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Forget 10,000 Steps! Here’s How Many You REALLY Need

Forget 10,000 Steps! Here’s How Many You REALLY Need

by | Aug 10, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

A new study came out saying that you don’t need 10k steps. It says you only need 3,800. But what does this number mean and is it too good to be true?

I want to share why you may still want to build toward a 10,000 step goal and the difference between “minimums” and “optimal” when talking about recommended amounts.

I also want to discuss the different benefits at specific thresholds as you increase your steps.

Because the short answer is, no you don’t need 10,000…to survive. But 10k+ steps may still be best for your performance and fat loss goals especially.

There is always nuance to things.

Like the 3,800 steps a day goal. That is to reduce your risk of death.

But is your goal just “not dying?”

It’s like the protein RDA…

The RDA for protein is around 0.8g/kg bodyweight.

That’s just enough to prevent deficiency.

But that’s not enough to build serious muscle, especially as we get older, or optimize health.

The same thing goes for this new step goal.

That being said, that doesn’t mean 10,000 is a magic number where all your fitness goals will magically be achieved.

And you may now be thinking, “Where did the 10,000 step goal even come from? What study said that?”

Well actually there is no scientific basis for this amount.

Yup. This number we all just accepted as fact accidentally became a mainstream solid goal after the distance became popular in Japan in the 1960s.

There are two overlapping stories as to how this number came to be….

One is that 10,000 steps a day started as a successful marketing campaign in Japan to promote physical activity ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It’s rumored the number was chosen because the Japanese character for 10,000 resembles a person walking.

The second is that the number became a more solid widespread goal in 1965 based on a Japanese pedometer company “Manpo-kei” which literally means 10,000 steps meter.

Either way, the number has no scientific basis.

However, shooting for this daily goal may have it’s benefits.

That’s why I want to discuss the different thresholds that research has found and what it means to hit each…

Let’s start with around that new recommended amount of 3,800. The 2k-4k steps a day range.

In this range research has shown a slight reduction in mortality risk and that it is “better than being sedentary.”

Note “better than being sedentary.” This is really a minimum to avoid negative health consequences.

And do you really just want to avoid bad health?

Now in the 4k-6k range we start to see a more moderate reduction in all-cause mortality.

This shows us that there are times that doing more than the “minimum” does yield better results and start to even help us thrive.

At about 7,000 steps is where we see the biggest benefit and reduction in mortality risk at about a 40-50% improvement.

But we also start to see no further specific health only benefits going over this amount.

So if we’re talking optimizing just mortality risk, this number seems to be it.

If this is the case, why go up to 10k?

Are you really just only walking to lower your risk of death?

Or do you have other fitness goals?

Are you looking to lose fat? Improve your metabolic health and increase your metabolism? Are you looking to improve your conditioning and recovery for performance goals?

For all of these reasons, 10,000 steps a day may be still be your goal.

Above 7,000 the benefits are fat loss and performance based.

Walking more will improve your endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

It will improve your insulin sensitivity to help you lose fat, which can be especially helpful during menopause for fat loss and overall health.

And, it is often that secret weapon for fat loss we don’t implement.

More steps means more calories burned daily which helps with fat loss while not beating us down like intensive training sessions or requiring us to eat less.

Also, unlike intensive training sessions, walking is less likely to increase your appetite and hunger levels while increasing your calorie expenditure.

It can even help better regulate appetite and aid in digestion.

And it can help with recovery and stress management both of which pay off for performance and fat loss goals – not to mention OUR HEALTH!

So more steps, may just be what you need to reach your goals and THRIVE.

Now if you’re looking at your step tracker thinking, “Well great. I’d love 10,000 steps but I’m barely getting 1,000 right now…”

Don’t fear!

Small changes add up!

Set a starting goal of even just 1,000 more steps. Plan in two 5 minute breaks to get up and walk around to hit it.

Challenge yourself to do that for 2-3 weeks and build from there.

As you feel good with those changes and even see other results happen, like inches being lost or changes on the scale, add more.

The more you allow yourself though to have a starting goal that’s doable, the more you’ll feel the win of success just from increasing your steps and want to do more!

Over time you can build further.

Even consider different step goals on different days! If weekends are less busy, why not shoot for more?

The key is meeting ourselves where we are at to make changes.

But also, let’s not just accept doing the minimum at time. Let’s not settle for just not dying.

