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The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

by | Jul 6, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Stretches, Workouts

Feel like it would take you hours to address ALL of the little aches and pains you have?

Like your age is just making you creakier and creakier?

This doesn’t have to be the case!

I want to share how you can use the 3-step prehab process to address aches and pains up and down your body and improve your mobility by targeting just 3 main key areas with 9 exercises.

These 9 moves include all 3 parts of the prehab process – foam rolling, stretching and activation – to have you feel like a well oiled machine.

And the best part?

They can be combined into a routine you use almost daily that takes just about 10 minutes!

Before I dive into the moves, I want to explain why the full prehab process is so key so you understand the benefits of combining these 9 moves in this specific order – foam rolling, stretching then activation.

And because this makes for even a perfect full body warm up, I’ve focused the stretches on dynamic stretches (ones with movement) over static stretches (where you just hold) to help make sure you improve your flexibility without any impact to your performance.

But you first want to foam roll to relax overactive or tight muscles. Foam rolling is like a massage and helps release knots and relax muscles so you can better engage weak or under active muscles and properly mobilize joints while stretching muscles.

This first part is key to getting everything to work better together.

Then you stretch to improve muscle flexibility but also joint mobility.

With stretching, you want to focus on the muscle driving the stretch, not just what is stretching. This helps you not only better stretch the muscle but begins the activation process – engaging muscles that are weak or often don’t want to work when they should.

Then with activation, you are continuing to mobilize but also stabilize joints. You’re strengthening weak muscles and almost “waking them up” to help them be primed to work during your workouts and more compound exercises and heavier lifts.

This process addresses all key components to injury prevention – mobility, flexibility AND stability.

And bonus, it not only helps you avoid injury, but helps you see better strength and muscle gains for improved body recomp from your workouts!

So now, let’s dive into the 3 areas you’ll want to target, including your:

  • Shoulder blades
  • Hips
  • Feet and ankles

I focus on these 3 areas because if we address immobility or weakness in those places, you’ll be amazed at how even that knee or elbow pain lessens.

Everything is connected and that often where the pain is, isn’t where the initial problem started!

So let’s start with foam rolling, stretching and activation for your shoulder blades to improve scapular mobility and stability.

#1: Scapular Mobility And Stability

Have you ever had neck, shoulder or upper back aches and pains? Even elbow pain?

Addressing the movement of your shoulder blades may be the key to alleviating these aches and pains.

Too often we only focus on our shoulder mobility and forget how much the shoulders and shoulder blades really work together to power movements.

From pulling exercises to even pressing movements, we need to have proper scapular control if we want to use the correct muscles to power the exercises and prevent overload of smaller muscles like our rotator cuff.

To improve your scapular mobility and control, try including these 3 moves before your upper body workouts. It will help improve your pressing as well as your pulling!

The first move you want to include in that prehab or warm up process is Lat Foam Rolling.

While the lat more indirectly impacts your scapular movement, it can really contribute to that rounded shoulder posture, causing aches and pains.

Not so fun fun fact it can even create issues into your lower body because of its connection to your glutes through the thoracolumbar fascia.

And this muscle can often become tight, leading to us not efficiently engaging our backs.

To roll out your lats, a roller works best. Lie on your side with the roller at the side of your back behind your armpit. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you work your way down the side of your back, rocking back more as you go lower on your ribs.

Reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest as you hold on any tight spots you find.

The second move you want to include is a stretch to open up your chest as well as even mobilize your shoulders and shoulder blades – the Suspension Trainer Snow Angels.

Find yourself hunching forward a ton when sitting?

A tight pec minor contributes to anterior tipping of the shoulder blade while a tight pec major can contribute to that internal shoulder rotation – exactly that bad posture we want to reverse.

That’s why this stretch, especially before any overhead pressing, is key.

To do the snow angels, hold a handle in each hand, facing away from the anchor point and walk out so the suspension trainer is pulling back slightly on your arms as they are straight down by your sides.

Engage your upper back and feel your chest open up and stretch as you swing your arms out straight and open overhead from your sides.

By focusing on engaging your back to drive your chest open, you make sure you actually stretch your pecs instead of just seeking out more range of motion from your shoulders.

Feel your shoulder blades move as you raise your arms overhead and then lower them back down to your sides.

The third move you will want to include is an activation exercise – the Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions.

The serratus anterior is a muscle too often ignored and overlooked but it’s been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains as it is a primary scapular stabilizer.

So this activation move is key to create that strength and stability.

To do the serratus anterior extensions, place a roller under your wrists with your palms facing in toward each other at about eye height against a wall.
Walk your feet back so you’re angled into the wall and resting a bit of your weight against the roller just to be able to push into it as you extend up.

Brace your abs and roll your arms up, thinking about pulling your shoulder blades “out and around” forward on your rib cage as you slide up.

Then slide back down, pulling with your back. You want to focus on feeling around your rib cage as you reach out and your back as you pull back down.

Because everything is connected, you may be surprised by how using these 3 moves can even improve your spinal health and have an impact at your hips and pelvis.

But if you do have lower back, hip or knee pain, or have struggles with tight hips in general and hamstring strains, you’ll also want to address these 3 prehab moves to improve your hip mobility and stability next.

#2: Hip Mobility And Stability

Many of us have heard we’re spending too much time seated leading to hip flexor tightness. And this hip flexor tightness can create compensations and imbalances that lead to our lower back hurting during deadlifts or our knees hurting during lunging.

It’s why we want to use these 3 moves to relax those hip flexors, mobilize our hips and spine and even activate our glutes so they’re working properly when they should be.

This starts with relaxing a hip flexor and quad muscle, the rectus femoris, that can perpetuate lower back, hip and knee pain.

It is the only quad muscle that impacts joint movement at both the knee and the hip.

