By Dr. Steve Gangemi In the final part of SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Stretching as Warm-Up and Injury Prevention. Stretching should not be the sole activity performed during a warm-up before or cool-down after your movement (or exercise) program. Should it be a part of your routine at all? Most of us…
Category: Strength & Mobility
Yoga Flexibility, Yoga Stretching, & Mobility
By Dr. Steve Gangemi Continuing our 4 part SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Flexibility, Fascia, and Your Nervous System. Contrary to popular belief, yoga is not Sanskrit for stretching. It actually means to join or unite, and it is a combined spiritual, mental, and physical practice. Assuredly, most yoga poses do focus on flexibility…
Flexibility, Fascia, and Your Nervous System
By Dr. Steve Gangemi Continuing our 4 part SockDoc Stop Mindless Stretching series, we focus now on Flexibility, Fascia, and Your Nervous System. Flexibility might be the ability of a joint to bend through its full range of motion, but in actuality, it’s the reflection of your nervous system and not simply the more you can…
Stop Mindless Stretching and Move With a Purpose:
By Dr. Steve Gangemi In this 4 part SockDoc series, you’ll learn the advantages of movement, the myths of flexibility, the confusion over stretching, and the perils of being misinformed about such a controversial topic. What truly makes you flexible? Should you ever stretch? PART I: Move With a Purpose: Stop Mindless Stretching – Stretching…
Four Yoga Poses Every Runner Should Know
by Charlotte Clews. Stretching won’t do much for your speed, and flexibility alone won’t make you less prone to injury but that doesn’t mean you should never stretch. While it’s true that a perfectly aligned human body moving in a natural environment should be able to maintain good muscular balance without any additive stretch or…
Got Glutes?, Part Three: How Runners Can Further Increase Power and Performance by Having “Smart Behinds”
This instructional article/video is part 3 of a 3-part series. See part 1 and part 2 here with video. We hope that your glutes will enjoy becoming smarter. And why is that? As was explained in part 1, runners often have under-performing glutes that can lead to big trouble. When your behind is slow and…
Got Glutes?, Part Two: How Runners Can Further Increase Power and Performance by Having “Smart Behinds”
This instructional article is part 2 of a 3-part series. See part 1 here with video. We hope that your glutes will enjoy becoming smarter. And why is that? As was explained in part 1, runners often have under-performing glutes that can lead to big trouble. When our behinds are slow and fail to do…
Got Glutes? How Runners Can Increase Power and Performance by Having “Smart Behinds”
by Jeniffer Pilotti, M.S and Sarah Young, M.S. –Runners might not like to admit it but most of them have under-performing glutes. When they get left behind in a race or workout by faster runners, the likely culprit is often their inefficient glutes! In other words, many runners have stupid glutes, or to use a more polite term,…
A Flawless Demonstration of Proprioception
*** The balance beam is one of women’s gymnastics toughest and most difficult events. There is almost zero margin for error. As we have seen in the London Olympics, even the most talented gymnasts often slip, stumble, or fall off the narrow wooden beam. But the balance beam is more than just about maintaining one’s…
Video: Runners, Are You Ready to Go Minimal?
The April 2012 issue of Running Times, in part, was an homage to a bygone era…the late 70’s when shoes were flat, thin-soled, and non-bulky. Moreover, the cover recreated the iconic image and cover pose of Jim Fixx’s “The Complete Book of Running,” which came out in 1977 and eventually sold over one million copies….
Stability and Mobility Video for Healthier Natural Running
I’ve often heard it said that you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe. The phrase seemingly dates to naval warfare from the 1800s, but the expression has been popular with fitness instructors and personal trainers who maintain that to “fire a cannon” (build strong arms and legs) you can’t do it from “a canoe…
Take the Stability Test — Practice Standing on One Leg
As we “comfortably” situate ourselves into the off-season, reducing our training mileage and racing, this is an ideal time to work on balance and form. A runner will typically average 1,200 steps a mile on one foot. And the gravity force on the body structure is 2.5 times the body weight with each step in…
Hip Extension Drills for Better Joint Mobility
by Dr. Mark Cucuzzella. This is a nice stretch for hip extension which critical joint mobility for efficient running. Most of us sit all day which shortens the iliacus, psoas, and hip flexor mechanism. To run with efficient elastic recoil, the upper leg most be able to extend behind the hips and naturally recoil forward. Notice…
Should Runners Stretch Before Running?
Why is the running community so divided on this topic? Your junior high gym teacher probably required you to do a series of stretches at the beginning of each class. These exercises might have included toe touches and hamstring stretches. Proper form was usually neglected. But did these exercises actually warm up your muscles and…