If sitting is the new smoking, text neck is the new tetanus. Or not, I know that doesn't even make sense. But sitting too much is bad. And so is hanging your head off of your cervical vertebrae. "The human head weighs about a dozen pounds. But as the neck bends forward and down, the weight on the cervical spine begins to increase. At a 15-degree angle, this weight is about 27 pounds, at 30 degrees it’s 40 pounds, at 45 degrees it’s 49 pounds, and at 60 degrees it’s 60 pounds."- Lindsey Bever And it's painful and if you do it enough. “As you stretch the tissue for a long period of time, it gets sore, it gets inflamed,” he said. It can also cause muscle strain, … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Cat/ Camel/ Cow, Whatever, Thoracic Spine Mobility
January 26, 2018 by
If You're Reading This You Probably Have Sh@tty Thoracic Mobility.. How do I know this? I'm not Yoda, Gandalf or even Harry Freaking Potter, But I am kinda like that kid (he's an adult now) from that Sixth Sense movie. You know, the one by M. Night Shamalama-ding-dong. The "I see dead people" kid. https://youtu.be/ZSNyiSetZ8Y Except, "I See "Sh@tty Posture" Fact is, too many of us sit, with our face in a computer or head hung down looking at a screen too often. <------understatement of the century. You're all slumped over, hanging off the ribcage. Do it long enough and you'll literally end up with this posture: Here's the … [Read more...]
The Desk Jockey’s Guide to Fixing Yourself
January 22, 2013 by
We evolved to stand upright. But with the posture a lot of people have these days, you might not believe it. We spend so many hours hunched over a computer screen and slumped on a couch that we develop what I call... Desk Jockey Syndrome.. Really its Janda's Upper Crossed Syndrome and Lower Crossed Syndrome: The result is the really, really poor posture that it seems everyone has these days. Why you should care: You look like Quasimodo..... If you fix this you'll FEEL a million times better. Most of the aches and pains you have will "magically" disappear. Headaches will disappear. You'll MOVE a million times … [Read more...]
5 Pretty Common Ways to Jack Yourself Up in the Gym Part 1
December 18, 2012 by
What does this guy have in common with you? Chances are you're both: Jacked Up, This is a phrase largely equivalent to screwed up. It roughly means "in a state of disarray" and is commonly used in the phrase "to jack someone/something up". urban dictionary People come to the gym to un-jack themselves but a lot of the stuff they do when they get here is completely Fubared. Here's 5 off the top of my head things I see and why doing them isn't helping but hurting you and your progress. Jacked Up Thing 1: Walking on a Flat Treadmill. Walking on a flat treadmill, incline at 0%, is terrible for your knees and hips. On a treadmill you're not actually propelling … [Read more...]
Stuff From the Web
March 21, 2012 by
This post is basically a rip off of the "Good Reads" format that Ben Bruno and Tony Gentilcore do every week. I went through the interwebs this morning and found a plethora of really good articles and blog posts... Carl Valle at EliteTrack.com discusses Peyton Manning and how posture can play a HUGE role in athletic performance. NFL Dead Pool- Mannings Neck Watch 4 Carl's blog over there is consistently really good, short, concise and always making a very strong, really smart point. 4 Pillars of Good Health by Adam Bornstein. For many people, the physical aspect is what’s lacking. We convince ourselves that being social, working, and spending time with the … [Read more...]
Beginners and Desk Jockey Syndrome
December 21, 2011 by
I've been doing this whole training thing for a while now and I can honestly say that 99% of all the people I train have the same problems when they first come to me. Mainly they sit toooooo much. This results in (from head to toe): Upper Cross Sydrome: Extended cervical spine (head pushed forward), tight pecs, weak underactive scapular retractors and tight upper traps Poor pelvic alignment: Usually to the anterior... Caused by weak glutes, hamstrings, tight hip flexors, tight spinal erectors and weak abs. Basically everyone gets "desk jockey syndrome". We sit in front of a computer hunched over waaaay too much and end up with like this... As a trainer we have … [Read more...]
Dr. Stuart McGill, Yoda, with bad ass facial hair.
November 14, 2011 by
I saw Dr. McGill speak at the NSCA conference back in July. Essentially he is a B-52 of spine knowledge dropping Nuclear knowledge BOMBS all over the place. Here is a very good video (which I stole, cause I'm a thief, from Mike Robertson's most awesome newsletter). http://youtu.be/033ogPH6NNE Damn, maybe that ABZZZZ class was a bad idea after all... … [Read more...]