Let’s seek not just to survive but thrive!

So while that new study shows us that we can improve our health even just through adding a few more minutes of movement, we don’t want to ignore the benefits that shooting for 7-10,000 steps can have for our health and our goals.

4,000 steps may keep you alive, but 10,000 could be what you need to see the recomp you’ve been dreaming of!

Optimize your workouts and your diet to build your leanest, strongest body at any age…

–> Schedule A Coaching Consultation Call

The MOST Underrated Plank Exercise You’re Not Doing

The MOST Underrated Plank Exercise You’re Not Doing

by | Aug 3, 2025 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness

Planks are an amazing core stability move.

And you’re never above that fundamental basic front plank.

However, too often we just stick with one variation of an exercise instead of seeing the opportunity in the different options.

To progress and build on your plank and core work, it isn’t just about holding longer.

It’s about holding harder and even slight changes in your posture or position that can help you see better results faster.

That’s why I want to share how one tweak to your plank can not only improve your shoulder stability and health by strengthening your serratus anterior, but also target your abs and especially your lower abs even more…

And this one tweak can make your planks look kind of weird…It even feels kind of wrong…

It’s round your back.

Yup.

Rounding your back.

By rounding your back to perform a plange plank, you can activate your serratus anterior or those muscles around your rib cage as well as your lower abs even more.

The key to targeting these two areas is in how you round your back which is why I first want to go over form and then ways to modify and even kick the plange plank up a notch to be even more challenging!

First, how do you properly round your back with the plange plank?

Start by setting up in that basic forearm front plank.

From this position focus on pushing the ground away with your forearms to pull your shoulder blades forward and around your rib cage.

This engages your serratus anterior through the protraction of your shoulder blades, which is your shoulder blades moving away from your spine.

With rounding your mid back up toward the ceiling, your chin should slightly tuck vs straining to keep your head straight out.

As you round, think about not only tucking your ribs toward your hips, but even slightly tucking your pelvis up toward your ribs.

This posterior pelvic tilt with the round is what really engages those lower abs and even your glutes more.

Use that mind body connection to focus on what you feel working and pulling your ribs in and down toward your belly button as your pelvis is pulled up and in toward your belly button as well.

This is a great way to focus on that ab engagement as you hold.

Too often we just go through the motions with exercises, mimicking form.

Instead we want to focus on holding harder to create that shakeage and get everything working.

This mind-body connection to better recruit muscles efficiently is what helps us improve our stability and strength.

So don’t focus on holding this plank just for longer – focus on holding harder.

To modify this move and really focus on that rounding and serratus anterior and ab engagement, start off an incline.

While you can do this move from your hands and knees in a variation I call the vomiting cat, an incline is best to train that full plank position and engage everything from your shoulders to your feet.

If you need to do the modification off your knees, remember to focus on that big round up and ab engagement. I call it the vomiting cat because you want to draw in your abs as if coughing up a hairball.

This ab engagement makes this move different than the cat cow stretch you may be used to doing.

Focus on that push of the ground away to round up as you tuck your pelvis toward your ribs.

If you have a bench or can use even the edge of a couch, table or stair, you can perform the full plank variation but with less resistance on your upper body which can help.

Now if you’re feeling the plange plank and want to progress it further, there are two options I really love and both can also be modified off an incline to add diversity to your routine.

One is the Dolphin Plank and the other is the Extended Plange Plank.

The Dolphin Plank challenges your core with not only the round up to engage your serratus anterior and lower abs, but also works your abs to fight extension as you lower your hips toward the ground.

It challenges your core with movement and really works your core with both flexion but also to fight extension of your spine.

To do this variation, you’ll perform that plange plank but then lower down through a front plank to drop your hips toward the ground. Your abs will have to fight to protect your spine from extending as you dip.

Then your abs will work to bring your hips back up and as you round back up.

The Extended Plange Plank on the other hand will challenge your serratus anterior and lower abs more by extending out the length of your plank.

Walk your feet back so your elbows are out in front of your shoulders.

Your lower abs will work to really fight that spinal extension and maintain a slight posterior pelvic tilt with a longer lever.

And your serratus anterior will be challenged by not only the protraction but also elevation of your shoulder blades because of the placement of your elbows out in front of your shoulders.

Just be careful you don’t end up shrugging or overloading your shoulders. This does require more shoulder strength and stability to do.

