Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

Welcome to Episode 57 of the Movement Logic podcast. In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss the fact that lifting heavy is not automatically a strength sport and that more people would feel invited to lift heavy if the media didn’t fixate so much on barbells as equipment for large, young, competitive male lifters and instead represented people that look more like everyone else and shared goals beyond competitive ones.You will learn: The difference between powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, body-building, and lifting heavy weights. Why large, young men are over-represented in the media’s depiction of lifting heavy weights, and how this has been a deterrent to other groups of people (especially older women) who potentially have more to gain from lifting heavy weights than large, young men do. How competitive athletes often have to take their training to extreme levels, but how everyone else who wants to see enormous benefits to their health can train with a far more moderate approach. Sarah and Laurel’s first impression of lifting heavy weights growing up. How being an elite athlete can often mean sacrificing non-insignificant aspects of health. How when women start lifting weights they also start saying no to toxic bullshit in their lives. Risk of injury is often higher amongst more experienced/elite lifters. How women’s fear of getting “bulky” is understandable given that in our patriarchal society, women are often rewarded for a small and thin appearance. Ironically lifting heavy, despite what conventional wisdom might have us believe, is not typically the best way to bulk up. Everyone assumes that old age means getting frail, gaining weight, and becoming less capable, but it absolutely does not need to. Standing up out of a chair becomes a non-issue if older people are regularly squatting heavy.Sign up for our Bone Density Course: Lift for Longevity before the October 8th deadline!A 4-Year Analysis of the Incidence of Injuries Among CrossFit-Trained ParticipantsEpisode 1: Movement vs Exercise vs SportEpisode 16: Training the Non-Traditional Athlete with Rosalyn Mayse, AKA Roz the DivaEpisode 45: Injury and Safety in Strength and YogaEpisode 11: Let's Stop Fragilifying Older People AlreadyDoes Menopause Cause Weight Gain?

Welcome to Episode 56 of the Movement Logic podcast. In this episode, Sarah is talking about hypermobility, and what if any connection exists between hypermobility and osteoporosis.You will learn: Hypermobility, EDS, and Marfan’s Syndrome, explained Is there any agreement in the research around hypermobility and osteoporosis Why research quality always matters when we’re trying to determine a connection between conditions What does ‘statistically significant’ mean and why it matters for research What criteria matter when we’re looking at research studies Why hypermobile people should be lifting heavy weights, regardless of what the research showsAlison Lloyd InstagramPrevalence of generalized joint hypermobility, musculoskeletal injuries, and chronic musculoskeletal pain among American university studentsBeighton ScaleHospital Del Mar ScaleEhlers-Danlos SocietyThe Marfan FoundationHypermobility syndrome increases the risk for low bone massThe Relationship of Joint Hypermobility, Bone Mineral Density, and Osteoarthritis in the General Population:The Chingford StudyUltrasonographic, axial, and peripheral measurements in female patients with benign hypermobility syndromeBone Disease in Patients with Ehlers-Danlos SyndromesSign up for our Bone Density Course: Lift for Longevity before the October 8th deadline!

Welcome to Episode 55 of the Movement Logic podcast. In this episode, Laurel answers two questions that she gets regularly from folks online. They are: How can I get started with strength training? And, how can I “learn more about” strength training? Spoiler: the best way to get started with strength training (the doing and the teaching) is by…wait for it…strength training!In this episode you will learn: The three most important elements of strength training—exercise technique, programming, and coaching. Why yoga and Pilates teachers are already generally well-versed in exercise technique, but without the added component of external load and the goal of strength. Yoga and Pilates teachers are typically not well-versed in programming, which is how we apply the principle of progressive overload to work toward building strength. Coaching is key for deep understanding of both exercise technique and programming. Laurel’s evolution from teaching yoga to becoming a strength coach. The plusses, minuses and trade-offs of DIY program templates, group classes, one-on-ones, and more. How yoga and Pilates teachers are accustomed to learning in a live, follow along format, and given then, how it can be a rude awakening to discover that programs in strength are often delivered in PDF format and personal trainer certifications mostly ask you to read a textbook and pass a test. Why personal trainer certifications do not provide very much practical know-how for how to be a personal trainer. How the Bone Density Course: Lift for Longevity delivers on the three most important elements of getting started with strength and learning about strength training—exercise technique, programming, and coaching. How the CSCS is widely considered the gold standard of personal trainer certifications but that it almost exclusively caters to competitive athletes (who make up a fraction of people who resistance train.) How being a dedicated student of the thing you eventually want to teach is the most valuable way to prepare yourself to actually teach something. How strength is defined, the systems in the body involved, and what the main adaptations (or changes) to your body are when you build strength. That we can be strong in many ways,so it’s helpful to have a specific performance goal. Why specific, performance goals are the best way to reach health and aesthetic goals.Sign up for our free info session all about our Bone Density Course: Lift for Longevity Thursday, Sep. 22nd 12 PT/ 3 ETSign up for our Bone Density Course: Lift for Longevity before the October 8th deadline! We won’t be offering this for another year.The NSCA textbook is used to study for the CSCS - Essentials of Strength and ConditioningEffect of Online Home-Based Resistance Exercise Training on Physical Fitness, Depression, Stress…Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms…

