Derrick Price

This is money Chuck, well done!

My only question was looking at the cooldown. You have the block labeled as Lower Body –> Pushing, and have a push up in there. Was a little confused considering this was the cooldown section?

Fantastic Lisa, you’re really grasping the “layering” that occurs with good programming, starting with previously created content (7-Step prep) and stacking that on top of a strength session. Really well done.

I love simple! Most clients need simple and you’ve created some good pairings with the intent of the strength you would like to develop for this specific client. And I love that you’re selecting “simple” in the LMT quadrant, that way your client gets some multiplanar exercise that isn’t overwhelming. Not much I would change with your session, I’m curious how your client perceived it!

Liz you’re doing a great job week in and week out!

It’s smart to pair the superset with the same equipment so long as the same weight can be used for both to help minimize the rest during the transition of exercises. I also think the 7-Step prep for the T-Spine/Shoulders is very applicable here. Great integration!

My only suggestion would be the cooldown. Because the body is warm with good circulation during the workout, the Rub and Scrub may not be very effective post-workout. I would suggest Slow, Deep Breathing and Static Stretching or Restorative Poses to help restore parasympathetic tone.

Lydia excellent selection of exercises. Kyphosis is often looked at through the lens of the Sagittal plane, but really we need to identify how well the spine can move through all planes and you did a great job of navigating through all 4Q to help the spine become more dynamic. This was a very thoughtful protocol you put together and I’m eager to hear how your client is responding to this!

Great work Cynthia, I will share my thoughts on your 7-Step Prep in this week’s webinar. Stay tuned!

Chuck I love that your protocol was driven from assessment and address the client’s most limiting factor. Certainly makes the session that more specific to your client’s needs and I can imagine this will improve movement throughout the entire kinetic chain as a result. Very smart and good selection of exercises. Nothing much I would do differently based on your intentions. Well done!

Chuck, I like your selected drills for T-Spine Mobility. 2 thoughts came to mind when reviewing your circuit:

1. Maybe consider a Type 2 Spinal motion exercise to complement the Type 1 that is selected.
2. If we want to prevent segmental lumbar rotation, we also want to consider the hips. Movements that allow the hips and T-spine to rotate will reduce the need for the lumbar to rotate segmentally, rather it rotates as one unit with the joints above and below it. So for your LMT drill, it will be important to encourage the hips to rotate as well (i.e. good relative hip internal rotation on the lead leg!).

Lisa this is excellent! Your description really helped shape my understanding of your intent with your mobility block. Here are a few of my thoughts:

• Excellent selection of Whole-Body Integrated drills
• I might start with the World’s Greatest as I like to progress from ground-based exercises to standing so they gradually ascend through their warmup
• Acute variables are appropriate. I like the 2sec pause to allow the client to foster awareness and mindfulness to both body position and potentially breath pattern (we sometimes hold our breath unnecessarily when trying new movements out!).
• With your ViPR PRO drills, I might suggest doing them with the ViPR in a vertical position and tilting it. The added support provides more stability. More stability means less neural threat, means an opportunity to explore more space (mobility). Focus on balance-based exercises in Activation. Here’s an example: https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/activity/qx0gmov8/

I will discuss this more in this week’s webinar Orlando, keep it up!

Liz, this is great. I will have specific feedback for you on this week’s webinar. Stay tuned for Wed/Thurs.

Hi Wesley, thank you for sharing your curiosity, I will do my best to answer the many questions you had in your post. If I miss one, let me know!

1) does it make sense to do activation drills as an active recovery/rest period or as a prep for the next set?

Yes, so long as you are not creating fatigue. Researchers have looked at active rest periods using a bike (fluid dynamics) and have found that active recovery performed at low intensity may help reduce blood lactate and enhance performance on subsequent sets. Corder, K. P., Potteiger, J. A., Nau, K. L., Figoni, S. F., & Hershberger, S. L. (2000). Effects of active and passive recovery conditions on blood lactate, rating of perceived exertion, and performance during resistance exercise. J Strength Cond Res, 14(2), 151-156.