Both of these moves can be modified off the incline.

So while they are progressions of the basic plange plank, they can also be adjusted to be used by any fitness level!

Too often we feel if we need to modify moves that we’re stuck with only certain variations BUT that incline can be a great tool to help us ultimately regress to progress all the different planking postures.

Do not write off a move just because you can’t do the full variation yet!

And see opportunity in slight changes to your postures and positions with fundamental moves to tailor them to match your needs and goals.

Do you like the plange plank? Which variation will you try next?

For fun moves and workouts you can do anywhere, check out my Dynamic Strength program.

–> LEARN MORE

How to Build Muscle Faster WITHOUT Weights (10 TIPS)

How to Build Muscle Faster WITHOUT Weights (10 TIPS)

by | Jul 27, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

Want to build muscle?

Create progression in your workouts.

Note, I didn’t say “add weight.”

Because while weights are an amazing, and EASY, way to create progression in your training to optimize muscle growth, you can still build muscle without having access to them.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

So you’re not doomed if you’re training from home or with limited equipment.

But you do have to get created and design your workouts with purpose and strategy.

That’s why I want to share 10 tips to adjust those training variables to help you see muscle gains even when weights aren’t an option.

You won’t use all of these in every workout, but there is opportunity in the options.

Tip #1: Vary exercise postures and positions.

If a move is starting to feel too easy, you can make slight adjustments to that movement pattern to create progression and even target different muscle groups to different extents.

Take the basic push up.

You can place your feet up on a couch to make them more challenging and even target your upper pecs more.

You can lift one foot to make them more core intensive.

You can bring your hands closer in to a narrow grip to challenge your triceps even more.

You can do a pike push up over a standard to create a killer shoulder and arm variation.

All of these changes in your exact positioning and posture with the basic push up can help you progress the move and challenge your chest, shoulders and triceps in new ways.

Another way to change your posture is Tip #2: Make moves unilateral.

A unilateral move is a move done on one side or a single arm or leg exercise.

Think single leg squat or airborne lunge. Or even the tricep push up.
When you are only able to use one arm or leg, you’re basically adding weight without having any weights as that one limb is now carrying your entire bodyweight!

Unilateral moves also create more instability which can make moves harder as well.

And even if you can’t yet do a fully unilateral move, you can progress an exercise through an 80/20 variation.

You can do a stagger stance squat to build up to that single leg squat.

Or you can do an 80/20 glute bridge instead of the full single leg glute bridge.

All of these start to shift the weight to one side and not only make moves harder but also help you correct imbalances.

Tip #3: Change the range of motion of an exercise.

Increasing the range of motion of an exercise makes it more challenging while also improving your mobility.

An example of this is going from the basic split squat to the balance lunge.

By placing your back foot up on something, you create more instability but also a bigger range of motion you have to work through, challenging your legs more.

But you can also shrink the range of motion to keep muscles under constant tension.

Instead of that split squat becoming a balance lunge, you could do split squat pulses.

You’ll keep those legs muscles under constant tension without a break to challenge them.

Both can be used to your advantage and you may even find use both variations in a workout even back to back!

Which leads me to tip #4: Don’t be afraid to work the same muscle with multiple exercises in a row.

When you combine multiple moves for the same muscle back to back, you can help yourself work a muscle closer to fatigue and recruit more muscle fibers to drive that amazing muscle growth.

This is different than just doing more reps of the same move because you can use different types of exercises or even different training variables to target the muscle group in different ways and even isolate it.

It’s why I mentioned using multiple ranges of motion back to back. You may do split squats then pulses or even pulses then the full balance lunge.

That uses the change in range of motion to even further isolate a muscle group and work it to fatigue.

But you can also work an area back to back with completely different moves.

You may do a balance lunge and combine it with a single leg squat or front lunge to further target those quads.

But you also don’t have to do another compound move. You could use an isolation exercise.

Tip #5: Don’t forget about isolation moves.

Working a muscle with back to back moves, and honing in on a specific muscle with a more isolated movement, can be a great way to really push to failure and see those amazing muscle gains.

This can be especially key with a stubborn muscle group you want to grow.

Instead of a squat with that balance lunge, you could do the balance lunge and a lean back.

But you can use those isolation exercises to target a muscle that may not be fully fatigued during a compound exercise.

