An Annoyingly Simple Fix to Knee Pain

Glute-Ham Activations – An often forgotten component to resolving knee issues.

Knee pain can be scary. In many cases, it is so severe that the patient thinks there must be something structurally wrong with the joint. There must be severe arthritis, meniscus tears, or ligament damage. The pain is so bad that something must be broken!

99 times out of 100, it is simply an inflammatory condition that gets so bad it incapacitates at the same level as a severe tissue damage.

What makes this even more frustrating is that many patients are doing the right things:

  1. Modifying exercises
  2. Mashing out Quads
  3. Mobilizing Quads
  4. Using compression sleeves/wraps/bands
  5. Building ability to front and lateral lunge
  6. Praying to the Knee gods for salvations

However, until the Glute-Ham Activation is applied to the equation, most will struggle with making improvements.

I struggled with Patellar Tendinitis for a good 9 months, before I broke down and started doing what I tell my patients to do (I know, right?… Doctors are the worst patients).

When I injected the GHA progression into my prep and recovery I started making fast and stable improvements to the point where I still lift heavy, run fast, jump high, and do it all “NAKED”.

Slow down, I do have clothes on, but I don’t wear any belts, braces, sleeves, tape, inserts, balms, bands, or magical potions. I just own the improvements and express them daily… kinda the idea, right?

Hope this helps you and if you need more guidance don’t hesitate to look me up on the “Get Started” page.

Good luck and #keepmoving

Dr.J

A Runner’s Best Friend

Lateral Lunge

Running is great… said a handful of people. Once.

Just kidding, running is a major life skill and takes a level of mental toughness that is rivaled by few things. It is also hard on the entire body because of its highly repetitive nature and short range of motion.

When we take that into consideration, it is easy to understand why running generates the most “over-use” injuries with respect to modes of exercise. It isn’t dangerous, but it will break down the body over time, unless…

The lateral lunge is a great way to give the body full range of motion and do so in a totally different plane of movement.

Don’t let your body panic! Give it what it wants so you can keep doing what you love.

Good luck and #keepmoving

Dr.J

CrossFit Open 19.1 – Keys to Success

Push-Pull City

It is obvious that the arms will be balanced with a push and a pull. But do you realize that the legs should also be going through a push and a pull?

The squat portion of the wall ball is a push/drive through more of the anterior chain muscles (quads), whereas the row should be more of a pull from the glutes and hamstrings.

Confused?… No worries, check out the video and learn how to dominate this workout.

Hints:

  1. Deadlift the Row
  2. Squat the Wallball
  3. Find a pace and don’t look back
  4. But before you do that… mobilize
  5. Hamy stretch
  6. Pigeon Stretch
  7. T/s foam roll for front rack/squat shape

Good Luck and #keepmoving

Dr.J

All in One!

Squatting Runners… A Great Catch-All Mobilization

If you are strapped for time, then this is a perfect stretch for you to get all of your lower body tissues stretched and prepared for activity. And yes, it does attack just about all of your “front and back” muscle groups when done correctly.

Good Luck and #keepmoving!