Consider thinking about health and wellness differently... The things you 'do', how you occupy your time (occupations)...these things directly impact on your health and wellness. The fitness angle... Exercise can be the occupation. Training, sport, going to the gym, hitting classes. Fitness can be .. the hobby. The 'feel good'. The social. The reason to get out of bed. The thing that matters. To you. Exercise can also be a tool to enhance performance in our occupations. To improve strength, flexibility, speed, cardiovascular fitness, power, amplitude .. to move better, to walk further, to play with your kids without struggling to get up off the floor, to improve energy, to create balance. To enhance the things that matter. To you. #personaltrainer #occupationaltherapist #occupationaltherapy #otweek2023 #healthandwellness #rethinkingfitness #fitness
Maverick member Joan is taking her strength and resilience into the mountains this Summer! 🏔 "I just did a three day backpack trip and it was such an amazing thing that not for a second did I wonder if I was strong enough or if my knees could handle it. That is a pretty big deal and I’m always so grateful to all the coaches and the Maverick community for helping me build strength and ability. Truly transformational for me." We love seeing our clients accomplishments both and and outside of the gym. Great job Joan, keep killing it! 🌟💪🏼 . . . . #fitnessinspired #hiking #getoutside #strength #ability #gymmotivation #gyminspiration #kootenaylife #kootenays #nelsonbc #westkoots #mountainclimbing #mountainlife #rethinkingfitness #functionalfitness
Las sesiones de entrenamiento se limitan a un tiempo, pero sus resultados son determinados por todo el conjunto de eventos en el día de una persona. Por ello, la atención de un entrenador es clave para atender los ajustes que requiera cada usuario 🧏🏻♂️ En Rapport nos interesa darte un servicio de calidad porque más que otra programación, somos una comunidad comprometida con tus objetivos 💥🙌🏼 #rethinkingfitness #RapportFitnessCommunity #fitness #fitnessmotivation #coaching #training #healthylifestyle
Como cualquier hábito, el entrenamiento requiere establecer estrategias adecuadas a las capacidades de la persona para que sea efectivo. Poco sirve una programación que nos orilla a abandonarla (esto incluye imposibilidad física de realizarla, desgaste emocional y/o lesiones). En cuestiones de salud, elige un entrenamiento que puedas sostener antes de uno exigente, a la larga te pagará mejor. #rethinkingfitness #RapportAttitude
No rendirse también es una forma de triunfar. Cada día, un logro a la vez. En Rapport creemos en los objetivos personalizados a los intereses de cada usuario. ¡No esperes más y únete a la comunidad que te ayudará a alcanzar los tuyos! #RapportAttitude #rethinkingfitness #fitness #rapportfitnesscommunity
No hay mejor ganancia que tu salud. Si buscas una motivación para iniciar, hazlo por ti, en poco tiempo te lo agradecerás. #doitforyourself #doitforyourhealth #rethinkingfitness
wag puro work, workout workout din 💪 no time to do so? jump rope is the key 👌 Just a 5 to 15min jump from your day can give you a good kind of #burnout 🔥 #rethinkingfitness #jumprope #onejumpatatime #startsmall #stayconsistent #buildhealthyhabits #strongcore
Sadly thats the true and this might hurt .. but I’M YOUR FRIEND AND I NEED HELP YOU We’ve been programed to fail, or just do the basic to pass. TO BE A (PERSON) WITH GOOD JOB THAT PAY THE BIILS AVREGE!!! 🤮 But why any one would like to be this person? 🤷🏼♂️ To do the same thing over an over without grow or be able to accomplish their goal? The answer its simple, you have been programmed “to be perfect” to don’t ask why? “Becouse if you do right, you are Smart” and “Smart it’s to be perfect and accepted” Sadly this same mindset will applied to the other areas of your life (professional, personal y emotional) and when you realize you never achieved your dream.😔 THIS ALSO APPLY TO FITNESS.. I already met a lot of powerful and smart women, that were afraid to try, to dear start a simple yoga class. Because of the fear to fail. Or dint want to workout with weight so they don’t look “ugly”. YOU ARE WORNG!!! if you have this mind set. We born with a natural eager to learn; and you have already done the 2 most difficult things in the world. TALK AND WALK, with no shame.. you just tried, tried and tried again and with this came the “perfection” - that don’t exist- So why you can’t learn yoga, cycling or lift weights .. Its no shame to learn something new and probably, help other to accomplish their goals. So! I invite you to reset your body, reboot your system and update your mindset. You just need to TRY SOMETHING NEW TODAY, RAISE YOUR HAND WITHOUT FEAR TO BE WRONG FELL SPARKS 🤩WHEN YOU GET A FEEDBACK.. Be happy been “a learner” See you on next post #bydiogomatoso #newmindset #fitness #rethinkingfitness #onlinecoach #onlinetraining
Reminder✨ Empower your body to do hard things and things you love rather than draining it just to look a certain way. . What do you love? What do you want to be able to do? Let that be what drives you! • I want to be able to climb huge mountains! • I want to be able to jump up and down to play with my kids. • I want to feel energized throughout the day. • I want to feel strong and compete well in competitions! . Why do you workout?⬇️
When people hit the gym in the new year, they're often looking for quick improvements and "gains" 🏋️♂️ The problem with this mentality is that you aren't going to get those results because your body doesn't work like that. Another mistake people make is they start lifting a ton of weight - weight that their body can't handle and will cause them injury 😣 To move forward, you need to move backward first. At The Behan Protocol, this means going back and correcting everything you 👉thought 👈 you knew about fitness. Start your healthy fitness journey today! @thebehanprotocol #healthyfitness #rethinkingfitness #notaboutgains #BetterBackandSpineHealth #londonontario
Every jump rope has a story... Ikaw? What keeps you jumping? 😊 . . . . raw and honest convos from clients turned to friends / workout buddies 💓 @marygracerndll the best motivation always comes from within We hope to inspire you too! 💓💓 Hope you feel extra today! #rethinkingfitness #wellnessfromwithin #strongcoreph #jumprope #fortheloveofjumprope #jumpforyou #beadedjumprope
Piggybacking off my prior post (scroll back if you missed it). Your training program doesn’t have to be rigid and it shouldn’t be set in stone. Movement, like life, is exploratory in nature. There’s always room for trial and error, trying something new or breaking outside the bonds of traditional exercise. What happens outside the box is often the most fun and effective form of movement. And when it’s fun, you’re more apt to stick with it. If you like to explore movement, drop a 🤩 below and tell me one thing you love about building fluidity in your training.