To roll out your Rectus Femoris, you can use a roller or ball. The smaller and harder the trigger point tool, the more it will dig in.

Find the middle of your thigh about half way down and lie over the foam roller or ball. As you hold, flex and relax your thigh to help the muscle relax and release.

You can move up higher or lower on the front middle of your thigh to find any tight spots and hold.

The second move to include is one that addresses not only your hips but also your spine. It’s a stretch that really has that far reaching impact and great when your short on time – the World’s Greatest Stretch.

This dynamic stretch will warm your body up and prepare everything to work, working on thoracic rotation while stretching your glutes, hip flexors, adductors and hamstrings.

To do this stretch, start in a high plank position with your hands then step one foot up and outside the hand on the same side. Squeeze your back glute to stretch that hip flexor.

Drop your elbow on that side down to the ground near the instep of your foot. Do not worry if you can’t touch the ground. Focus on not rocking out on your foot just to touch to make sure you’re really stretching your glute and adductor.

Reach that arm up toward the ceiling, opening your chest up toward that front leg and the ceiling. Focus on your back opening your chest up as you rotate.

Place your hand back down then drop your back knee to the ground to sit back on your heel, straightening your front leg out. Feel a stretch down your hamstring as you hinge, leaning over that front leg while pushing your butt back.

Then repeat the movement.

With this stretch, and all of the others I mention, focus on what is driving the stretch, not just on the muscle stretching.

This focus on what you feel working is also key as you do glute activation moves like exercise number 3 – the Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise.

You can do this move with bodyweight or progress it with a band.

Lie on your side a few inches from the wall with your back to the wall.

Lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground. Drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

Slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg, feeling your glute working to push back and lift.

And last but not least, you want to address your feet and ankles. They are your foundation. Instability or immobility there can lead to changes in your movements up your entire body.

#3: Feet And Ankle Mobility And Stability

Far too many of us have also had ankle or foot aches and pains that we simply rested then went right back to what we were doing, never addressing the underlying culprit. This may be why we now have knee, hip or even lower back problems.

So taking care of our foundation is key with these prehab moves.

And one often overlooked muscle group of our lower leg are the peroneals, which is why peroneal foam rolling is so key!

Peroneal tightness can lead to what looks like a leg length discrepancy or even a weight shift during squatting. This muscle has a far reaching impact so it can’t be ignored in our prehab.

To roll it, place a ball on the ground and relax your lower leg onto the ball, pressing the outside of your lower leg down into the ball and hold as you even circle your foot.

You want to focus on the side of the meaty part of your calf, holding as you push down and tense and relax the muscle with the foot movement.

The second move to include, the Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch, improves both the mobility of your ankles but also your hips, activating your glutes and stretching your adductors.

It is a great stretch if you’re struggling with knee pain or find you can’t squat down low.

To do this stretch, set up half kneeling and open your front knee out to the side so your foot and leg is perpendicular to your back kneeling leg.

Bring that front foot back so it is turned out but in line with your back knee and move that foot out so your knee is behind your ankle. Engage your glute then shift your weight, rocking that knee forward over the ball of your foot without your heel coming up.

Don’t lean forward as you rock forward or back. Adjust how far out that foot is from your back knee, shifting it closer for more of a focus on ankle mobility or further out to stretch your groin more.

Then the third activation move will help you strengthen through the range of motion while addressing the too often ignored soleus calf muscle.

By using a plate weight for the Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, you are working this muscle through an extended range of motion.

The seated position helps you target the soleus over the gastrocnemius which we so often focus on with our calf raises.

Strengthening this muscle improves our gait mechanics which can help us walk and run more efficiently without pain!

To do Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, sit on a bench with the plate weight on the ground in front of you and the balls of your feet on the edge of it.
Your heels should be on the ground aligned about under your knees so you feel a slight stretch in your calves.

Drive through the balls of your feet and toes to lift your heels up off the ground.

Pause at the top to feel your calves then make sure to lower all the way back down to use the increased range of motion.

Combine all 9 of these moves for a quick full body prehab routine.

Setting a timer for 30 seconds per move or per side and completing all foam rolling then stretching then activation can make for an amazing mobility series or warm up.

For this quick prehab routine written out, check the video descriptions.

But a little goes a long way when done consistently! Consider using this routine even 3-4 times a week! It takes under 10 minutes!
—-

Prehab Routine:

FOAM ROLLING:
30 seconds per side Lat Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Peroneal Foam Rolling

STRETCHING:
30 seconds Suspension Trainer Snow Angels
30 seconds per side Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch
30 seconds per side World’s Greatest Stretch

ACTIVATION:
30 seconds Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions
30 seconds Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises
30 seconds per side Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise

For mobility work included with EVERY workout, check out my Dynamic Strength program:

–> LEARN MORE

Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

by | Jun 29, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

To look your leanest, you want to lose fat while not losing muscle.

Heck if you can even gain a bit of muscle in the fat loss process, even better.

And while this is hard to do, and diet is 100% key, too often the way we design our workouts actually sabotages our fat loss results.

We turn to cardio over strength, favoring the calorie burn.

And that deficit we create from doing more cardio while eating less can yield some fast immediate scale changes.

It is also what leads to us ultimately hitting a plateau, even feeling like we look softer and deciding all the hard work isn’t worth it as we become burned out and restricted and hungry.

Then the scale rebounds and we gain even more fat as the habits we were trying to implement just weren’t sustainable and our body adapts to the amount of cardio we were doing because we couldn’t keep trying to add on more to progress it.

That’s why I wanted to share 5 tips to help you accelerate your fat loss results while preserving your lean muscle mass to help yourself avoid metabolic adaptations and see lasting recomp.

And that starts with prioritizing strength work over cardio.

But then it isn’t enough to just focus on strength work, you want to be strategic and intentional which is why these 5 tips can help.

