift both legs as high as you can. When you can perform 20 reps of this variation, move on to the last exercise in the progression. 4) Banded alternating, reciprocal hip flexion- similar to exercise 1, with a band. Once you can perform 15 reps on each side, increase band tension.

This video is alllllll about navigating through the woes of meal prepping for those who are unfamiliar with the process.

UNF^*K YOUR DEADLIFT WITH THIS ONE SIMPLE FIX! If when you hinge you “round over” or “fall forward”, then consider elevating your toes to prime the hinging pattern during your warm up! This will allow you to make progress with your deadlift while you work on the restrictions limiting your hinge, like a tight posterior hip capsule and a tight posterior lower pelvis! Tag a friend with a tight butt who needs this!!!

PLYOMETRIC PROGRESSION - Hopping If you have done anything even remotely athletic in recent memory, then chances are you have had to coordinate and produce force through either one leg or both in an awkward position. Think basketball, football, soccer, wrestling, spartan racing, obstacle coursing, zombie apocalypsing, crash bandicooting (ya, thats a word).. and the list goes on. If you perform any of these activities with any regularity, then this plyometric series is for you. I do not necessarily care about how high or far you jump... each drill gets a little bit more challenging as you progress from both feet to one, and from the sagittal plane to a combination of planes. Make sure that you do not progress from one drill to the next unless, you can perform the drill that you are on, 1) without losing your balance, 2) with perfect mechanics. GOOD JUMPING/ HOPPING MECHANICS: if you can check off each item in the following list, then you probably have decent mechanics: Feet straight, knees in line with feet, a level pelvis, hinged hips, a coordinated arm swing.

Today’s video details the process of chest activation through shoulder girdle positioning. If you struggle to feel your chest muscles working when you bench press, then today’s video is for you! For year’s i benched through shoulder pain... not realizing that i was just destroying my shoulder complex along the way! If you want to bench press for a long time, then attention to detail matters! Keeping your ribs down by tightening your obliques, TA, and abs, pulling your shoulder blades back by activating your traps, and drawing air in to your stiff thorax to increase your intercostal space is all important for restoring your pecs normal resting length. Over time, learning to use both your diaphragm and intercostals to breathe will serve you well, and make the intricate process of leveraging your movers to perform both safely and effectively a lot easier!

If you have “stiff” ankles and a limited ability to dorsiflex, high arches and an inability to fully pronate, or Tibia’s so externally rotated that they look like God screwed them on incorrectly, then this technique is for you. To fully dorsiflex your ankle, your foot must fully pronate and your tibia must internally rotate. If either of those two things don’t happen when you dorsiflex, then you’ll lack range of motion! This technique promotes both of those accessory motions to improve ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. DO NOT: 1. allow the outside part of your heel lift as you pronate your foot 2. allow your heel to rise as you shift your weight forward towards your toes

There are two types of people in the world - those who fail their deadlift during the lockout and those who do not even break the ground. If you repeatedly fail your deadlift during the lockout, then this video is for you.

NUTRITION TIP: IF ITS NOT IN YOUR HOUSE, IT WONT END UP IN YOUR MOUTH! when you go to the grocery store, avoid buying foods that you know you shouldn’t be eating! And I don’t want to hear you say, “but it’s not for me, it’s for my kids… or my wife… or my mom”… because if you shouldnt eat it, then why are you feeding it to the people you love! Period! Anyway… People are creatures of convenience… and eating what’s readily available in the pantry or the fridge is convenient. But not having it and having to go out and buy it is super inconvenient and requires more work than people are typically willing to do to curb a craving! So keep the junk out of your house and trust me… you’ll drop those unwanted pounds in no time!!!