Are Half Squats Bad For You?

by Dan Williams | Oct 28, 2010 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation

Ok, maybe not bad, but definitely not as good as the full thing. Half squats are a lot better than no squats, but with a small change they can be a lot better. In the majority of cases, if Doctors and Health Professionals tell their patients not to squat, one of two...

Is There a Place For Sports Specific Exercise?

by Dan Williams | Oct 15, 2010 | Blogs, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Improving Athletic Performance

Exercise training for sport falls into two broad categories, Specific Physical Preparedness and General Physical Preparedness. Simply speaking, Specific Physical Preparedness identifies what an athlete needs to succeed at their specific task or skill, and gives them...

Neutral Spine – The Single Most Important Element of Complex Movement

by Dan Williams | Sep 14, 2010 | Biomechanics, Blogs, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation

Maintaining a neutral spine during complex movements is the single most important technique based skill there is. First – some definitions: Neutral spine is the position where the spine and pelvis are least likely to suffer damage, deformity and degeneration. Neutral...

Are Running Shoes Bad For You?

by Dan Williams | Sep 6, 2010 | Blogs, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation

  Evolution is a wonderful thing. But then along comes Cultural Evolution. We learn to change our environment rather than evolve to suit it. Occasionally it works. Thick clothes keep us warm so we can survive cold climates. Hats keep the skin cancer at bay so we...

Improving Athletic Performance Through PNF Stretching: Part 2

by Dan Williams | Sep 4, 2010 | Blogs, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation

In the first post in this series (Improving Athletic Performance Through PNF Stretching Part 1) we covered the mechanics of muscle and how the length and strength of a muscle are related. In this, we deal with how to perform PNF stretching to maximise performance. PNF...

Improving Athletic Performance Through PNF Stretching: Part 1

by Dan Williams | Aug 3, 2010 | Blogs, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Faciliation is a method of increase muscle length and the range over which force can be applied. PNF has the potential to give you: More strength – without having to make your muscles stronger, More speed – without having to...