Because how you design your strength workouts when in a fat loss phase is different than during a muscle building phase.

While at both times you want your workouts focused on maintaining and building muscle, your fueling and therefore energy levels may be different making different training techniques even more beneficial.

It’s why my first tip is especially key to help you push that progression while in a calorie deficit…

#1: Use Rest-Pause Training Technique

To build muscle, you need to challenge yourself to progress and push in each workout. But sometimes we can’t just do a harder variation or more reps or more weight of an exercise.

Especially when we are in a calorie deficit, we can feel a bit depleted and like we aren’t as strong.

That’s where this rest-pause technique can help. It can help us use heavier weights or do a few more reps by implementing a short rest period or PAUSE in a single set.

Basically, where you feel like you’d have to stop, pause for 15-30 seconds and then complete more reps with the same weight and move.

You can then end up moving more weight in your workout while maintaining heavier loads and more advanced exercise variations for more volume.

An example of this could be a lunge. If you can only do 8 reps with the weights you’re using, and you’ve even been stuck at this amount for a bit, you may do your 8 reps. Pause for the 15-30 seconds.

Then do 2-4 more based on what you can do before fully resting.

This way you get out 12 reps with a weight and lunge variation you could only really do 8 reps with.

It helps you push that progression when stuck and even focus on maintaining quality reps instead of getting sloppy just to try to do more.

Then next don’t only focus on progressing moves through adding weight or reps. But also Vary Your Exercise Range Of Motion.

Increasing the range of motion you’re working through can help you improve your mobility and strength.

It can help you even load a muscle under more stretch to see better muscle gains faster.

But you don’t have to just increase the range of motion to load a muscle under stretch or drive growth.

Sometimes you also want to shrink the range of motion and do partial reps or pulses.

This can keep the muscle under tension for longer and even keep you just working the muscle while under stretch.

An example of this may be something like pulse RDLS.

With this move you’re keeping the hamstrings stretched and working in a smaller range of motion.

Combining this even later in a workout after a full range of motion RDL may be just what you need to really work your hamstrings to fatigue.

On the flip side of this, you may do a full range of motion or even extended range of motion abduction exercise to then include pulses at the end range of motion after.

Combining different ranges of motion can help you really fully work muscles while creating progression without just adding loads.

So don’t fear increasing the range of motion but also including partial reps at times strategically to isolate muscles further!

And not only do you want to play around with exercise range of motion, but you may want to adjust exercise order.

Often we think just compound moves to more isolated moves over the course of our workouts.

But sometimes by putting those isolation moves first, we can pre-fatigue an area to actually max out with lighter loads on those compound moves.

This can be key during a fat loss phase when we are a bit more energy depleted.

It’s why tip #3 is to include Pre-Fatigue Moves.

Try putting that leg extension exercise BEFORE your front lunges or squats.

You may be surprised by how much more you feel those quads working then in the compound move and by how heavy a lighter weight than usual feels.

This can really help you especially if you feel slightly stuck at a weight where you can’t do more BUT the weight isn’t fully maxing you out unless you keep adding more reps.

It can be key if you don’t feel those stubborn areas fully getting worked the way you need.

That little bit of fatigue helps you work a muscle closer to failure with the compound lift.

It can be that little gasoline on the fire to accelerate those muscle gains!

So for especially stubborn muscle groups you really want to target and grow, consider at times a little isolation work first in your workout to really feel those areas already working before you go into those compound lifts.

Just be conscious when you do the pre-fatigue work you don’t then compensate in the lift.

This may mean starting a bit lighter than you think with the compound exercise because the areas are already tired going in!

With all of these techniques, it is about maxing what you’re doing. We don’t just want to keep adding more.

While volume is key, too often we just add more to our training, which becomes slightly wasted work as we are too tired by the end of the session to be as intentional and maximize every rep.

So instead of just trying to add in more moves for an area to a single session or do more rounds, consider less work per session but more training frequency for especially stubborn muscle groups over the week.

This is why tip #4 is to Favor Weekly Frequency.

If you have a stubborn area you want to build muscle in, train it 2-3 times a week.

Don’t do 8 moves on one day, spread out your volume over the week.

This can be key during a fat loss phase as we are in an energy deficit so tend to fatigue more quickly.

That move you’re doing right now at the end of a long upper body day for your shoulders may FEEL like it is getting 100% effort, but your 100% at that time is far less than it would be if you did that move second on another day.

This volume spread out means we can do less on a day so we aren’t just going through the motions on the final rounds to get in more work on a single day.

Think about that 4th exercise you’re doing…you’re way more tired for it than the first exercise.

So instead of doing more on a single day, spread that work out.

Give yourself still days to recover between, but allow yourself to be fresher for those moves by not just stacking more into a single session.

If your shoulders are a stubborn muscle group, include 2-3 shoulder days a week.

Make one the more intensive one, with maybe two other days you even include just a single move for your shoulders over adding those two extra moves onto one day.

It will surprise you by how much more you are actually able to do with certain exercises when you aren’t tired trying to cram them in at the end of a session!

This will also allow you to include more diversity of movement for muscle groups over the week to really hit every aspect and see better muscle gains!

And by increasing training frequency over just doing more for a muscle group in a single session, you can often also be more strategic with tip #5…

Stop Skipping Rest.

Our body only rebuilds when it has time to repair and the fuel to do it.

When in a fat loss phase, your gas tank is already low. You need to allow for proper recovery to optimize how you do use the fuel coming in.

So do not skip days off.

But also don’t skip rest during your workouts.

The rest allows you to optimize each set and really maximize your output on reps.

Because the more fatigued you get over your workout, the more you feel like you’re working hard but not able to push progression in the same way.

And cutting out all rest, while it can make you feel like you worked harder in a session because your heart rate gets up, can also turn your strength workouts into more cardio sessions.

