TAKE ACTION
a
M
TAKE ACTION
The Best Core Exercise You Aren’t Doing

The Best Core Exercise You Aren’t Doing

by | Nov 15, 2021 | Blog, Core, Exercises

Your core is everything from your shoulders to your knees down your frontside and your backside.

And when you train your core you want to work in every plane of motion, including both anti-rotational and rotational core work.

You want to consider not only how to create a stronger core, but also a better mind-body connection to stabilize and support your shoulders, spine, pelvis, hips and knees.

And that is why I love this amazing core move the SIT THRU!

Now this move looks slightly odd and can feel awkward and complicated to start, it also requires more stability and mobility than we realize.

But it is an amazing move to work on your rotational core strength, targeting your abs and obliques while also improving your hip and shoulder mobility and stability. You’ll feel this move working the muscles around your ribs, your shoulders and arms as well as your quads.

It requires no equipment to do as well and can even be a great way to get your blood pumping, making it a fun move to even use as additional core work in an interval cardio workout.

Plus the basic Sit Thru can so easily be combined with other moves to match your needs and goals, whether it’s performing it as a Burpee Sit Thru, Crawl with Sit Thru or even Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge!

So how do you do this amazing basic Sit Thru move and what if you aren’t yet ready for the full variation?

How To Do The Sit Thru:

To do the Sit Thru, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Tuck your toes under and press up onto your hands and toes or balls of your feet.

This is a bulldog position and your knees should be hovering a few inches off the ground.

Lift one foot to kick under your body as you rotate to face that way. As you bring your leg forward and through, extending it out, lift your hand on the side you’re kicking toward so you can rotate your chest open.

You will be supporting yourself with your other hand and foot. Make sure to keep that arm straight and do not shrug the shoulder.

You want to rotate all the way through with your leg out straight so that you are almost sitting, and even could touch your butt to the ground if you needed to pause and re-balance. This is the sit thru.

Then rotate back close, placing your hand back down as you bend your knee to move back into that bulldog position.

You want to avoid your legs straightening out more into the plank as you perform this move. That tight position is what not only works your quads but helps improve your mobility.

You also want to make sure your hands stay under your shoulders to help keep your shoulders stable while improving your shoulder mobility. Do not shrug as you do this move.

Then kick through to the other side.

The faster you move, the more challenging, and even cardio, the move will be!

But what if you don’t have the mobility or shoulder stability yet to do this move?

How To Modify The Sit Thru:

One of my favorite ways to modify the Sit Thru is off a bench or incline. By placing your hands up on a bench, you provide more space to perform the sit thru and you reduce the strain and load on your arms and shoulders, abs and quads.

It can allow you to still work on that same position and rotational move while improving your shoulder stability without the strain.

As you feel more comfortable and improve your mobility, you can lower the incline over time.

If you do not have an incline, you can also modify this move by kicking your leg under in that bulldog position without raising your hand. This can be great if you don’t yet have the shoulder stability too, however it does take out some of the benefits.

SUMMARY:

Just remember a move is only as good as our implementation. We need to regress to progress and make sure we are not just replicating a movement pattern but also feeling the correct muscles working.

Have some fun including the sit thru in your routine and feel that core working!

Ready to learn how to use moves to match your needs and goals?

Check out my 1:1 Online Coaching Program:

—> LEARN MORE

FHP 344- The Best Training Schedule In The History Of The WOrld

FHP 344- The Best Training Schedule In The History Of The WOrld

by | Nov 8, 2021 | podcast, Uncategorized

I often get asked what the best training schedule is. And I’m generally getting asked because we are worried we aren’t doing enough.

We definitely have the mindset of more is better.

If we aren’t spending enough time in the gym, we can’t get results.

But often this mindset is what holds us back.

We design for the “ideal” over designing for what is realistic for us.

But the real secret to results is designing for the time we have.

The BEST training schedule is the one focused on a schedule you can actually do consistently.

Because if you design with your schedule in mind, you can create an appropriate volume and use the right workout designs and moves to get results in the time you have.

You can also stay consistent. And consistency is key.

We don’t realize how much actually inconsistency can not only be a results killer but also be what leads to injury.

