Optimize Your Movement & Performance

Do you find that your shoulder is limited when moving into external rotation? Maybe you have a tough time gripping the bar during a back squat or reaching overhead. Low reaching activities like better band pull aparts and wall squats with a low reach, as well as overhead pressing exercises are all really good activities that might help improve your mobility! -————————————— ‪We help active adults and athletes address pain, optimize their movement, and crush their health and wellness goals!‬ ‪Get in touch with us:‬ ‪📧 Mike.shaddow@vitalperformancephysio.com‬ ‪📲 609-676-5905‬ ‪Or book a free 15 minute phone call with the link in our bio‬

Dealing with elbow/forearm/wrist injuries can be frustrating, but it doesn't mean your rehab has to be! Nothing frustrates me more than hearing about peoples' experiences with PT for an issue like this and being told that they just sit there and do simple exercises with toys for an hour straight. Believe it or not, your lower arm is connected to something - the rest of your body! If you're not addressing the shoulder, neck, ribcage, and thoracic spine with your rehab, you're just asking for the issue to come back. These exercises are not all-inclusive - I typically just use 1 or 2 from this video, while focusing on improving strength/mobility throughout the rest of your body so you're ready for anything life throws your way. -—————————————-- ‪We help active adults and athletes address pain, optimize their movement, and crush their health and wellness goals!‬ ‪Get in touch with us:‬ ‪📧 Mike.shaddow@vitalperformancephysio.com‬ ‪📲 609-676-5905‬ ‪Or book a free 15 minute phone call with the link in our bio‬

‪PCL injuries aren’t as common as ACL injuries, but they can still cause significant problems if not addressed properly. Current research on ACL injuries suggests waiting around 3 months before deciding on surgery, and I’d recommend the same approach for PCL injuries until I see better recommendations in the research.‬ ‪That said, the decision depends on a few factors: whether it’s just the PCL that’s injured or if other ligaments, tendons, or structures are also involved, and whether your knee is buckling or giving way. If the injury is more extensive—meaning multiple structures are damaged—I’d lean toward surgery. If it’s an isolated PCL tear, but your knee continues to buckle after the 3-month mark, surgery might still be the best option.‬ ‪In the case of my friend, after just 30 reps of a single exercise I prescribed, he saw a decrease in pain and improved squat depth. This suggests that recovery might still be possible without surgery, but it's still too early to tell. Everyone’s recovery journey is different, so it’s important to fully assess the injury and progress carefully.‬ -------------------------------------------------- ‪We help active adults and athletes address pain, optimize movement, and crush their health and wellness goals!‬ ‪Get in touch with us:‬ ‪📧 Mike.shaddow@vitalperformancephysio.com‬ ‪📲 609-676-5905‬ ‪Or book a free 15 minute phone call with the link in our bio‬

The knee seems like a pretty simple joint (all it does it flex and extend, right??), however, there's actually a good amount of rotation that occurs as you bend and straighten the joint. In order to bend (flex) your knee, your tibia (shin bone) needs to be able to rotate inwards. If you lack that internal rotation, you will likely have trouble flexing the knee. This is a nice easy way to help regain that motion! I'll typically tell my clients to perform 15-20 reps which seems to do the trick 🤙🏼

I picked this study up from a course I was at last weekend, where they actually made us test our push up capacity during the lecture. In case anyone's wondering, I was able to get 45 😔(my previous PR was 65 back in my powerlifting days). Want to try it out yourself? If you REALLY want to do it right, set up a metronome at 80 BPM (easiest way is to Google "metronome" on your phone), going down for the first beat, then back up during the second beat. Make sure your chest touches the ground with each rep! Leave a comment below to let us know how many you got!

Improve shoulder mobility ✅ Improve shoulder stability ✅ Improve neck range of motion ✅ Scorch the abs ✅ The 90/90 Rolling KB Arm Bar is a killer exercise with SO many benefits! Make sure to keep your eyes on the weight the entire time to get some neck mobility improvements as well. Try this one out as a warm up before your next upper body day - your shoulders will thank you!

The Upper Body Roll is on of my favorite drills to help decrease muscle tension and improve mobility. If you find yourself constantly tight or tense throughout your body, try 5-10 rolls per side and see if it helps!

Not sure if your shoulder mobility drills are actually helping? Use this shoulder flexion wall test before and after doing your mobility work to help give you some clarity 💪🏼

PAIN-FREE 515 lbs deadlift 😳 Devin was dealing with a nagging pain on the left side of his ribcage whenever deadlifting more than 315 lbs for the past year. We tried a lot of things when we first started working together that would give him some temporary relief, but nothing that would allow him to get past that 315 lbs hurdle. After having a difficult chat about taking a break from heavy lifting for a little bit, while focusing more on mobility of the ribcage, shoulders, and hips, Dev was able to CRUSH 515 lbs deadlift with no pain in his ribs. He DID have an achy adductor that day, but it went away within 24 hours. Now, he's not out of the woods yet, as he's still building up his tolerance for deadlifts, but he's able to hit over 400 lbs for 8 reps with no greater than a 2/10 pain. Shout out to @devinhybrid for staying consistent and putting in the work!

Throwback to @m_execlift 's first powerlifting competition where she dominated her weight and age division with this solid deadlift! Just a few weeks before, she was struggling with her technique, but her determination and hard work paid off in the end! Can’t wait to see her crush even more PRs in the future 💪🏋️‍♀️