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Shoulder Pain With Planks? Try This!

Shoulder Pain With Planks? Try This!

by | Aug 24, 2021 | Blog, Core

Planks are a basic, but fundamental core move. They are a great way to establish that mind-body connection and really focus on what you feel working.

They are a great anti-extension and ant-flexion movement so you learn how to brace. 

But what if you have shoulder aches and pains that don’t allow you to do even a modified version of the plank?

What can you do to still get the amazing core benefit of a plank in a way that allows you to work around your pain?

Before I go into one of my favorite core isometrics to use to modify the plank around shoulder pain, I want to discuss a key tip to help you modify any moves you find don’t fit your needs or goals. 

Because it can feel overwhelming to come up with variations when you’re injured or need to regress a move to get more out of it!

 

How To Modify Moves: Ask Yourself This Key Question

When I’m considering how to modify a move for a client, I’m not only thinking about what the injury or restriction is and the muscles we were planning to work, but also the GOAL of including the movement in the first place.

I think so often we just think – “I want to work my abs.”

But you really want to assess WHY you’re including this specific move. Do you want the anti-flexion/anti-extension core benefit?

Is it about the hold to be able to assess what you feel working as you do it so you can improve that mind-body connection?

Is this about building up toward another specific movement?

Or is it training your body through a specific movement pattern?

You always want to ask yourself…What is your goal for the movement?

We want to think about the purpose of the movement and not just the muscles we are trying to work because that then allows us to modify in a way to get the same benefits.

In the case of the plank, maybe it is learning to brace those abs correctly while having time to focus on that mind-body connection to hold harder. 

Maybe it is those anti-extension or anti-flexion benefits.

Maybe it’s using it as part of your warm up to activate your core and establish-that mind-body connection.

But based on your goal for the movement, you can then select the best modification to help you reach that result!

When it comes to the plank, to get that same isometric benefit while working the same muscles in a very similar way while avoiding the shoulder loading, I like to use the Banana Hold or Hollow Body Hold.

This move for me hits on all the same “goals” I’m often trying to achieve with the plank while also allowing me to then regress or progress as needed based on the clients fitness level all while avoiding shoulder irritation!

 

 

Tips To Use The Banana Hold:

The Banana Hold is a very challenging core isometric movement. 

And it’s a key move to include if you want to learn how to brace better to protect your spine while also improving your pull ups, push ups and even handstands.

It’s also as close as you can get to a SUPINE version of a plank.

To do the Banana Hold, lie on your back with your legs out straight together. Reach your arms overhead. If you find that reaching your arms overhead irritates your shoulders, you can keep your arms down by your sides, reaching toward your feet.

Tilt your pelvis, tucking your hips up toward your ribs to engage both your abs and your glute max.

Then squeeze your glutes and flex your quads as you lift your legs up off the ground. The higher up you raise them, the more you will modify the movement, which can be key to help you make sure your abs are working and your lower back isn’t taking over.

As you hold your legs out as close to the ground as possible, make sure you don’t lose that posterior pelvic tilt. And don’t just let your legs rest there. Flex your quads hard. Squeeze your glutes and even think about using your adductors to hold your legs glued together.

Whether your hands are reaching toward your feet or your biceps are up by your ears reaching overhead, crunch your shoulder blades up off the ground. Keep your head in line with your spine and do not tuck your chin.

If you feel your neck straining, you can put your hands behind your head to help. But you also want to think about slightly stacking your chin as if making a double chin to hold.

Focus on feeling that tension all through your core to hold here. Run through flexing your abs more, lifting your shoulder blades up slightly higher. Squeezing your glutes. Engaging your quads. Assess what you feel working and try to engage harder to create that soakage as you hold.

If you find you can’t control this version and you feel your lower back taking over, raise your legs up higher or even bend your knees. 

You can even do one leg at a time, bending one knee in toward your chest as you hold, to perform a shorter hold on each side.

Do not get ego in the variation you use and try to use a harder variation just because it’s harder. 

EARN that more advanced hold and instead focus on really getting everything to work correctly.

The more advanced you are, the more you should even be able to use that mind-body connection to even engage everything quicker and harder during a more modified variation.

So if you’ve been worried you’ll be missing out on the benefits of planks because of shoulder pain, give this isometric move a try!