We aren’t doing things consistently to build up and that inconsistency makes us FEEL like we can push harder than we actually should. And then we end up with compensating and overloading areas, which leads to injury.

We need that consistency to build up and create that strong foundation.

So instead of focusing on some ideal and designing for say 6 days a week when you can only get in 3, focus on designing for 3 with even a bonus option if you have time.

That way you don’t “miss out” on something in a workout you don’t get to and you can create a volume that challenges you over the 3 days. You can make sure every area is worked and you actually do what you need to reach your goals.

If you’d designed for 6 days and only got 3, you could have missed out on something that week.

And same goes for time. If you realistically have 30 minutes. Design for that. Using different workout designs we can optimize the time we have to get results.

The more we design for the time we have, the more consistent we will be. And the MENTAL victory of that even pays off.

Because we keep wanting to train and can even want to do MORE. Versus if we feel like we’re failing because we’re not doing everything we set out to do, we can often ultimately give up on our plan.

When we feel like a failure we are less likely to keep pushing!

Set yourself up for a win and even wanting to do more ESPECIALLY as you build back.

And then don’t be afraid to adjust based on changes in your routine. Sometimes 4 workouts may be more doable. Sometimes 3 or 6. Sometimes you may have an hour, sometimes only 20 minutes.

Focus on designing based on that realistic schedule.

Here are some key things to consider when deciding on the BEST training schedule for you….

#1: What is realistic if something comes up during the week? What’s the minimum you can do?

#2: Not only how many sessions each week, but how much time realistic each training session do you have to commit?

#3: The less time you have, the more you want to consider workout designs that are efficient and make use of rest intervals. Now this doesn’t mean skipping rest, BUT it can mean cycling areas work so you get to rest one area as another works.

#4: What are your goals? Even your goals can impact the designs and layouts you use. Just starting back? 3 days a week may be better anyway to give areas more time to recover since you haven’t been training and can’t necessarily handle the volume of an experienced lifter. Or if you really want to focus on maximal strength gains, you may want to design in a way where you can have slightly longer sessions, even if only training 4 days a week. Because you NEED to include full rest to recover to be able to lift heavy each and ever set. But then still, you need to consider what is realistic. If you’re trying to achieve body recoup and have 3 days, you may do more full body and even have a slightly metabolic element to the workouts. But if you have 6, you may do hemisphere or alternate more lifting and cardio.

#5: Don’t get stuck on one BEST. Focus on your changing goals and schedule! It can be fun to even see the minimum you can do to get results during those busy times! And remember SOMETHING is better than nothing.

SUMMARY:

Just remember one size doesn’t fit all and even in our own lives, we shouldn’t be afraid to test out different schedules and splits. Always focus first on what is a realistic time frame for you – how long and how many days a week – before you then design the workouts based on that. You can truly make anything work!

And then, especially when starting out, make it attainable. And easily attainable to start. Better to build momentum and want more than to feel like you’re failing not hitting what you set out!

The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

by | Nov 7, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

The clamshell exercise is a staple of any rehab program that calls for glute activation moves.

But honestly, it’s slightly overrated.

And so often done INCORRECTLY.

We end up rotating to get a bigger range of motion. We engage other muscles to try and rush to progress the move and add a band.

We aren’t intentional with the move while focusing on what we feel working.

But part of that is actually because it is so easy to cheat.

For such a seemingly simple move, it is so easy for us to cheat and compensate and ultimately perpetuate the existing issues by overusing the same muscles we are trying to avoid overusing.

All too often this basic move perpetuates the problem instead of activating the muscles we want it to.

We end up engaging our TFL or overworking our piriformis over actually getting our glute medius to pull it’s weight.

That’s why I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Glute Medius Activation Moves to do instead – The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise.

But before I go into the glute medius move I prefer to use, I did just want to touch on 3 key cues if you decide to use that oh so basic clam exercise.

#1: Turn your top toe down toward the ground.

This cue can actually be useful in many glute medius moves to help inhibit the TFL if it tends to take over.

The internal tibial rotation, or rotation of your lower leg down toward the ground, can help you prevent the TFL from compensating for your glute medius.

When doing the clam, just turn that top foot toward the ground in front of your bottom foot instead of keeping your feet stacked or letting that top foot open up as you raise your top leg.