And you can vary when you include the isolation move doing it BEFORE the compound exercise for a bit of pre-fatigue to go into the move tired so you max out with fewer reps or an easier variation.

Or you could do it after as post-exhaust technique, to work it when already tired from the compound move.

Both can be beneficial and used based on how challenging you find the compound move you’re including!

And all of these moves you’re using, both the isolation and compound exercise can be done at different tempos, even using holds!

Tip #6: Change exercise tempo.

Not only can you speed a move up or slow it down, but you can do both through different portions of the movement and even include holds.

You could do a push up, lowering down slowly. Hold at the bottom for a count. Then push back up quickly.

Or you can choose to just emphasize one tempo or one portion of a move.

You can even include the same move done at different tempos back to back to combine it with tip #4 and work a muscle group with back to back moves.

For instance to work your legs with squats, you could start with a wall sit, then do slow 5 count eccentric squats after.

You could even throw in tip #3 and follow the slow eccentric squats with pulse squats.

But realize that the pace at which you do moves can have an impact and we don’t want to just rush through!

One of my favorite ways to perform the wall sit series I just mentioned too actually implements Tip #7: Used timed sets to increase training density.

This tip also helps you implement tip #8, use volume to your advantage

You will find when you’re training with more bodyweight based movements, more reps and sets are needed to challenge you even as you implement these other training techniques.

Own this and focus on increasing your volume, the reps and sets you do, in your training. This doesn’t mean you want to keep just adding more, but it does mean to not fear higher rep ranges.

And it’s a great reason to even use some time sets and circuits.

This can help you pack in more work but without just adding more time to your workouts.

You will also find you push past failure with moves when focusing on working for a set amount of time over just completing within a rep range listed.

With timed circuits and sets, you want to even pick a variation of a move you have to PAUSE during the interval of work to complete.

And you can increase training density for an area by doing intervals of work back to back that work the same muscle group.

This is where you could do that wall sit series I mentioned with the eccentric squats and pulses for intervals of work back to back.

Density interval workout designs like that with back to back intervals of work for the same muscle group can really help you work a muscle to fatigue and force you to do more reps than you would have if you just had a rep range to hit.

Part of working a muscle group with more volume over the week isn’t just about doing more in a single session either. It’s also about working a muscle more frequently over the week.

Tip #9: Increase weekly training frequency.

With more bodyweight based training, you can increase the volume of work you do for a muscle by doing more frequent training sessions.

Work a muscle group 3-4 times a week even to create that challenge.

Without weights, you may find your recovery time between sessions doesn’t need to be as long allowing you to get in more volume with more frequent sessions for the same area!

This can also help you be very efficient in your workouts and use a great diversity of movement types and training techniques for the same area since you have more sessions to use!

Tip #10: Get creative with equipment!

Too often we write off other tools besides weights to create progressions. But bands, sliders, suspension trainers are all amazing ways to progress moves.

They even work to challenge muscles at different points than weights do.

Like bands can create more resistance when a muscle is strongest because resistance increases as stretched over a move like the bicep curl.

They can even really make you fight to control the eccentric and slow down the tempo of that portion of the lift.

And you can even make use of certain things you have around the house to create instability or add resistance or a new challenge.

Towels for instance can reduce traction and allow you to challenge your inner thighs more with a side lunge or kneeling adduction.

But have some fun thinking of other ways to create a challenge in new way.

All 10 of these training techniques are opportunity and options. You may use all of them over the course of your week in different ways or even just a few. But they can all help you create that challenge to build amazing strength and muscle!

Want amazing workouts you can do anywhere? Check out my Dynamic Strength Program…

–> LEARN MORE

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:

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The Weakest Muscle in Your Upper Body (Your SERRATUS ANTERIOR)

The Weakest Muscle in Your Upper Body (Your SERRATUS ANTERIOR)

by | Feb 17, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Stretches, Warm Up

When we create upper body workouts, we map in exercises for our chest, shoulders, back, biceps, triceps…

But we too often don’t include moves for this essential muscle…

The Serratus Anterior.

And while no, this muscle isn’t going to be one we target with super heavy lifts during our sessions, it is a key muscle we strengthen and activate if we want to be able to press or pull more without shoulder injury and see the muscle gains we want from our training.

Honestly this muscle needs far more love than it gets, especially if we have had previous shoulder, neck or even upper back aches and pains.