Seen a cracking post earlier today on Instagram from @dominicmunnelly and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a client on Monday. I asked this guy… “Dude what do you want?” Client: “to lose the COVID stone” So when we unpacked the goal a little deeper, I asked what’s worked for you in the past, and he said… ✅ Eating real food plus some accountability. ☝️☝️ love it. Then he said. 🚨intense workouts to burn lots of calories. ☝️☝️ don’t t love this so much. Here’s why. Exercise is a horribly inefficient way to lose weight on its own, because it’s way easier to consume calories than to burn them off. - Eating 5 biscuits 🍪 could easily be 500 calories. - 2-3 glasses of wine 🍷 easily 500 calories. Now that could take you 30-60 minutes of hard exercise to expend assume you are fit and strong. Sorry but most people aren’t when they first get started in the gym or exercise. The added downside, the more you exercise the more you want to eat. Here’s the thing… Nothing changes if nothing changes. What really needs to change is your >>> 👉 Identity 👉 beliefs 👉 habits 👉 behaviors And two of the most powerful beliefs or mindset shifts you can make to change your life are. 1. Exercise goes from punishment to enjoyment and fun. 2. Food isn’t just a coping mechanism it’s a form of positive celebration and nourishment. I’ll admit I’ve been a exercise and diet snob in the past. Thinking my camp was righteous 😞 The reality is if it works for you and you are happy it’s right for you. Even if that’s high intensity raw vegan, aqua yoga 🧘 Rock on my friend. I’d love to hear your opinion. Are you diet and exercise agnostic. Or Do you fly the flag for one supreme diet or exercise camp? Comment below 👇
“To learn anything significant, to make any lasting change in yourself, you must be willing to spend most of your time on the plateau. Not only that, but to join those on the path of mastery, it’s best to love the plateau, to take delight in regular practice not just for the extrinsic rewards it brings, but for its own sake.” George Leonard, from “The Way of Aikido” #mondaymotivation
While an external focus gives us more power, speed, and coordination, an internal focus of attention improves body awareness and muscle activation. For instance, @drjessicalgroves was asked to focus on lengthening her spine, tucking her chin, and walking tall. This internal focus resulted in better posture and core stability. It’s what I like to call focused intentional training, and it’s how we build resilience to overcoming forces— like gravity. This internal focus helps strengthen our mind-muscle connections. An internal focus of attention has also been shown to be a better stimulus for muscle growth than an external focus. So, maybe it’s a good idea to start focusing on ourselves a little more as we age. To recap: Use an external focus when you are training to improve performance attributes and use an internal focus when you are training to become bulletproof. Drop a 💭 emoji in the comments if you could use some more attention on you!
I’m not a big fan of spending a whole lot of time warming up before exercise. However, I realize that we could all use a little help priming our systems to help us get going. Try this short 2.5 minute routine the next time you set out for run or maybe even a walk. It will also help reset your hips and reduce low back pain that may occur after a walk/run or lower body lifting day. If your warm up, or mobility session, is longer than 5 mins, then you might as well consider it part of your workout and focus more attention on the areas you’re constantly working on. Likewise, if you need to cool down after the warm up, then you’re stealing energy that could be better spent somewhere else in your training. ✌️Marvin
Although most adults do not consider the act of rolling to be an important part of complex movement skills, rolling may be a novel method to assess for, and intervene with, inefficient movements that involve rotation of the trunk and body, weight shifting in the lower body, and coordinated movements of the head, neck, and upper body.* (reference below) After all, if we cannot control motion on the floor (a position which requires no stability through the trunk) how can we possible control movement in standing postures? A movement in single-leg stance (walking, running, throwing, hitting) starts its journey in rolling, you just have to focus on the quadrants. Give these 4 rolls a shot and see if you can find what quadrant needs the most work: upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left. Of course there are other ways to train stability, however the ones that are the most sustainable take us back to our fundamental patterns. Let’s consider rebuilding the base, before we try to elevate the ceiling with more complexity. *N Am J Sports Phys Ther. 2009 May; 4(2): 70–82. PMCID: PMC2953329 PMID: 21509112 >>>Body Rolling playlist now available on YouTube (link in bio)
It doesn’t matter much how you get there, as long as you arrive. Let’s open our eyes and be glad that we got here. #justgetthere
#athensmovementpractice #evolution AMP3D was Jessica’s compromise to my idea of rethinking fitness and redefining massage. We were trying to mesh our skills in Neuroscience and Exercise Physiology, all while I was trying to recruit her to my side. We settled on AMP3D because our first logo was a motor neuron and I wanted people to be amped up about our new services. It was too hard, flashy, and fitness-y. We needed something to represent the movements we wanted to teach, not the exercises we were used to. We decided to change our name to Athens Movement Practice and chose the circles for our logo. This felt much more authentic and was the link between brain and behavior that we were looking for. Since we closed our doors, I tried to transition us online in HUMXN form. I used the X because I thought it looked cool; but more importantly, because I believe movement needs to be a safe space for everyone and every body. Although, I was never really comfortable with using it. Thanks to @drjessicalgroves continued personal growth, we have discovered that using the letter X is just another way to label someone as different by placing them in their own category — separate from their true identity. I sincerely apologize if this change has hurt or caused anyone unnecessary stress. I’m sorry. 🙏 Now that I know better, it’s time to do better. And that means finding the right name to represent all that Athens Movement Practice has to offer. Thanks for sticking with us over the years! I truly believe the best is yet to come. #staytuned ~Marvin
We want to change the way you move, or rather, the way you think about movement. Fitness, after all, is more than speed, strength, and endurance. It's how robust you are. Fitness is a change in your capability for responding. As your movement practice grows you will become strong, confident, and a more capable humxn. —— #strongertogether #strongerthanyouthink #strongerthanyesterday #strongereveryday
💥 We all have to start somewhere. Sometimes it’s with a first step. Sometimes it’s in starting over. Sometimes it’s the scariest thing imaginable. In all my years of starting new - whether it was things, jobs, moves, transitions, relationships, therapy, movement, goals, education, etc. - not once has the experience begun anywhere but within myself. Today is a reminder to dig deep into the place where our courage lies and do the damn thing. We believe in you, it’s time for you to! ~Jessica
