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3 Moves To FIX Hip Pain – The Ankle-Butt Connection

3 Moves To FIX Hip Pain – The Ankle-Butt Connection

by | Aug 17, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief

Suffering from hip pain?

Frustrated because you feel like you’re doing all the proper rehab work, foam rolling and stretching the muscles around your hips while activating your glutes, but nothing seems to be adding up?

What if that’s because the original culprit of your pain, the area that lead to the overload, is not anywhere near your hip?

What if you keep overloading the same muscles because of a mobility restriction or instability at your foundation?

What if it’s even the result of an ache or pain from over a decade ago?

Like say that ankle sprain you never really did anything about and just rested until it felt better?

What if the whole cause of your hip pain is due to that Ankle-Butt Connection?!

Before I discuss how to improve your ankle mobility and stability to alleviate and prevent your hip aches and pains, I want to discuss that ankle-butt connection and why it’s so important.

The Importance Of The Ankle Butt Connection:

Your feet and ankles are your foundation.

Immobility or instability there can create movement compensations up your entire kinetic chain, resulting in not only hip but even knee, lower back and SI joint aches and pains.

Especially immobility or instability due to a previous injury.

When we get injured, there is a disruption to our natural recruitment patterns or our mind-body connection.

We often aren’t able to call on muscles as efficiently or effectively as we once could, unless we take time to rebuild.

Also, we often compensate as we avoid using the area to rest it, limping around or using crutches, and then, when we first get back to training, we all too often just jump right back in as if nothing happened.

But there have been changes potentially to our ankle range of motion and our ability to stabilize that we can’t ignore, even if there is no longer pain.

It’s why an ankle injury from years ago we’ve forgotten about can later lead to hip pain.

Without knowing it, we’ve created a crack in our foundation that is now affecting our entire structure.

It’s why you NEED to make sure to re-establish that proper mind-body connection.

And in the case of previous ankle injuries and issues, that means addressing not only your ankle mobility and stability but also the impact that ankle injury had on your GLUTES!

A 2006 study found that subjects with chronic ankle sprains had weaker hip abduction strength on the involved side. (1)

We have to remember that everything is connected. And perpetual overuse builds up to issues over time.

So while you may be wishing you could go back in time right now and address the injury when it happened, it’s still not to late to do the prehab work you need!

What are 3 moves you can do to improve your ankle mobility and stability so all of your glute activation work actually pays off?

3 Ankle Mobility And Stability Moves:

Move #1: Peroneal Foam Rolling:

Peroneal tightness can be linked to flat feet and ankle mobility restrictions which can lead to your knee collapsing in during exercises like the squat.

This compensation can lead to your TFL becoming overloaded and overworked and your glute medius activation work not paying off!

It is an important muscle to pay attention to because if just one side becomes short and overactive, which is why foam rolling is so important for this muscle, it can lead to a functional leg length discrepancy (you may “think” one leg is shorter when it is actually muscle tightness causing the symptoms) and a weight shift during bilateral, or two-legged, movements.

To roll out your Peroneal, a ball or small roller works best although you can use a larger foam roller.

Take a ball and place it on the ground with the side of your lower leg on top, starting just below the outside side of your knee.

Press your lower leg down into the ball with your hand.

Hold and relax. You can even circle your foot and ankle to help the muscle relax and release.

Then move it to another spot slightly lower down on your lower leg.

Move #2: Bear Squat To Foot Stretch:

What we often don’t realize is that even our BIG TOE can get “locked up.”

And that lack of mobility can not only impact our lunging but even our walking and running.

That’s why the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch is so key to include.

It will stretch our your toes and improve your calf flexibility and ankle mobility, improving specifically your dorsiflexion (your ability to bring your toes closer to your shin).

This stretch can even help you SQUAT deeper if you’ve felt like your range of motion when squatting is limited.

To do this stretch, start kneeling on the ground with your feet flexed. Sit back on your heels. Rock side to side to stretch your feet.

Then lean forward and place your hands down on the ground. Push your butt up into the air, driving your heels down to the ground.

Relax your calves and try to get your heels down to the ground. You can pedal your feet to focus on each side independently.

Pause then lower your knees back down to the ground and sit back on your heels.

Make sure that as you drive your butt up, you are pressing yourself back so that your driving your heels down.

You can walk your hands in just a little bit closer to your knees to help you feel the stretch a little bit more too.

If you can’t sit back on your heels from that kneeling position, you can do a version of this against the wall barefoot. Place the ball of your foot on the wall to extend your toes.

