Blog
For most of my life, I didn't like running. I didn't find it as enjoyable as some do. It is drudgery. It’s boring. It is monotonous.  It seems to have no purpose. You run and end up right back where you started. Worse than running is running on a treadmill — talk about a rat on a wheel! The only rea...
I want to talk to you about the Group Testing Calculator and how you can use it. You can use it any time you are going to do testing of a group. That could be a pre- participation physical of a sports team or performance testing of a group or even in industry or the military we've used it a lot. A...
Recovering vs restoring after pitching – does the word we use matter? When players become more serious about the game, they understand the importance of preparing their mind and body to compete. Unfortunately, our focus really needs to shift from not only preparing for competition but also restoring...
This isn't just a stretch; it is a full-body patterning drill. We are challenging the posterior chain (hamstrings and calves) while demanding that the core stays engaged and requiring shoulder stability.
How to Perform It
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The Hinge: Start by reaching down toward the floor and placing your hand
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I want to tell you about using the upper body return to sport checklist. This is a little bit different. We don't typically see or use return to sport tests as frequently as the lower body. The lower body is a lot more common, but the upper body is just as important. The problem is we don't have ...
I use this exercise all the time to improve multisegemental rotation and rotary stability. I frequently use it after segmental rolling or if someone uses lumbar extension to perform the upper extremity segmental flexion rolling. I know it has been called “hard rolling” but I prefer to call it connec...
I really think that the lower body return to sport checklist and discharge checklist can accelerate your practice, can really amplify what you're doing because it does a few things. One, it makes sure that we're being comprehensive in nature. The guidelines go from simple range of motion and stren...
With upper body return to sport testing, should you do both a Y Balance Test Upper Quarter and Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (CKCUEST)?Â
What do they tell us? Is one a replacement for the other?Â
One of the ways I like to look at the upper extremity closed kinetic chain stab...
Why the Upper Quarter Y Balance Test is a Game Changer for Lower Body Rehab
I get this question all the time: "Phil, why are we putting an Upper Quarter Y Balance Test (UQYBT) in our lower body checklist? Is it really necessary when I’m treating a knee or an ankle?"
It seems like a stretch, righ
...How to get the toe touch and active straight leg raise pattern to stick?
Frequently, it is relatively straightforward to restore a person's toe touch or active straight leg raise pattern, but the problem becomes keeping it. You can get the pattern normalized in a session only to find that it return...
In this exercise, we are teaching the body to dissociate—to move the hips and spine while keeping the scapula solid. This is essential for anyone who needs to transfer energy from the ground up through the arm.
How to Perform It
Precision is everything here. We aren't just moving; we are stabilizi...
In this Q & A video, I answer a reader-submitted question about how to use students to make group testing more efficient.
