The beauty of using multi-joint strength training exercises is that they can be used by anyone and often have a series of gradual progressions so you can work your way up each level. The downside of using these exercises is that they are often very difficult to learn and master. Many people look at complicated multi-joint strength exercises as just a gimmick or a circus stunt to impress people. I think sometimes this is true and these exercises can be quite crazy. However, the exercises I am about to share with you are all about trying to improve walking and running. Every exercise I use has a purpose and an objective to achieve. Nothing is random or just there to fill in time. One of the best things about the exercises I am about to discuss is that they do not require huge loads or apply tons of compression on your joints which is often a problem with strength exercises. This doesn't mean you do not need much strength, for you certainly do, it is just the strength must be obtained via the entire body as opposed to a particular area. The brain is really challenged with these exercises, arguably more so than your muscles.

One of the best changes I ever added to my assessments, thought process, and training methods was incorporating the “joint by joint approach” invented by physical therapist Gray Cook and strength coach Mike Boyle. When working with new clients and especially those with injuries or chronic pain it can be very difficult to know where to start, what to look for, and more importantly what to do to restore pain free movement. In many of my articles and videos I refer to this concept and just give a quick overview of how it works, so I decided to devote an entire article to why I refer to this so often to help you understand its use. I was never taught this concept at any point in my first 5-6 years of personal training and I completed many advanced courses in rehabilitation and worked with many experienced therapists and specialists. I used to rely on postural corrections based around muscle imbalances and would drill down to specific areas with isolated exercises and stretches. While I had some success doing this I regularly would get very frustrated with poor results with transferring isolated exercises to full body movement. Then one day I read the book Movement by Gray Cook and came across the joint by joint approach something clicked in my mind that helped me join the dots together with what I had been doing. Everything seemed to make a lot of sense looking at the body in this way and enabled me to make some big changes that worked much better than anything I had been using previously. In this article, I will explain how I use this method right now and why I believe everyone should be taught this concept.

One of the most neglected muscles in many strength workouts is the lower trapezius. If you have neck pain or shoulder pain this can be a real problem, as weakness with this muscle greatly contributes to ongoing pain and dysfunction for the important role it plays in providing stability to the scapula and shoulder joint. Most people believe that many of the compound strength exercises will automatically improve its strength and function so they don’t devote any time to strengthening it with specific exercises. I know I used to think this way, and it may be true for someone with no injury or dysfunction in the shoulder, however anyone with postural problems, shoulder, or neck pain these compound exercises may not work very well, if at all. This leads to several questions such as how do you know if you have lower trapezius weakness? And if you do what are the best exercises to target this muscle to restore it back to its full function? In this article, I will discuss how to test and assess your lower trapezius strength and the best ways to improve it back to full capacity.