2021 A year ago we would have told you that this would be our year. The year we were settling into the joy of owning a brick and mortar business. The year of fully immersing ourselves into the #athensga community as the movement educators and coaches that we are. Last year had other plans. We ended 2020 quarantined with #covid_19 - and while we were lucky in that we experienced it asymptomatically, the time off took its toll; as any time closed has and will do to a small business, and the family whose day to day life relies on that small business. There is not only great power in letting go, there is great courage. And we know because 4 years ago we let go of all of our expectations for our personal careers and set out to create an entire new experience for you and ourselves in the fitness arena. We are still doing that. We are also embracing the power of letting go. We hope you stick with us on this next transition, it’s proving to be the most difficult yet. Still moving forward, Jessica & Marvin
#scorpionpose This stretch has been (and still is) a challenge for me. BUT Today I felt my toes touch my fingers!!! I’m not in the best position, but I’m gonna count it as a win 😁 #progressnotperfection Anyway, today’s #wednesdayworkout goes like this... +Scorpion Stretch +Up dog +Scorpion to Shinbox If your just starting out with the #scorpionstretch *like me* then focus on the lifting the leg as high as you can and keeping it there throughout the stretch. In the #updog, I want you to focus on co-contracting the glutes and quads, while pressing the tops of the feet into the ground. Let your hips rise up as you press into the ground. Finally, we end with a little combination move where we roll up into a #shinbox As usual we are shooting for 3 X 3 min rounds with 1-2 mins rest between rounds. Bonus points if you can make it flow! PS. The entire video is at 2X speed except when I touch my toes — that’s real time 🤩
Are you struggling with pain in your overhead presses? Before we dive into pressing, I’d like to say that if you’re using a barbell, then I suggest you start by eliminating barbell presses from your routine─forever! Shoulders like to move in a spiral path, not the fixed path a barbell demands. Nowadays dumbbells and kettlebells are found in all gyms, as are resistance bands, so there really is no excuse to continue using the barbell. Okay, onto the overhead press. We begin teaching the press just by reaching upwards while externally rotating the shoulder. That means we begin with the elbow flexed and the palm facing the chest. As we reach for the ceiling, we let the arm rotate at the shoulder until the palm is facing out at the apex of your reach. If you’re going to press, then our weight of choice would be a kettlebell. The offcentered design of the bell naturally helps guide the press into the correct finishing position. Initially, we use the bottoms up kettlebell press to establish motor control and awareness throughout the press. Next we move to a push/pull movement, where we pull the opposing elbow down toward the same side hip while pressing overhead. This helps drive the weight straight up rather than forward or out to the side, creating a straight line from the bell through the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and foot. Finally, we can start to use a see-saw pressing motion to challenge our pressing endurance. +So, if you’re going to press, spiral out and keep going. ++All these exercises can be done with a dumbbell in a neutral grip. +++Tag someone who can benefit from this and follow @athensmovementpractice for more on why humxn movement matters! Learn more about HUMXN movement with the link in our bio...
Do you get tight hip flexors, pinchy hips, or low back pain from running? Are you having a hard time finding that extra gear or maintaining your pace? Then today’s session is for you. We are pairing the long lunge to open the hips with an isometric contraction to challenge our dynamic stability. These isolateral movements provide the proper stimulus to rebalance the muscles across the joints. Oftentimes removing these imbalances will alleviate the painful 😣 feelings in and around the associated joint(s). We have chosen 3 exercises for today’s session: 1. Worlds Greatest Stretch 2. Isolateral Lunge 3. Reverse Lunges with rotation Perform 3 reps of each exercise and then continue to repeat the cycle until your 3 mins elapse. Rest for 1 1/2 minutes... Complete two more rounds for a total of 3 rounds or 9 moving minutes. Follow this up with the BRETTZEL stretch for 2-3 box breathing cycles on each side. We hope you enjoy 😉 this workout!
A C C O U N T A B I L I T Y It’s easy to set lofty goals and establish expectations for ourselves. As easy as pen to paper. The difficulty lies in how to DO something to actually achieve those goals. The first step is making sure we have set realistic goals. Do we have a clear vision of where we are at right now? Do we know our “why” and is it attainable? As important as that first step is, step two is where the work begins. This is where accountability exists. This is where we must learn to lean into knowing what we don’t know, asking for help, and accepting it. Can we accomplish things on our own? Of course. But it still requires us to DO, not just say. And it’s usually a lot more fun and memorable when we share the journey with another. One way we practice what we preach is by creating a support network for ourselves. From therapists to health practitioners, reliable friends and supportive family members. Hold yourself accountable for the promises you make to YOU by inviting others to join your team. Often they will be the first to remind you of your strengths when those promises start to feel heavy. Keep on keeping on. @drjessicalgroves
——— We use this series of mobility exercises both as a way for you to explore your movements to discover what may be limiting your movement on this day, and as an assessment for us to decide what we may need to remove from your program. As coaches and trainers, we aim to work with the person in front of us on that day. To do this more effectively, we communicate through movement and we identify compensations that may arise and change our plan accordingly. You can do this yourself by really sinking in and focusing on how your body feels in certain positions and adjusting your position accordingly. It takes time; but once you build awareness, then you will be able to adapt on the fly and always get in a good workout instead of grinding away at exercises that just aren’t working that day. This everyday mobility warm up will be featured soon on our new HUMXN movement site available now with the link in our bio.
Do you stretch? Do you know how to add stretching to your movements? By combining a traditional static stretch, the toe touch, with some movement (walking), we can begin to target the areas that are actually limiting our movement. It’s not always straightforward, and sometimes we need a coach. I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look at me coaching @drjessicalgroves on the timing and sequencing of this walking hamstring scoop. This exercise is one of many drills aimed at improved mobility for better walking — the most fundamental of our HUMXN movements. Link in bio for a holiday discount, get it now before it’s gone.
