What Does Proper Posture Look Like…and How Do You Get It?
/Check out my interview in ACE Certified News for tips on how to improve your posture through mobility and strength work.
Read MoreCheck out my interview in ACE Certified News for tips on how to improve your posture through mobility and strength work.
Read MoreI recently spent an entire weekend geeking out over fascia, feet and movement with the amazing Dr. Courtney Conley. It was awesome to be in a room with dozens of physical therapists, chiropractors, emergency responders and massage therapists all focused on helping our clients reduce pain and improve their movement. I left the weekend not only with two FMT certifications for assessing clients and applying kinesiology tape, but with a renewed passion and fascination for how the brain and body are connected and how we can improve that connection through physical stimulus like kinesiology tape.
Read MoreIt's no secret that when I can snag 45m-60m away from the gym I love a good SoulCycle class. When I stumbled into Sumner Weldon's class recently I knew I hit gold. Her energy is awesome and her class is a solid workout. She includes some really awesome stretches and mobility drills after the weights section that no other instructors are doing and are MUCH needed for today's rider. So I was thrilled to connect with her after class to learn more about her.
Read MoreLower back and hip pain is incredibly common thanks to the hours and hours we spend sitting and toiling away on computers and devices. Finding the right stretches, mobility drills and strengthening exercises that will help reset your body and spending a few minutes each day consistently performing them can help keep you pain free and tracking toward your fitness goals. If lower back and hip aches and pains are slowing you down, give these exercises a try.
Read MoreI am regularly asked who I trust for chiropractic and soft tissue work. For many years I've worked with the amazing team at SF Custom Chiropractic (SFCC) led by Dr. Adam Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs and his wunderkind associate Dr. Brad Bailey have not only helped me, but have helped dozens of my clients achieve pain free movement, better range of motion and structural symmetry though an integrative approach that includes soft tissue work like ART, chiropractic adjustments, clinical massage and kinesiotaping. They have become my trusted partners for my own body and the bodies of my clients and we often collaborate together to ensure treatment and training programs are aligned.
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I'm a big fan of knowing what's going on with my body. And if there are simple, affordable tests I can take that can give me useful, actionable data to improve my health and inform my fitness program I'm all for it. So I recently engaged a local office of DexaFit to obtain a Dexa Scan Body Composition Analysis, RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) Test, V02 Max Test and Fit3D Posture Scan. In this post I outline what I learned from these tests and how I am applying that knowledge to optimize my fitness program. I've also included links to my full reports and photos from my experience to help you decide if similar testing makes sense for you.
Read MoreIf you work in an office like most humans these days, you probably spend a large portion of your day at a desk. This means you can be sitting for hours and hours throughout the day which can be uncomfortable if you don't have the right computer chair or posture. I was pleased to contribute to this Ultimate Guide to Ergonomic Workstations along with 14 other health and fitness pros to explain the best tools for your office and the best ways to maintain great posture throughout your day. Get all 15 tips here.
Read MoreAs a successful personal trainer for Equinox in San Francisco I’ve worked with hundreds of clients. They want to be lean. They want to be strong. They want to be healthy. But no one ever says “I want strong feet and mobile ankles.” Yet weak feet are often the biggest roadblocks to achieving their health goals. The ankle is one of our most important and commonly overlooked joints. Pain and injuries in the knees, hips and lower back can often be traced to issues at the ankle joint. Think of how often and how many ways we use our ankles: walking, running, biking, squatting, yoga, balancing, dancing (you get the idea). If the muscles acting on your ankle are chronically tight or if the joint itself is jammed or lacks proper mobility the impact can be painful and damaging as the body will compensate at other joints to accommodate movement. Check out my interview in Shape Magazine to learn how to improve your ankle mobility, reduce pain and improve performance in your workouts.
Read MoreThe folks at Bowflex Insider asked me and Carrie Schmitz, Senior Manager of Human Factors & Ergonomics Research at standing-desk manufacturer Ergotron, to explain the impact your workplace posture can have on your health. Curious how to set up your workstation? Checkout this short piece including a handy infographic.
Read MoreI'm grateful to the folks at U.S. News & World Report for including me in this important piece geared toward helping the more than 74 million baby boomers out there improve their movement and posture. These are excellent tips for everyone regardless of your age. Checkout the full slideshow here.
Read MoreFrom Michael Phelps to Ryan Seacrest to the girl squatting next to you in the gym, cupping (or "myofascial decompression") is becoming an increasingly popular modality to help with fascial dysfunction. Perfectly round telltale "bruises" are making their way onto backs, shoulders and hips everywhere and are raising eyebrows from those who don't understand what they are. I've personally experienced positive results from cupping as part of an integrated physical therapy program in the past. So I enlisted the awesome Dr. Sarah Jay from GSPORTS Physical Therapy to discuss and demonstrate how cupping can help improve fascial health and mobility.