Then drive your knee forward toward the wall keeping your heel on the ground. Pause then relax out and repeat.

Move #3: Calf Raise Circles:

When you do the basic calf raise, have you ever noticed you tend to rock out on your feet? Or maybe you slightly rock in?

These compensations can result in there still being instability, or even overworked muscles, in your lower leg.

That’s why I love Calf Raise Circles.

This variation is a great way to make sure you’re improving your ankle stability while addressing each aspect of your lower leg.

To do Circle Calf Raises, start standing with your feet about hip-width apart. You can face a wall or table or hold on to a pole if you need a little help balancing so that you can really focus on circling.

Don’t get ego in this move and end up rushing through just because you’re trying not to hold on.

Then start to circle by rocking to the outside of your feet. Slowly come forward toward your pinky toe. Then come up onto your toes slowly circling from your pinky toe toward your big toe.

Come up as high onto your toes/balls of your feet as you can.

Then reach your big toe and circle in toward the inside of your feet as you lower your heel down.

Then come back up, this time starting with the big toe and circling out toward your pinky toe before coming down on the outsides of your feet.

Repeat circling back up and in.

To progress this move, try extending the range of motion, performing it off a plate weight or step.

But really focus on feeling each part of that circle!

SUMMARY:

Create a solid foundation by using these 3 moves to improve your foot and ankle mobility and stability. It can help you prevent the overload perpetuating your hip pain!

For a great 5 minute foot and ankle mobility series using these 3 moves, and some other bonus ones, check out this series – The 5-Minute Foot And Ankle RStoration Series.

FHP 332 – You Are What You Believe

FHP 332 – You Are What You Believe

by | Aug 17, 2021 | podcast, Uncategorized

I think most often we hold ourselves back.

Plain and simple.

It’s not that we didn’t have the ability. It’s not that we couldn’t learn the systems. It’s not that we weren’t strong enough, smart enough…insert the “enough” here….

Honestly…Most of our limits are truly self imposed.

And I think part of that comes out of fear of failure.

Out of fear of judgement from others.

But if you want to achieve a new and better result, you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’ve got to push past any limits you foresee

You’ve go to stop the self limiting beliefs….

The question is HOW?!

That’s why I wanted to share 3 “secrets” I think will help you not hold yourself back in the face of something new….that will help you believe in you more.

Because you are what you believe you are!

#1: Act As If.

This is not the same as fake it till you make it. Because with Act As If, you are doing the habits that are required to be the person you want to be. You aren’t just telling yourself something you don’t believe.

So if you know there are habits or actions you would need to take if you were a person that was accomplishing the goal you set out to hit?

Simple DO THEM!

To often we simply never get started. Or we believe we can’t do something. Instead of just being the person that reaches that goal by putting the habits into place.

Sure is there going to be a learning process? YUP!

But the person who succeeds at that goal doesn’t care about other’s judgement. They recognize they have to suck at something in order to get better.

Because practice makes BETTER!

So focus on acting as if you are the person you want to be instead of limiting yourself with your own beliefs!

#2: First ask yourself WHY. Then realize you don’t know until you’ve tried!

I think sometimes just being honest with yourself about WHY you aren’t taking action is key.

And that means often asking yourself WHY you are making certain excuses.

Often it boils down to we don’t want to fail publicly in front of others.

We don’t want to be judged as not being good enough.

So we stop ourselves before we even start.

But I think facing these facts and then telling yourself you’ll never know if you can actually accomplish that goal until you try?

Well it can help you leap over that self imposed limitation.

It’s sometimes that little epiphany you need to get yourself to move forward.

Because as much as you may “guess” you won’t succeed, you really don’t know until you’ve tried! 

#3: Embrace failure.

This goes hand in hand with the fact that you won’t know until you’ve tried…

But even if you do succeed ultimately? I will GUARANTEE there will be failures along the way.

Because failure isn’t the opposite of success…it’s a part of it.

So our fear of failure? Well it’s valid because it’s going to happen.

Anyone who’s succeeded knows this and won’t judge you for those setbacks. They’ll celebrate you trying.

So anyone who does judge you, well, they’ve probably always limited themselves and held themselves back from trying. And more than likely, they’re jealous of you for trying.

I think facing failure head on. Saying to yourself “I’m going to fail but it is the only way to succeed.” Can help you embrace the setbacks along the way and keep going.

