Build It Before You Need It
Whether you’re pressed for time or want to get straight to the weight, the thought of skipping over those warm-up exercises and routines seems to always cross our mind.
My Back is Killing Me!
Lower back pain can be a common pain source for powerlifters and other strength athletes.
Coping with Sciatica
The real purpose of this article is for me to explain the stretching regimen that I do daily to ward off the sciatic pain.
Bridging the Gap Between Rehabilitation and Sports Performance Training
Over the course of a few months, I frequently witnessed a person leave the physical therapy clinic restored to “functional capacity” only to return later with the same injury on a different limb, a different injury surrounding the original site of surgery/rehabilitation, or even worse, the same injury on the same limb.
The Rocky Boat to Recovery
As a Powerlifting Coach and as a professional Clinical Social Worker, when I think about the concept "recovery," I used to define it two different ways depending what hat I was wearing at the time.
Getting Over Overtraining: Five Practical Tips
Overtraining is a result of training stress in addition to the rest of life’s stresses exceeding an athlete’s ability to recover.
Back pain? My ass!
I’ve had so much pain in my lower back that it's hard to get up or sit down in a chair, let alone try to squat or deadlift a couple hundred pounds.
The Parasympathetic Secret
You wake up after a restful night’s sleep to hit up the gym before the sun comes up, but why do you feel so weak and unmotivated to lift heavy and strong?
Recovery 101: Training Techniques
In the second part of his two-part series, Charlie discusses some great things to do post-workout for quicker recovery.
A Strength Coach’s Guide to Dealing with Pain, Part 3: Low Back
When training athletes, an all-inclusive approach works best.
Alleviating Ailing Ankles: Part 2
In the first part of “Alleviating Ailing Ankles,” I discussed the function of the ankle joint and demonstrated a few exercises to help achieve additional range of motion in dorsiflexion.
Damn, My “Insert Anything Here” Hurts
You didn’t get injured today, but you exponentially increased your potential for injury because your next workout and warm up will be pretty much the same.
Correcting and/or Preventing Muscular Imbalances
Many articles extol the need for balancing the muscles. Much of this is warranted. The problem lies in how to do this and when it should be done. In some cases, it’s necessary to look at what actually constitutes an imbalance.
Correcting Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction, Part 1
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.
The Hip Flexor Solution
Due to a recent influx of hip flexor questions, I decided to put together a few thoughts on the issue.
Alleviating Ailing Ankles
Anyone who has worked with field and court sport athletes has undoubtedly dealt with his fair share of athletes with ankle injuries.
Monitoring Training Status: The Finger Tap Test
Monitoring training status is something very vital when training athletes.
The Top Five Movements for Shoulder Health
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.
Pointing Out Gluteal Atrophy
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.
Active Release Techniques for Strength Athletes
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.
A Strength Coach’s Guide to Dealing with Pain: Part 2, Knee Pain
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.
A Strength Coaches Guide to Dealing with Pain, Part 1: Shoulder Pain
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.