While this may feel good, it can also backfire and hinder the muscle gains you’re working hard for.

It can put you into that viscous cardio weight loss cycle.

So include rest and allow yourself to recover to lift heavier. Even just 1-2 minutes between moves or rounds depending on the workout design can be key.

And don’t forget about even the short rest of rest-pause technique to really push yourself.

But this is also why favoring weekly training frequency can be key.

Doing less for one area on a day and even hitting a few large muscle groups in a session can allow you to get in more rest while continuing to work and be efficient with your time. By cycling what is working, another muscle group can rest as you continue to use your gym time efficiently.

Rest doesn’t have to mean just scrolling on your phone. Heck, even get in some extra steps moving around the gym instead.

But don’t demonize rest if you want to push to build muscle.

Remember, muscle is key to metabolic health and ultimately looking leaner as we lose fat.

For amazing workouts you can do anywhere to build strength, muscle and improve your metabolic health to see fabulous recomp, check out Dynamic Strength!

–> LEARN MORE

Unlock More Pushups With 3 Tips

Unlock More Pushups With 3 Tips

by | Jun 15, 2025 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups

Push-ups aren’t just hard. They’re deceptively hard.

Because what looks like a simple bodyweight upper body move…Is actually a moving plank.

It’s why mastering the full push up isn’t just about upper body strength – it’s about creating full body tension.

It’s a mind-body connection challenge!

So if push-ups have felt frustrating, painful, or even impossible —

I want to walk you through exactly how to build up to that strong, picture perfect push up from your toes with not only the best modification to use but 3 key form cues.

These tips will help you build up to multiple reps in a row without dropping to your knees, compromising form or guessing at what’s actually working.

So what’s the best way to modify the push up to regress to progress?

Stop dropping to your knees…Use an incline!

That’s right. The best modification isn’t off your knees.

It isn’t partial reps. It isn’t powering through fugly reps hoping they get better as you get stronger…

It’s using an incline that meets you where you are at – whether that’s off a wall, counter, bench or barbell in a rig.

An incline works best because you’re not changing the movement – it’s still that full plank off your toes.

You’re just adjusting the resistance.

An incline allows you to scale the difficulty without changing the form.

This allows you to learn to set up in that full plank position and create tension through your core in the right way as you build up strength.

You learn to drive back through your heels.

You learn to flex your quads and use that posterior pelvic tilt, or tuck of your pelvis toward your ribs, to brace your core.

You learn to maintain this core engagement as you have to power the press using your chest shoulders and triceps with proper scapular control.

You learn the form you’ll need even as you lower the incline closer to the floor.

And this is what makes this modification better than the knee push up, where you only learn to engage down to your knees.

Everything moving together is what makes the push up hard and a mind-body connection challenge over just a strength one.

The incline allows you to slowly master that control.

And as you get stronger, you lower that incline.

The wall becomes a countertop. The countertop becomes a bench or the edge of a couch. The bench becomes the floor.

You’re building strength with real push-ups and you can make sure your form is solid before you lower down further.

But with using the incline you have to be conscious to not just add more reps at the incline you’re doing.

Instead lower it if you can do more than 5.

Because too often when we do modified moves, we just make ourselves better at the modification by adding more reps.

While this builds strength endurance, it can also keep us stuck just getting stronger at the modification.

So if you can do 5 reps, lower the incline just a bit!

Better to even do 1 rep at a harder variation and have to rest to do more than 5 in a row at an easier one if you want to master that first full one off the ground!

And as you progress that incline, you need to focus not just on making your push ups look pretty, mimicking proper from – you’ve got to actually make sure you feel the correct muscles working.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 key push up cues to help you focus on having the most powerful and efficient movement possible.

Too often we forget that strength isn’t just brute force but about efficiency. Can we use the correct muscles to the correct extents at the correct times…

Here are 3 cues to make sure you do exactly that…

Cue #1: Drive through your heels.

Even though the push up is an upper body move – your lower body can’t be disengaged.

Driving back through your heels to flex your feet creates that tension all the way up your legs and through your core.

It actually reduces the pressure on your upper body to press, making your body move efficiently move as one unit.

Remember, you’re not just pressing. You’re planking.

This cue is so powerful to focus on as the tension it creates fixes a ton of common form problems.

Struggle with your hips sagging? Worming up from the floor? Butt too high in the air?

All of that starts to clean up when you drive back through your heels.

Cue #2: Grip the ground.

Have you ever really noticed what you’re hands are doing during a push up?

Too often we don’t pay attention to the pressure we’re applying down into the ground.

But your hands aren’t just passive in this movement – they’re your foundation.

You want to push that ground away to properly press and that starts with spreading your fingers wide to grip the ground with your entire hand.

This simple change and focus does two major things:

It protects your shoulders and elbows by allowing you to better engage your back and helps you avoid that elbow flare that can lead to more strain.
It activates your chest for a more efficient press and less overuse of smaller muscle groups.

A little bonus cue to create a more powerful press and better engage your pecs is to imagine trying to drag your hands together on the floor as you push up.

This focus on adducting without moving also helps you avoid rocking out on your hands which further protects your wrists and elbows while working your chest more.

So if you’ve ever struggled with elbow, neck or shoulder pain as you do more push up work, this cue is a game-changer.

And Cue #3: Engage your back.

Yes — your back.

Proper back engagement leads to proper shoulder blade movement, which in turn supports and protects your shoulders.

So your backs…It matters more than you think.

Here’s what proper scapular movement looks like in a push up so you can better use your chest, shoulders and triceps without overloading your neck shoulders or elbows…

As you lower down, engage your upper back to pull your shoulder blades toward your spine, retracting them.

As you press back up, push the ground away, pulling your shoulder blades apart or protracting them.

You’re not trying to lock them in place. You’re guiding them through the movement.

No pinching, no shrugging, no leading jutting your head forward.

