Three healthcare professionals I visit regularly for soft-tissue work are Dr. Mae Chan, Mary Tam, and Vlodek Kluczynski. It would be unusual for two weeks to pass without seeing at least one of them. Here’s why. Mae is a chiropractor, acupuncturist, and active release techniques (ART) provider—an extraordinary multitasker! During a single session, she might…
The standard side-lying dumbbell external rotation primarily overloads the middle of the range of motion. If you use a resistance tube, it shifts the overload to the end of the range. But what about the start of the range? That’s where these two variations come in. I learned the Buchberger External Rotation from renowned shoulder…
Most people “wear their shoulders too low,” according to Dr. Shirley Sahrmann, author of Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes. At an Ontario Kinesiology Society seminar in 2004, Sahrmann pointed out that shoulder depression causes more problems than elevation—one of the most common being neck pain. Simply raising the shoulder girdle can improve cervical…
When people ask me what supplements to take for a joint-related injury, I have several recommendations—proteolytic enzymes, hyaluronic acid, and bamboo silica, to name a few. But one secret weapon I often suggest is gelatin. If you’re injured, take gelatin twice a day: once in the morning and again before bed. If you want to…
As we wrap up another year, let’s take a look back at some of the most popular and insightful articles we published in 2015. These ten articles covered everything from injury rehabilitation to Olympic lifting, flexibility training, and advanced strength techniques. If you missed any of them, now’s the perfect time to catch up! The…
Over the years, I’ve explored various injury prevention and treatment strategies for aging athletes. What I discovered was quite interesting—mainly that a high degree of the aging process is controlled by the brain. As mental function starts to decline, your body starts to fall apart. Boost the brain, and you’ll boost the body! One of…
Most strength programs marketed for self-defense are nothing more than conditioning routines disguised as strength training. They often feature circuit-style workouts with a random mix of weighted self-defense movements. Not only is this ineffective, but it also increases the risk of overuse injuries. A better approach is to focus on developing strength in the weight…
What happens when guys train with other guys? Often, the weight starts to pile on the bar, and form gets thrown out the window! “It’s all you, Bro. I’m barely touching it!” says your training partner while he deadlifts the bar off your chest. Out of a set of ten on the bench press, you…
Common Weight Training Injuries JP: What are the most common weight training injuries you see in your practice? Dr. S: The biggest issues I see stem from muscular imbalances—particularly between the superficial front and back lines (for more on this, check out Anatomy Trains). Tight hamstrings are a major culprit, but just as often, injuries…
An offset grip, sometimes referred to as an “off-center” grip, is often used during arm curls to increase activation of the short (medial) head of the biceps. The same concept can be applied to lateral raises. By using an offset grip—where the thumb and index finger are positioned against the front plate of the dumbbell—you…