And remember, there is always a way to modify moves to fit your needs and goals. Just remember your GOAL for the movement you’re including!

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.

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

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!

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

by | Jul 31, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief, Stretches

Everything is connected.

And all too often the point of pain is NOT where the problem is.

That is why, when you have aches and pains, especially nagging ones that you can’t seem to get rid of, you need to start searching further away from the point of pain.

Take for instance SHOULDER pain.

Often the first “rehab” exercises we start to include focus on shoulder mobility and strengthening of those muscles around the joint.

And this is a great place to start!

But what if, despite you doing all of the proper rehab work, things just aren’t fully getting better?

Or what if you continue to suffer from flare ups that don’t seem to be triggered by any specific upper body exercises that you can identify?

What if the actual culprit of your shoulder pain is an issue at your lumbo-pelvic-hip complex?

That’s right…what if that lower back pain or anterior pelvic tilt or SI joint issue you’ve been having is CONNECTED to your shoulder pain?!

What if your lower back, hips and shoulders have a shared “enemy”?

And what if that shared “enemy” is your LATS or the Latissimus Dorsi!

Because BOTH of these areas are affected by that one muscle.

YUP!

While we often just think of our lats as a big back muscle, playing a role in our upper body functioning, they can also affect our SI joint via their attachment to the thoracolumbar fascia and even affect the alignment of our pelvis!

So while it may seem crazy, working to correct imbalances at your hip complex could help relax tight and overactive lats and help you alleviate your shoulder aches and pains!

So how exactly are the lats a common enemy of both your hip complex AND your shoulders and what can you do to start correcting the problem?

THE LAT CONNECTION:

Ok…your lats aren’t really your enemy…

It’s almost the case of you “blame the messenger”…or the messenger becoming more involved than they should be!

Because our lats are really a bridge between our upper and lower body.

They play a role in stabilizing our shoulders, scapulae (shoulder blades), lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint as well as our pelvis.

The lats have a far reaching impact and affect a TON of structures and movements!

They are a bridge that can perpetuate distortions and compensations from one hemisphere to the other.

They can become tight and overactive due to other muscular imbalances and weaknesses and then lead to aches and pains in the other region.

And for this reason they can be a common “enemy” of both our upper body and lumbo-pelvic-hip complex and SI joint.

Of course the real “enemy” is our rounded-shoulder, flexed posture created by sitting hunched over our technology for 9 hours a day.

A posture that leads to muscles, like the lats becoming tight and overactive, and muscles, like our glutes, becoming underactive.

Underactive glutes can lead to anterior pelvic tilt, hip hikes (if one side is underactive especially) and tight, overactive lats that perpetuate the pain and create upper body dysfunction as well.

Lat tightness can itself create a hip hike on the same side as the tight lat and anterior pelvic tilt and SI joint issues as well.

Both the glute and lat need to work together to protect us and make sure we have the proper mobility and stability.

If these muscles aren’t working well together, this distortion can show up as upper body, specifically even, shoulder aches and pains.

And the lats also can have a DIRECT impact on our shoulder health.

Tight lats can contribute to internally rotated shoulders, or that rounded shoulder posture, as well as restricted shoulder flexion aka your ability to reach overhead.

Ever wonder why you struggle to get your arms overhead to press and end up arching your lower back to compensate?

Tight lats may be part of the problem.

Tight, overactive lats can restrict proper shoulder mobility, negatively impact your shoulder stability, and even impact your scapular mobility as well (and this may be holding you back too from achieving that first full pull up not to mention a culprit of shoulder, upper back and even neck pain!)

Basically, you need to address lat tightness, both tightness of both lats and even an imbalance between the two, and then further investigate if there are distortions at your hip complex or SI joint or actually in your upper body, that may be perpetuating the tightness!

Here are 3 moves to help you get started making sure this “bridge” is functioning well!

3 MOVES TO TRY TODAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SHOULDER AND HIP HEALTH:

These 3 moves will start addressing lat tightness and overactivity while also working to engage them in a productive way to help alleviate and prevent shoulder AND hip aches and pains.

These are perfect moves to include as a restorative session after a long day at work or as part of your warm up for you upper body, or potentially even LOWER BODY, lifting session.

Exercise #1 Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch:

Want to address hip and shoulder issues in one stretch? Try this Half Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch!

