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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • 12/02/2013 at 12:04 pm in reply to: Working on knots #73338
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    This should help.


    12/01/2013 at 8:15 am in reply to: QL smash only after workout, but not before? #73327
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    it’s more of a sympathetic v’s parasympathetic system thing.

    releasing the neuromuscular system requires relaxation and it’s a very cathartic activity.

    The reason he talks about doing it after is because once you’re relaxed and activated that parasympathetic system, its then

    1. difficult to get yourself up for your work and activate the sympathetic system, from that relaxed cathartic state

    2. you’ve relaxed the muscle and then potentially hammering it again and making it tonic/tense with the work out.

     

    I suppose it depends on what your aim is – is it to relax in order to free up for movement like you’re doing, or, is it to release tension and allow the muscle to relax to aid recovery.

     

    that’s my quick thoughts on it anyway 🙂

    11/20/2013 at 4:25 am in reply to: How do you program your workouts while missing key ranges of motion? #73253
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Similar advice here my friend.

    I have limited range for full squats.

    In my work outs I’m using as heavy a weight as possible where I can keep form for as long as possible.

    My ‘tunnel’ for the squats especially, is shorter than it should be as I can’t attain the stable bottom position. So I work within my tunnel, and come back up once I know my form will break if I descend any lower, then when working on mobility I try to extend the tunnel, but this is going to take time and patience.

    I would apply that to all your movements – work in range, with as heavy a weight as possible that will allow you to keep that range, and progressively overload from there. That weight could be additional, it could be simply body weight, or it could be assisted body weight. Whatever works. Be careful though, it’s trial and error to find out what weights are your work out weights, start light and build, and stop once it begins to feel like too much. Trust your body and the inherent wisdom it has.

    stay persistent.

    11/15/2013 at 5:34 am in reply to: Shoulder Position in the Front Squat #73204
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    play around with grip width. It might be that your grip is too narrow??? this makes it ‘more difficult’ to ‘keep the elbows up’ as your elbow isn’t in a stable position. It will also allow you to get full lateral rotation of the shoulder and keep the wrist in a comfortable position (by the way – how is your wrist / finger mobility?)

     

    Once in this position it’s actually difficult to ‘drop’ the elbows performing a front rack squat.

     

     

     

     

    11/05/2013 at 10:21 am in reply to: Couch stretch issues. #73123
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Check out Kaitlin’s advice in this thread for the couch stretch.

    http://www.mobilitywod.com/community/#/discussion/390/fail-fail-fail-where-now

     

    she is brilliant with her guidance.

    11/04/2013 at 9:46 am in reply to: Fail, Fail, Fail… Where now? #73112
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Sounds like ankle mobility issues at the very least. But remember it’s a systems approach so working up the entire chain is essential. Favouring your tight ankles though would make sense.

     

    I would highly recommend the banded distraction work from both the front and the back.

    I would also recommend the lateral malleolus and calcaneus manipulation with the ball.

    You also might want to consider voodoo wrapping the feet and ankle and move about in them as this will force tarsals and metatarsals to move and also help get your ankle into a good position.

     

    Also, look into smashing / contract relax work on your anterior and posterior tibials and the related compartments.

     

    I have really bad ankle ROM in my right foot and this is due to many factors, primarily it would seem to a ‘bony block’ where my lateral malleolus doesn’t allow my talus bone to glide under the tibia during dorsi-flexion. So I can sympathise greatly. I too am a mile off the pistol test, but, I am slowly seeing an improvement. 

    11/02/2013 at 3:28 am in reply to: Femur Distraction to Improve Hip Flexion #73105
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    This is a start.
    http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/wednesday-october-30th-2013/

    11/01/2013 at 11:10 am in reply to: Medial malleolus #73099
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    I like this one too… but yes you’re right. It’s generally called the ankle distraction. I tend to ‘scour around’ as he says and do lots of ankle rotation/movement whilst doing this. I find having the ankle up on a bench gives a very different effect.

    Try it in combination with flexing the toes first, ensuring the arch doesn’t collapse then rocking forward into dorsi-flexion, this gives a nice similarity to walking and other activities that activate the flexors of the toes (and maybe arch too) whilst simultaneously needing ankle dorsi-flexion.

     

    http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/09/episode-313-improving-ankle-range-super-friend-addition/

     

    11/01/2013 at 5:42 am in reply to: Medial malleolus #73094
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Hey Terry,

    The medial malleolus is the end of the Tibia. This is the large long bone in the lower leg and the main ‘weight bearing’ bone. The tibia doesn’t extend as far down the ankle as the fibula (lateral malleolus), but rather it ‘sits’ more on top of the ankle. This is why the lateral malleolus has to glide out of the way as the ankle moves, especially during dorsi-flexion, to allow the talus to slide/glide under the tibia.

    This means that the medial malleolus doesn’t move anywhere near as much to allow this gliding of the talus. It’s the fibula that moves to create the room for the dorsi flexion. This is why the mulligan/banded distraction works so well, as it essentially pulls the tibia over the talus and forces that movement (which is a classic physical therapy manipulation done passively as they drive the talus down and back under the tibia)

    Interestingly enough, manipulation of the fibula head can also help the range at the ankle. If you’re an MWod Pro user then you’ll see a manipulation in this video:

    http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/friday-october-11th-2013/

    I have around 8 degrees more dorsi-flexion in my left ankle than my right. This is because I have more of a ‘bony block’ in my right caused by stiffness in my tarsals and lateral malleolus. Again, this is a mob that is done by many physical therapists to help improve ankle function.

