A Philosophy of Strength and Health

2015. Chloe Kim warms up for a commercial video shoot at 11 pm. It is 20 deg F. I talk explicitly with my athletes about warm up and the importance of taking it seriously. This is specific work that gives us information and it forms the foundation for that particular session. It is not just about raising body temperature or sweating. Nor is it a time for mindless busywork. There will be general things that work for an entire team; but there will also be things that are specific to the individual athlete. It is important to allow each athlete to have input into their warm up. Personal accountability here helps develop good overall habits and lays the foundations for a lifetime of using movement for self-care. Intentional effort is important. This is the time where one learns to become "in tune" with the body and its potential physicality. The only way to do this is to work through a variety of movements, repeatedly, over time. These experiences allow you to choose those moveme...

I am reviewing things for a new project and this blog post from April 2020 has some things I want to keep in mind. Thought I would share it again. Might prompt some good reflection for the physio crowd. ----- Last week Donie Fox had a great article for HMMRMedia --  "Using Foundational Legs Exercises as the Cornerstone of Rehabilitation."  Check it out if you haven't already. Donie's article is important in my mind because it addresses a critical issue in the rehab world. There is a serious lack of appreciation for and mastery of the use of basic movements (squats, lunges, step ups) to build foundational lower extremity strength. Donie and I have decided to go into more depth on this topic in our next few podcasts. We will also hopefully touch on return to running programming criteria. Here are some barriers, in my opinion, to rehab professionals adopting a "foundational legs" approach. I'm not trying to be overly critical or a curmudgeon here. I am simp...