Do you train clients with shoulder dysfunction? Have you tried corrective strategies for improving your clients scapular winging? Have you noticed chronic tightness in your clients upper back and neck?

If you work with the general population you likely will have answered yes to each of the previous questions. Neck tightness, shoulder tightness, upper back tightness – they’re all prevalent in clients. Whether they stem from poor breathing strategies, is rooted in too many hours in front of the computer, or occurs as a common response to stress, these common issues are directly related to the increased visits to chiropractic physicians, medical doctors, and physiotherapists – and of course the fitness professionals.

Do you know the best corrective exercise strategies to deal with these issues? Do you have a strategy that addresses the most common causes of shoulder dysfunction? Would you like to develop yourself as an expert in dealing with dysfunctional shoulder and neck movement patterns and help more individuals reach their functional health and fitness goals?

If so, this FITNESS INSIDER webinar series is for you. In this 3-part series, you will be introduced to common causes of shoulder and hip issues as well as some of the exact corrective exercise strategies I utilize in my office to improve function in my patients. These strategies will be presented in a user-friendly and simple fashion so you can instantly use them with your clients to help them restore function and/or train longer and harder so they can achieve their functional goals.

In Part II, we will look at the corrective exercise strategies for Hip Stabilization.

Happy New Year! Jenice and I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that this edition of FITNESS INSIDER finds your new year off to a fabulous start. I’ll make this brief because I know you’re busy.

Pay particular attention to the section that comes towards the end of the video – for the one component we must train in our clients that have psoas, transversus abdominus, and pelvic floor dysfunction. It is one of the biggest missing pieces in the training and conditioning industries – it’s even in rehabilitation – to improving function especially in clients that have low back, pelvic, and hip dysfunction.

If you have the discipline to improve this function in your clients, you will be that expert that they need and want and will refer to their family and friends.

Until next time, maintain the discipline to be the movement based-solution to the health care crisis.

1. How to motivate individuals to begin to exercise and how to keep them enrolled in health and wellness programs;
2. How to educate medical professionals as to the importance of our work so they can be a regular referral source for us;
3. How to position yourself as an expert so you can become a vital part of the solution to the health care crisis.

In my discussion – as in the majority of my presentations – I discussed the two key components to becoming that vital part of the solution to the health care crisis.

1. You must believe that you are – or can be – that solution. Because if you don’t believe, you can’t convince any one else that you can be.
2. You must develop yourself into an expert. If you are not an expert and do not understand how to appropriately work with the chronic pain, deconditioned, and post-rehabilitation client, you will fail to serve the clients you are meant to serve.

And to become that specialist you must understand functional anatomy and kinesiology. Just as important, you must know how to apply this knowledge to solve movement problems in your clients.

As part of my discussion at the MFA conference – The Integrative Movement Solution to Chronic Pain and Degeneration – I briefly introduced and discussed the primary role of the psoas. And unfortunately, most of what we have been taught about the psoas is completely wrong! Or at least, it is woefully incomplete. For example:

1. The major functional role of the psoas is not hip flexion.
2. The psoas major is not even necessary to achieve full range of hip flexion.
3. In clients and patients with back pain, the psoas is not short and tight in the majority of these cases.
4. The Modified Thomas test is a relatively poor evaluator of psoas length.
5. Performing hip flexion under load is not the way to condition or ‘strengthen’ the psoas.

Check out the accompanying webinar to learn more about how this muscle functions and how to condition this important muscle.

Coming in the next edition of FITNESS INSIDER: In part II of The Most Important Method of Conditioning the Psoas, I will expand upon these concepts and show you how to specifically condition the psoas so you can solve many of your clients chronically tight back and dysfunctional hips. How will this information benefit you? It will enable you to continue to develop yourself into the specialist your clients need and want and get booked solid because you’ve become that specialist that our industry so desperately needs.

If you are looking for a coach to help you develop yourself into a movement specialist, we can help. We developed The Integrative Movement Specialist Certification specifically for the fitness professional that wants to distinguish themselves from the industry and become a part of the solution to the health care crisis. We are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2012 program. There are only 6 spots remaining for the opportunity to learn and share with 9 of your equally passionate and dedicated colleagues in a distinctively interactive and accelerated learning format. Click here to discover just a sample of the clinically relevant information you will discover during The Integrative Movement Specialist Certification.

