This is a variation of Downward Dog that I had never seen before that stretches the side of the torso, the hips and the hamstrings all at once. I picked it up at a yoga class I went to with my wife. And I always love to learn new things. …
Re-use it and Regain it Faster
The common phrase “use it or lose it” is one of those principles that applies to all movement. Flexibility is definitely one area we can look at it. I’ve been known for my bridging skills over the years. Whether this was supporting half a ton on top of my wrestler’s …
Stretching is Anti-Cancerous?
While writing the product description page for 7 Minute Flexibility I went over to PubMed to see how much (how little actually) research there was on the benefits of flexibility. Unfortunately, stretching being a free thing that anyone can do, there’s not money to be made from researching and promoting …
Downward Dog Dynamic Stretching
Downward dog is a great stretch of the hamstrings along with the upper back and shoulder region. And with dynamic positions we can bring in a wide variety of other areas too. This list is comprehensive but does not cover every single possibility. • Dip the head down between the …
Squat Dynamic Stretching
A rock-bottom squat is what I consider a natural human movement. By that I mean it is a position every human ought to be able to do. The good news is that if you’ve lost this ability it can be regained. While you can do bouncing, or repetitions as far …
Pike Stretch Progressions and Regressions
The pike stretch focuses primarily on the hamstrings. Whether you can’t reach over and touch your toes, or your aiming for elite gymnastic skills you can do different versions of this stretch to suit you. This is a forward fold at the hips reaching towards or beyond your toes. To …
Seiza Stretch Progressions and Regressions
The seiza stretch focuses primarily on the quadriceps while also working the ankle flexibility too. Seiza literally means “proper sitting” in Japanese. It’s a common sitting position there, as well as other places in the world. And unfortunately, most people in the West cannot do it! I was one of …
Balancing Out Extension from Bridging Exercises
After any bridging or wall walking workout, I feel it is necessary to balance out the extension a little bit. This is best done by doing the plow position from yoga. This can be held for time or rolling into and out of the position, or a combination of both. …
Intuitive Mobility Introduction
I’m sharing the first half of the first module of Intuitive Mobility to give you a taste of what’s inside. This is twenty-five minutes worth of education on what mobility is all about and why you want it (especially at the intuitive level). Introduction to Mobility Standing on the Shoulders …
The Value of Shaking and Vibrating
In addition to stretching and mobility work, simply shaking and vibrating your body is a helpful practice to relax your body and promote health. The following video demonstrates what this looks like: I’ll often do some amount of this between sets of exercises, sometimes without even thinking about it. Shaking …
How to Avoid Getting Knocked Out
Do you want to know how to avoid getting knocked out? Read on for Matt’s question… “I recall overhearing a conversation years ago about a guy who was a novice to working out saying he wondered how he could maximize muscle density and have rock hard muscles as a form …
The Double Shrimp Squat
The following is what I like to call the double shrimp squat, sometimes also called the advanced shrimp squat. I first picked up this move from Al Kavadlo. The single shrimp squat, that is with just one hand behind you holding onto the foot is an easier version and a …
Should I Be Symmetrical in Strength?
I copy a conversation thread with a customer below as I figure some other people will find it interesting and useful. It covers how to target weak spots as well, body symmetry, and whether or not to aim for this. Enjoy! Laid writes: “If you remember I recently wrote you …
Yardstick Conditioning
This is a concept I first learned from Bud Jeffries. I believe he outlined it inside of Twisted Conditioning 2, though I could have that mixed up. Bud was the first guy I saw that was really doing it all. While many people were bodyweight only guys, or kettlebell guys, …
Soft vs. Hard Muscles
“What is this?? Are you saying a person can build soft muscles rather than hard ones??” -Ricky Two weeks ago, I wrote an email about muscle control to which I received this reply. Now, I’m not exactly sure what he meant by this. But here is what I mean by …