by Dan Williams | Aug 31, 2016 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Exercise Philosophies, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Programming, Psychology
In the list of the top ten causes of premature death, cancer appears three times. Top factors causing loss of life years due to premature death (in order): Ischaemic heart disease Stroke and other cerebrovascular disease Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers Alzheimer and...
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 | Apr 25, 2016 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Psychology
The use of various temperature protocols (cryotherapy, cold water immersion/ice baths, contrast therapy) for increased recovery and performance has garnered mainstream acceptance from athletes. Here, we review the literature to examine the effectiveness of these...
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 | Feb 28, 2016 | Blogs, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The explosion of performance based fitness has brought with it the popularisation of recovery. Foam rollers and trigger point balls are no longer confined to yoga and pilates studios, or to the consult rooms of physiotherapists. It’s now more unusual to find a gym...
by Dan Williams | Jan 21, 2016 | Blogs, CrossFit, Flexibility, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
‘Mobility’ is in vogue. Both the word, and the practice. All the cool kids are ‘mobilising’. But first let’s define the term, because I fear it has become a blanket term for the pre- and post- exercise routines that all individuals should complete around their...
by Dan Williams | Jan 19, 2016 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
As 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 movement. But...
by Dan Williams | Jan 19, 2016 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Flexibility, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The importance of ankle mobility is paramount in the squat – in fact, any closed chain movement where the foot is in contact with the ground. Dorsi-flexion of the ankle (ie: lifting the ball of the foot with the heel in contact with the ground) is perhaps the...
by Dan Williams | Jan 19, 2016 | Blogs, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
One of my university lecturers took the controversial view that every person who injures themselves should have a cross carved into their arm by a scalpel. The idea being, when the cross has healed, so has the underlying injury. The problem is, if an injury is soft...
by Dan Williams | Jan 19, 2016 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Programming
Competitiive CrossFitters (or at least those who prioritise and commit to training) love to work hard. In the most part, this hard work has a perfect positive correlation with rate of return (increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains). There becomes...
