Joe Sullivan has some choice words for powerlifters who think that the weight room is their therapy. It’s not. Go get help. See a therapist.
“Training is my therapy” should sideline a powerlifter from competitions. If training really is your therapy, you’re going to get hurt. If that’s the case, you need to see an actual therapist. Seriously.
I’ve used these items before training as a way to warm up and loosen muscle fiber, and I’ve used them after training as a form of relaxation and recovery. In every case, they’re improving the way I feel and lift.
As a bodybuilder, I frequently abuse my body through training. I had heard of the benefits of Graston for years and finally decided to give it a chance to treat several specific issues.
This is pain that you crave, because the load you’ve been carrying all your life is now resting on your back — and you have the power to smash it.
Training ideas and demonstrations of foam rollers as warm-ups, therapy and prehab/rehab.
Squat injuries happen more frequently without a proper warm-up. Dr. Ryan Smith discusses a few simple movements he uses that can save you from painful complications.
The sacroiliac joints (SI) are a common source of lower back problems for a wide range of people including housewives, professional athletes, and elite lifters. The SI joints don’t discriminate.
Due to a recent influx of hip flexor questions, I decided to put together a few thoughts on the issue.
Anyone who has worked with field and court sport athletes has undoubtedly dealt with his fair share of athletes with ankle injuries.
Injuries are a major setback for any competitive athlete. It can be physically taxing to recover and mentally stressful and draining to be sitting on the bench and going through rehabilitation.
Recently, I received an email from an average, middle-aged man who, after years of training, was unable to pick up his three-year-old son over his head due to shoulder pain. His goal was very simple.
If you’re in the military, or you’re a police officer or fireman, or you work some other job where you’re under considerable amounts of stress on a regular basis, you’re going to want to read this article.
Whenever I’m approached by an avid exerciser or athlete who complains of knee or lower back pain, the first thing I do is check out his or her backside…literally. Not to sound like a sexual implication, but observing the glutes actually helps me understand a client’s description of knee and lower back pain.
I’ll start off by putting it simply—you must train hard and recover hard! Here are some healthy ways to recover your body and restore your muscles!
At some point or another, just about every bodybuilder and athlete on the planet is bound to get injured. Luckily, for most of us, these injuries are usually minor and don’t result in anything more than a slight inconvenience for a few days.
In part 1 of this series, I introduced some ways in which a strength and conditioning coach can deal with an athlete’s shoulder pain.
In Part 1 of this series, I went into some detail on why I really didn’t like the catch all term “impingement.” In Part 2, I’m going to talk about the different kinds of impingement—external and internal.
Roughly 10–15 times per week, I get emails from folks who claim that they have shoulder “impingement.” Honestly, I roll my eyes the second that I read these emails.
The serratus (anterior and posterior) is one of the most overlooked and undertrained areas of an athlete’s body, especially in powerlifters. These muscles aid in the lockout of the bench press and stabilize the shoulder blade and shoulder girdle. By neglecting this area, you can suffer during the last half to one inch of your bench lockout.
The following is a recollection of an incident that I suffered close to 12 years ago. It changed my approach to personal exercise and ultimately helped me carve my career in the fitness field.
As a strength coach, I work with many athletes who suffer from chronic joint pain. When I hear them complain about shoulder and knee pain, my first reaction is to blow them off and tell them to go stretch. However, after suffering from the same types of nagging pains myself, I know that their pain is very real.
Earlier this season, Josh Hamilton put on an amazing show with 28 homeruns in the first round of the major league baseball (MLB) Homerun Derby.
The rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder play a very important role in the prevention of shoulder injury and in the execution of overhead throwing and hitting actions.
Last summer, I worked with a college running back who was contemplating quitting football because of chronic hamstring injuries.
Pain in the front of the knee is becoming an epidemic among serious lifters and fitness enthusiasts alike.
The ancient practice of fasting seems to periodically find its way into modern fitness subcultures.
It’s unbelievable. Over 31 percent of the typical mini-van driving, TiVo watching, Lucky Jean’s wearing, Prozac popping, spray-on-tan sporting American hasn’t taken a crap in the last three days!
Popular sporting literature such as health and fitness magazines, internet training, and sport sites as well as articles written by athletes, coaches, and physical therapists have endorsed the use of techniques such as massage, hydrotherapy, and hyperbaric oxygenation as ways of speeding up the recovery process and thus improving athletic performance.
…with Jim Wendler, Mike Ruggiera, Tom Deebel, Julia Ladewski, Mark McLaughlin, Alwyn Cosgrove, Lance Mosely, James Smith, Brian Schwab, and Travis Mash
Chronic shoulder pain is nothing new to lifters or overhead athletes. It can range from something you just live with and work around to debilitating and career ending.
Ask any powerlifter what his most important joint is, and he’ll promptly answer “the hips.” The hips provide strength and stability in all three lifts. If you’re weak at the hips, you’re not going to do much on the platform. The same goes for all other athletes. The posterior chain is crucial for athletic success.
Tired of banging your head against the wall trying to fix old injuries that have been preventing your total from going up? What should you do when the foam roller, specific sport stretching, equiblock, and massages are no longer helping? Well, guess what? Here’s your golden ticket to PRville…
He has elite totals at a body weight of 275 lbs and 308 lbs and totaled 2204 lbs in single ply gear. After that, Hoss tried to make a jump to double ply gear but only added 18 pounds to his total.
To all my fellow lower back pain sufferers who have subjected themselves to needless surgeries, cortisone shots, and therapies that flat out don’t work, here is my story.
We’ve had the EFS Professional 45-degree back raise in the EFS weight room for about 2–3 years. It’s the best low back strengthener I’ve ever used.
“Well, I stand up next to a mountain I chop it down with the edge of my hand.” –Jimi
I feel it is the responsibility of any trainer or coach working with young throwing athletes to have a solid working knowledge of the shoulder.
I am going to attempt to provide the reader a generic blue print for individuals suffering from an acute shoulder problem to a chronic condition.
There has been an epidemic of sorts in the past few years regarding ACL injuries and young female athletes.
Female athletes are more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries than males. Depending on the study, comparing male and female athletes, females are said to be anywhere from 4 to 6 times more likely to tear their ACL.
The nervous system of athletes in speed and power sports can be enhanced by various means such as coordination exercises, structural work, and traditional power lifting methods.
Last month I addressed the restorative measures of ice, massage, and rest to aid recovery. These methods are designed to not only increase workout performance and reduce injury, but help you feel better when you’re not training. Other useful methods include stretching, diet, supplementation, stimulants, and contrast methods.
Now that you have moved your total training volume higher and your training frequency is higher, you may be wondering, “How do I recover from the increased workload?”