SUMMARY:

So much of success is just never giving up. In believing we will find a way forward and acting as if we are the person who would succeed at that goal.

There are no guarantees in life, but you truly won’t know until you’ve tried.

If you’ve been struggling to take that first step forward, ask yourself WHY! Are you holding yourself back?

Stop those self limiting beliefs – Remember you are what you believe!

What Is The Best kind Of CARDIO For Fat Loss?

What Is The Best kind Of CARDIO For Fat Loss?

by | Aug 12, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Cardio is often the most misused fat loss tool. And your exact level of leanness may impact how you implement cardio in your training routine.

For instance, if you’re super lean with your macros and strength training routine all dialed in, but struggling to break through a plateau and get rid of that last little stubborn bit of fat, you may benefit from some low-intensity steady state cardio AFTER your strength workouts.

This can be done in the form of walking or riding…

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It’s a great way to get in a cardio workout any time you need from the comfort of your own home whether you need to do interval work, intense steady state cardio, tempo training or even include that low intensity post workout cardio to help you bust through a plateau and reach that new level of leanness.

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But before I dive more into using that steady state cardio at the end of your training, and other upsides and downsides to different types of cardio for fat loss, I want to discuss the “myth” of the Fat Burning Zone.

The Myth Of The Fat Burning Zone

First off, what is this supposed fat burning zone?

When you do cardio in that lower-intensity, steady state range or that 55-70% max heart rate zone, you’re supposedly in the Fat Burning Zone.

But this name is kind of misleading.

There is not some magical heart rate zone where you ONLY burn fat as fuel.

But this became the name of that lower intensity heart rate zone because, 50% of the calories burned during a session can come from fat whereas at higher intensities that number may only be about 35% of total calories burned.

So yes, “technically” you do burn more calories from fat at that lower intensity…

However, you’re also burning fewer calories during that same length of time.

That’s why a higher intensity session may ultimately lead to more fat burned during the same workout duration.

A higher intensity session means more calories burned. And while only 35% of the total calories burned may come from fat, that could still overall more fat burned in the same length session.

So while using lower intensity cardio sessions may be a great way to achieve body recomposition it isn’t because you’re staying in some magical fat burning zone.

Now let’s talk about how you can use this steady state cardio to achieve some fabulous body recomposition results.

Really quick before I do though, I feel the need to mention that, honestly, too often we turn to cardio to try to rush those results.

However, there is no out exercising or out dieting time.

Strength training may be even more key for fat loss because it aids in muscle growth and retention which helps us avoid the metabolic adaptions often associated with losing weight. By retaining lean muscle mass, we burn more calories at rest and will ultimately look leaner as we lose fat.

Not to mention we can design our strength routines to still work a diversity of energy systems to maintain our overall cardiovascular health.

That being said, it’s never bad to know how to use every tool in your toolbox to create a routine that you ENJOY that matches your specific needs and goals.

So…What is the best type of cardio for fat loss?

Low intensity steady state cardio!

When I’m talking about lower intensity steady state cardio here, I’m talking about cardio that allows you to talk as you perform it.

You aren’t trying to crush yourself with this form of cardio training.

Actually the exact opposite.

You are riding, walking or rowing at an intensity you feel like you can do for extended periods of time with no real strain.

So how can this “easy” form of cardio be better than running or even HIIT?

While running or riding hard for a longer period of time may burn more calorie and therefore more fat during each session, it can also be catabolic to muscle tissue and fight against your body recomposition goals.

Not to mention over time your body adapts and becomes more efficient, which is great for performance but not so great in terms of trying to burn more calories during your training session. So you actually burn fewer calories over time during these same training sessions.

You also have to be careful with these intense sessions and schedule them correctly around your strength workouts so they don’t hinder your results.

Same actually goes for high intensity interval training sessions.

While there are a ton of different interval designs you can use to work different energy systems, these quick and efficient workouts will drain you.

They are often touted for their effectiveness for weight loss because you can create a calorie burn equal to those longer steady state sessions BUT in less time.

And they can be fun for those that get bored with steady state cardio since you can use a diversity of moves.

They’ve even been recommended for fat loss because of the “after burn” they create.

The After Burn is technically called EPOC or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

Basically…The harder you workout the more your body has to work to recover or return to homeostasis after and the more energy we have to expend during the recovery process to return to our resting state.

This means we continue to burn calories even AFTER the workout is over. Hence the name AFTER BURN.

But far too often we really overestimate the calories burned from the after burn. And we would see far more benefit from building muscle with strength training.