🎥 How #smallbusiness owners spend #smallbusinesssaturday - creating juicy new content for their NEW app. 4 years ago we started this venture with some really big hopes and dreams, and this transition has reminded us how important it is to stay grounded. In this season of giving and sharing we have decided to keep our discounted rate for HUMXN through the end of the year. Next segment launching to subscribers soon: WALKING Have you ever wondered how important gait is to pain with movement? The next round of videos landing in HUMXN will cover ways to reset your gait. From feet placement to ankle mobility, and all the swagger you will need to strut through life strong and confident. What are you waiting for?? Join us in better movement via the link in our bio. 📸: @marvin_3d coaching @drjessicalgroves on the tripod of foot placement, because that’s where movement begins. From the ground up.
🍂 You may have noticed, we spend A LOT of time outdoors. Thankfully we happen to live in a place with amazing trail systems and beautiful parks. One of our favorite local #athensga places to explore - Ben Burton Park on the Middle Oconee River. In appreciation of this beautiful (and stolen) land we live on, we wanted to share some of the resources we found to help us appreciate the land more. The Middle Oconee River is part of the two forks of the 220 mile long Oconee River that runs through North & Middle Georgia, through land that once belonged to predominantly Muskogee/Creek and Yuchi tribes (per the Native Lands app, 2nd image). In honor of #nativeamericanheritagemonth and today being #nativeamericanheritageday - we hope you will join us in remembrance and reflection. What do you know about the history of the land you live and play on? From @wikipedia : Name origin “Oconee” The river's name derives from the Oconee, a Muskogean people of central Georgia. The Oconee lived in present-day Baldwin County, Georgia at a settlement known as Oconee Old Town, later moving to the Chattahoochee River in the early 18th century. The name exists in several variations, including Ocone, Oconi, Ocony, and Ekwoni.[4] [4] Krakow, Kenneth K. (1999). Georgia Place-names (PDF). Macon, GA.: Winship Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
7 Reasons to Move like a HUMXN. Real humxn movement is different from what is commonly practiced in a standard exercise routine filled with squats, deadlifts, bench presses and pull-ups. We rely heavily on unilateral movements for sport and locomotion, so these types of exercises are prioritized over bilateral movements in our fitness training programs. A bilateral exercise is when both limbs are used in unison to contract the muscles to create the desired movement, whereas a unilateral exercise is when each limb works independently of the other to create the desired movement. We already mentioned some bilateral exercises, here are some unilateral movement examples: crawling, walking, running, climbing, swimming, throwing ─ to name just a few. There are benefits to both types of training; however, we believe that moving better takes precedence over moving more. That means you need to work hard to cultivate some bodily awareness, and this is where unilateral exercise shines. 1. Training one side of the body increases the strength on the other side of the body through stornger neuromuscular connections. 2. Unilateral movements recruit more core muscles for stabilization. 3. Most natural movements and sports are unilateral. 4. Unilateral training decreases muscular imbalances throughout the body. 5. People with longer limbs tolerate unilateral movements better. 6. Unilateral exercise generates more total force than a single bilateral exercise. 7. Unilateral exercise creates more time under tension optimizing muscular strength, endurance, and growth. We think it’s time to honor our humanness and start using exercises that will help improve the way we move most, by putting one foot in front of the other. Health > Function > Fitness > Skill
What is it to be humxn? Is it found in the breath, the life blood of our existence? Is it found in the strength, muscles and bones and systems working to move us forward? Is it found in the mind, thinking and planning best approaches to survival? Is it found in the heart, not the blood pumping version, but the part of us that leans into giving and connection? No. What is humxn is within all of these and more. Each part needs the other as each of us needs each other. Be HUMXN, because we ARE humxn.
A tale of two feet. My client today made her appointment for right anterior hip pain and glute tightness, exacerbated with prolonged sitting. After our initial interview, I discovered she had mild but chronic plantar fasciitis in her left foot. Looking at her feet from behind, we can clearly see the excessive rearfoot pronation. Many people over-pronate through their rearfoot when they stand, walk, and run because of a stiff and rigid midfoot. However, in this case, the compensation is due to pain not stiffness. As she unloaded the left foot to move around the pain, it became necessary to move the right leg faster. She accomplished this by limiting hip extension and opting for a higher hip hike and stronger hip flexion, hence the pain she was experiencing at the right hip. Upon closer examination, I found compromised internal rotation of the right hip and pain associated with joint closure in internal hip rotation suggesting impingement. We did some feel good manual therapy and made our way to the exercise floor, where I snapped this photo for her. Then she got foam rolling, a kneeling cossack with internal/external rotation, and proprioceptive challenge in the form of finding her foot tripod. Ultimately, we had to use a band to drive awareness into her system to maintain the foot tripod and encourage proper hip engagement of the glutes. Long story to show why the feet need to be considered as a possible culprit in knee, hip, or back pain. And to detail how important movement from the ground up is...without the appropriate feedback we cannot exert the proper control. Distal → Proximal
Who gives a $HIIT? High Intensity Interval Training was born out of the research on Sprint Interval Training, where shorter bouts of intense exercise presented an equally effective alternative to continuous endurance training of moderate intensity to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and health. After 20 years of research, we now understand that although HIIT protocols are time efficient (more on this later, keep reading), they are not superior to conventional exercise training for the general population. But are they really time efficient? What about Enjoyability? Follow the link to our latest blog in bio. . .