Question:

• Do you train individuals that experience pain and impingement with overhead motion?
• Do you train clients that have poor scapular control during their pushing and pulling patterns? How about the client who has ‘clicking’ as they lower their arm from an overhead position?
• Do you use the cues of ‘pull your shoulder blades down and back’ when working with any of these clients I just asked you about?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions then this edition of Fitness Insider is for you! I am going to once again challenge your knowledge about shoulder stabilization and give you a strategy for improving scapular stabilization so you can develop your knowledge and skill-set and become a booked solid industry expert.

And I have included a video link below to show you two of the most effective exercises we use to improve scapular stabilization and train the rotator cuff as part of the corrective exercise component of the Integrative Movement System^TM.

What is the problem with most of our clients’ shoulders that create impingement issues in the first place?

1. 1. Downward rotation syndrome: Most clients with scapular instability have some component of downward rotation. This is most common when the downward rotators – pectoralis minor, levator scapula, and rhomboids – become the dominant scapular stabilizers in relation to the upward rotators – serratus anterior, upper and lower trapezius. This increases the likelihood of impingement syndromes both as the arm is going overhead and as the arm returns from an overhead position.

1. 2. Posterior rotation of scapula: The lack of posterior rotation of the shoulder complex – both at the clavicle (by the subclavius) and at the scapulo-thoracic articulation (by the serratus anterior and lower trapezius) – increases the likelihood of impingement syndromes. Again, with dominance of the downward rotators – which also tend to contribute to anterior scapular tilting – there is a lack of posterior scapular tilting which is necessary for stabilizing the scapula against the thorax and decreasing the potential for shoulder impingement. Inhibition of the posterior rotators by the scapula depressors and anterior tilters increases the likelihood for impingement syndromes.

1. 3. Improper cuing: Common cuing to improve poor scapular control such as ‘squeeze your shoulder blades down and back’ directly contribute the very problem they are trying to solve. The client with inhibition of the upward rotators and posterior tilters of the scapula generally have poor scapulo-thoracic awareness and therefore tend to pull their shoulder blades further into a depressed and downward rotated position. What should happen to optimally stabilize the scapulo-thoracic is that the scapula should wrap down (depress slightly) and around (upwardly rotate and posteriorly tilt) the thorax during functional patterns.

If you have not watch the video of the two patterns you may use to help improve function of the upward rotators and posterior tilters while simultaneously improving scapular depression.

CONCLUSION

• To improve scapular stability and decrease the likelihood for impingement, you must put the client into positions that activate the upward rotators and posterior tilters.
• To properly cue your clients with scapular dysfunction and or impingement issues, use cues such as ‘get long’ through your shoulders and ‘wrap your scapula down and around your thorax’ rather than ‘squeeze your shoulder blades down and back.’
• If you want to make a dramatic difference in the lives of your clients, if you want to book yourself solid, if you want to become part of the solution to the health care crisis, let us help. Make plans to join us in 2012 for the Integrative Movement Specialist^TM program and let us help you develop your expertise and confidence in becoming a movement specialist.

Coming Next Edition of FITNESS INSIDER: How to improve posture for improved core function

Helping You Think Bigger About Your Role as a Fitness Professional,

Evan Osar

I would like to challenge you to think about how you approach your new clients – both how you perform your intake and assessments as well as what exercises you choose to use with them – and help you develop your knowledge and skill-set so that you become a booked solid industry expert.

And I have included a video link below to show you one quick and easy assessment we use as part of the Integrative Movement System with all our clients.

