Today we’re going to continue our series on low back pain during the squat by applying a novel concept to help us understand WHY back pain occurs. Physical Therapist Gray Cook (author of the book Movement and creator of the FMS screen) along with strength coach Mike Boyle coined the Joint-by-Joint approach as a simpleContinue reading Common Squat Injuries: Low Back Pain Pt 6 (The Joint-By-Joint Approach)
Welcome back to Squat University! For the past few weeks we have been have been discussing the topic of low back pain during the squat. If you haven’t checked out our previous lecture articles, I encourage you to read them before moving on. The information shared will help give you a good foundation to understandContinue reading The Pelvis & Low Back Relationship
One of my biggest pet peeves is when doctors and other medical practitioners don’t take the time to explain and educate their patients the basics of their anatomy and why their injury occurred (called the injury mechanism). Today, I want to briefly go over the anatomy of the low back and cover some of theContinue reading What Causes Low Back Pain?
Of all the injuries a strength athlete can sustain, low back pain is often the most frustrating and debilitating. Not only does an injury to your back instantaneously drain you of your power and strength, it can also have an intense psychological effect that leaves you feeling like a shell of yourself. If you’ve everContinue reading The Low Back Pain Epidemic
Welcome back to Squat University! If you’re dealing with an injury while lifting – this is a good starting place. In the blogs below you’ll find links to many of the common places you will find aches/pains when lifting. In these blogs you’ll learn WHY these injuries occur and also some of the best firstContinue reading Common Lifting Injuiies
Imagine for a moment you got the chance to drive your dream sports car. As you sit in the drivers seat, you can feel the engine roar beneath your feet. Your body is pulled back into the seat as you step on the accelerator. After a few hours of driving you glance at the dashboardContinue reading Is It Really “No Pain, No Gain”?
The Origins of Strength Welcome back to Squat University. This week we are going to change things up a bit. Today, we’re going to talk about the history behind the squat. Strength training is not a new concept. Historians have found references to feats of strength and weight lifting competitions dating as far back asContinue reading Squat History 101
Welcome back to Squat University! Last week we started a discussion on overhead mobility. We introduced two screens that can expose overhead mobility problems that can affect your barbell lifts (snatch, overhead squat, etc). This week, I want to share with you a few of my favorite mobility exercises to address these weak links. MobilizeContinue reading How to Improve Overhead Mobility
If I had to single out one exercise that most athletes struggle with, it would be the overhead squat. There are so many variables that could hurt your overhead squat technique. Recently we discussed how to improve this lift by addressing problems with scapular stability. This week we are going to address another limiting factor,Continue reading The Squat Fix: Screening Overhead Mobility
Prior to the turn of the century, the overhead squat was primarily used by competitive weightlifters. Olympic weightlifting coaches use the overhead squat as a teaching progression for novice athletes. The overhead squat is used to strengthen the bottom position of a barbell snatch. Since the recent boom in CrossFit, the use of the overheadContinue reading Perfecting the Overhead Squat