#2: Don’t focus on a bigger range of motion.

Yes we always want to strengthen through a full range of motion, but we want to make sure it is actually a range of motion we can control with the muscles we want to target.

Too often we end up rotating our entire body or start to overuse muscles like our piriformis to perform a bigger range of motion.

Instead of focusing on making the move bigger, focus on stopping the movement with the glute medius, really feeling it on the side of your butt.

It can even be helpful to put a wall or pole behind you and think about squeezing your butt slightly forward even as you open.

#3: Change your degree of hip flexion.

Struggling to establish that mind-body connection?

Try changing how much you flex or extend your hips.

While this can not only help us target the anterior or posterior fibers of the glute medius more, and make sure we are able to engage the muscle through a variety of postures, it can also help us find a position where we can most easily establish that mind-body connection, especially if we are struggling.

Once you are able to really feel the muscle working, you can even move to a more or less hip flexed position to use that engagement to help you create the mind-body connection while in a position you may not have felt it before!

But because each of us does have a different build and mind-body connection, whether even due to previous injuries, it can be useful to feel free to adjust our exact degree of hip flexion as we learn to master the move and use the correct muscles.

Now let’s talk about how to do the Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise and why I prefer this move over the basic clam.

The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise:

If you’re struggle to engage your glute medius, it can be helpful to make sure you’re engaging your glute max as well. That’s why this move with the slight kick back can really help.

And because your TFL is a hip flexor and your piriformis assists with horizontal abduction when your hip is flexed to 90 degrees, it can be key to work on activating your glute medius while your hip is extended.

If you think about the clam, you aren’t kicking back and as easily able to use the glute max to help prevent your TFL from compensating.

You also are in that hip flexed position which lends itself to both your Piriformis and TFL engaging, two muscles that often compensate for our glute medius leading to lower back, hip and even knee aches and pains.

And that’s why this Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise is a great go-to glute medius activation move!

This move works on hip extension to engage your glute max while also working to improve your hips stability and glute medius activation.

To do this move, you may start with bodyweight and progress to a mini band variation with the band around your legs just above your knees.

Set up by bending that bottom leg to help you stabilize and set up lying on your side with your back to the wall. You want to set up a few inches out from the wall so you can kick back slightly into the wall. You can fully lie on your side with your bottom arm straight out on the ground or you can prop yourself up to rest your head in your hand.

Then lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and make sure you do NOT rotate that toe open. You can even turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground.

After lifting up a few inches, drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

From this position, slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg.

Perform this lateral raise but do not rotate your hip open to raise up higher.

Lift up and then slowly slide the leg down. Do not lower completely down and relax out. If you’re using a band, you want to make sure the band doesn’t pull you back down and that you keep tension on it even at the bottom.

You want your glute working the entire time.

Focus on feeling your glute 90
lifting your leg up, and if you have a band pushing against the band, as you feel your glute max working to drive your heel back into the wall extending your hip.

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that no one move is right for everyone. And even knowing when we DON’T feel a move working the correct muscles can be key so that we can prevent ourselves from perpetuating the problem and even select a move that does better help us establish that mind-body connection.

Use these cues to help yourself make sure you’re adjusting moves to fit your needs and goals and if you’ve been struggling to use the clam, try this lateral raise variation instead!

Working to activate your glutes? Check out my Booty Burner!

–> LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOTY BURNER

FHP 343 – Embrace Your Negative Emotions

FHP 343 – Embrace Your Negative Emotions

by | Nov 2, 2021 | podcast

I’d love to tell you there was a way to be happy 24/7.

But that’s just not the reality of being human.

Negative emotions are a part of life and a VALUABLE part at that.

I think too often we just try to avoid or ignore them, but they are going to be there regardless.

And actually often the more we “fight them” over owning up to them, the more they hold us back and drag us down.

I saw a great equation that was suffering = pain x resistance

And the point of it was the more we resist the negative emotion over embracing it and recognizing it, the more we actually suffer.

So how can you start to recognize negative emotions as a good thing?

#1: Recognize they’re normal. That you’re GOING to have them no matter how freaking amazing your life is.

Life is going to be full of ups and downs.