The reasons I am presenting you with this challenge are simple: 1.   We are in the midst of a health crisis – both in the deterioration in the state of health of the majority of people in this country and the disproportionate amount of money spent within the health care system to treat disease and dysfunction. 2.   Because of cutbacks in certain sectors of the health field – rehabilitation being one of them – patients are being released from therapy way before their condition is fully resolved. And many don’t ever receive appropriate therapy for the underlying cause of their musculoskeletal dysfunction – faulty movement patterns. 3.   With the recent economic climate, individuals are having to cut back on their spending. And one area where they tend to cut back on their finances is with their health, fitness, and well being. Likely you know someone within the fitness industry, perhaps a friend or colleague, who has had his or her business affected in the past year or two by the recent economic changes. While these points may seem to point out a ‘doom and gloom’ scenario, they also present us with an incredible opportunity – that is, if you are dedicated to improving your skill set and marketing yourself as a movement specialist. There is an incredible opportunity to have more clients than you can handle and make a powerful impact in the lives of clients that need the expertise of a specialist. How? By becoming a movement specialist.  However, there is one catch…… You must want to work with challenging clients (and just to let you in on a secret, unless you are working with genetic freaks, they are all challenging) and dedicate yourself to understanding both the mechanics of injuries and how to improve movement. Here’s an example of what I am referring to: A client was recently referred to me from a physical therapist colleague of mine. Sheila was 2 months post-surgical from a torn right ACL and medial meniscus and had just been released from physical therapy by my colleague. Wanting to get back in shape she presented to a personal trainer at her health club. On the first session with her, he had her performing lunges on the BOSU. Subsequently, she had knee pain in her rehabbed knee for several days later. During her intake I asked if her trainer inquired about the exercises the physical therapist had been doing with her. She said he had not. I asked whether or not he had performed any kind of assessment on her. Again she replied he had not. I asked if he had taken into consideration the fact that she had two C-sections and was experiencing inhibition of her core that was affecting stability on her entire right side of her body. Once again, he had not. Unfortunately, this scenario is all-too-common in the fitness industry. And the more unfortunate thing is, this lackadaisical approach by many personal trainers (these individuals are not fitness professionals so I will refrain from including them in that category) are harming their clients and perpetuating many clients dysfunction while keeping their clients in a perpetual cycle of dysfunction. If you want to become part of the solution, you must develop yourself into a movement specialist and understand some basic principles of improving movement despite your client’s goals. Trying to get a client in shape, help them lose weight, or simply exercise without helping them develop the fundamental movement patterns can be likened to trying to run a marathon while never running for more than 10 miles during your training runs – it’s doomed to break you down once you get over 10 miles. We have to be more systematic about how we approach and work with our clients if we want to develop ourselves into the industry experts and be paid for that expertise. Here is one easy way to assess and clue your client to see where they are at with their lower extremity stability.  See below to see the video. CONCLUSION There are incredible opportunities out there to dramatically increase your business and make incredible amounts of money working with post-rehab clients or those recovering from injuries. To become that sought after specialist, you must develop yourself into an industry expert and understand both how to assess and design an appropriate program for these clients as they often do not respond to traditional approaches that work for athletes and higher performing individuals. If you want to make a dramatic difference in the lives of your clients, if you want to book yourself solid, if you want to become part of the solution to the health care crisis, we can help. Make plans to join us in 2012 for the Integrative Movement SpecialistÔ program and let us help you develop your expertise and confidence in become a movement specialist. If you wanted to purchase Complete Core Fitness by Mike Robertson for just $97.00 you will need to do so by Friday, October 9th. Mike has included a bonus I created a free 2 hour webinar I recently recorded on Complete Trunk Conditioning – For Sport, For Life. In this webinar, I will share with you; The three reasons your clients lose optimal trunk function – so you can help educate your clients as to why they develop poor movement patterns and experience chronic pain; Why stretching is not the best way to improve function – so that you can help your clients develop an improved stabilization strategy and not inhibit their progress through excessive stretching; Three quick and easy assessments of core function and length assessment of the anterior and posterior oblique chains – so that you can quickly, easily, and efficiently assess your client’s trunk function and show them how your corrective strategy can have immediate impact on their range of motion; The key to improving overall function and efficiency in the body – so that your clients can restore the inherent function of their core and limit compensatory stabilization strategies; Ways to use unilateral and alternating pushing and pulling patterns to drive thoracic motion – so that you can add functional progressions to your clients program and make their patterns life or sport specific. Click Here to Visit Mike Roberston’s site and learn more about how to obtain your copy of Complete Core Fitness and all the free bonuses including my 2 hour webinar. Helping You Think Bigger About Your Role as a Fitness Professional, Evan Osar P.S. Coming Next Edition of FITNESS INSIDER: Improving Scapular Depression

Given the testimonials we have received from the first two IMS Teams we know there are many reasons to become IMS certified.  We would like to share 9 really good reasons.

#1.  80 hours of in class, hands on time over 4 weekends with you, Evan Osar and no more than 9 other colleagues.

#2.  Spending time, learning and networking with 9 other like minded and passionate professionals.