Just your back engaged to stabilize your shoulders as your shoulder blades move.

This cue alone can make you feel like your upper body instantly got stronger!

And combining all three cues and the incline modification? Well that’s magic.

Here’s your cue checklist next time you do a push up.

Set up off an incline you can control and drive back through your heels to feel tension through your entire core. Grip the ground or bench or bar as you unshrug your shoulders engaging your back.

As you lower feel your shoulder blades come together.

As you push the ground away (yup that tension through your hands) and drive back through your heels, feel your shoulder blades come back apart.

And then repeat.

Test out a lower incline.

If you can only control the lower down, stop at the bottom and reset and know that’s where you max out for now.

Remember sometimes even a single rep done well at a lower incline can be better than more reps done with a higher one.

It’s not just about doing more. It’s about making our practice more perfect.

Quality reps lead to improvements. We don’t want to ingrain bad habits.

Regress to progress and use that incline as a way to build up.

So stop grinding through sloppy reps. Start training with intention.

And guess what? That picture-perfect push-up may be closer than you think!

Ready to conquer those push ups?

–> Take my 30-Day Push Up Challenge

The TFL Muscle (Tensor Fasciae Latae) – The Hidden Cause Of Low Back, Hip, Knee and Ankle Pain

The TFL Muscle (Tensor Fasciae Latae) – The Hidden Cause Of Low Back, Hip, Knee and Ankle Pain

by | May 25, 2025 | Blog, Core, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief

There’s just this nagging pain you can’t seem to get rid of.

Maybe it’s your lower back. Your hip. Or even your knee or your ankle that feels off.

You’ve stretched. You’ve strengthened. You’ve rested even.

But the issue never really goes away. It keeps coming back.

The culprit may be one muscle that you don’t realize is perpetually getting overworked…

The TFL.

And this muscle can have a far reaching impact leading to aches and pains from your back down to your feet. 

In this video I want to break down… 

…where the TFL is and what it does, 

…how doing even the “right” moves can backfire and

…then how to adjust your movements to help you better activate your glutes

…while also doing the mobility work to relax this tight and overworked muscle.

So first, where is the TFL, what does it do and why should you even care?

The TFL or tensor fasciae latae is a small muscle on the outside of your hip.

To feel where your TFL is so you can notice when it is working, put your hand on the front top of your pelvis down your leg as you’re lying on your side.

Rotate your toe down toward the ground, turning your leg all the way up toward your hip. This internal rotation of your hip should make your TFL tense.

Ever notice that area really burning or working during moves like band walks where you’re trying to make your glutes work?

That’s your TFL compensating for your glute medius and becoming overworked and probably tight. And this is what can throw your ENTIRE lower body out of alignment and even perpetuate back pain.

Your TFL helps flex your hip, internally rotates your thigh, and abducts your leg.

Because it connects into your IT Band, tension in your TFL doesn’t just stay local.

It impacts your knee and even reaches your ankle. It even changes the way your feet strike the ground.

Over time, these changes in your movements, these compensation can lead to:

  • IT Band Syndrome
  • Patellofemoral pain (or runner’s knee)
  • Hip impingement or hip pain
  • Shin splints
  • Even chronic ankle issues

And here’s the kicker and why you need to care about this muscle… 

You might be seeing some of these other aches and pains and so focused on the point of pain you didn’t realize the culprit is this nasty little sucker of a muscle. 

So all of your work to correct those other issues doesn’t pay off and you just constantly struggle with aches and pains sidelining you.

Now if you’re like, but I am doing glute medius strengthening because I have heard it’s my TFL is the issue…

That’s great…BUT…

What do you feel working?

Because “good” moves, the “right” moves, done with the wrong muscles working? 

That’s only going to make the issues worse and lead to a lot of frustration that your hard work isn’t paying off.

Going back to when I mentioned band walks…

Ever do those and end up rubbing right where you now know your TFL is?

Or maybe it’s clams. Or a lateral raise…

If you don’t feel the side of your butt really being the main muscle working and instead feel the burn in your TFL…

Your TFL is still running the show.

You may even be trying to roll out other areas that feel tight…

Foam rolling your back when it gets sore or your lower leg because your ankles are having issues or even around your knees because they’re feeling twingy…

But none of this is addressing the original overcompensation pattern.

You can’t just fix the tight spots downstream. 

You have to go straight to the source.

So how do you change those recruitment patterns and get your glute medius working as it should instead of your TFL taking over?

I want to share 3 form tweaks that may help based on the move you’re doing that emphasis using that glute medius over the TFL and then even share other prehab exercises, both foam rolling and stretching, that you can use to relax that TFL further.

That relaxation of the muscle even prior to the glute activation moves can only help you change those recruitment patterns and make it easier to have that mind-body connection work correctly.

Basically, it helps you mentally find your butt to make sure it’s working when it should be!

Form Tip #1: Turn your toe in and down. 

Your TFL internally rotates your hip or turns it in and abducts your leg, lifting it laterally. 

But while you’ll often see your thigh and knee cap turn in with a tight TFL, you’ll also see your lower leg externally rotate and your feet turn out. 

If you find your knees really cave in with movement, give your TFL some love!

But turning that toe down toward the ground or back in can help prevent the movement pattern seen with a tight TFL to help avoid it taking over. 

While this may lead to you internally rotating all the way up your leg, this movement puts the emphasis on the glute medius to raise the leg laterally. 

I joking say it “distracts” the TFL, making that muscle even contribute to working to internally rotate so it can’t take over for the glute medius during abduction. It’s too distracted with the other movement!

So think of slightly leading with your heel as you raise your leg up or out to the side.

Form Tip #2: Use hip extension. 

Your TFL is also a hip flexor, meaning it works to bend your hips. 

You can therefore prevent it from working by extending your hip.