SMUR exercises like forced breathing may add in greater lumbar stabilization for the next set. Again, must be careful of creating fatigue so the dose is important: Ki, C., Heo, M., Kim, H. Y., & Kim, E. J. (2016). The effects of forced breathing exercise on the lumbar stabilization in chronic low back pain patients. Journal of physical therapy science, 28(12), 3380-3383.

Yes, active recovery with high intensity exercise may be beneficial: Signorile, J. F., Tremblay, L. M., & Ingalls, C. (1993). The effects of active and passive recovery on short-term, high intensity power output. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 18(1), 31-42.

2) “Conversely if you are covering all 7 major movement planes in one workout, would it make sense to do an activation block in the middle or otherwise disperse the activations throughout the workout?”

It would be ideal to focus on a client’s limiting factor. No need to activate everything. Activate and mobilize the regions that limit the individual the most. Assessing their movement patterns will direct you on which areas to focus.

3) The duration of activation can be seen anywhere from 5-20min. Xenofondos, A., Laparidis, K., Kyranoudis, A., Galazoulas, C., Bassa, E., & Kotzamanidis, C. (2010). Post-activation potentiation: Factors affecting it and the effect on performance. Citius Altius Fortius, 28(3), 32.

Again, it may (most likely) will decline as you fatigue with your strength/power exercises and re-activating them may be a moot point because the metabolic chemistry of the muscles (calcium, lactate etc) will impair motor unit recruitment. To answer your question with higher volume sessions, you probably won’t get much benefit.

4) Stimulation in sensitive areas. Yes, performing a rub and scrub on your pelvic floor may be a bit inappropriate in a social environment. However you can still do SMUR exercises for the sensitive regions which will also enhance the fluid dynamics of the region. A background in corrective exercise can give you a greater library to choose from. For example, this super subtle exercise is a great Fluid Dynamics and SMUR exercise for the pelvis and lumbar spine might be something to consider: https://www.egoscue.com/webmenus/ECiseHTML/302.html

5) “Also curious about the lowback/sacral area when working with posterior chain/ deadlift days. I was thinking this would be great for clients who sit all day, but also have a couple clients with very sensitive sacrums given the density and importance of nerve connective tissues there”

I like to use a tennis ball or a “peanut”for the low back as its smaller surface area can help you avoid pressure specifically on joints/bone and improve sensitivity in the thoracolumbar fascia. https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/activity/low-back-tissue-compression/

Hey Barbara, looks like you copied the title and not the web link. Might be best if we jump on a Zoom call so I can see your screen and see what the issue is. Send me an email with dates and times that work for you dp@instituteofmotion.com.

Hey Barbara, looks like you copied the wrong link.

Go to your Blocks Library, and then find your block that you want to share and then click on the three dots “…” in the upper right hand corner of the block you want to share. The option to Share the block should be there. Click on it and then a link will appear. Copy it and paste it here. If you’re still having trouble, let me know and I can help you troubleshoot. Thanks Barbara!

Sadie this is a well put together sequence.Not much I would really change. One thing to think about with Excitation is giving the nervous system the opportunity to “turn off” a muscle or set of muscles during a given task. So with the Ankle Band Walks, notice the way it is performed in the video, the Hip Abductors are always on to maintain tension on the band while walking forward. How might you modify this exercise to give the Hip Abductors a chance to “turn off” quickly with each rep and take advantage of this concept of Excitation?