A year ago today we shared about hamstrings always feeling tight and suggested it may not actually be the hamstrings but the quads or glutes that keep the hammies feeling tight. One year later, I’m back to say that maybe it’s neither and just bad timing. 🤔 That’s right, if you’re constantly feeling tight maybe you need some core work; because you need to be engaged so your not just hanging on your connective tissues (fascia, tendons, ligaments, skin, etc.) If you’re hanging out and not actively reaching for the stretch, then the body’s immediate response will be to protect you by initiating a stretch reflex — which tightens you up and limits your movement. Final thoughts: We move in patterns; and if we don’t have an established pattern, then it takes longer to subconsciously choose how to move because we have so much variability with our movement. Train the pattern, not just the muscles. ✌️Marvin
#wednesdayworkout Pick 3 Movements: A. Single Leg Plank Walkout B. Underswitch C. 3 Point Bridge w/ Reach + 3 reps each side + 3 min rounds + 3 rounds Round 1: A > B > C Round 2: B > C > A Round 3: C > A > B 90 sec rest between rounds Keep moving through the movements until your 3 minutes are up, rest, and repeat. We intentionally left out the transitions, but see if you can figure it out. Your body is wiser than our coaching. Most of all, have fun! 🎵 Aether by Darren King from iMovie
Power, Speed, Endurance + load in the coil + launch the object + land and stabilize Typically this sequence would go land > load > launch as in running. But I’m not trying to recycle power, I’m trying to express my power like with jumping or throwing. - To be more powerful. - To be more precise. - To be more purposeful. This 20kg (44lb) bell is pushing the edge of my ability, as I struggled with postural control and to stabilize my landing. I did a 5,5 10 min #emom and that was enough for today! #progressoverperfection #headoverfoot
The deadlift is a gateway to more practical and powerful movements. So why are you still deadlifting? The deadlift is a hinge. Changing stances doesn’t progress this pattern it just adds variety. Variety is key, but don’t you want more out of your training program than a shit ton of deadlifts. I mean once you can at least pull your body weight, why keep doing all that lifting without getting any work done. A progression from a deadlift might be a carry or a kettlebell swing. Then build single limb competency with a single arm swing. Further progressions include a clean and then a snatch, finally peaking at some kind of split stance push press, jerk, or snatch. If you want to keep progress rolling, don’t limit yourself to strength in one position or pattern. Once you have enough strength, it’s time to learn something more complex and challenge the entire neuromuscular system to respond. A 1000 lb deadlift is great, but what is all that strength good for if you aren’t using it!?!
As it should be; because after all, working with people IS personal. This is us. It’s how we roll. Movement is a personal journey. Our passion comes from our belief that everyone deserves access to education and knowledge to help them move confidently through life. Have you checked out HUMXN yet? #leadership
While we label movements descriptively for our benefit to categorize them, the way you move will always be governed by effectiveness and then efficiency. Your brain doesn’t recognize muscles, bones, joints, etc.; you use the information that passes through these sensory organs to accomplish a movement/task/skill. Because survival often depends on your capability to accomplish a task — obtain water, food, shelter — we often work harder than necessary when we exercise, using brute strength instead of becoming more efficient. Moving well means prioritizing function over fitness: move well ➡️ move often We no longer need to labor away to meet our basic needs, therefore it’s time to think about exercise and movement differently. We think the future of fitness will be to improve humxn efficiency, which gives us greater access to more complex and higher intensity exercises. ✌️Marvin (Full video on Facebook—lib)
We know it’s a struggle to get a good arm and back workout at home unless you have access to a pull up bar or some weights. And we have a remedy for you, I promise it will feel like you did 100 pull ups the next day. (I mean—it totally depends on how much isometric force you can create while working on the edge of your ability, but the potential is there 😁) Find the edge of your ability, the point where your balance is challenged and you can still successfully perform the exercise. Squeeze your hands together tightly like a really firm handshake 🤝 Pretend that you’re lifting 💯 lbs on the curl and press. Pretend that you’re pulling against a giant rubber band and then pressing your hands into the sand. Oscillate back and forth until your midline is over each thigh at the end ranges of the exercise. Complete 10-20 reps per side for 2-3 sets with minimal rest. Serious arm #gainz for days! _____________________________________________ This video along with many others are available on our YouTube channel - link in bio.
👋🏼 Friendly reminder from us to you, hang in there. No matter what happens next we can all be sure of one thing, the only constant is change. This behind the scenes shot isn’t where I thought we would be swinging into November 2020 😏 , just over a year since we opened our Chase Park Warehouse space. Transitioning to fully online and moving beyond this beautiful studio we built is difficult, and it’s going to be a lot to process. Today we shot some more clips for our web based app, HUMXN. It’s been interesting taking a back seat to Marvin’s creativity and brilliance these last few months. It all looks a lot different from this angle. A little out of focus. Look deeper. Zoom in just a bit. Can you see it now? We Move Forward. It’s not just a great catchphrase, it’s how we move. From the ground up, from the center out, always moving forward. Embracing all of what it means to be humxn by climbing the obstacles before us. Will it be easy? Not at all. Will it be worth it? 💯 All of the truly remarkable things always are. Join us as we challenge the fitness industry to a duel of HUMXN vs. gym 🐀. It’s time we all move forward. ~Dr. Jessica, HUMXN/super mama/part-time photographer & videographer/editing queen/occasional climbing model
“My dear friends: Your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool WE have to create a more perfect union.” ~ John Lewis Use it! #vote #vote2020 #votelikeyourlifedependsonit #votevotevote
🤔 At AMP, we spend a lot of time talking and teaching about change; we usually call it adaptation. Our coaching and teaching hinges on the idea that the ability to adapt lies within each of us, sometimes we need a little help coaxing it out. Adaptation (change) is an integral part of learning and growing. If our bodies didn’t change, we wouldn’t grow as children into adolescents, and eventually adults. The same is true for what we know, or think we know. Another favorite quote of ours comes from years in school, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” Loosely attributed to both Aristotle and Plato. Translated to mean that the more we learn and therefor know, the more we will realize that there is so much more to be known. What does philosophy have to do with movement? The short answer: everything. Part of learning and growing is realizing that we can learn things later determined to be factually incorrect; that’s science, ever evolving. Anyone remember learning that Pluto was a planet? 🤷🏼♀️ And then there are the lessons we lose chasing a more perfect solution, only to realize we were right all along. Margarine 🧈versus Butter debate. This is where human movement falls. In the great chase for the perfect exercise, the perfect physique, the perfect performance, we forgot the basic principles of HOW the body moves. It’s time we quit chasing. It’s time we realize that we have had the tool we needed all along, right here with us. Our bodies were designed to move, the change needed now comes from learning how to do that in the way it is meant to move. Are you ready to learn? Join us as we embrace adaptation, and move forward with our new web-based app, HUMXN. Link in bio to learn more.