     

    Hope that’s all made sense.

    10/28/2013 at 12:53 pm in reply to: Squats in slow motion – Form review and Critique request. #73065
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    to my somewhat untrained eye, it seems as though your shins are departing from vertical very early on in the movement?

    Maybe this suggests that the hips / hamstrings aren’t being loaded first in that ‘sitting / reaching back’ action? maybe you’re not squeezing that butt as tightly as possible? 

    your shins do remain relatively vertical though which seems good, just that the knees translate forward early.

     

    This might also be linked to the fact that as you mention your toes are up, and it also appears as thought your instep is lifting up too, and you’re weighting your foot towards the outer edge and towards the heel.

    This could indicate you need to be centred more over the arch with your weight just in front of your medial malleolus, and screw those hips into the ground more to really keep that stability?

    just my initial thoughts.

    Maybe try and do them bare foot / in your socks so you can really see what’s going on as the heel, although small, in your trainers will influence your movement pattern.

    good job though.

    10/08/2013 at 5:36 am in reply to: Fixing ankle collapse #72936
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    I have the exact same issue on my right foot after 30 years of poor walking, running, and all round activity. (due to Perthe’s in my right hip when I was 9)

     

    Some things I’ve found that help me solve the ‘push off’ / ‘toe off’ part of walking, where the foot collapses and effectively whips round to the front as opposed to being swung and brought through to the front:

    1- at toe off, concentrate / think about lifting the foot off the ground rather than pushing off. It’s a subtle difference, but it’s a real difference. This will make you have what feels like a ‘lighter’ contact with the ground too.

    2- lift off from the middle of the ball of the foot / foot pad as opposed to the part of the ball under the big toe, or the part nearer the pinky toe.

    3- try and feel a sensation of ‘braced stiffness’ on both the outside and inside of the ankle, below each malleolus whilst your foot is in contact with the ground. I say this lightly, because the food needs to stay loose and fluid, so it’s a fine balancing act. But it will help you keep your arch.

    4- lift the foot through from toe off to heel strike as opposed to swinging it around – this will feel very strange at first.

     

    those are some of the strategies that are working for me. As well  as the rebuilding your feet exercises and some other tips I’ve received from the wonderful Kaitlin on here.

    Give them a go and see what you think – I would love another perspective on them. I’m learning to walk at the age of 39! who would have thought that was needed? onwards and upwards.

    09/23/2013 at 7:57 am in reply to: Smash first or Stretch first ? #72831
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Wait… I’m confused by the ” if you mobilize prior to your workout, use a band.” then “Smash, lax ball, gemini, supernova after the workout or before going to sleep.”

     

    I thought the whole point was to test – mobilise – retest to show it makes a difference. Then, the fact that you’ve made a difference then translates to more quality performance???

    But these points suggest that you don’t do anything other than band work / flossing is the only thing to do before training and exercise, the other stuff is all for afterwards or recovery days???

     

    I’m confused

    09/20/2013 at 6:04 am in reply to: Recommendation for Minimal Shoes #72810
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    I like the Inov-8 shoes. You can chose a shoe based on the drop you want. for example, I’ve bouth these ones for my gym work when squatting, deadlifting etc…

     

    http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/Product-View-FLite-232-Blue-Red-Lime.html?L=26

     

    09/20/2013 at 5:35 am in reply to: How to lunge? #72809
    AvatarTravis Wyant
    Participant

    Oh wow – thank you for that 🙂

    I’ve only just started on this supple leopard journey as I have totally re-built my training programme, from just pounding away in the gym 5 times per week, to one heavy lifting session and one global metabolic conditioning session where I perform super slow reps trying to ingrain the absolute correct form throughout the repetitions.

    Some basic info on me (I will try to keep it short yet detailed enough):

    39 years old. I developed Perthe’s Disease in my right hip at age of 9 (which is relatively late and causes more problems). My right leg is now around 1.5cm shorter that my left because of this. My external rotation of this hip is impinged (I don’t know if it’s structural, incredible tightness or probably both), as I’ve gone through life, my body has adapted to this position, so my ankle collapses a lot easier on the right side. Even at rest, if I let my legs just hang, my right foot as actually sitting at a more supinated angle due to this over compensation, so it’s super tight. (check out this picture of me performing a pass in hockey and look at what my right ankle does subconsciously as it’s stable position)

    so I do have tight hips in the general sense also. I’ve already started doing some of Kelly’s exercises (especially the super squat hip sequence video) that build upon psoas activated lunge positions from my yoga.

    As I’m trying to rebuild every key movement, especially my squat (front and back) / deadlift / overhead press I’ve really noticed all the tightness and local flexion in my system, which is what brought me to Kelly Starrett in the first place. I’m also doing yoga which is really helping.

    you can also see from the other pic, that when I’m driving off on my right foot, it’s natural subconscious position is right out, collapsed ankle, knee inwards.

    I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, but even at my age, I’m determined to get back to a point where the only thing that’s limiting my mobility is the structural things that I can no longer improve, and not merely tightness or lazy soft tissues.

    I’m thinking of doing a one-on-one consult via mobility Wod (once I’ve worked through the book and started practicing the techniques in there) but I think the most beneficial thing to me would be travel over and do it in person (any excuse for a ‘holiday’)

     

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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)