That’s why I want to break down the important role this muscle plays in our shoulder and scapular health as well as how to make sure your serratus anterior is working so we can see better strength and muscle gains.

Then I’ll go over 3 key moves to activate and strengthen your serratus anterior as well as a few bonus prehab tips to help you get more out of your upper body training in general!

First, why is the Serratus Anterior so important?

The serratus anterior is often called the boxer’s muscle as it is key to a powerful punch and its main function is protraction of the shoulder blades or that movement of the shoulder blades forward around your rib cage.

Not only does this muscle control the movement of our shoulder blade to protract as we press horizontally like in a bench press or punch, but also to upwardly rotate as we press overhead.

This upward rotation of the shoulder blade allows us to use our back correctly to support our shoulders and power the press overhead. Limited movement can lead to us really struggling to press vertically up.

Our shoulder blades can also limit our ability to press overhead and lead to neck, shoulder and upper back aches and pains by being anteriorly tipped.

This is when our shoulder blades don’t sit correctly on our rib cage and the bottom slightly sticks out as the top of the shoulder blade is tilted forward.

This is another function of the serratus anterior – to stabilize the shoulder blade so it does sit correctly and can even posteriorly tilt slightly as we press overhead.

This proper positioning of our shoulder blades due to our serratus anterior being strong is essential for us to be able to lift more and avoid upper back, neck and shoulder injuries, even rotator cuff issues.

And too often, we ignore this muscle and even BLAME our rotator cuff for our shoulder pain instead.

This can lead to us doing a ton of work for our rotator cuff which only makes issues worse through further working an overworked or even restricted muscle because it isn’t allowed to work correctly due to limited scapular movement!

And on top of the role it plays in our shoulder blade movement, the serratus anterior also impacts our breathing mechanics and can enhance our physique when developed creating that nice definition around our rib cage!

Next I want to dive into really locating this muscle to feel it working and even address some common issues we can encounter when trying to strengthen it.

It isn’t uncommon with many basic serratus anterior exercises to feel our upper traps, levator scapulae and even pec minor start to want to work when our serratus anterior is weak.

So where is the Serratus Anterior to be exact and how can I tell when other muscles are taking over?

The serratus anterior is the muscle on the sides of your ribs just under your armpit.

Place your opposite hand on your ribs under your armpit then reach the hand on the same side out as if punching or pressing. Feel that muscle engage.

This is what you want to feel working in the 3 Serratus Anterior Activation Exercises I’ll go over next.

All too often though when this muscle is weak, we start to feel the area at the base of our neck, top of our shoulder blade toward our spine or even our chest into the front of our shoulder working instead.

These areas are us feeling our upper traps, levator scapulae, pec minor and even anterior delt starting to work more to compensate for our serratus anterior being weak.

Our upper traps and levator scapula elevate our shoulder blade or lift it up.

We see this happen with a shrugging motion.

And often we tend to shrug extra when pressing to try to lift heavier and compensate for other areas of weakness.

We can also see our chest, specifically our pec minor muscle, and the front of our shoulder feel like they are working extra to stabilize our shoulder when our shoulder blade isn’t sitting properly on our rib cage.

The pec minor works to protract our shoulder blades so will work extra if the serratus anterior isn’t pulling its weight.

The pec minor also will anteriorly tip the shoulder blades when the serratus anterior isn’t strong enough to fight against it and keep alignment. This is why we can see those neck, shoulder and upper back aches and pains popping up.

This is also why we’re often told to do extra rowing or pulling exercises to balance out our posture and strong chest muscles.

And while strengthening our back can be key, especially if we spend a ton of time seated, hunched over our devices, the extra back work may not be paying off if we keep ignoring our serratus anterior!

That’s why I wanted to share 3 activation moves to help!

3 Serratus Anterior Exercises:

The first is a move great for almost every fitness level, the Roller Serratus Anterior Shoulder Extensions.

This move can be done as a unilateral, or one sided exercise, or with both sides at the same time.

To do this move, I love using a roller against a wall, but you can also use sliders or a towel, especially for the one-sided variation.

Place the roller right below your wrists with your palms facing in. You want to be slightly angled in toward the wall to apply more pressure.

Really push into the roller to even feel your serratus anterior slightly engage from a little movement of your shoulder blades away from your spine.