This has the added bonus of also engaging your glute max which can help your glute medius fire better. 

Just make sure that you aren’t faking that hip extension by arching your back or leaning over as a torso hinge is hip flexion.

Focus on using your glute to extend truly at the hip, even pushing back into something like a wall as you laterally lift your leg. 

You should feel not only the side of your butt but also the back of your butt working.

Pair this with turning your toe down for even better activation!

Form Tip #3: Play With Your Setup.

Ever notice when doing different moves some are way easier to feel your glutes working in? While with others you can’t get that TFL to shut off no matter how modified you make them?

If this is the case, play around with postures and positions. 

With our glute medius, different fibers contribute slightly to different joint actions. 

So don’t hesitate to lean forward or back instead of sitting straight up during seated abductions. This can help you target more anterior or even posterior fibers of the gluted medius.

Try even bridge abductions to use that hip extension to engage your glute max.

But don’t be afraid to play around with postures and variations, using both one sided and two sided moves.

And to help you master moves you can’t get your TFL to be quiet during, try including them AFTER a move where you’ve already gotten a little pump in your glute medius with. 

Often that little pump can make it easier to then feel the correct muscles working in the moves 

Remember if you’re not feeling it in the right place? You’re not fixing the right problem.

And if you’re really struggling with your TFL taking over…here’s a huge piece most people skip:

The foam rolling and stretching.

Prehab is a 3 part process – 

Foam roll tight and overactive muscles…

Stretch those muscles as you mobilize joints…

THEN activate to strengthen weak and underactive muscles and improve stability. 

So if you’re using the tweaks I mentioned above with activation moves for your glute medius and struggling with still feeling your TFL try these two moves prior…

TFL Foam Rolling and the Lunge and Reach.

Both are great to include as part of your warm up.

To roll out your TFL…

Place the ball on the front side of your hip, lying over it. You can roll it back toward your glute or slightly down the side of your leg in front of your hip bone. 

But focus on that spot that tenses as you turn your leg in.

Hold on any tight spots and breathe as you relax into the ball. 

Lift and lower your leg to tense and relax 5-10 times. 

You can also bend your knee toward your chest and extend your leg back out to hit this hip flexor as well.

You can use this foam rolling move during rest between activation or even strength exercises when you feel the TFL taking over, but for sure include it in your warm up or prehab before a stretch like the Lunge and Reach.

To do the Lunge and Reach…

Step forward on one side, keeping your back leg straighter as you lunge forward. Lunge deeper to intensify the movement and stretch.

Reach with your opposite hand overhead even leaning to reach further. You will feel a stretch down your side but into the front side of that back hip.

Really engage that back glute to drive your hip into extension.

If you are really struggling with TFL tightness or even using this in your cooldown, you can do a static stretch variation half kneeling on the ground near a way.

But focus on that hip extension engaging your glute as you reach toward the opposite side to stretch.

Remember, the point of pain is not always where the problem started.

If your knees hurt…If your hips feel stiff…If your ankles feel locked up…

If you’re doing a lot of the “right” things but nothing’s adding up, look at other areas that can have an impact, like your TFL

Because if you don’t address the TFL? You’ll just keep fighting the same battle over and over.

Try those form tweaks after the foam rolling and stretching moves today.

Focus on what you truly feel working to finally change those recruitment patterns and address that overload to alleviate those aches and pains!

Move and feel your best with Dynamic Strength workouts. Every workout includes the prehab work you need!

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5 Golden Rules To Lose Fat (Without Losing Muscle)

5 Golden Rules To Lose Fat (Without Losing Muscle)

by | May 18, 2025 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Mindset

Most of us don’t just want to lose weight – we want to lose fat.

We want to look leaner, more toned, more defined.

We want to fit back into our skinny jeans or that dress in the back of the closet we can’t bring ourselves to give away because we desperately want to wear it again…

We want body recomp. We want to lose fat without losing muscle.

In this video I’ll share the 5 Golden Rules to help you do just that so you can shed those inches and see fabulous muscle definition.

Golden Rule #1: Commit To The Change You Hate The Most.

Ever jump into a new program and change everything you’re doing dramatically at once?

Which thing are you then most likely to blame if results aren’t happening fast enough and the effort starts to feel “not worth it?”

The change you least want to make…and probably need to make the most because it is the most outside your comfort zone.

We don’t want to adjust the hard workouts we’re “enjoying.”

Or the extra fats or carbs we justify as healthy and quality food that also taste good.

No….

Instead we research why high protein is bad or not needed to resist the protein increase we’ve made.

Or we resist the reduction in cardio because we love our long runs even though we’ve heard the work against building muscle.

Or we resist the push to eat more and create a smaller calorie deficit because we fear gaining weight and slashing our calories lower is what we’ve always done…

We resist trusting the full SYSTEM. And that makes it break.

We can’t only make the changes we are comfortable with.

Honestly only being willing to make those changes we are comfortable with is what has kept us stuck.

We repeat the same changes that “work” to get to the same point where we end up falling off again to start back over.

So while you may see some initial progress staying with something familiar or seemingly easy…It’s not really working if you’re constantly looking for a new fix.

This time, embrace the hard. It means that is the change you truly need!

And one hard change most of us want to resist is Golden Rule #2: Track EVERYTHING.

Tracking is restrictive. It’s hard. It’s boring. It’s tedious. It’s annoying.

It’s obsessive.

You can FEEL this way about tracking, but we have to recognize that these are FEELINGS. And feelings and attitudes we’ve created toward a tool because of how we’ve even used it in the past.

But tracking isn’t restrictive or obsessive. It may be hard or boring or tedious or annoying to start as you’re learning, but so many things are.

And you can make it worse by repeating those feelings to yourself. Or you can choose to see the opportunity in it.

You can also recognize WHY you feel this way about it.