Liz, this is a great sequence specific to the upper extremity and core to foster healthier shoulders for your athletes. Not much I would change other than probably also include an Activation sequence for the hips as well. We tend to find many Elbow and Shoulder inflammation injuries have limited hip mobility on the opposite leg (hip internal rotation) of the throwing/swinging arm so preparing the hips becomes equally important to safeguard the upper extremity! https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2325967118800704

Hey Josh, great work. Regarding your escalating intensity on the Bike, I would recommend you convey that within the Coach’s Note so your client (or anyone reading this block) understands your intent. (See below)

Otherwise I like your exercise selection, you did a good job matching the 4 steps of Activation. My only suggestion would be to add acute variable information for each exercise as only 10 reps has been selected. For example, with the body clapping, how does 10 reps work?

Thanks Chuck, it’s a work in progress and will only get better as we update it!

Thanks for being the first one off the block, and great work putting this sequence together. I will review it in much greater detail in this week’s webinar so stay tuned!

“I am hoping that many of the topics covered in this course will help me keep my clients healthy and injury free- no matter what age they are”. Michelle, I think the first 4 weeks will be a game-changer for you as we share our systematic approach to prepare an individual for movement. Welcome aboard!

Congrats on receiving your Bachelor’s Josh! Great to have youthful perspectives in the cohort to balance out a lot of us grizzly veterans 🙂

Welcome Sadie and Liz, great to have you join us!

Erick, I like the organization of your program. Very clear as to what the outcome is for each session and how that is mapped out throughout the course of the program. Each session is also created with clarity with what seems to be relevant exercises for a rec athlete in the offseason. Without a written summary of your program, it’s hard to fully understand your intent and give you relevant feedback. But if this is a template that you might use to create specific programs for your clientele, I think you hit a home run, and shouldn’t take you long to make the necessary modifications to individualize this. Just make sure you create copies of it and save the original as this is a good canvas to build from! Thank you for your submission Erick, we hope you’ll consider Level 2 in your future development!

Sonia there is a lot to like about this program:

1. You addressed the many goals and adaptations your client finds value in with each session
2. It’s highly varied throughout the week (which is generally good for health) but allows a chance to re-introduce each session throughout the course of 4 weeks. Helps the client get acclimated, comfortable, and develop mastery over many things
3. Warmups and cooldowns were all relevant and needed for each workout session
4. Appropriate exercise and acute variable selection. While your client workouts often, the overall volume for each session is relatively low which is important to avoid overtraining
5. The Active Mobility strategies will be important to maintain his joint integrity so he can stay active!

I’m excited to see how you might start to incorporate other non-exercise modalities into your client’s program which we’ll cover in much greater detail in Level 2. We hope you’ll join us Sonia!

Great job Billie!

74 and killing it! I had to look up Dragon Boating as I’m not too familiar. Really cool!

Cathy, I like how you programmed the practice days as that needs to be considered as part of your client’s overall mechanical stress. With your 2 days of training, that’s 5 days of mechanical stimulus. Sounds like your client may be able to handle that, but I might consider only 1x/week of actual training, especially as she is “in-season”. In-season usually means more recovery so one thing I would like to see on the Practice days is a short recovery routine that can help your client combat the stresses of Dragon Boating. I noticed it’s a highly repetitive stress in a very unique, specific posture so adding a active recovery block she can do after practice will go a long way in helping her sustain her love of Dragon Boating!

This is a great 7-day sequence Sonia. I think you matched your intent well, and your considerations are well warranted. A 2x/week Strength and 1x/week Power is a good combo to begin with, and I agree, keeping it Unloaded is a good place to begin building tissue tolerance to powerful movements. The fact he plays recreation softball demonstrates he has power capability already, but agree with your perspective that to keep it safe, Unloaded based Power is an ideal place to start. You selected appropriate themes throughout and your exercises and acute variables match up.

My only suggestion would be adjusting the titles of the Days. For example, I would make sure to remove things like “AHHPS” or “Obesity” in the titles and use titles that resonate with the client. A title can help “coach” the client and set expectations for the program. Or the wrong title can demoralize or set unwanted conditions. That’s where “Choose your words wisely” becomes a good saying to follow.