Often when people first start to experiment with wide pushups, they experience one of two things: either they have shoulder pain, or someone tells them that they should stop doing wide push ups because they’ll end up injured.

Does this mean wide push ups bad for you? 

No. Wide pushups are not bad for you when done correctly. The discomfort you may feel doesn’t mean wide grip pushups are unsafe. Wide grip push-ups can actually be GOOD for you if you do them correctly. Just like lifting heavy objects is not inherently bad for you, and in fact, can be beneficial and good for you when proper form is in place.

How do you do wide push ups properly?

Controlling your shoulder blades can help your shoulders move effectively and...

This is Part 2 in a series. If you want a more detailed understanding of WHY you have trouble getting up out of a chair, check out Part 1 here. 

A quick summary of why it's hard to get up from a chair

Long periods of sitting train your muscles into the sitting position. Standing requires those muscles to do something totally different. 

To help your body relearn how to stand (and with less of that creaky transition time), you need to give your body the right exercises. 

Let's show you a few simple ones right now! 

A simple exercise routine to help you get out of your chair

If you haven't done any exercise at all in years, you may only be able to do this full routine twice a week. But you...

These days, a lot of people feel like it's hard to stand up after long periods of sitting. 

You're at the office, working on a report for a few hours, and you go to get something from the printer. When you try to stand, you feel like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz getting out of your seat. 

You've been sitting at the dining table for twenty minutes. You go to stand up, and it's like your legs don't work anymore. 

What's going on here? And how do you fix it? 

In this article, we're going to look at WHY you have trouble getting up out of a chair and in part 2, we'll give you some simple exercises you can use to improve your body's strength and mobility gradually and safely.

Is getting up out of a...

Introduction to Joint Injections for Pain Relief 

Steroid injections are becoming as common as advil these days to treat joint pain. Doctors offer steroid injections to people suffering with hip, shoulder, knee, back and other joint pain as a way to relieve pain. Some swear by it and some feel absolutely nothing afterwards. 

Up until recently, these joint injections were thought to be low risk with nearly no side effects.  However, a recent study from the medical journal, Radiology, calls into question the safety of injections for joint pain

Let’s take a closer look at this study on steroid injections and what it means for you. The study found four main negative effects from steroid injections, and we will...

Your deep squat sucks.

You keep finding yourself stuck with your hips way above your knees. No matter how many times you try to go deeper, it just feels like you're stuck. 

Your trainer or a P.T. might have said, "it's because your bones aren't made for squatting." You may have read this on the internet and been convinced that you're a genetic freak and cannot squat deep. 

Maybe you did a test online, and now you think it's definitive. You aren't a natural born squatter.

Let's dive into deep squats and show you a few things that will help  you squat deeper - regardless of your bone shape.

Billions of people eat their lunch in a deep squat every single day.

Hip mobility and deep squats

Let's talk about what your...

You're pregnant. Your belly is bigger than you ever imagined, and your abdominals no longer work. At all. They're too stretched out.

It turns so bad to roll over in bed...

Is it even possible to roll over in bed without using your abs? Yes, yes it is!

How to roll over in bed during pregnancy

Let's cut straight to the chase. The video below shows you clear instructions on how to roll over in bed in your third trimester.

Got it? Good!

Problems rolling over in bed like this?

Note that if you're doing this in a small bed, you may need to the movement.

If you find that you don't have enough room in your bed to roll as shown in the video here's the trick. Push your foot harder into the bed to lift your butt/hips off the bed, and shift your...

You just want a good night's sleep.

Maybe your bed is super old. 

Maybe you're 99% sure that your current bed is contributing to your back pain, hip pain, or shoulder pain. 

As you start navigating the many options of beds, you realize that you have to choose a mattress firmness. Soft vs. firm? Medium? 

What's the difference?! 

This video will explain how to choose the right mattress firmness for your particular style of sleeping. And it'll cover key aspects to consider if you have back pain, shoulder pain, or hip pain. 

This video is based on years of experience with different beds contributing to or causing me all kinds of aches and pains. 

I also talk about how much money I'm willing to spend on a...

These days, a lot of us travel for work. Business consultants, software engineers, and even trainers like me find ourselves working in coffee shops, restaurants, and hotel rooms on our laptops. So when you’re on the go, how can you make your workstation as ergonomic as possible? In this article, we’ll talk about 3 quick tips to help you create an ergonomic workstation while traveling.

If you’d like a video walkthrough of what I use to create an ergonomic workstation when I’m traveling, check out this video. 

Ergonomic workstation tip #1: Use a separate mouse

I pack a wired Sharkk mouse to keep my hand,     
wrist, and shoulder happy.

Using the trackpad on a laptop keyboard forces...

Normal life makes you unhealthy

This morning I had a REAL conversation with a client.  She's been digging into understanding and exploring her body.  She's asking the right questions and putting in the work.  This brought her to a very interesting conclusion that she was excited - as well as distraught - to share with me.

"I realize that everything in my life is set up for my body to fail me."

What she meant:  "my environment and lifestyle don't promote the health of my body."

She was not saying that she has been choosing an unhealthy lifestyle... She was saying that most of her everyday activities - her "normal behaviors" - are unhealthy for her body

Huge difference.

She wasn't choosing anything; her lifestyle...

If you’ve ever had aches and pains in your neck and shoulders, you have probably been told that you need to get a massage. When that doesn’t seem to provide long-term relief for you or you get tired of constantly getting a massage, you may be referred to some kind of specialist in myofascial release to get really “deep” massage work. But is this always the answer? Is more pressure or more bodywork always the answer to chronic pain?

[This article was written when I was still doing massage and bodywork as a Rolfer. I no longer do that kind of work and focus on showing people how proper exercise can solve their aches and pains without needing constant massage sessions. You can read more about how to fix tense...