Have you usually turned to tracking in the past when you hated how your clothes fit or the weight you saw on the scale?

When you slashed your calories super low and cut out all the foods you love?

No wonder you don’t like tracking if that has been your experience with it!

But tracking is just you recording what you’ve done. It doesn’t have to mean cutting calories lower. It doesn’t have to mean eliminating a food group.

It can even be about adding in MORE. It can be about making sure you’re fueling well. It can help you assess even food intolerances and meal timings that help you perform better to build muscle and feel more energized.

Tracking gives us data to make accurate adjustments and SMALL ONES that truly address where we are right now. It gives you the power to strike YOUR balance…if you give it the chance.

And recognize that tracking doesn’t have to be done in one form. You can use hand portions as a guide, take pictures, log just protein and calories or do full ratios.

But if you’re sick of not feeling like anything is sustainable or you aren’t sure what is working, tracking can fix all of that.

Nothing is off limits. And you know what you’re doing to adjust.

What gets measured gets managed.

You want to stay within your budget? You track it.

Well, tracking your food helps you stay within your food budget.

Golden Rule #3: Diet for fat loss. Train for muscle.

Adjust both together and that’s where the magic happens.

Because, while most of us have heard the saying, “Abs are made in the kitchen”…

Fabulous ab definition is really REVEALED by the kitchen.

The muscle we want to show is built through progressive overload and pushing ourselves in the gym.

But too often to burn more calories in our training and create that deficit to lose faster, we turn to cardio.

This only backfires, causing us to lose not only fat but also muscle.

It’s why we can see metabolic adaptations occur more quickly.

And it’s why we can feel like we’re working so hard, adjusting our diet yet not looking any leaner!

We can’t just turn our workouts into killer cardio sessions. We need to stop thinking, “I should do more cardio!”

And instead we need to think about our training as a chance to build muscle.

If you want to lose fat without losing muscle, focus on strength training and progressing moves week over week. Don’t cut out rest to feel more out of breath. Don’t just add in more to feel more worked.

Focus on truly lifting more with quality reps, even needing MORE rest between rounds to keep using harder variations and heavier loads.

That way when you dial in your macros and your diet with what I’m about to go over in Rule #4 while training to build muscle, you’ll see the best body recomp results happen even faster!

Golden Rule #4: Create DAILY Consistency.

Have you ever wondered…Should I eat less on a day off? Lower my carbs?

Stop adding more complication. Stop trying to do more. Focus on those basics.

KISS…Keep it simple, stupid.

Simple is sustainable.

Focus on that daily consistency in those habits!

The less we add complication or more variation, the easier we make it on ourselves to create a new environment and shift mindsets and habits.

The fewer changes we make at once, the more we can know the impact they have and how they are working to then adjust habits as we go.

The less we overwhelm ourselves with more to do, the more the effort feels worth the outcome!

What we do consistently we get good at. What we do consistently builds results.

You can’t know if a macro ratio or workout or meal timing works if you’re not doing the same thing weekly. You can’t build habits and routines if things are constantly shifting.

And at the most basic level, your body can’t repair and rebuild on days off if it doesn’t have the fuel. You aren’t just eating more to train hard, but to recover.

Inconsistent energy sources are what can lead to us feeling extra frustrated, confused and hangry! It also adds more precision in numbers we have to have as we cycle.

Instead, keep things simple. Allow yourself to build those daily routines and get confident in them. Then adjust.

But focus on a set macro and calorie goal you maintain for a few weeks. Plan ahead to hit those numbers. Dial in your precision with them. It will pay off.

And Golden Rule #5: What You Put First Gets Priority.

If you’re struggling to prioritize a habit change, put it first in your day.

Add protein to that first meal

Drink water when you first get up.

Do your workout before the day gets busy.

When a new habit can fall by the wayside when life gets busy or we get worn out, the best way to make sure we complete it is to do it first in the day.

That way we leave things we know we will do no matter what till later because we’ll do them anyway.

But this rule also applies to cardio vs. strength work and eve the order of exercises in your routine.

What you put first in your training gets you when you’re freshest. You’re giving a more true 100% intensity and effort.

Want to lift heavier for your glutes? Prioritize a lift for them first in your lower body workout day.

Or if you’re wanting to include some cardio because you love it while still focusing on losing fat without losing muscle?

Put your strength work first in your session and ideally first in your day if you are doing a second walk or cardio session for any reason.

That way you are freshest and can truly push hard to create that challenge to build muscle. And you can still get in movement with cardio you may put after.

Even consider timing a walk or sprint interval session at the end of workout where you work muscles near stubborn fat to help utilize mobilized fatty acids.

And don’t include steady state endurance cardio after a workout where you’re working a muscle group that you struggle to build as this can hinder those muscle gains.

But consider the order to things you include and what you need to prioritize.

While we don’t want to stress over details first, we want to note that how systems are designed together has an impact.

We need to embrace those hard changes, track how things are going and our consistency in implementation and then review all aspects of our lifestyle to make sure things complement!

Because we can lose fat without losing muscle, but it isn’t as simple as eating less or doing more cardio. It’s a strategic process and we need a clear plan to push through the hard!

Break free of the change loop keeping you stuck losing the weight only to regain it, and MORE, later…

–> Busting The Change Loop

“I Don’t Have Time To Workout”

“I Don’t Have Time To Workout”

by | May 11, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

“I don’t have enough time.”

Sorry I’m calling BS on this one.

And before your storm off clicking back, hear me out…

What we value, we prioritize.

And what we prioritize, we MAKE time for.

We FIND the time.

Yes, there are finite hours in the day, but we give up some of our endless Instagram scrolling.

Or we find a way to still do SOMETHING.

We stop focusing on an ideal and instead focus on what is truly possible where we are at RIGHT NOW.

Because something is better than nothing and 5 minutes pays off.