And honestly, you can only truly know the good by having experienced the bad.

I love the mindset even of setbacks can only happen BECAUSE there has been progress.

Negative feeling and emotions are part of life and they can even be a key component to helping us move forward and be happier long-term.

They can help us see when situations in our life and circumstances are off. They can help us realize a change is needed for us to truly move forward and be happier.

#2: Don’t just bury the seed. (Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away)

I think often we try to just ignore negative emotions and feelings. We even try to stamp them down to not have to deal with them.

The thing is that doesn’t truly get rid of them.

Often the more we ignore those emotions, the more they come back to bite us later.

It’s like burying a seed…it’s not gone…it’s actually going to GROW INTO SOMETHING MORE.

The question is, what is it going to grow into?

You want to control what comes of those negative emotions.

So just burying them hoping they grow into something good, or maybe don’t grow at all, is a recipe for disaster.

Instead you want to tend to those seeds and groom them to grow into something positive.

Face what is going on. It gives you control to shape how it impacts you in the future.

#3: See them as a learning experience – Assess and learn!

Negative emotions are showing us things we aren’t happy with. Things we are uncomfortable with. Situations we’d like to avoid in the future.

Experiencing those negative emotions can be a powerful learning tool so we don’t repeat the things that lead to those negative feelings.

Of course we don’t want to fear those negative emotions so much we don’t take risks, BUT we do always want to assess what we can learn from those situations to help yourselves avoid those negative feelings in the future…and even make them POSITIVE experience.

And not only can these negative emotions help us learn to create better outcomes for ourselves in the future, but they can also teach us to better embrace situations and CHOOSE how we perceive and use them.

Stuff is going to happen outside of our control. We just need to recognize we have a choice in how we perceive things.

So if you’ve always taken a negative perspective, maybe it’s time to even see if you can see the situation as an opportunity over an obstacle.

But don’t let negative emotions lead to simply avoidance. Assess the situation. Learn from and even recognize if it is simply the downside to another upside.

Because sometimes the negatives are part of getting something new and good!

The Most Underrated Shoulder Press

The Most Underrated Shoulder Press

by | Nov 1, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

The overhead press is a tough compound shoulder, tricep and chest exercise. It is also a great move to work your core, serratus anterior and even upper traps.

And while vertical pressing movements are key to include, they require more mobility and stability than we often realize.

They require not just shoulder mobility and stability, but also scapular and spinal mobility and stability as well.

The problem is, all too often our mobility and stability in these areas is lacking, and partly because of our common daily postures.

We spend far too much time hunched over our technology or commuting to and from work.

And this constant forward flexion, can lead to shoulder, scapular and thoracic mobility restrictions that may cause us to suffer from neck, shoulder and upper back aches and pains when we try to go heavy with overhead pressing.

These mobility restrictions can even be why your lower back is sore and achy after performing this upper body move!

So while it’s key we work to address these mobility and stability issues with our prehab work and including foam rolling, stretching and activation as part of our warm up, it may also mean that the basic overhead press is not the best option for us to start.

Because of these common mobility restrictions and the fact that so many of us compensate to try to replicate proper from, I actually love to sub in this often underrated overhead press variation, the landmine press.

It can help us get the full benefits of the overhead press with less strain on our rotator cuff as well as less risk of us arching and overloading our lower backs to compensate.

If you are currently working to improve your thoracic extension and shoulder mobility as well as your scapular control, you may find the Landmine Press allows you to include overhead pressing without feeling like you’re going to get injured.

Because of the slightly angled press, this move can more easily allow you to engage your back to support your shoulder and feel that scapular movement. It also requires less thoracic extension to perform correctly.

And my favorite variation of it, the single arm press, can even help you correct imbalances as you strengthen your shoulders, triceps and chest!

Before I dive into 3 tips to get the most out of this amazing move, I wanted to go over basic Single Arm Landmine Pressing Form.

How To Do The Single Arm Landmine Press:

To do the Single Arm Landmine Press, set a bar up in a landmine and grab the bar in one hand with a neutral grip, bringing the bar up to your shoulder. Stand with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart and parallel. The bar should be just a few inches in front of your shoulder so you can hold it comfortably with your chest pressed out.

