Do you want to be fit, healthy, and pain free but do not know where to start? At this point, everyone agrees health and fitness are crucial to living a fulfilled life. But where do we start? Often, working out 3-4 times a week does not cut it. Some are diligent about getting exercise, others better with their diet, but often we do not see the results. This is because successful fitness and wellness is multifaceted. Below you will discover 5 components to a successful fitness and health program.

PNF Patterns Gone Wrong

why use PNF and what to avoid when doing PNF

Peripheral Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a powerful tool in restoration of efficient movement patterns. It is technique that is often done poorly. It has gained notoriety through the contract-relax technique. I have heard strength coach’s simply refer to the contract-relax mechanism of muscle inhibition as “do the PNF technique.” I have seen professionals using chop, lift, and rolling patterns outside of the diagonals but yet still referring to it as PNF. If PNF is not completed properly you are not gaining the value of the technique. The patterns are developed so the body has the least resistance to achieve optimal movement.

It is important to get a baseline of what effect dysfunctional lumbopelvic positioning and glut activation manifests as, and this can be different for each client. Understanding what movements or joints are most provocative of pain gives you something to come back and reassess to see the effect of the interventions you have chosen to implement.

Gluteal training is a staple of any strength and conditioning and physical therapy program. Trainers and PTs utilize any tool at their disposal to assist with glut strength (bands, tubing, hip thrust benches, etc.). But why do we strengthening the posterior chain? How do we know if we are actually training the gluts? How can we ensure glut strength lasts? Lets see if we can figure all this out.