The TFL can commonly be tight as well which can further inhibit proper glute functioning. So this hip stretch with the reach across is a great way to address lat and TFL tightness in one movement.

To do this stretch set up half kneeling in front of a wall. Squeeze that back glute as you reach your hands overhead on the wall. While leaning slightly forward to reach up the wall, make sure to engage your glute to keep your hip extended.

Reach your arms away from the knee that is back and over and across that front knee. Even turn the palm of the hand in back away from the wall so your palm is facing back. This external shoulder rotation will further stretch your lat. Pause then walk your hands back center and repeat reaching across as you keep that back glute engaged.

Feel the stretch down your side and down the side of your hip.

Exercise #2 Lat Foam Rolling:

A key first step in making sure our lats are functioning correctly is relaxing them when they are overactive. A great way to do this so we can better mobilize the shoulder joint is by foam rolling. You can even include this move before the Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch. When you do, you’ll be surprised even by how much better of a stretch you get!

Place a roller to the side behind your armpit and lie on your side over the roller. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest. Repeat the slow arm movement as you hold.

Then move the roller to another spot, working down the side of your back and shoulder blade. Then switch sides.

You can also use a ball if you know your exact trigger points and want to apply more pressure or even need to roll out against a wall because you can’t get down on the ground.

Exercise #3 Wall Hip Dips:

Wall Hip Dips are a great way to address unilateral lat issues, or issues only on one side, especially at our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. This is a great move to help improve your pelvic alignment.

This move is a very modified version of something like the side plank hip dips and is focused on really making sure you’re activating the correct muscles, including your glute medius and obliques, while helping improve your lat flexibility and SI Joint alignment.

To do Wall Hip Dips, stand with your side to the wall and lean into the wall with your upper arm against the wall. You can bend your elbow to 90 degrees to place the back of your forearm against the wall too so you aren’t trying to cheat and rock off the wall.

Your feet should be about a foot from the wall and only a few inches apart at most.

Then drop your hip toward the wall. Do not rotate, but just move laterally.

Then engage your glute and oblique closest to the wall to raise your hip back up. Feel your oblique and glute work to move into almost a “side plank” position.
Then dip back toward the wall to almost feel a stretch down that side closest to the wall.

The further out from the wall, the more mobility you need. So start closer and move away as you can control the move without rotating or letting your shoulder come off the wall.

SUMMARY:

Remember, the point of pain isn’t always where the problem is! And overload can occur because of immobility or instability at a joint further away from our pain than we’d expect.

It’s why we need to pay attention to muscles and their different attachment points.

It’s why big muscles, like our lats, that bridge from our hips to our shoulders, need to get some extra TLC at times!

Try including these 3 moves as part of your warm up before your next workout if you’ve had shoulder or hip aches and pains you just can’t seem to get rid of!

Looking for 10 minute series to improve your mobility, flexibility and stability from head to toe?

Check out my Injury Prevention Pack:

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4 Tips For Avoiding The Dreaded Menopausal Weight Gain

4 Tips For Avoiding The Dreaded Menopausal Weight Gain

by | Jul 27, 2021 | Blog, Diet

Say goodbye to your youthful body. Weight gain is inevitable. Bye bye abs.

Your life is over – you’ve hit MENOPAUSE!

It’s undeniable…your body is going to change with menopause.

But this doesn’t have to mean the end of your aesthetic goals.

It doesn’t have to mean accepting gaining weight and belly fat.

So how can you avoid the dreaded weight gain that often happens with menopause, especially when it feels like no matter what you try the fat continues to creep on?

How can you prevent your waist from growing when everything you’ve done doesn’t work and often even seems to make things worse?

First it’s key we understand the changes that our bodies go through during menopause and why it can feel like we gain weight if we even look at a cookie.

Then I’ll explain why your previous dieting and workout practices that always worked in the past will no longer cut it before we dive into what we CAN do to still get results!

So…Why do we gain weight with menopause?

As we enter menopause, our hormone levels are fluctuating dramatically and levels of the hormone estrogen drop.

These lower levels of estrogen can increase appetite and reduce satiety. (1)

So if you’ve been feeing like you’re hungrier than you used to be eating the same amount? It isn’t your mind playing tricks with you. It is actually that drop in estrogen impacting how fun you feel.