…For the next 7 reasons worth over $5700.00 in free services and products given to IMS Team members click here now…

We hope to see you in Chicago,  September 16th-18th at the Integrative Movement Specialist Certification Module #1.

Check out our Risk Free-Money Back Guarantee, too.

If, for some reason we are not going to see you, let us know why.

Thanks and take care,

Evan Osar

So we have done just that.

We have created THREE CONTENT PACKED videos really putting together the three principles of:

• Normalizing Respiration
• Joint Centration
• Integration of Movement

We have broken down each module into specific areas, Core, Shoulder, Hips.
For those of you that have been waiting to see how to put these training concepts together when looking at specific areas of the body you will not want to miss these videos.

Two things you need to know about this training:
1.  Because the videos are longer they are not available on You Tube and you will have to sign in with your email address to receive access. Be sure you use an email address you check often as you will be notified via that email when the next training is available. Once you sign in you will receive instant access to the first video. Then over the next 7-14 days watch your inbox for the next two videos.

2.  Next and most important….this video training will only be available for a limited time, so sign up, watch the first video, ask questions, leave comments and watch your inbox for the next 7-14 days for access to the next two modules. Don’t wait to watch them as they will only be available for a LIMITED TIME!
Alright so let’s get started.

>>Click Here Now to Sign In and Get IMMEDIATE ACCESS to the training.<<

Helping You Think Bigger About Your Role as A Fitness Professional,

Evan Osar
www.fitnesseducationseminars.com

We’ve been talking about fascia – not just because it’s the hot new buzz word in the industry, but because recent research has shed light on this remarkable tissue and just how integral it is to our posture and function.

If you missed part one of Fascia and Fitness, check it out here.

If you saw it and are ready for part II, click on the video below.

Coming next time at Fitness Insider: Fascia and Fitness – Improving Fascial Function – Part III

Helping You Think Bigger of Your Role as a Fitness Professional,

Evan Osar

If I were to ask you what structure literally touches every single cell, blood vessel, nerve, muscle and even our brain, what would you answer? If you answered fascia, you would be correct. As ‘core’ training was all the rage about a decade ago, fascia has quickly replaced it as the hot topic in the fitness industry.

Over the 3 editions of Fitness Insider, I will take you through a brief tutorial about fascia, its’ function and relation to our client’s health, what goes wrong with the fascial system, and end up by discussing the 3 things you must encourage your clients to do to achieve optimal fascial health.

Without further adieu, on to the tutorial…

Coming next time at Fitness Insider: Fascia and Fitness – What You Need to Know – Part II

Helping You Think Bigger of Your Role as Fitness Professional,

Evan Osar

If you missed our previous videos on why crunches directly lead to low back, check it out here. If you saw it and were wondering what some alternatives are to crunches, sit ups, and leg lifts or what we do with our clients to train their abs, then this video is for you.

There are really no secrets. Just follow the basic principles:

1. Teach your client how to breathe and stabilize their thoracopelvic canister.
2. Teach them how to control neutral spine and achieve a long spine.
3. Progress them through the fundamental movement patterns.

It’s that simple. There are no secret strategies or exercises. Train the abdominals in the manner is which they are designed to function:

ü     In their role in developing intra-abdominal pressure and TPC stabilization;

ü     In their role in stabilizing the thorax over the pelvis;

ü     In their role in stabilizing the pelvis under the thorax;

ü     In the their role as trunk rotators.

Once I prove to clients and patients that performing crunches and similar exercises can actually de-stabilize their spine, they wonder what they can do to ‘strengthen’ their abs. And the question we are routinely asked is ‘does this approach really work?’ As one of my long-time clients recently commented to me – “We haven’t done one ‘ab’ exercise in over a year and I have six pack abs. I really don’ t understand it but it works.”

Check out this video below in which I demonstrate an example of one of the circuits we would use with our clients that have been progressed through breathing, activation, and the fundamental movement patterns. After a proper warm-up of breathing and activation, I would have my client perform a set of 10-20 repetitions of each of the exercises and then rest for 60 seconds and repeat it 2-3 more times.  Just an FYI Jenice picked out the music, feel free to mute.

Coming next edition of FITNESS INSIDER: Fascia and Fitness – What You Need to Know

Speaking of summer weather and being able to finally get outside, kids will be increasing their physical activity whether it is backyard fun or participating in organized sporting activities. While popular on the east coast, one of the fastest growing sporting activities here in the Midwest is lacrosse.