This is all why, if you’re looking to tweak your routine and expedite those results, the best cardio to include specifically for fat loss is low intensity cardio session.

Casual cardio that’s almost relaxing in a way.

These sessions are easy to add in without hurting your strength training sessions. And they allow you to ADD in this extra movement during the day to help avoid metabolic adaptations and increase your daily energy expenditure.

They won’t fight against your muscle gains either.

AND they may even help you “spot reduce” those stubborn areas.

Now note, this is NOT a magic pill nor a quick fix. So if you’ve every heard you can’t spot reduce, that is basically true.

But there have been some interesting studies showing that low intensity steady state cardio AFTER a training session working those stubborn areas with that last little bit of stubborn fat CAN help you with fat loss or spot lipolysis.

It’s key to note that this will benefit you most when your diet and exercise routine are fully dialed in and you’re trying to break through that plateau to lose that last little bit from those stubborn areas.

So why or how does it work?

You mobilize more fatty acids from tissues surrounding the muscles worked. So if say you have that last little bit of stubborn belly fat, you may choose to work your abs at the end of your strength session to mobilize those fatty acids.

Then by including that low intensity cardio after you’ll utilize those mobilized fatty acids.

Basically, the studies showed you burned the fat from those surrounding tissues!

And because this cardio isn’t super intense, you won’t drain your energy stores further to hinder you from training hard in your next strength session, which is key to allowing you to build lean muscle to only improve your body recomposition results.

Not to mention this lower intensity cardio won’t put you at risk for as much muscle loss as that higher intensity steady state training would.

So if you’re looking to keep your metabolic rate higher, utilize spot reduction or spot lipolysis as much as possible and allow yourself to work hard during your strength session to lose fat as fast as possible, include these low intensity steady state cardio sessions in your routine a few times a week AFTER your strength workouts.

Ready to dial in your diet AND your workouts to get the best results as fast as possible?

Check out my 3-Part RS Formula…

–> The RS Formula

FHP 331 – Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities

FHP 331 – Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities

by | Aug 9, 2021 | podcast

We can’t always control what happens, but we CAN always control our attitude about what happens.

We can see it as an opportunity or an obstacle.

It’s all about our PERSPECTIVE.

So instead of dwelling on the event you can’t control, focus instead on what you can do….and that means CONTROL YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

However, this is easier said than done.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you shift your perspective and see obstacles as opportunities.

It’s key we do this so we keep moving forward through the ups and downs that are bound to occur!

3 Tips To Help You Turn Obstacles Into Opportunities:

Tip #1: Reframe the situation – It’s a detour.

Instead of seeing a “failure” or a “setback” as the end of the world, realize it’s merely a detour. You’re merely learning a way not to go. Or heck, maybe you actually found a way around another speed bump or issue!

The point is, you need to see it as a part of the journey.

It was part of the learning experience that will help you continue on your way.

By doing this, you give yourself a moving forward mindset.

Because we have to remember that whether we believe we can or we can’t, we’re right.

Assess what happened. Assess maybe what lead to the off plan trip. Then use that information to help yourself move forward…potentially even faster!

Tip #2: Plan and Track.

So often obstacles lead to us throwing our hands up in frustration because we don’t know what caused them and we have no plan to help us get back on track.

The frustration we can feel without direction often puts us in a more negative mindset. It makes the setback or slip up or obstacle feel even more frustrating than it has to.

But when you have direction? If you can even see what happened in your tracking and logging? You can more easily make tweaks.

Give yourself a plan. Yes deviations from it will happen, but it gives you direction and a course of action to keep moving forward. And then by tracking what is and isn’t working, you can make accurate changes!

So often we can control our perspective when we feel more in control of what we are doing. And having a plan does just that!

Our thoughts impact our actions but our actions also impact our thoughts!

Tip #3: Control what you can control. (From your attitude to your action)

The simple fact of life is…stuff outside our control is going to happen.

So when it does, we should focusing on controlling what we can control.

Again you can’t change events, but you can always control your reaction to them and your attitude.

So control what you can control.

Focus on pausing to breathe and assess the situation. That can help you shift your perspective and your attitude. Then take action focused on moving forward over dwelling.  

But stop focusing on something you can’t change. That will only build up the obstacle.

If you instead focus on adjusting your attitude and the actions you are then taking, you can embrace those events as opportunities to learn and grow!

SUMMARY:

We can see things as obstacles or opportunities. The choice is ours. Because those events? Well they happened.

