A question I was asked recently was, “Why do you prefer teaching deadlifts before squats?" Many of your articles and videos you mention this but do not explain why this is the case?” This is a very good question and there is a good reason why I often do say this, although I will say it is not a hard and fast rule I always stick to as there are many times I do teach both movements at the same time. Perhaps one of the main reasons I do this is that I see so many people with injuries and problems with the hips, knees, and lower back and usually the movement that creates the most pain and discomfort is the squat. However, the deadlift at times is equally as painful to learn yet I still persist in teaching this movement so this is not the only factor. In this article, I will explain the multiple reasons behind this philosophy and begin to see the long term benefit from learning this way.
I have never been a morning person and always found it hard to get my body into gear and my energy levels primed. Some people are great at working out early but many people are like me and find it very difficult, especially those with chronic pain. While we have been asleep our bodies have been working hard to repair all the damage created from activities completed during the day but this also means our muscles, tendons, and ligaments have not moved for 7-9 hours to allow this process to occur. Most people’s morning routine is to stumble out of bed, get some breakfast, and head off to work where they might sit down for another 8 hours. This means that their body has been completely sedentary for the last 15-17 hours over a 24 hour period! This is where the muscles and the connective tissue can begin to develop stiffness, and ultimately weakness due to a lack of movement which will become a bigger problem over time. This is one reason why those already dealing with chronic pain find the mornings so much harder than any other time of the day. To combat this problem and reverse this trend one of the best things you can do is implement a simple morning workout that helps to rejuvenate the specific areas prone to stiffness. The best part is it doesn’t take all that long to do and requires little effort. In this article, I will share with you my favourite exercises to do this and why they work so well.
Over the past month I have had several discussions with clients who have severe pain in the neck, migraines, and some with jaw related problems that were all related to the same problem – a forward head posture. As the head moves forward, the neck straightens due to the fact that the body will try to keep the eyes lined up in a horizontal position. This is a necessary compensation to ensure you have good eyesight. Unfortunately, this places a great deal of strain on the neck structures as they need to balance the weight of the head which increases the further the head moves forward. Apart from the obvious neck pain that results from this, if left untreated this poor posture can lead to other chronic problems like migraines, jaw pain, poor breathing, weight gain, and overall poor health. Exercises commonly used to correct this condition can sometimes create more problems than they solve and also may miss out on addressing underlying dysfunctions altogether. In this article, I will share with you some of my best ways to address this all too common problem.