In fact, I just finished seeing a 10 year-old boy who is lacrosse player. His mother brought him to see me after he had been complaining about bilateral shoulder pain. While describing his workout regime, he reported that the coach had the team performing deadlifts, medicine ball overhead throws, among other resistance exercises one time per week. While the pain didn’t occur during the activity, he did experience pain after each session.

Upon evaluation, he demonstrated poor static and dynamic scapular control – the classic downward rotation and poor eccentric control. During a set of 5 push ups, his right scapula was completely off his thorax upon his set up and got progressively less stable with each repetition. He tested weak in most upper extremity muscle testing bilaterally with pain on many of them – his right side was more significant than his left. Not so ironically, he dislocated his right shoulder as a young child.

Here’s my question to you – should this youth athlete be doing resistive training, i.e. lifting weights? Is there any resisted exercise he can do with a loaded barbell or medicine ball that will improve his scapular stability or eccentric control when he can’t control it statically or during a simple push up?

The debate here is not whether or not children should lift weights – it is whether or not the youth athlete that is being asked to lift the weight is even stable enough to perform the assigned tasks.

Can children lift weights?

Sure they can – Faigenbaum and Westcott are two respected industry leaders that promote the benefits of resistance training for youths. But they should do so only after they have earned the right by demonstrating proper posture and ideal movement patterns. Because loading up dysfunctional posture and stability – as happened to my patient and many kids like him – will only lead to perpetuation of dysfunctional patterns.

If you work with kids, do your due diligence and build fundamental stabilization and movement patterns first. If you are looking for a great resource, check out the International Youth and Conditioning Association - http://iyca.org/. They are the leading experts and resource for developing youth athletes. Their annual 2011 summit is coming up this summer so if you work with athletes, they have an all-star line up for this year’s event.

If you are looking to develop your adult clientele that present with stabilization and movement dysfunction, then plan on joining us at the Integrated Movement Specialis intensive beginning this fall. Discover how to evaluate your clients for movement dysfunction, quickly and efficiently correct stabilization issues, and progress them appropriately to help them accomplish their health and fitness goals. Our next team if forming in September 2011 - click here now to discover more about the program and see if you are a good fit to be an IMS Specialist.

Coming Next Edition of FITNESS INSIDER: Improving fascial fitness: fad or functional?

Helping You Think Bigger of Your Role as a Fitness Professional,
Dr. Evan Osar

• Can the pigeon stretch create hypermobility of the hip?
  • Yes – if performed in clients that don’t have posterior hip capsule tightness.
• Does the pigeon stretch contribute to femoracetabular (hip) impingement?
  • No – because it is performed with external rotation not internal rotation.
• Does stretching the posterior hip lead to instability?
  • It can if it is not followed up with an appropriate activation strategy.
• Can you perform this stretch with clients that have had hip replacements and/or are post-surgical?
  • It is best to avoid stretching or mobilization in client’s that have a hip replacement and/or are post-surgical unless specifically recommended by their their health professional.

I shot a quick video to expand upon these questions for you:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and keep the questions coming.

Coming next edition of Fitness Insider:  Training the Fascial System-Fad or Functional?

Helping You Think Bigger of Your Role as a Fitness Professional,

Dr. Evan Osar

Tightness is the body’s compensation for instability!

Simply massaging, manipulating, or stretching tightness can potentially set the client up with increased problems if they are not taught how to re-stabilize the region. Check out the following video on how to instruct your client to use their hips in a more optimal manner during functional patterns.

CONCLUSION

Piriformis tightness is a common condition with varied etiologies and manifestations in our clientele. The important thing to remember when dealing with chronic issues is this – tightness is always indicative of dysfunction and/or learned behavior. As movement specialists, it is our responsibility to discover the cause of our client’s tightness as well as provide our clients with a solution to improving their stabilization. If we can consistently do this, we will be that go-to resource and specialist our clients need as well as be an integral part of their health care team.

If you want to gain even greater perspective and develop yourself as a specialist, consider joining our team of Integrative Movement SpecialistsÔ. Our next team is forming in September and we only have 6 spots remaining. We would love the opportunity to serve you and help you become that specialist your client’s want and need.

Coming next edition of FITNESS INSIDER: Training the Fascial System – Fad or Functional?

Helping you think bigger of role as a fitness professional,

Evan Osar