⚠️ Bird Dogs ⚠️ Are bird dogs a part of your exercise or rehab routine? We teach exactly what we believe: that every movement has a greater purpose — to be part of a pattern. That pattern is primarily walking, where the opposing upper and lower limbs move through the same patterns. In the traditional bird dog, however, the upper and lower contralateral limbs are moving in opposite directions, or patterns. In the real world, there is no point when the opposing arm and leg move in the opposite direction. From a neurological perspective, this novel pattern may actually impede progress. We need to embrace our uniquely human qualities and start training how we actually move. We honor the system by emulating the patterns we were born with and develop over time. The cross crawl pattern @drjlgc is performing is our take on the bird dog. This is the pattern that is preprogrammed, it’s how we were born to move. Doesn’t it make more sense to train the way we move? So that this exercise can help foster, ingrain, and support our primary movement pattern? If the exercises you’re doing seem to go against our design, ask yourself, what is your reasoning? Don’t we want to send the appropriate neurological messages to our neuromuscular system for repatterning? We are creating a complete HUMAN movement system to teach you how to move from the center out, and then from the ground up. MVMNT is coming! #thinkwithyourwholebody #movewithyourwholemind #trainthewayyoumove #movewithpurpose #stopdoingbirddogs
Versatility is the ability to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities. As HUMXN’s we thrive on adaptation. In fact, the definition of fitness is the ability to adapt to the contextual demands of your immediate environment. A good test of our fitness, then, is how well we perform in unknown situations. Whereas a good test of our performance or skills, is how well we perform in sport or events. With this in mind, we also like our tools to improve HUMXN movement to be highly versatile. Adding a suspension trainer, like @trxtraining, will give you multiple options to create an environment where you will succeed. For instance, this rotational exercise allows gravity to assist with the rotational component which gives you the opportunity to focus on breathing and stabilizing through the hips instead of trying to create the tension and torque to move. Remember, the more variety you have within your movements, the more gears you have to help you achieve a desired outcome. The more gears you have, the easier it is to move.
This curvy bad mamma jamma black girl got to work with @google at the bomb @gosneakertopia yesterday via @urbandoula and I am still smiling cuz it was cool as heck! (We did a zoom live session with some employees just like @_yournextceo ). So I’ve recently merged into this path of fitness modeling. It’s an idea that was once obscure to me because I am a curvy black girl ft. belly and some back roll (though not quite supersized there’s some still there) . When we think of fitness traditionally images of muscles and lean bellies and toned arms come to mind, but the best thing to me about the human body is inclusivity. We come in all shapes and sizes and fitness ain’t limited to the naturally thin or exclusive to the overly plump. I be loving on my body because before booties came back in style and hips were in, this thang has been strong and carried me through some tough times and looked CUTE👏🏾WHILE👏🏾DOING👏🏾IT. Hail to our bodies. May we love, cherish, celebrate them and slide them into some yoga pants and work it on out when we see fit! . . . #LAFitness #Model #LAFitnessModel #Influencer #fitness #rethinkingfitness #celebratemysize #curvygirlfitness #curvyfitness
#truthbetold It’s not as easy as it looks. What do I mean? 🤷🏼♀️ Take this movement, for example, from this one image you may think it is a simple rotational stretch. It took a few takes not to wobble. When we filmed the standing version, one progression up from this, @marvin_3d and I both wobbled. This movement was difficult to breathe in. My balance felt challenged. It was HARD. And it didn’t take 50 reps or me pouring sweat to realize this, I knew the minute I tried to breathe with it. Our breath, and our ability to breathe in any posture or with movement, is an excellent gauge of whether or not we own a movement. Whether we are ready for the next one. I’m not ready to stand, so my practice will stick here for a bit. Until my core strength and mobility catch up with my breath. Only then will I know I am ready to progress. Knowing when to progress, and having the awareness to hang back when you’re not ready yet, THAT is the real practice. Wobbly or not, if you can’t breathe, you’re not there yet. Know your limits, nudge them safely. ~Dr. J
To move like a HUMXN . . . Your legs need to be able to rotate around in your hip socket. If the space inside the socket is limited, then you would most likely experience this as tightness when you try and move through ranges of motion that require more mobility than you actually have — and it may even be painful. More importantly, your hip needs to allow rotation to occur while your foot and leg are fixed on the ground — like when walking, running, or even squatting! Instead of banging your head against the wall with banded mobility drills, stretching, or even passive therapies like massage and chiropractic care, let’s be assertive and take our health care and movement health back into our own hands. To do that, we need to slow down and gain some awareness through breathing and movement. If you can’t breathe there, you won’t move there. It doesn’t matter if it’s in this 90/90 position or if your running. When your body feels tightness, it perceives that as a threat to injury. You will hold your breath to drive awareness to the fact that this position isn’t available to you — at least at the speed of life. If you do go there, it will probably be uncomfortable or painful, even though there is no injury present. This drill makes sure you have the range of motion necessary for HUMXN locomotion, that you can breathe there, and have active control over the moving pieces. “If you can’t feel it, you won’t move it; but, if you can feel it, you can fix it!”
💥 The definition of fearless is “lacking fear.” And in the case of Mary Shelley’s monster, that is exactly what is meant. We, however, are not monsters void of experiencing fear. Instead, we must learn to master it, so it does not master us. In doing so we will find we are far more powerful than we once believed. What fears will you conquer today?
Introducing HUMXN our new web based health and fitness app.
Upgrade your rolling patterns with this cross core connected roll. Reach long and strong with the opposing limbs. This action will create a solid axle to rotate around. Let the eyes and head follow the hand; because where the head goes the body will follow. Trace a diagonal line with the hand moving from the hip to the opposite shoulder and then back again. Make the switch by alternating the arm and hand positions. Placing the palm of one hand on the inside of the opposite knee. Take note of any breath holding or using momentum to initiate the movements. Exhale and use the head combined with the reach to pull you into the roll. Inhale to return. Once you can competently perform this exercise for 10 - 15 reps per side, then you are ready for real HUMXN movement. Link in Bio to get on the newsletter list and receive a special lifetime offer to the new HUMXN web based app — launching Monday! 🤩
We got into this movement culture because of running, and now we’re running with it. Gait, walking and running, is the most functional and fundamental of all human movements. All movements should support or seek to enhance the gait cycle. If you’re running the #athhalf this year, then run strong. And don’t forget to recover even stronger! Optimal HUMXN Movement training coming soon through screen near you . . . Link in Bio for a special offer for newsletter subscribers!
