07 Mar How To Beat Low Back Pain (A Bulletproof Plan To Speed Recovery And Forge A Strong Back)

I've got quite a backstory. Literally. I'll give you the abbreviated "cliff notes version" if you haven't heard me discuss this before. I had a major low back injury many years ago in my training career (*severe L4-5 disc herniation with persistent radiculopathy that required surgery. Indeed, it did require surgery after conservative measures failed and symptoms worsened quickly and progressively). Fast forward to today. My back is doing extremely well, although it will never be 100%. In my opinion, you are never 100% anytime you have had a major injury. What was one of the worst experiences of my life ended up completely reshaping my training and my entire life in many ways that go way beyond the scope of this article. My injury was one of the key factors that led to me becoming a physical therapist (although I have since retired my role as a active clinician). Today, I'm strength coach and movement teacher that integrates my education and background as a PT.
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28 Feb The Essential Guide To Warming-Up (How To Warm-Up)

How important is the the warm-up? How much time should be spent on the warm-up? What should you be spending your time on before a strength training session? I'll make a case to answer these questions for you in this article. Let me be the first to tell you, I'm not a huge fan of warming-up before training. If it were up to me, I'd skip the warm-up and just train. But, that really doesn't make sense. A well designed warm-up can increase muscle temperature, core temperature, and increase blood flow. Have you ever heard someone say they were "trying to get the blood flowing" before a training session? Well, there seems to be truth to that statement. But it goes deeper than that and there are other important reasons to warm-up.
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29 Nov The Overhead Press – Is It Bad For The Shoulders?

Is the overhead press bad for the shoulders? That's a common question and often a very debated one. Should you avoid this exercise? And, what are the benefits versus the risk? I’ll give you my perspective, as both a strength athlete and former PT (physical therapist). I'll tell you why I love this exercise, but it may not be right for you. I’ll talk about pressing in the context of using a barbell, which can be viewed as the most demanding on the shoulders.
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03 Feb Does Strength Training Ruin Our Joints?

If you're like me, you care about your joints. The last thing any of us would want is to have joint pain or any joint issues that limits us in any way. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the effects of heavy strength training on our joint health. Does heavy training ruin our joints? This is a big deal if you think about the consequences of wearing down the joint surfaces and what that can mean for us in terms of pain, loss of mobility, and functional decline. This topic was prompted by a great podcast interview I had with Chad Waterbury. First, let me review some science. Then I'll share common sense and personal experience about this question so we can logically approach strength training for the long term.
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06 Mar How To Use Kettlebells For Injury Prevention.

As a former physical therapist, I was immediately attracted to the kettebell for a long list of reasons. Things like the unique blend of human biomechanics, cardiovascular fitness, and strength training applications for starters. And, the results were outstanding. After decades of training, this tool “had me at...

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