That’s why I want to share not only 3 tips to help you get that workout momentum building, MAKING the time, but also 3 tips to help you truly design for the time you have.

Because feeling fabulous and moving well doesn’t have to be a full time job!

So first…how can we make the time in our crazy, busy schedules?

And no, the answer isn’t just sleeping less or cutting out things you love to do even if you know they may be…well…time wasters…

Actually the first way to make time for your training is to combine your workouts with some of those mindless activities you love!

Yup.

Tip #1 is…Don’t sacrifice things you enjoy – CONNECT THEM!

Love scrolling Instagram or TikTok? Love bad reality TV shows? Use those as times to go get in a walk. Or do your mobility work. Listen to a podcast as you workout.

Use your workouts oddly as a time to multitask.

Because so often we feel like to fit in the things we know we “should” do, we need to give up things we just want to do to relax.

But we don’t have to.

By connecting these two things, you’re sacrificing something you want to do, but you’re also making potentially the training you don’t want to do something you want to do…and GET to do.

You may make yourself look forward even more to that time for YOU. And the more you value that time, the more you’ll prioritize the habit!

Tip #2: Use stolen moments. Take movement snack breaks.

Sure maybe a 30, 40 or even hour long session is “ideal.” But if that’s not possible and is mentally stopping you from starting anything, realize you don’t need it.

Use the moments you have.

5 minutes in between meetings, do a couple of stretches and a loop around your office.

Need to get up to get more water? Do 10 bodyweight squats.

Yes, we want progression to our workouts and a clear plan in place as much as possible for the fastest results, but even small actions beat a perfect plan…

Because so often we use not being able to do the ideal as an excuse to do nothing. And no action means no progress.

Not to mention, action creates more momentum and more action.

When you feel positive and good about the habits you are doing, you want to do more of them.

And even 5 minutes throughout the day can add up and add up fast.

Consider even accounting for those stolen moments to have a plan for different lengths so you can create some clear guidelines to help yourself build.

Start even setting an alarm or calendar event to get you in the habit of doing 5 minutes.

Because 5 minutes becomes 15 becomes 30 becomes forward momentum that makes you want to prioritize the habit more and more.

And suddenly, you find there is more time than you realized in your day because you’re not faced with the daunting task of setting aside an hour all at once!

Then Tip #3: Focus on frequency first.

We get good at what we consistently do. The more we have that set time daily that we workout at, the easier it is to get in the groove and habit.

This may sound counterintuitive BUT…

It may be better to do 10-15 minutes a day to start over trying to do an hour 3 times a week.

And it’s all because of the groove and habit it gets us into.

With the short daily sessions, you can have a clear pattern you create and a shift in your environment. The repetition daily for a few weeks can build that consistency to create that discipline.

From there, you can adjust maybe two or three sessions to be longer and even shift some of the shorter ones to just be recovery.

But more of less to start may be the key to helping that momentum snowball.

Now that you’ve made the time, you have to design for the time you have so your training sessions are as effective as possible.

Because often we feel like 5-10 minutes can’t pay off. But it can, if used strategically.

Here are 3 tips to maximize those minutes…

Tip #1: Set a timer.

When we don’t have clarity on how long something will take, we may skip it when we have a hard stop time or deadline. By creating timed routines, you know you’ll get everything in.

That clarity creates comfort.

If you have 5 minutes, set a timer for 5 minutes with 3 moves you cycle through during that time. Then you’re done.

If you have a minute, do a minute of foam rolling or stretching even. Heck a minute of burpees will destroy you.

If you have 15 minutes, create a circuit of 5 moves you do for 1 minute each and repeat the series 3 times.

So many ways to use that timer to help you be efficient.

And not only will you know you’ll be able to get in the workout you’ve designed, but having that set timeframe can help you strategically include moves and reps and sets to your advantage.

It can help you pick exercises that will really challenge you. It can help you decide which muscles to work to make the most of every second.

It gives you a focus for the session to optimize it.

Then Tip #2: Use compound moves.

Work more muscle groups in a shorter amount of time to build more muscle while burning more calories.

Compound moves are multi-joint movements that work multiple muscle groups at once. These are more efficient than isolation exercises that work only a single muscle at a time, making them better to help you work your entire body when time is an issue.

You can also move heavier loads with compound moves which can help you build strength and muscle more efficiently.

When designing your workouts focus on exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, push ups, pull ups, bench press, rows over bicep curls or leg extensions.

And then cycle the areas worked over your workouts to avoid having to rest so you can get the most work done in the shortest amount of time.

While rest is key to us being able to work at a higher intensity in our training, we can use active rest to our advantage when we’re short on time.

To allow one muscle to rest as another works, make your workouts more full body and alternate moves for different muscle groups.

In your circuit, think squat, push up and row as your 3 moves over squat, lunge, step up.

The second never gives your legs a chance to rest so you’ll see your intensity dip as you even have to modify or lighten loads whereas your legs get rest in the first during push ups and rows.

And Tip #3: Don’t work to failure.

While it is tempting to try to max out the reps on a move each round, this can cause you to actually have to slow down and rest more or modify moves to keep moving.

Instead stop a few reps short of having to rest and move on to the next exercise. This can lead to you being able to push harder for each rep you do and make the work you do more quality.

It can help you even do more reps over the 5 minutes you have over having to pause because you’re tired, slowing you down.

You can also often lift heavier by keeping the reps lower. Over the 5-10 minutes, 5 reps at a time can really add up to more weight lifted than if you went lighter to be able to do 10 reps!

The key is strategically designing for the time we have over focusing on an ideal.

And all of this starts with owning that we can’t change how many hours in the day we have, but we can find ways to shift our priorities to MAKE the time to see the results we want!

For workouts you can do anywhere, and that will fit your crazy busy schedule, check out my Dynamic Strength program:

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