Sports Medicine Solutions

Just because you feel bad walking into a workout, doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad workout.

I always say that the hardest part about the workout is getting to the gym. Once you get there and start to warm up, you may surprise yourself on how well you perform.

Consider the levers you could pull to improve your workout. You could be 1 decision away from crushing.

Considerations:

- what warm-up can I do to help print my body for the demands of this workout? More dynamic or maybe hit trouble spots with more TLC

- did I miss a meal? Maybe a rice crispy treat, uncrustable, etc and 20min for it to hit will help

- am I dehydrated? Start steady sipping water and electrolytes

- am I tired? Maybe it’s time for a 20min mindfulness session or some caffeine, but don’t over do it.

- things are moving too slow… are they? Or do they just feel that way? Video some of your sets and see what they look like. You might be surprised.

In the end, it might be a bad day. But don’t walk into the gym counting the workout as a waste before you try some or all of these.

Shoot us a DM if we can help!!

This is all about the muscles inside the foot. They can draw the toes closer to the heel. This doesn’t involve the toes or the lower leg. This is purely a foot thing.

If you see your toes curl and forefoot lift off the ground then you’re not doing it right. If you are leaning your lower leg any direction then things aren’t right. Make sure you can see/feel the difference.

You should see your foot contract. There are robust layers of muscle in your feet when you train them properly. Make sure the focus is on the right place.

Let us know how we can help you over come foot issues!

These are a TON of ways to work stability under external stress. This is one of my favorites to show people. It needs minimal equipment but has big reward.

Focus is on creating and maintaining the tripod foot. The arch/foot should be fully active. Your body should be stabile on top of the foot too.

A great way to build this into the workout is with single leg efforts like RDL or step ups.

Let me know if you need any help building a better foundation!

Got to spend last Saturday working with G.E.S. Mindset and CrossFit CSG at a weightlifting seminar instructed by . It was an amazing time and got to help some good people perform better. Needless to say, PRs were set. Can’t wait til the next collab!

Learning how to control the foot with external forces is important. The big toe is important. If you can create force through the big toe esp while controlling the rest of the foot then you are set up for success.

The intrinsic foot muscles (they start and end inside the foot) are crucial for balance. The extrinsic muscles (start in the lower leg but end in the foot) help to control ankle motion for balance.

Without the intrinsic foot muscles working well the rest of the leg has a sloppy foundation to create stability. The better the foundation the more stable your feet will be.

This is a great drill to help with this! If you have any questions please reach out. Stay tuned for more recommendations!

The foundation of your body is your foot. The foot should be ROBUST and STRONG! If it isn’t then there is work that needs to be done.

Not everyone needs a tough foot and ankle that can withstand max effort broad jumps, but you should be able to walk for a full day with no problems. Modern shoes can some times act as a crutch and prevent us from capitalizing on what our body can actually do.

This doesn’t mean I want you to get rid of arch support. It does mean, if you are training up for something, you should be building from the ground up.

Runners, lifters and hybrid athletes should be working to have the best foundation possible. Stay tuned for some of my favorite recommendations to help this happen!

Inserting tempo work into your training has several benefits. Many times we rush reps and technique. We expect our body to just “get it” but in reality the nervous system needs consistent intentional cuing. Slowing down the speed to focus can speed this process.

Tempo can mean slowing things down as mentioned above, but can ALSO mean speeding up and working acceleration. Adding a band or chain for accommodating resistance can teach the nervous system how to increase force more quickly through sticking points. It also allows the body to handle more load when the leverage is on your side vs when the load has the advantage.

Lastly, tendon and connective tissue health can be DRAMATICALLY improved with longer duration loading. Muscles respond to load in general but it is only the higher thresholds that cause positive change. There are specific protocols for this.

If you want to learn more about tempo, have movement faults or tendinopathies please let us know.

Carrying implements are tough. You want to be quick but a lot of times being quick comes at the cost of technique. Below are some easy pointers to help lock in the foundation so there is less guesswork.

-An empty yoke when picked should be 6in off the grind. As the weight goes up you’ll want that buffer gap

- the cross bar should sit on your shoulders between a high bar and low bar position. We want to make the most of your trap shelf

- Hand placement should be on the upright vs cross bar. This will allow you to push into the yoke to minimize swing back and forth.

- Rotate your elbows up to make more of a shelf for the bar to rest on. Adjust hand placement for this too.

- Loading, you can load 4 identical plates, 1 on each corner OR 2 plates with 1 in diagonal corners. You will be able to do more than you think so makes sure the weight is challenging…but doable.

It sounds like a lot but the more clearly you practice the foundation, the easier comp day is.

The Combo Rack! Standard for powerlifters but can be intimidating for other lifters. It’s a versatile piece of specialty equipment that has a few adjustments you can make.

Today I want to show you how to adjust the rack height. In competition his allows for the perfect set up matched to the individual lifter without stripping weight off. It also an help training partners work easier together.

In this video I show adjustments during bench but it’s the same for squat even though the bar is on a different level.

Stay tuned for more tips on how to use equipment! Reach out if we can help you!