Then roll up on the wall, reaching overhead. Feel your the bottom of your shoulder blades open out to the sides of your back as you feel around your rib cage work to reach up. Don’t just shrug your shoulders.

While you don’t want to force your shoulders down to limit the movement of your shoulder blades, you want to make sure your shoulders aren’t just moving and you aren’t just shrugging.

The roll up is coming from your shoulder blades moving first.

Really push hard into the wall as you extend up, then pull the roller back down to about shoulder height and repeat.

If you have shoulder pain or limited mobility on one side, performing a single arm variation is best.

Note if you start to feel that base of your neck area or even your chest and front of shoulder working too much to walk in a bit closer to the wall or not extend up as high to start.

Another option to work on this overhead serratus strengthening is a Downward Dog Scapular Press. This can help you focus on that push of the ground away to engage if that cue, pushing away helps or you don’t have something you can use to slide on a wall.

The next activation exercise is the Serratus Anterior Press.

This is a horizontal pressing option which focuses on protraction more while the Shoulder Extensions focus a lot on upward rotation of the shoulder blade as well.

The one thing to really be careful with during this press, is that your pecs or the front of your shoulders don’t take over.

It’s one reason I don’t use the push up plus often for activation for the serratus anterior but will include it in workouts for pure strength building.

But this move is a great way to isolate each side independently and even correct imbalances.

A band or cable work well for this move and you’ll want to standing in a staggered stance.

You’re going to be performing a variation of a chest press or punch with the hand of the leg that is staggered back.

As you press out, feel your shoulder blade move forward around your rib cage and focus on those muscles around your ribs really pulling it forward.

You want to even get that little extra reach out at the end, slightly rotating even.

Then bring your hand back into your chest. Be conscious that even though you may slightly press up as you press out that you don’t shrug at the end.

If you don’t have a band or cable, wall protractions are always an option.

To do the wall protractions, place your knuckles on the wall, palms facing in and make sure you aren’t shrugging.

Then push off the wall, pulling your shoulder blades forward to almost round your spine back.

Don’t just hunch forward. Feel the pull of your shoulder blades around your ribs coming from you pushing away from the wall.

The 3rd activation move I love to include is the Scapular Push Up To Dolphin.

This move strengthens the serratus anterior but also helps you learn to control scapular retraction, the movement of the shoulder blades toward the spine to engage your upper back, as well as your core stability.

That scapular retraction component can really be helpful if you do find your pecs often want to engage.

With this move you’ll set up in a forearm plank with your elbows under your shoulders as your feet close together.

You want that nice plank position. You’ll then pinch your shoulder blades toward your spine to retract before pushing the ground away to protract them back.

Once back in that plank position, you’ll pike your butt up and drive your chest back toward your feet. It’s like a downward dog from your forearms. Feel yourself stretch through your triceps down the sides of your back.

Feel around your rib cage working to press your chest back as you extend your spine.

Then come back into the plank and repeat.

Make sure you don’t shrug your shoulders as you pinch your shoulder blades together or push the ground away. And really focus on that shoulder blade movement then the extension of your spine as you push back.

Now…If you’re struggling to isolate and feel your serratus anterior working, especially with any of these moves, you will want to include these other prehab moves potentially before your activation exercises…

Because that full 3-step prehab process of foam rolling, stretching and activation is key.

Here are 2 foam rolling and 2 stretching moves you may want to include prior to your activation work for your serratus anterior in your warm up routine.

First, Chest Foam Rolling.

Rolling our your pec minor with a ball can help relax this muscle that wants to take over. A ball in a doorway is best as you put that ball right at the front of your arm pit next to your shoulder joint.

Hold in the meat of the muscle as you even reach your hand overhead then back down toward the ground.

The second foam rolling moves is Levator Scapulae Foam Rolling.

You can do this against a wall or the ground. The ground will allow you to apply more pressure.

But find that top edge of your shoulder blade closest to your spine. Put the ball right above that corner and press into the ball.

You can look down and away tilting your head to help stretch the muscle as you hold. You can then even help the muscle relax and release as you hold by moving your arm up and down or back and forth across your chest.

And after including some foam rolling, especially in your warm up, you want to do a few dynamic stretches.

One key one is the Kneeling Thoracic Extension And Lat Stretch.

This stretch works on improving our shoulder and thoracic mobility. A lack of both can also have an impact on our scapular movement.