A connection breath is the conscious and voluntary act of moving air into and out of the lungs. Inefficient breath control can contribute to movement compensations, pain, anxiety, and impaired balance. In fact, breathing is so important, it may be the only reason you experience pain with movement. We can use this interplay between breathing and movement to consciously reset our nervous systems to breathe better, move better, and feel better. Drills, like this one @drjessicalgroves is performing, reconnect and improve the relationship between breathing and movement. These exercises create short-term responses which add up to long-term adaptations and enhance the mind/body connection with movement. One of my teachers through FMS, Brett Jones, likes to say, “fitness only comes before health in the dictionary!” With this in mind, we have created a web based app called HUMXN that will guide you on your journey to better health, function, and fitness. Link in Bio to subscribe to our Newsletter and receive a lifetime subscription discount before we launch!
Just as vitamins and nutritional supplements are better used to satisfy a nutritional deficiency than to enhance or optimize our health, exercise is also better used to supplement a movement deficiency than to enhance or optimize fitness. Exercises bring us up to baseline, a solid starting point to jump off of. Movement, optimal HUMXN movement, nourishes the body in the same way as eating high quality deliciously dense foods. The question, then, is where do we begin? 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏽♂️ At AMP, we have a few suggestions. We will be sharing those ideas and more through our new online subscription, HUMXN, launching 🚀 soon. Sign up for our newsletter (link in bio) to score a lifetime discount to the only Movement Subscription you will ever need. The hub for learning where to begin, how to progress, and ways to create the movement practice that nourishes YOUR life. #itstimetomove
#howfarwevecome 3 years ago we shared this series to combat ITB pain and general knee discomfort and/or pain. While these are all good stretches, they could be better. Let’s take a look at some of the differences between what we advised then, and what we do now. 1. The Classic Figure 4 Stretch Then: Ankle crosses the knee and we flex the hip to access the stretch. Targets gluteus medius and piriformis. Now: We cross one knee over the other, this creates a much deeper stretch of all the musculature and fascia. 2. The Hamstring Stretch Then: Actively Extend the knee and pull the toes to the nose. Now: We still extend the leg, but we also actively press the other leg into the ground and we alternate sides with a scissor transition. 3. The Fig 4 Rock Then: We used this stretch to pull the knee down and stretch the hip flexors, outer hip, and low back. Now: We rock the other way until we can make a solid footprint with our whole foot on the ground. This opens up the hip and give us more ROM where we need it — in the hips. 4. Spinal Twisting Pose Then: We twist the spine with some over pressure around flexed hip, targeting T-Spine. Now: We use a side bent sit with our hips and knees both at 90 degrees and fold over the front leg placing the elbow inline with the thigh. 5. Figure 4 Lunge (Not all things change, some were good ideas 💡 from the start) The moral of this little story is keep it simple. By trying to create an easy flow to hit all the important stuff, we missed all the nuances available for each position. I was impressed with movement systems like Animal Flow and MovNat at the time and I wanted this to do something that could be fun and entertaining. And while it’s not bad, it could be much much better if we just slow things down and breathe into the movement. The more you know, the more you grow. Want to know more about how to slow down, reconnect, reduce pain, and grow your movement practice? Stay tuned and be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to get a lifetime discount to AMPLIFY your life! #linkinbio👆
B A L A N C E • G A M E #tgif Games are a great way to challenge yourself and a partner. And let’s be honest, playing is the best way to develop new skills. The rules: 1. Split stance with 80% of your weight on the stance leg, you should still be able to pick up the rear foot and balance on☝️ leg. 2. You have to throw and catch with ✌️ hands. 3. Challenge your partner to catch the ball all around their stance leg. Really make them reach for it! It’s a great drill for walking, running, and balance. Explore. Move. Play.
Low Back Pain 😖 Your low back needs stability to feel good 😊 If your hips are stuck 😬 then the low back has to sacrifice some of that stability so you can move. I have low back pain on the right side and in the first video my legs want to move together because my back wants to move instead. When I move to the left, I have greater mobility in my hips and my back remains stable. We know this because of my foot position, the right leg appears shorter then the left and I can keep my right hip on the ground. In the second video, I intentionally keep my feet together. This lets the rotation occur primarily in my low back. This is not what we are after, but often the movement strategy we use 🤔 Relax. Put your legs up the wall and see if you can keep your hips on the ground and let your legs move independently. If they are moving together with the low back, then you have some work to do my friends. #assessdontguess
360 Breathing 🌀 Breathing is 3-Dimensional and more than just “belly breathing”. The air expands the chest cavity in a 360-degree fashion filling the cylinder of the abdomen and then the chest. When you breathe in, or inhale, your diaphragm contracts and moves downward while the muscles between your ribs contract to pull your rib cage both upward and outward. Together, these muscle actions enlarge the chest cavity so your lungs can expand into it. When you breathe out, or exhale, your diaphragm and rib muscles relax, reducing the space in the chest cavity. This allows your lungs to deflate, similar to releasing air from a balloon. Can you feel the lateral expansion of your breath? Practice with us: Place your hands on the sides of your abdomen just above the hips but below the floating ribs. As the air moves through your nose, let your focus drift from the rise and fall of the belly and then the chest to the lateral expansion of the 360-degree breath. Continue your practice for about 5 mins and let us know how it feels in the comments below! 🎥: @drjessicalgroves demonstrates a 360-degree breath
🧘🏽♂️ 🧘🏻♀️🧘🏾♀️🧘🏼♂️ Mindfulness, awareness, mindset, presence. It doesn’t matter what we call it, it only matters that we practice it. To be self-aware is to be cognizant of ourselves in all areas for our existence: physical, mental, and spiritual. Not only must we pay attention to where our body is, how it feels, what it is or is not capable of; we must also pay attention to how our emotions are showing up, how we are processing them, how clear minded and present we can be in the here and now. Finally, we must pay attention to how we are all connected, to each other, to our planet. Our true power comes from choosing not to fight the obstacle before us, but to move with it and through it. Like any Jedi master, we do not control the force. The force IS. We are the force, we are one with the force. The force is us. Being a champion is about far more than winning, being a champion is about being. May we all choose to be the champion in our own lives. #beachampion
