The Great Toe Needs to Be Great It wants to be great. You just have to let it be. Your Big Toe needs to move. <----as we learned in Part one, which you can read by clicking the link The Greatness of the Great Toe Specifically the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), where the big toe articulates with the foot, needs to be mobile and strong. If the Big Toe isn't functioning as it should your balance wont be very good because you can't make microadjustments to the natural sway of the body at the foot. Your walking gait will be off due to the inability to dorsiflex the hallux and take full advantage of the Windlass … [Read more...]
The Greatness of the Great Toe: Part 1
December 9, 2018 by
The Big Toe It's the Biggest Toe For a Reason Take your shoes off... I'll wait... Socks too. Ok, look at your foot. Which one is it more like? From: Foot Morphological Difference between Habitually Shod and Unshod Runners The "crumpled up" one on the left, or the "splayed out" one on the right? Look like the crumpled up one? That's what a lifetime in shoes does to you. Unfortunately, crumpled up feet that look like this have become "normal" in todays society. Just Cause It's "Normal", Doesn't Mean It's Right At least not from an evolutionary standpoint. We're meant to have wide, splayed out feet. "A logical prediction from an engineering view of an ideal foot is … [Read more...]
A Story of Fire and Ice: Act 2: Man Discovers Fire….
November 28, 2018 by
Last time we went over Is Ice Nice? Is R.I.C.E really the best practice in all circumstances? Or, should we, respect basic physiology, use our noggins, and do something other than just slap a bag of ice on every injury? FIIIIIRREEEEE!!!!! Heat, fire, literally helped make us human. "a surge in human brain size that occurred roughly 1.8 million years ago can be directly linked to the innovation of cooking. Homo erectus, considered the first modern human species, learned to cook and doubled its brain size over the course of 600,000 years. Similar size primates—gorillas, chimpanzees, and other great apes, all of which subsisted on a diet of raw foods—did … [Read more...]
A Story of Fire and Ice: Act 1: Is Ice Really Nice?
November 23, 2018 by
Pulled Muscle? Sprained Ankle? Sore Elbow? "Ice it" R.I.C.E, Right? Rice: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. That's been the go-to advice for, well, since I can remember. Just watch any athletic event. Baseball pitchers with their shoulders and arms completely encapsulated in ice. NFL and NBA sidelines with feet up and ice packs plastic wrapped to ankles and knees. We Do It This Way Because It's Always Been Done This Way Is usually the worst answer ever... Yes, it might be effective. But, is that practice OPTIMAL? Shouldn't the answer be, We Do it This Way, Because We Have EVIDENCE That it Works and is BEST PRACTICE. Me thinks … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Adductor Side Plank
November 15, 2018 by
Adductors are The Forgotten Step Children Of Leg Musculature We forget about them, don't train them, let them fade and shrivel away. until..... POP, Goes the Groin... Truth is, the hip adductor group: Adductor Magnus Adductor Longus Adductor Brevis Pectinius Gracilius are kinda important. <----they're there for a reason. The red area is the Adductor Magnus...yeah, it's a Magnus What Do Hip Adductors Do? This is what we used to know: They adduct the femur...ie, bring the femur in towards the midline of the body. Adductors internally rotate the femur....ie rotate the kneecap toward the midline (think, knock knees) But … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: TRX Hamstring Curl
November 1, 2018 by
Pop Quiz: What's the Function of the Hamstring? Everyone gets: Knee Flexion. Everyone forgets: Hip Extension That's right, the hamstring(s) (3 of the 4) cross 2 joints. The Semitendinosus, and both heads of the Biceps Femoris (long and short) cross both the knee and the hip. So What the Hell Does That do With What? This means the hamstrings are not only involved in knee flexion, bending your knee, bringing the heel to the butt, like in a seated hamstring curl. The hamstrings are also a player (albeit should be secondary to our old friends the glutes) in hip extension. "The hamstrings have a large moment arm for hip extension, making them a key … [Read more...]
2018 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference Review
October 12, 2018 by
2018 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference The NSCA finally held one of their conferences in Baltimore... As with all things, there are pros and cons to this. I didn't have to get on a plane, pay for a hotel and spend a ridiculous amount to stuff my piehole stay fed. But I also didn't get a child-free mini vacation. #Adulting When I first got certified, circa 2006(ish) the National Strength and Conditioning Association had 2 major conferences each year. The National Conference The Personal Trainers Conference. In fact the first full. multi-day, NSCA event I ever went to was the PT conference in about 2007 or so. It was in Las Vegas. My … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Glute Bridge Kneeout
September 20, 2018 by
Butts Are Important Seriously, you need glutes. Functioning glutes. Glutes that actually make you Instagram famous keep your knees from being torn to pieces from collapsing inward. I've said it before, I'll say it again, the glutes may be the most important muscles in the body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXPDhggbWfM great vid from Athlean X If you tell me, "No, it's the core" I'll not disagree with you. Why? Glutes are Core. If the hips can't be "set" , all the abs in the world can't effectively brace you. Without the glutes keeping the pelvis in a correct (usually neutral) position you'll have to default into the lumbar spine, "dump … [Read more...]