Especially a lack of thoracic extension can lead to our shoulder blades not sitting properly on our rib cage.

And tight lats can also perpetuate the bad posture that doesn’t allow our serratus to work as it should.

To do this stretch, you can kneel on the ground with your elbows on a bench. You want to sit back on your heels as you drop your chest toward the ground and lengthen through your spine.

Don’t just arch your lower back but focus on pressing your chest down to extend through your mid and upper back, feeling down the sides of your back stretching, not just your triceps.

Then relax out and repeat.

If you can’t kneel, you can even do this as more of a wall hang variation with your hands on the wall as you hinge over and press your chest toward the ground, extending your spine.

The final prehab move that can be key is Suspension Trainer Snow Angels.

This stretch improves your shoulder mobility and works to stretch out your pecs to help improve your shoulder blade alignment.

This is super key if you feel your pecs during your activation work or even your anterior delts.

To do this move, you’ll have a hand in each suspension trainer handle and face away, walking out so there is a bit of tension with your arms down by your sides.

You’ll then slowly bring your arms out and up overhead as if you were making a snow angel in the snow.

Feel your chest stretch as you open up at the top. You don’t want the movement only coming from your shoulders. Then lower down and repeat. You can walk out further to get more of a pull back.

If you don’t have a suspension trainer, you could do one side at a time, sliding your hand up on a wall next to a doorway or do a version lying face up on a foam roller.

But if you’ve struggled to lift as heavy as you’d like especially due to neck, shoulder or even upper back aches and pains, stop ignoring this essential muscle!

This prehab work in your warm up goes a long way!

And the stronger our weakest links and those muscles that really improve our stability, the more we can lift and push our workouts to improve our muscle and strength gains!

For workouts that include prehab in every routine, check out my Dynamic Strength program:

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Are Bulgarian Split Squats Overrated?

Are Bulgarian Split Squats Overrated?

by | Feb 2, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness

The Bulgarian Split Squat or Balance Lunge is a move you see all over social media. It’s even a staple in many standard gym training routines. Many say it is a “must-do” exercise or the “best” unilateral leg moves.

But honestly, it’s slightly overrated BECAUSE it is so often done INCORRECTLY.

It’s a move that’s far more advanced than we realize and many of us haven’t earned the variation we’re using.

So we don’t see the full benefit of the exercise. And even end up injured from it.

We wobble around and let our front knee cave in. We don’t lower down to the ground using the full range of motion. We rush through as we lose our balance.

Our training should feel hard with purpose. We want every move to truly pay off and yield the best results as fast as possible.

That’s why I wanted to share my favorite static lunge variation to start with and even variations of the Balance Lunge you may use instead.

But before I do I wanted to share 3 key form tips if you are using the Balance Lunge to make sure you’re getting the most out of the exercise!

#1: Set up at the BOTTOM of the lunge.

By setting up at the bottom of the lunge, you can make sure your feet are not only in the right position but also make sure you are truly able to work through a full range of motion.

Because the value in doing the Balance Lunges is in the range of motion. You’re increasing the range of motion to create more of a challenge and progress the exercise.

This increased range of motion puts muscles under greater stretch while loaded to help you see better muscle and strength gains.

It also helps you maintain a bigger range of hip motion. So if you’ve been doing that mobility work, you need to make sure you’re doing moves to fully strengthen through the range of motion you built.

Too often when we do Balance Lunges we aren’t actually going through the full range of motion completely defeating part of the purpose of using them in the first place!

We also aren’t stable in our set up because our feet are at odd widths. This set up at the bottom, allows you to focus on pushing the ground away and set up at a stance you can control.

You can choose to flex or relax your back foot based on your toe and ankle mobility. But make sure you’re creating that tension down into the bench or box either way to stabilize.

While more load will be on that front leg, you want tension through your back foot to balance as you focus on your front foot pushing down into the ground like a tripod with two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel!

This helps you truly activate the muscles of your leg and even helps with knee alignment so that it isn’t caving in!

#2: Use torso and shin angle to your advantage.

We think of form as this very set binary thing – good or bad. But with so many moves, there are tweaks to form you can use to emphasize the muscles you want to work and even better suit your unique build.

With the Balance Lunge, you can change your shin angle and torso angle to help you emphasize more quad or more glute.

You can also use these two things based on ankle mobility and knee issues to work around aches and pains.

