– Okay, there are three steps that we can go through to fix your movement. Some people would go straight to one of them and miss others, some will miss them completely, but basically, there are three steps and in order of importance. Not in order of importance, but in order of priority, how soon do you go to this point. So let’s look at the example. Hips tucking under the bottom of the squat. The first thing we need to try and do, is correct the technique. So, again, show of hands, whose was quite pronounced? Show of hands, okay. So, quite pronounced without posterior pelvic tilt. Could we say to you, stop tucking your hips under? And would it fix it? Probably not. Whose knees were falling in in the squat? Yeah? Could we say to you, screw the feet to the ground, push the knees out more and could that maybe fix that problem just like that? Quite possibly, yeah? So there are different scales of sometimes you can just say to someone, if they’re pressed forward, pull the bar back and they do it and it’s fixed. Can you see how much easier that is than spending six months doing mobility work? A good coach who can pick up a cue, give you a cue to fix it and the problem is fixed. That’s a technique problem. So our first step is can we correct these problems that you guys have pivotal marks next to simply by changing the technique? Is Marty pretty flexible?
– Yeah.
– Yeah. So, I want you to do a squat, as you get to the bottom, what’s happening is your pelvis is tucking underneath and your lower back is rounding. Try and do one but keep that lumbar curve. So tilt your pelvis forward, don’t let it tuck under. Let’s try that for me. Is it still happening?
– [Audience] Yeah.
– Okay, so technique, coaching, or correction hasn’t worked for us. So what we can now do is, can we use that box, please?
– [Man] Sure.
– You can have it back soon, I promise. Can one of you guys bring that box up for me? Come one down! Okay. Thank you.
– I just wanted to be on camera.
– Alright, stand in front of the box. Stand this side of the box, this side, this side, this side. Good, but facing me still. Standing in front of the box, this way, you got it. Okay, sit down on the box. All the way down, cool. Feet where you’d want them for a squat, keep your chest up, is there a posterior pelvic tilt there? Who thinks it’s pretty neutral? Is it better?
– [Audience] Yes.
– Yeah, much more neutral, stand up for me. Now we know Marty’s got a low squat. Have a seat there. All the way down. Get your back nice and flat, chest up. Does that look about the depth of his squat, when he was squatting before? Okay. Close? Alright, is there a posterior pelvic tilt there?
– [Man] No.
– [Instructor] Does that look pretty neutral?
– [Audience] Yes.
– Stand up for me, good. Take a step forward, so we lose the box. Squat down, come a little bit further forward again, squat down to the same depth you just went to.
– [Audience Member] Yeah, it’s better.
– [Instructor] How’s the lower back there? Keep going further, down, down, down.
– [Audience] Tilted.
– Loses it, okay. So maybe we can go with a technique correction coaching and that he’s going too low in his squat and he’s losing that tension. Okay, who else had a posterior, have a seat, thanks Marty. Who else has a posterior pelvic tilt in their squat? I’m about to fix it so if it was you, put your hand up. Let’s have a look at it, let’s try. Okay, face me, do a squat. You see the rounding of the lower back at the bottom there? Have a seat, put this up, that’s going to be about the height you were squatting to. Have a seat there. All the way down, all the way down, sitting down. See how the back is in a better position now? Can everyone see that, yeah? And that’s about the squat depth that Marty was going to. So this tells us that it’s not that he’s physically unable because something’s tight or weak or loose or short or long, it’s not that he’s physically unable to do this because look, can. He’s physically able to put his body in a position where his lumbar spine is neutral. Keep your chest up. Stand up for me. Good, lower down to the box again. Get neutral. Good, hover half a centimetre off the box. Hold that there, back’s still pretty neutral, still better than it was before. So what we’re doing now, and stand, and have a seat. Thanks buddy. So what we’re doing now is teaching him that you actually can get into position. But we have to use a couple of tricks and tools to be able to put you into position. Does that make sense? Stop tilting your pelvis. Nope, that didn’t work. Motor control, learning, this is what I want it to look like, practise that, go into that position. So we can do that for any of faults that we’ve talked about today, any of these faults that we’ve assessed. But a good example there of something that, ’cause that’s a really tricky one to be able to fix. It’s easy to not press the bar forward ’cause you just do that. And they pull the bar back causes another problem. Coaching technique correction isn’t working for them. How about motor control. Can we, well no, they just can’t physically go there, they don’t have the flexibility. So in this case, we revert to movement therapy. Giving them exercises to do to fix that problem. This is a long-term approach for what is a long-term chronic problem.