Use them to grow!

The Most Underrated Core Exercise

The Most Underrated Core Exercise

by | Aug 5, 2021 | Blog, Core, Exercises

A strong core is one that can not only power rotation but also PREVENT IT.

So often our core training focuses on rotational moves. Maybe some anti-flexion or extension exercises too…

But if you actually want to be able to avoid injury, you’ve got to build a strong, stable core that can prevent unwanted or unneeded rotation.

And that’s why ANTI-ROTATIONAL core work is so key!

Being able to control or prevent rotation will help you improve how you transfer force between your upper body and lower body.

So not only does this anti-rotational core work help protect your spine, but it also can help you improve your shoulder and hip stability as well.

Plus, to be able to power rotation efficiently, you first have to learn how to prevent and control it!

So if you even want to get stronger with your rotational moves? You want to include anti-rotational core work as well!

Because Anti-Rotational Core Work is so important, I think it’s key we include moves like this amazing plank variation – The Plank With Row.

The basic plank is a great anti-extension exercise. And by adding in the row, we can make it a great anti-rotational move as well.

And while I feel so often planks are an overrated movement because of how we use them, constantly focusing on holding longer over holding harder, I think some plank variations done for shorter intervals of work with intentionality and focus on what you actually feel working, can be the missing piece in our core training routine.

Plus, because they require no tools to perform, you can use them whether you train at home or at a full gym!

With the Plank with Row, you will work to build anti-rotational core strength and avoid your body’s urges to want to twist as you change your base of support to perform the row.

It is a great move to improve your shoulder, spinal and hip stability while also activating the muscles of your back. If you’re struggling to really improve your scapular control, this is a great way to work on it as you strengthen your abs, obliques and even glutes!

Here are 3 tips to help you maximize the benefit you get from this fundamental anti-rotational move.

3 Tips To Help You Master The Plank With Row:

Tip #1: Slow things down.

Often when we do reps of a movement, we just are focused on getting them done.

Or when we feel ourselves losing balance, we try to rush through.

But with this anti-rotational core move, it’s key we SLOW THINGS DOWN.

We want to focus on that mind-body connection and what we feel working.

When we feel unstable, we want to slow things down and focus on engaging muscles harder.

As you lift to row your hand up, focus on pulling the elbow down and back by using your upper back. Feel yourself drawing that shoulder blade toward your spine.

Focus on feeling your abs and obliques work to avoid rotating open as you row up.

Feel the side of your back on your supporting hand stabilize the shoulder.

Even feel your glutes flex to keep your hips stable as you drive back through your heels.

Slow down the movement to really fight the rotation and be present in your body and intentional with the movement.

You want to slow things down to prevent unwanted movement and learn to engage things properly.

Tip #2: Push the ground away.

Creating that solid connection with the ground through your hands and the balls of your feet will actually help you better activate everything to stabilize.

Don’t just get focused on the movement, focus on feeling yourself push that ground away to better stabilize your supporting shoulder.

And focus on driving your feet down into the ground to fight your hips desire to rotate as you row up. It will help you create more tension through your legs.

Part of including anti-rotational core work is learning how to transfer force between your upper and lower body.

That means knowing how to properly create tension through your core.

This starts at your foundation or your connection to the ground!

Tip #3: Set up with a wider base.

Our body is amazing in that it will find a way to replicate the movement we ask it to perform whenever possible.

However, this can mean it will recruit muscles it shouldn’t if we aren’t careful to MIMIC the movement we want to perform.

It’s why all too often people end up feeling their lower backs during planks when their abs should be working.

Sometimes we need to regress to progress so we can make sure we’re using the correct muscles and creating those more efficient recruitment patterns.

That’s why the base of support you create when first learning this movement is key.

You can always modify any plank off a bench to reduce the resistance. But with anti-rotational core moves, you can also change your base of support.

With this Plank with Row, you can start with your feet wider apart than shoulder-width and hands together under your chest.

This tripod position can help you have that base of support to really focus on fighting the urge to rotate as you row.

As you build up strength, you may find you bring your feet in toward hip width while slightly widening your hands out.

But don’t rush to change your base until you can fully control the move.

Doing a supposedly “harder variation” you haven’t earned will only backfire.

SUMMARY:

If you want to improve your core strength and stability, do not ignore the importance of anti-rotational core work!

Moves like the Plank with Row are a great way to improve your shoulder, hip and spinal stability not to mention strengthen your back, abs, obliques and even glutes!