Lower levels of estrogen also reduce activation of brown fat, which is the metabolically-active body fat that burns energy. (2) So if we have a lower energy expenditure, we simply don’t need to consume as many calories as we used to in order to maintain our weight.

Not to mention as we get older in general, it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle, which is key to a higher metabolic rate.

Basically our energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate both drop with menopause.

And that’s a bad combo. We FEEL hungrier yet our body actually needs LESS energy consumed to survive. It’s a recipe for weight gain.

Not to mention some of the side affects from menopause like mood swings and sleeping problems don’t lend themselves to us wanting to stay on track with our eating or always being motivated to workout when we should.

Sleep deprivation has actually been shown to make our brain’s reward system more susceptible to the appeal of junk food even. (3)

Basically, there are lots of things now working against us.

Not to mention even our PREVIOUS dieting and training practices may actually be making things WORSE.

And while this all sucks, recognizing it is the first step in finding a way to still move forward and achieve amazing results.

Now…how have your previous dieting and workout habits potentially made the issues worse?

We need to STOP the fad dieting, the trying to out exercise our diet cycle as early on as we can if we want to set ourselves up for success during menopause.

Otherwise our previous dieting practices often come back to haunt us.

Too often we’ve lost weight in the past by slashing our calories super low. Cutting out whole food groups. Doing a ton of steady state cardio. Or training extra to burn more calories.

We’ve focused on DOING MORE.

But these dieting and exercise practices may not only have been unsustainable long-term, they could now be compounding some of the issues we see with menopause.

Basically…Just because you “could” get away with something when you were younger, doesn’t mean you should have.

Too often the improper practices we implemented may have “worked” at the time, but they were creating a crack in our foundation we didn’t recognize. One that over time will lead to huge issues for the entire house.

Now you may be thinking, “Ok well I can’t go back in time.” And that’s true, but this is incentive to change how we train and fuel as soon as we can.

We need to stop focusing on simply eating less and training more if we want to set ourselves up for long term success.

Drop those old habits, even if they used to work, and get ready to train your body based on what it needs now with long-term success in mind.

And that’s why I want to share these 4 tips to help you avoid, or even reverse, the dreaded weight gain often associated with MENOPAUSE!

4 Tips To Help You Avoid The Dreaded Menopausal Weight Gain:

Tip #1: Don’t overdo the deficit.

With menopause, our metabolic rate and energy expenditure drops.

With getting older, we struggle more to build and retain lean muscle, which means we burn fewer calories during the day outside of our workouts.

As we get older, we also tend to become less active. And a more sedentary lifestyle also means fewer calories burned during the day.

So all of this means we technically need to consume fewer calories to survive.

Now you may be questioning why I mention not “overdoing” the deficit.

And this is because it perpetuates many of the metabolic adaptions we already see occurring with menopause and with getting older.

When you eat less, you train your body to need less. Your metabolism adapts.

It’s why previous dieting practices come into play. If you’ve always lost weight through extreme calorie deficits, you’ve essentially taught your body to function off of fewer calories.

It’s why, for longer term success, you want to create less of a calorie deficit even if it means technically seeing slower losses on the scale.

This smaller deficit will also help you focus more on FAT LOSS without as much risk for muscle loss.

And that’s essential as we get older since we already struggle to build and retain lean muscle. We want to make sure we’re fueling properly to preserve that muscle mass and keep our metabolic rate as high as possible.

So if you want to lose weight and you’re struggling, don’t jump to slashing calories lower. Instead try to even create less of a deficit than you may have in the past and get ready to stick with those habits long term!

Instead of slashing calories super low, track your food and focus on those macros…and one macro in particular…

Tip #2: Focus on protein.

As we get older, we can develop anabolic resistance – we are less able to utilize protein as efficiently. And this makes consuming enough protein even more important.

We want to do everything we can to promote muscle growth and retention. Not only does more muscle mean a higher resting metabolic rate, but it also means we’ll look leaner as we lose body fat.

It also simply helps us stay functionally stronger as we get older!

And while I’m talking about increasing protein to help with weight loss during menopause, it is truly key at every age because a high protein diet has been the only diet shown to help you build and retain lean muscle even while eating in a deficit. Not to mention high protein diets have been shown to prevent unwanted fat gain if you do even eat in a surplus.