A more vertical shin angle will help you emphasize your glutes especially when combined with a slight more hip hinge or a slight lean to your torso.

Allowing your knee to move a bit more forward over the all of your foot while maintaining a more vertical torso position will emphasize your quads more.

Which you use will be based on your goals for the exercise. Everything should be included with purpose.

Also you may find that previous knee injuries or even ankle mobility issues impact the postures you use.

If you have issues with knee pain or ankle mobility, even due to previous ankle sprains, you may find you need to use a bit more of a vertical shin angle although you can play around with torso angle a bit.

#3: Adjust your depth!

The higher the bench or box you use, the harder this lunge is, creating more instability and a bigger range of motion. You need to be more mobile and stronger as you increase the range of motion you’re working through.
This makes changing the height of the box or bench a great way to progress this move potentially without adding weights. But it also means the height of the bench is something you need to EARN.

Yet so often we just think Balance Lunge and we just go to any bench around instead of finding one that fits our needs and fitness level.

Don’t be afraid to adjust the height based on your mobility and height. Also don’t be afraid to adjust the height to progress the movement without adding loads.

And if you do want to focus on lifting more, don’t be afraid to even go LOWER than you have in the past to progress and add instability while going heavier. There are so many ways to create progression through how we combine range of motion, stability and resistance!

The importance of the height of the box or bench we are using is too often not appreciated and recognized, which is why I feel so often this lunge is overrated and misused.

Because if you don’t work through the range of motion you’re creating, you’re better off doing a different lunge variation instead and really learning to control it with loads.

Results come from quality of movement.

That’s why I love to start with the Split Squat and even return to this move to focus more on progression through adding heavier and heavier loads while maintaining mobility.

Because lunges are a great mobility and stability exercise for our hips especially when included at the level and in the variation that matches our fitness level, needs and goals.

The split squat is the most basic static lunge variation. But instead of your back foot up on a bench or box, you’re doing this move fully off the ground.

If you can’t yet lower your back knee to touch the ground, or hover right above it, you haven’t earned increasing the range of motion further.

If you aren’t yet able to go to the ground, you can also reduce the range of motion you’re working through to build up.

You can place a block under your back knee and lower to that over going all of the way to the ground. This is a great way to slowly build up that range of motion and hip mobility and leg strength but in a way you can control.

With this split squat, I love to set up at the bottom and focus on maintaining that even pressure between both your foot and back foot, whether you’re doing it off the ground or from the block. This push down into the ground to help you drive up centered is key to helping you balance and really engage your legs.

And like the Balance Lunge, you can adjust torso and shin angle to impact what muscles you activate more.

You can add load to this move as you can control that full range of motion.

And this is where there is extra opportunity in the options and variations of the split squat that you can even use to tweak the balance lunge to fit your needs.

With adding resistance, it isn’t just about going directly heavier all of the time.

You can change where you hold the weights from down at your sides to allow yourself to focus on your legs and grip and go heavier to up at your chest in the goblet position to target your core more.

You can even unilaterally load the weight and hold it on one side to work on core stability. Even holding a weight in the opposite hand from your front leg can help you target your glute medius more especially with that torso lean and vertical shin angle.

You can even change how you’re applying resistance by using a mini band over dumbbells.

The key is understanding there are options to really make this move fit your needs and goals.

And with the Balance Lunge, we so often only increase range of motion by placing our back foot up.

However, you can also progress the basic split squat by raising your FRONT foot up as a deficit split squat.

Even if you love the Balance Lunge and can work through that full range of motion, you may include this to emphasize different muscles and even create progression through the same but different.

Just like you return to the split squat to go heavier while having the more limited range of motion.

With the Deficit Split Squat, some may find this easier to control while getting the benefits of working through a bigger range of motion.

And a very small elevation can have a huge impact. It may even feel better for some with longer femurs or upper legs.

The deficit split squat can keep that front leg in more of a working range of motion and put the glute under greater stretch in that front leg. And unlike the Balance Lunge, you won’t have more of your weight in that front leg, making it potentially easier to balance with full pressure between both legs and feet.

So as you build up and progress, see opportunity in the options. But don’t just include a move to use it because someone said it was the “best” or a “must-do.”

Make sure every move you use has purpose and that you can use it for quality reps!

Want amazing workouts to challenge you and help you build your leanest, strongest body ever?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!