by Dan Williams | Aug 16, 2018 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
There’s no denying the squat is an absolutely foundational movement, whether we’re chasing health or performance. But the range of exercises that fall under the category of this movement is huge. Subtle variations in technique and execution lead to subtle...
by Dan Williams | Jul 13, 2018 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The use of a lifting belt divides coaches and athletes. The easiest response is often given. ‘Wear it sometimes but not always’. And although this may be technically correct, it doesn’t really help us. So to explore this issue further, we review the research, and then...
by Dan Williams | Nov 21, 2017 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Programming
The pull-up is a key exercise in the development of strength and shoulder health. When done correctly. Many of the issues with pull-ups occur as a result of incorrect shoulder mechanics, often resulting from ineffective methods of scaling. We discuss these mechanics...
by Dan Williams | Nov 7, 2017 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
It’s human nature to find the easiest way to do things. In fact, it’s in our genes – a survival advantage. In the field of exercise and health however, sometimes the easy way isn’t the best way. We have to fight the deconditioning and...
by Dan Williams | Feb 28, 2017 | Biomechanics, Blogs, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The highly repetitive and specialised nature of swimming exposes athletes to a raft of chronic overuse-based shoulder injuries. Here, we discuss the best exercise to counter these issues. Range of Motion employs two seemingly opposite, though highly complementary...
by Dan Williams | Jan 30, 2017 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance
The development of new physical skills brings with it a raft of changes in the skill itself, as well as in the individual performing that skill. Regardless of the complexity of the skill, from a toddler walking to an elite athlete performing complex gymnastics or...
by Dan Williams | Aug 9, 2016 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Improving Athletic Performance, Programming
We preach inclusive fitness. The scaleability of movement for all levels of exerciser. But sometimes I think the method of scaling is missing the mark. We scale for lower levels of current ability, but the real WHY of scaling comes down to two reasons: We’re...
by Dan Williams | May 1, 2016 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
You should see every repetition you do as an opportunity for improvement. Every. Single. Rep. The end goal is perfection. But it’s a goal that can never be achieved, because absolute perfection of movement is unrealistic. What is realistic is improvement....
by Dan Williams | Mar 20, 2016 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
Movement provides a window into the body. Assessing movement is like detective work. Observing movement and assessing faults gives us clues to identify underlying dysfunction. There are few better diagnostic tools than the squat. The number of directions in which...
by Dan Williams | Jan 19, 2016 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
As CrossFit coaches and judges, we’re really good at policing the range of movements. We define a movement by its start and end point. Hip crease below the knee, chin over bar, arms locked overhead. These attributes are important, they allow us to define...