Read MoreLawyers face unusually long hours and high amounts of stress in their work. Hours on end sitting and typing, anxiety inducing deadlines and little time for proper meals and adequate rest can leave many of them wondering why they chose the law for a profession. I work with A LOT of lawyers. And my clients will tell you, it doesn't have to be this way. With a practical and efficient fitness program (and the right coach) even the busiest attorney can achieve balance and health without sacrificing his/her career. In fact, my clients say they're actually better lawyers because of it. For more details, check out my interview with Leigh Jones from Law.com: When Firm Life Makes Them Flabby, Lawyers Call This Trainer.
Read MoreThe ankle is one of our most important and often overlooked joints. Poor movement patterns and pain "up the chain" (i.e. in your knees, hips and even lower back) can often be traced back to issues at the ankle joint. Think of how often and how many ways we use our ankles: walking, running, biking, squatting, yoga, balancing, dancing (you get the idea). If the muscles acting on your ankle are chronically tight or if the joint itself is jammed or lacks proper mobility the impact can be painful and damaging as the body will compensate at other joints to accommodate movement. Try these drills that could lead to reduced pain and improved performance.
Read MoreThe shoulder is (or should be) the most mobile joint in your body. It's comprised of a complex system of big muscles (including the lats and pec major), smaller muscles (like the subscapularis, infraspinatus and deltoids), bones (humerus, clavicle and scapula) and loads of ligaments, tendons, fascia and other connective material. It's a highway for many important nerves (such as the Brachial Plexus), arteries and veins. The shoulder is awesome. And odds are if you work at a desk and have a mobile device you treat your shoulders like crap.
Read MoreI like to think of the Versa Climber as the Regina George of cardio equipment. She's fabulous but she's evil. Just ask my clients Trish, Dub, Jason, Sarah or Tom. In all seriousness, the Versa Climber is one of the best and often most underused assets in the gym. It's an amazing tool for low impact, total body high intensity intervals that help burn fat, build strength and improve movement patterns. It's scalable to your fitness level, can be appropriate even for those with many common joint problems/injuries and is extremely efficient. So if the Versa Climber in your gym is collecting dust, give it a shot and get your quadruped swagger on.
Read MoreIf you're reading this, you probably have tight hips. You're in good company. Most people in our technology-centric world could use some mobility work in this area, including yours truly. The hip is a synovial joint that is meant to be super mobile. But because many of us sit all day and only move in what's called the sagittal plane of motion we lose mobility. Rather than traditional static stretching, I usually recommend dynamic warm ups (after foam rolling) that not only work to lengthen the tight muscles but also gently move the joint through its range of motion. Here are three of my favorites.
Read MoreMost of us got the memo that “sitting is the new smoking”. Chronic sitting, especially with poor posture, slumped over a laptop, iPhone or other piece of posture-wrecking technology, causes tightness in the hips, pectorals and several muscles that internally rotate the shoulders. Those tight muscles can pull joints out of alignment and cause pain and stiffness in the back, neck and legs and give you that oh so chic Hunchback of Notre Dame look. Not healthy. Not cute. But you can make some simple yet impactful lifestyle changes that will have you looking and feeling healthy and confident.
Read MoreA lot of folks, including myself, have tight hamstrings that foam rolling, static stretching and basic dynamic stretches can’t seem to tackle. Chronically tight hamstrings can lead to compensations in movement patterns, pain behind the knees and lower back and other nasty injuries and problems. For the past few months I’ve practiced a basic move using a monster band and have noticed a difference in my hamstring flexibility and overall mobility including the absence of lower back ache. I’ve used this technique with about a dozen clients so far and those who have done it consistently have seen solid results.
Read MoreI started training Tom Gaynor about two years ago. And looking back at how far he’s come I can barely remember some of the challenges we used to face. If I squint my eyes and think back really hard I can vaguely remember a heavier guy with an inhaler in one hand and a Blackberry in another frequently complaining about how his back hurt. Now when I see Tom, I see a man with a body that moves pain free, is 25# lighter and has greater capacity lungs. And he still gets to enjoy the occasional steak frites and martini. Tom is the kind of client that inspires me with his genuine commitment to his health while still successfully managing a thriving law practice, clamoring clients and a family (husband - who I now also train - and dog, Louis) in Marin. If you don’t think small changes over time can really add up, then you have to read his story below.
Read MoreDr. Kelly Starrett, author of the New York Times Bestseller Becoming a Supple Leopard and creator of MobilityWOD, released this week what I think will be the most important health book in years. I received my copy of Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World yesterday and I cannot put it down. If you sit more than two hours per day (who doesn't?!), use handheld devices or have children in school you simply must read this book. It's filled with loads of critical and practical info that could save your joints and your lives. Pick up a copy, read it and learn how to protect your body and improve your quality of life. STAND UP!
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