spine

Core muscles play a significant role in bodybuilding, as they provide stability and support for various exercises and help maintain proper form during lifting. Strengthening the core muscles is essential for overall strength, balance, and injury prevention. The core encompasses a group of...

The rectus abdominus, or "six-pack" muscle, receives all the attention, and for good reason. The focus is on your six-pack when your nutrition is on point and you are powerful and lean. However, the two oblique muscles, which are on either side of your rectus abs and are trained with side planks...

One of the most useful core exercises you can do is the stomach vacuum. Contrary to its name, a stomach vacuum is neither a medical operation nor a chore. In reality, the physical therapy and bodybuilding industries have been using this particular sort of abdominal contraction for years...

Have you tried them all? Squatting is a fundamental movement pattern, yet when we think of squats, we typically see a barbell across the back. There are many more choices, many of which are better suited to various lifters with various levels of expertise or objectives. These six squat...

Mid back stiffness got you feeling slouched? Add this to your warmup. This banded rotation drill is great for not only assisting more rotational motion, but also making you active the muscles responsible for actively rotating your spine. I don’t like any passive mobility work without an active...

CORE STRENGTH . 📚 The core is not only the rectus abdominis and oblique muscles, but rather muscles that attach to the hip that aid in stability. These isometric variations do not change length during the contraction, but still produce force in the muscle. This can aid in more postural and...

Mid back stiffness & pain? One of the less acknowledged sources of low back pain comes from the area where the thoracic portion of the spine transitions into the lumbar segments. The thoracolumbar junction takes a lot of stress and can be a easy point in the spine to develop a hinge point. This...

While some segments are designed to be more stable/mobile than others, it is important to encourage movement in the spine (assuming it is controlled and not under excessive loads) to promote healthy joint function and longevity. The thoracic spine specifically requires an adequate amount of...

QL VARIATIONS . The quadratus lumborum (QL) is a muscle that runs diagonally in your lower back from your vertebrae and last rib to your pelvis. It has various functions such as spinal side bending, pelvic lifting, spinal extension and anterior pelvic tilting. When it comes to low back pain...

This is something I see pretty often in the gym and I cringe every single time I see it. - You should not hyperextend your lower back when you deadlift. The deadlift ends when your hips and knees are locked and your shoulders line up with your hips. - Hyperextending squeezes the spine and...

This series demonstrates variations for one of the most popular exercises for the back, rowing. The exercises in this series primarily focus on the lats, rhomboids, and lower trap muscles. You want to avoid pulling the elbows too far back on these exercises. Instead focus more on scapular...

GLUTE VARIATIONS . 📚 Glute exercise are important for hip mobility and stability, such as at the top of a squat, deadlift or a single leg stiff leg deadlift you need to be able to drive with the glutes to maintain neutral spine. The main actions for this series are hip extension, which is...

💥HIP THRUST VARIATIONS . When performing hip thrusts we put the pelvis in a position known as posterior pelvic rotation. This is where the pelvis is tucked underneath us. This is why it’s important to maintain neutral spine, such as keeping the chin tucked as well as breathing out on the way up...

How to Lift with Bad Joints Try these workarounds to keep you in the gym when you're feeling a little banged up. Lift hard for long enough and you'll eventually have some joint pain. Whether it's the knee, shoulder, lower back, or wrist, something will probably flare up. Now, you could pop...

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍✔️ . . . 💥 Looking to improve your thoracic rotation and loosen up that mid-back? Here is how you can improve the extension and rotation of this region! The thoracic spine is easily the stiffest area on most people’s spines because we sit so much and move so little! Our body...

Stop smashing your IT band with a foam roller and do this instead! Your IT band doesn’t like compression and this can often make it worse. Have you considered your hip as being the culprit? Maybe we should attack the hip instead of just smashing our body where it hurts! Our hip plays a large...

Do you sit most of the day? This warmup is for you. Belt squat walking is an easy and effective way to prime your lower body to get ready to move. . Squats, deadlifts, running, jumping.. anything done with your lower body. This is a good start because of a few reasons. . It doesn’t load your...

Three universal goals nearly all of us share are: (1) to live longer, (2) to live free of illness and (3) to control our weight. Amazingly, walking lets us achieve all three. In fact, walking may be your best medicine for slowing the aging process, reducing your chances of illness and slashing...

by Lee Boyce <!-- /react-text --> <!-- react-text: 46 -->Decompress Often: After finishing a workout where the low back is hit hard (rows, deadlifts, etc.) or a workout where the spine is compressed (squats, leg presses), hang from a pull-up bar. This takes pressure off the spine and stretches...

About Deep-Tissue Massage Dennis Wolf, Dexter Jackson, Justin Compton and Guy Cisternino reply to the following question. How important is therapy like chiropractic and deep-tissue massage? How often do you do those and what benefits do you notice? Dennis Wolf I think therapy treatments in...