By increasing your protein intake, you give yourself a bit more wiggle room on those calories and can help yourself create an appropriate deficit to lose fat without putting your hard earned muscle at risk. Muscle you want to do everything you can to maintain as you go through menopause.

And when I’m talking about increasing protein here, I’m not only talking about eating more animal protein. Actually including some SOY protein may be beneficially, especially during menopause.

Even just increasing your tofu portion at a meal by an ounce or two can go a long way in increasing your daily protein intake.

Not to mention a number of studies have shown that soy can reduce some of the symptoms associated with menopause.

So if you’re plant-based, or even an omnivore, you can increase your protein intake to improve your body composition while even potentially helping lessen some of those menopausal symptoms! (4)

Another great way to increase protein, that can have a positive benefit for weight loss while also helping improve your bone mineral density is collagen.

Now note, all supplements should always be supplemental, and the focus should be on whole, natural foods to hit those macros, but it’s never bad to have other tools at our disposal.

I also think it’s key to note that, while I am talking about tips to avoid menopausal weight gain, high protein diets can also help improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis, two things we are more at risk for after we go through menopause.

The amino acids in protein are used to build bone and because protein increases muscles mass, there is also an increase in bone strength!

Studies have even started looking at whether or not we need to INCREASE our protein recommendations for older adults to help prevent an increased occurrence of fractures.

And protein not only makes up all of our tissues, making it important for our bone and muscle health, but helps carry the oxygen that reddens our blood, combines with sterols to form hormones and even is need to “carry” fat and cholesterol throughout our bodies.

This means that getting more protein can even help prevent increased skin fragility and decreased immune function, improve brain functioning, and quality of sleep AND even lower blood pressure!

And if you’re going through menopause you’ve probably felt at times you’ve suffered from “menopause brain” and a lack of sleep so better brain functioning and improved quality of sleep are key and even more reason to increase that protein!

Tip #3: Don’t fear FATS!

Fat does not make you fat. So you should not fear consuming fat when trying to lose weight and especially if you’re going through menopause (5)

While carbs are NOT evil and you may need more carbs if you’re extremely active or an endurance athlete, lower carb ratios during menopause may be more helpful for weight loss.

And especially if you’re finding yourself more sedentary recently, you don’t need the immediate fuel of a higher carb diet so lowering your carb intake can aid in that weight loss process if you aren’t able to increase your activity level right away.

Increasing your fat intake, especially your omega-3 intake will also help reduce inflammation, which often increases during menopause, and therefore aid in the weight loss process as well.

Consider consuming more fish or shellfish to increase your omega-3, not to mention your protein, intake.

If you can’t, there are always fish oil supplements and plant-based forms of omega-3s (macadamia nuts are great!).

And on top of reducing inflammation to help expedite the fat loss process, increasing your omega-3 intake, can also reduce hot flash occurrences while improving bone mineral density at the hips and spine! (6) (7)

Tip #4: Include strength training in your routine.

Building and retaining muscle is key. Period.

And while you could technically not workout and lose weight, you need to train to build muscle.

However, strength training doesn’t have to mean lifting weights.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

You can build muscle using bodyweight training.

The key is progressing moves as you adapt by using harder variations or by increasing instability or range of motion or more time under tension or a greater training density….just to name a few ways you can create progression without loads.

But you do not want to just default to doing more cardio because that worked in the past. Especially steady-state cardio which can be catabolic to muscle tissue.

As we go through menopause, we need to do everything in our power to fight against the metabolic slow down and that means BUILDING muscle.

If you enjoy cardio activities, you do not need to cut them out. But as you enter menopause, find ways to include even short strength workouts a few times a week.

SUMMARY:

Menopause presents us with new challenges when it comes to weight maintenance, and the sooner we can implement key lifestyle habits, the more we can even avoid gaining weight at all.

Do not feel like menopause means you have to accept belly fat and a sluggish metabolism.

Using these 4 tips you can reverse the menopausal weight gain, reduce some of the symptoms of menopause and set yourself up to look fabulous until the day you die!

Ready to make the changes you need to avoid that dreaded menopausal weight gain? 

Check out my 3-Part RS Recipe for lasting results without feeling deprived!

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STUDIES:
(1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9878925/
(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29224101/
(3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22259064/
(4) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24273218/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26806546/
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728369/
(6) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29304057/
(7) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28562117/