Do you have a stiff back?

If you are reading this post, a stiff lower back has likely plagued you for many years. You have stretched, gotten massaged or adjusted and maybe even switched to a standing desk, yet nothing seems to work for long.

The problem is not sitting or standing. It is failing to move and getting stuck in a position. We can speak of muscles getting tight and stretch them away from the offending position, but this does not account for their ability to move in and out of a position themselves so they tighten right back up to protect against perceived threat.

I have taken many systems (PRI, DNS, FRC, NKT) and all approaches fit pieces of a puzzle we must all put together ourselves. I am still very much on this journey but I wanted to share a tidbit I have been playing around with that seems to make sense. If our goal is to establish position and work proximal to distal, it would stand to reason that setting up exercise interventions in this fashion make sense.

Here is an example I used this morning for sacral counter nutation:

1. Establish proximal position- Supine inversion

2. Proximal relative motion (close chain)- Rolling

3. Distal relative motion (open chain)- Segmented sacral cat-camel

4. Control against gravity- Assisted squat

In my mind, this checks most of our movement boxes and is repeatable for a variety of issues.

What does an off day workout look like?

Think high versus low. High days consists of grinding through reps, going to failure and peeling yourself off the floor. By contrast, low days are about restoring the stuff we tend to lose with more intense efforts such as variability of movement and aerobic endurance. Training these two qualities effectively serve as the "yin" to the "yang" of high performance and are absolutely essential for quality recovery to occur.

The key here is not to run yourself in to the ground. But rather keep heart rate aerobic or around 120-150 beats per minute. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to breath thru your nose only during each exercise. So what do you currently do in your off days? Here is a circuit I recommend for promoting better movement and getting a conditioning effect.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

1️⃣Set a click for 30 minutes and perform each exercise for 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest.

2️⃣Set a click for 30 minutes and Perform each exercise back to back without stopping

𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀

1. Power skip

2. High crawl

3. Lateral heiden w/bounce

4. Crab crawl

5. No hands get up

Right Knee Pain Exercises

The inability to reverse pronation is one of the major causes of knee pain. Getting stuck too long in the mid-stance on one side or the other can create chronic adductor (inner thigh) tightness and a chronic weight shift to that side (often the right).

One concept I want all of my followers to get away from is the idea that several random drills or stretches will be the solution to pain or tightness. The things we do should be progressive and offer a carryover to the next drill. This is a sequence of three exercises which are essentially the same exercise with the same intent: to shift us away from our overloaded right side.

The goal is to feel right abductors (outer hip) and left ab wall to shift us TOWARD the left. Perform them back to back, taking time to focus on feeling the right muscles. Perform each drill for 8-10 breaths and finally 8-10 reps and repeat circuit back to back several times.

1. Side lying lady in glasses

2. Elevated L stance w/R reach

3. Lateral stance walks