🛹 Today we celebrate the rad dude that inspired all this movement stuff. 8 years ago he not only made us parents, he started us on our journey to learn all we can about human motor development, deep diving into our understanding of human movement, and safely pushing our personal limits for movement practice. Help us in wishing the happiest of birthdays to OUR coach, M4! #amplifyyourlife #kidcoach #skaterkid
PINCHY HIP One of the most prevalent things I see as a sports massage therapist are tight hips. And if you’ve ever moved with us, then you know we place a high value on hip mobility and hip range of motion. Here’s a way to #amplify this figure 4 stretch to help alleviate that nagging anterior hip tightness. Complete 5 reps each of the following: 1. Place the band in the hip crease with tension 2. Rock your hips until you can make a footprint 3. Give me a few belly breaths 4. Reach and touch the foot on the exhale 5. Reevaluate your perception of tightness And boom 💥 No more tight hips!!! #fitnessfriday Marvin
#wcw Today @drjessicalgroves and I filmed videos for our upcoming on demand website. The first section covers the connection breath. We use the basic #boxbreathing method to keep it simple and short. A connection breath is the conscious (voluntary) act of moving air into the lungs and is vital to our overall health, musculoskeletal function, athletic performance, and a sensation of safety. Inefficient breath control can contribute to movement compensations, increased pain, anxiety, and impaired balance. It is important to understand that mental and emotional states have a large impact on breathing and musculoskeletal function. Likewise, the way a person breathes, both consciously and unconsciously, may affect their mental and emotional states. That’s why breathing is considered the first, and arguably, the most essential movement pattern. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to claim your lifetime subscription discount! We’ll send out an email as we get closer to launch 🚀 Breathe Well, Marvin
Getting that first chin up is something to be proud of. Pulling your entire body weight off the ground is definitely challenging. Use these 3 steps to get over the bar. 1. Dead Hang - Grab onto a bar about shoulder width, slowly remove your feet from the ground, and hold for the specified amount of time. 2. Chin Over Bar - Stand on a box or bench to achieve the top position, slowly remove the feet from their support, hold with your chin over the bar for time. 3. Bent Arm Hold - Stand on a box or bench to achieve the bent arm position, slowly remove the feet from their support, bent arm hold for time. Once you’ve dialed in these 3 positions for 30 second holds, then it’s time to practice moving from the dead hang and get your chin over the bar. + Start with 5 sec holds for 5 sets each + Progress to 10 sec holds for 4 sets + 15 sec for 3 sets + 20 sec for 2 sets + 25 seconds for 1 set + 30 seconds for 1 set each + 5 sec chin over bar hold & slowly lower for 5 reps + dead hang and pull your self over the bar 🙌 Tag is with your progress! *these demos will be covered in more detail when we launch our online and on demand site. Stay tuned, Marvin
💥 President Snow uses this quote and goes on to encourage the containment of ‘hope’ in The Hunger Games. We advise the opposite. Where there is hope, there is the determination to conquer all of our fears. Let it burn 🔥. And surround yourselves with people willing to fan it if it tries to go out. 🙌🏼
🔥 Working hard for a game day bonfire. However you spend the day, celebrate the effort you put into achieving those moments of joy. And of course, GO DAWGS 🏈! #ugaalumni #doubledawg #gameday🏈 #godawgs #ugafootball
G E T - U P It covers every functional movement in one big chunk. It’s how everything moves together and stays together while keeping a solid core you can rotate around for walking and running. It connects the shoulder to the hip contralaterally, this cross-connection is key for crawling, walking, and running. It requires hip rotation, mobility, and glute activation with an upright torso in a single leg stance. It builds a solid platform to push from as we move from running to sprinting and jumping. Performing the Get-Up well, with control, as the pieces effortlessly blend together is the gold standard. To get there, practice the pieces. 1. We like 3 reps per step while alternating sides to prepare for adding weight. 2. Next we like like to use a yoga block, or shoe, on a closed fist to demonstrate control. 3. Finally, we will perform the full Get-Up. Today in class, we did 10 Get-Ups (R/L) EMOM with a yoga block to focus on body awareness and control. Always practice the pieces before performing the whole movement, that mind-body connection is where the magic happens. ♾Threading the needle and the squat aren’t part of the get-up exercise, we just use these extra steps as part of our warm up!
#workoutwednesday And we’re back with another 3 X 3 workout for you! Today we have the pause push-up, kettlebell clean, and cartwheels. 1. The pause push-up keeps you engaged throughout the exercise. Go about halfway down and hold the pause for 2-3 seconds. This is a superior exercise to the plank, really it’s a way to progress a plank with some movement. If you want a strong core, then nail the pause. 2. The kettlebell clean is is a power exercise that requires coordination and skill. It’s going to work the glutes and upper back. Pausing at the top forces your core to reactively engage to hold the weight out front, it’s like a standing plank. 3. Cartwheels require coordination, skill, and mobility. Plus they’re fun and maybe a little scary. Get out of your comfort zone and give this a whirl 🌀 ✔️3 reps per exercise, then repeat for 3 minutes ✔️90 seconds rest ✔️3 rounds ➕substitute squats with a pause at the bottom if you don’t have a kettlebell or heavy weight ➕tag us so we can see you flex 💪
#trxsuspensiontraining Hi 👋 I’m always exploring new ways to use the tools that I have, like the TRX. While the #trxsquat is great way to progress to a full body weight squat, I never really liked the spine angle and head position looking up to face the anchor. So, today, I had this idea of lowering the anchor to provide an external visual cue to help reinforce proper spine position for an unassisted or loaded squat progression. And, it worked. + I don’t need to go #ATG + My knees can move over my toes + My lats and erectors are fired up and engaged + And the straps still provide assistance Give this a shot if you have a way to anchor your suspension trainer (or bands) closer to the ground. I suspect mid calf level would work just as well. #keeptraining ✌️Marvin PS: I’m looking down and need to have my gaze fixed on the anchor point. Watch as a I look down, my #buttwink and my spine rounds. If I kept my head neutral, then I would go as low and I would maintain a better position for me.
Movement is messy, life is unpredictable Exercise tries to place you in a safe little box and train you there, but you can't live inside that box. Movement is messy, life is unpredictable. You have to move out of your comfort zone and away from that safe space. You cannot fear movement or growth. (Everybody is shitty at first.) It takes practice, hard work, dedication, and consistency to become a better mover—a better person. Don’t just think #outsidethebox: work, play, eat, and live there too ✌️ Only then will you start to live a life of purpose — it’s a wonderful life.