Think wide shoulders as you brace your abs as if about to be punched in the gut. Squeeze your glutes as well to help better engage your lats to support your shoulders.

Then press the bar out, extending your arm fully. Do not really lean into the press or round or reach out. Just press to fully extend your arm, then lower the bar back down to your shoulder.

Do not rotate or lean as you press. Keep your core engaged. Repeat all reps on one side before switching.

Now what are 3 tips to help you adjust this move to fit your needs and goals and get even more out of the basic variation?

#1: Vary Your Stance.

While this is an upper body move, how you stand to press can impact the additional benefits you get from the move.

In the basic form I mentioned, you will get a great anti-rotational core benefit. And the narrower your foot stance, the more you’ll have to fight your body’s desire to rotate.

You can also stagger your stance for a bit stronger base of support and to potentially even be able to focus on heavier loads.

But standing isn’t your only option for this move.

You can move to half kneeling, full kneeling or even seated!

While seated, you won’t be able to handle as heavy a load, it prevents you from compensating or seeking out mobility from other places. This move can be very core intensive and challenging.

Full kneeling will also be another challenging core option, requiring you to really fight the urge to rotate or lean. This variation can be great if you struggle with lower back pain during pressing and need to practice that ab and glute engagement.

Half kneeling is also a great way to really focus on ab and glute activation, but while being able to go slightly heavier than full kneeling. It is a great way to focus on using that glute activation on the knee that is down to better engage your lat on the pressing side to improve your shoulder stability and scapular control.

No one stance is better or worse. And you may find you even progress the move simply by adjusting the stance to adjust the different benefits you get from the move. We have to remember that the same, but different can be a form of progression as we use a move over different workout programming.

#2: Use Your BACK – Focus On Your Shoulder Blade Moving.

Often we ignore the importance of our back to improving our pushing movements. And not only the muscles of our back but the control of our shoulder blades in general.

When you set up to press and think about any of the cues from “press your chest out” to “wide shoulders” what you also want to be thinking about is engaging the sides of your back to support your shoulders and make sure you are unshrugged to start.

If you start the press with your shoulders shrugged and shoulder blades elevated, you are pressing from a weakened position – a position that is going to put more strain on those smaller muscles, like your rotator cuff.

By engaging the sides of your back to start with those shoulders down, you can press from a strong position.

And then don’t just think about pressing the weight out with your shoulder. Think about feeling that shoulder blade move. Your shoulder blade will upwardly rotate and posteriorly tilt as you press.

This movement is key to pressing safely.

So don’t just go through the motions of pressing the weight up.

Think about that back engagement as you set up to press from a point of strength and then focus on feeling your shoulder blade move as your back is involved in that shoulder flexion or press overhead!

#3: Don’t Ignore Your Core.

Whichever stance you use, your core will be engaged. Part of what causes lower back overload during overhead pressing is a lack of thoracic extension so we seek out mobility from our lumbar spine, but also a lack of proper core engagement to protect our lower back.

As you press, you do want to think about not only engaging your abs, but also your glutes. By engaging your glutes, you can actually help yourself better engage your lats to stabilize your shoulders.

And you’ll also help prevent yourself from being able to easily arch your lower back because you’re focused on squeezing your glutes to drive that hip extension.

Also by bracing your abs, think about engaging as if you’re about to be punched in the gut, you’ll further stabilize your spine.

Do not hold your breath though as you brace. You can think about exhaling on exertion even to better activate and engage things as you power that press.

You want to focus on everything involved as you press before you start to increase loads. This will ensure you utilize muscles efficiently and effectively, which can even help you lift heavier more quickly!

SUMMARY:

If you’re working to improve your shoulder, thoracic and scapular mobility and stability but want to include an overhead pressing exercise in your routine, consider using the single arm landmine press.

It’s a great way to get the benefits without the mobility and stability required of the full overhead press. And, because it is a unilateral move, it can even help you address imbalances between both sides.

If you find you don’t have a bar that is the appropriate weight, or even a corner to set up the bar in if you don’t have a landmine, one easy modification is a band incline press as well. The resistance band itself can even create a unique challenge of its own!

Love all of my amazing exercises, workouts and tips? Join my FREE Daily Newsletter below:

–> Join The RS Newsletter