Welcome to Season 3 and Episode 54 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss dogmatic beliefs and myths around the lower back, upper back, and neck from the yoga, Pilates, and strength training worlds. You will learn: That the spine is made up of over 360 joints so maybe we should move it in all the ways (instead of keep it neutral all the time). That people are really bad at determining what position the spine is in just by observing (says research). That movement variety and movement preparation > “fixing” someone's alignment in a movement. Most yoga teachers never learn how to help their students progressively overload the strength they'd need to actually do the poses they teach. Pain causes people to adopt certain postures, but then what happens is people often flip this in their mind and say that it's the person's suboptimal posture that caused them the pain. Posture neither causes nor predicts pain (says science.) Lumbar flexion is demonized while sitting (don’t schlump) or bending forward (don’t round your back!) but research has been unable to connect flexing the lumbar spine in these scenarios with low back pain or injury. Deadlifting and squatting have been fearmongered to people who flex their lumbar spines in these exercises, but laboratory equipment has shown that even when it looks like someone has a neutral spine in these exercises, their lumbar spine is actually quite flexed. Any exercise is better than no exercise for low back pain, but no particular exercise is better than any other for low back pain. Why thoracic/upper back “hyper” kyphosis (a rounded upper back) is not a pathology. That back-bending is probably just flat bending in the thoracic spine. That “tech neck” does not predict neck pain. The neck is not a crane, and so we cannot apply the same physics to predict how a forward neck will respond to holding the load of the head forward of the body that we’d use to predict how a crane will respond to holding a load forward of its foundation. People who force their necks to be neutral have more pain than people with tech neck posture.Sign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replayResearch mentioned in this episode:Spinal Degeneration in Asymptomatic PopulationsIntervertebral disc herniation: studies on a porcine modelTo flex or not to flex? Is there a relationship between lumbar spine flexion during lifting and low back pain?Arthrogenic neuromusculature inhibition: A foundational investigation of existence in the hip jointEffects of load on good morning kinematics and EMG activityPosture and time spent using a smartphone are not correlated with neck painIs neck posture subgroup in late adolescence a risk factor for persistent neck pain in young adults?

Welcome to Episode 53 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Sarah and Laurel dissect a few research papers that studied the effects of various rest periods between loading bone, and how these rest periods can impact the efficacy of our bone density building.You will learn: Osteoblasts and osteoclasts, defined Why bone building reminds Sarah of Fraggle Rock What does your bones’ mechanosensitivity have to do with its response to load Why bone cells remind Laurel of herself (they’re easily bored) What parameters create an osteogenic response in bone cells Why yoga, Pilates, and other bodyweight exercise will never be enough to generate progressive bone building What makes a good study (hint: having a control group matters) What is cellular accommodation and why does it rely on path dependence Where bones get the most input for the changes they make How do we take advantage of periodization and programming for greatest effect What is a training block and how should you use it for your workoutsSign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replayCellular accommodation and the response of bone to mechanical loadingMechanosensitivity of the rat skeleton decreases after a long period of loading, but is improved with time offRecovery periods restore mechanosensitivity to dynamically loaded bone

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 52 of the Movement Logic podcast. In this episode, Laurel and Sarah are joined by seven other guests for a panoramic, multi-perspective answer to the question “why don't more women lift weights?” Our seven guests (all of whom are movement professionals) weigh in on their previous objections to strength training. Of course they also share their impetus for starting to lift, and how it changed their lives.Sign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replay.Sign up here for our Free Barbell Mini-Course + our Free Barbell Equipment GuideOur guests on Instagram:Maryann Thompson @maryannthomsonpilatesDiana Romero @insprana.yogaNaomi Gottlieb-Miller @conscioushealthymamaLisa Schwarcz Zlotnick @lisazlotnickKathy Dodd @kdnaturalyogaTrina Altman @trinaaltmanAlex Ellis on Instagram @hollaformala on Tik Tok @aewellnessEpisode 47: Our Oopsie Stories from the Teaching TrenchesSarah’s barbell equipment Post 1 and Post 2 on InstagramBooks about fitness culture:Deconstructing the Fitness-Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What It Means to Be Fit in American CultureButts: A BackstoryFit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession

Welcome to Episode 51 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss myths around osteoporosis and osteopenia, including why yoga and Pilates are poor choices for bone building (yes, we’ll talk about THAT study, again) and ultimately how weight training and impact training are both safe options when applied with the proper dosage and programming.You will learn: Osteoporosis and osteopenia, defined Why so many people with osteoporosis are afraid of falling What the fear-mongering messaging around osteoporosis is disempowering people with osteoporosis Why strength training is not only tolerable for people with osteoporosis, it’s essential How no progressive overload in weight training is like staying in kindergarten forever Why the myth that yoga reverses osteoporosis from the Fishman study prevails to this day, and why this is proof that we need to keep a critical eye about research Why the Fishman paper does not prove what it claims to prove How yoga asana might help bone density for a very short time, but strength and impact training are your best bets overall What is cellular accommodation and what does it mean for your bone density building Types of movement classes for osteoporosis and their respective claims around their safety and efficacy Is Osteosteong a good choice to build bone density? Do Osteostrong’s claims match up with what research has found so far?And more!Sign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replayEpisode 5 Does Yoga Asana Build Bone Density?Episode 38 Got Bones? Yoga Asana Isn’t EnoughTwelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Losshttps://osteostrongla.com/BonES Lab at University of Waterloo Video Questions Efficacy of Osteostrong ProgramIs OSTEOSTRONG Misleading Vulnerable People Regarding Claims of High Increases in Bone Density?High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial

In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss bracing and breathing. Why are we all so confused about our breathing mechanics and convinced we’re doing it wrong, no matter what we’re doing? When is the right (and wrong) time to brace when lifting something? What’s the difference between bracing and bearing down? And is navel to spine even doing what we think it’s doing?You will learn: Is there a right and a wrong way to breathe How social media influences our sense of right and wrong breathing Breathing vs bracing in yoga, Pilates, and strength training Common postural tension that can impact breathing Sarah’s favorite injury How Sarah teaches breathing in the clinic Anatomy of breathing What bracing for a heavy lift actually entails (hint: it’s not bearing down) When to use bracing in strength training The value of trunk stability and what navel to spine is actually doing Whether pranayama techniques should be done all the time How to cue diaphragmatic breathing Whether pranayama is the most efficient way to challenge the cardiovascular system and increase breath capacityAnd more!Sign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th 10am PT/1pm ET with 30 day replaySeason 1 Episode 10 Is there a Right and a Wrong Way to Breathe?Season 1 Episode 19 Oh NO! Nose Breathing and Nitric OxideEmail Apnea article

Welcome to Season 3 and Episode 49 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss the common tendency for people (not just women) to under load when lifting weights to build muscle and strength. In fact, it’s likely a slight majority of people in the gym are either not lifting heavy enough or taking sets close enough to failure to make changes to their muscle mass or strength!You will learn: If left to their own devices, the average lifter gravitates toward sets of 10 with 50-55% of a 1 repetition max, which would not be stimulating enough to make a change to muscle mass or hypertrophy. That research has shown people are likely to leave too many reps in reserve (ending the set too soon) and why this will not make your muscles bigger or your body stronger. That research has shown that a slight majority of people select weights that are too light for a given rep range and why this will not make your muscles bigger or your body stronger. That if a slight majority of people with access to a fully equipped gym are prone to underloading, then people working out at home with more limited equipment might be even more prone to underloading. How heavy, moderate, and light loads are defined according to exercise science. A working definition of “serious lifters” which is people who track their workouts and correctly apply the principle of progressive overload to their training protocol. AKA, people who see results from their training! How laundry detergent can explain why people are so stuck on doing 3 sets of 10. How strength training is a lot like yoga in that it is literally ALL about listening to your body. How feelings can explain the tendency to underload, like avoiding feelings of discomfort or avoiding feeling embarrassed if you cannot lift a weight successfully. Getting close to failure is key for success in strength training. That healthy boundaries for women includes learning your no, but also learning your yes, especially when it comes to saying yes to loading sufficiently to build muscular strength and bone density.Sign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replayArticle by Stronger By Science - Most Lifters Train Too LightSelf-Selected Resistance Exercise Load: Implications for Research and PrescriptionAre Trainees Lifting Heavy Enough? Self-Selected Loads in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysisEpisode 32: Load & Volume: When is Enough Enough? When is it Too Much?Episode 39: RPE, 1 RM, 3 sets of 10, oh my?

Welcome to Season 3 and Episode 48 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss dogmatic beliefs and myths around the pelvis from the yoga, Pilates, and strength training worlds. We also discuss how correlating pelvic position with safety or pain is not backed by research, and thus what value teaching pelvic alignment may or may not have.You will learn: Natural variations on the AFAB and AMAB pelvises How there’s a variety of ideas on where neutral pelvis is, which tells us that nobody knows what a neutral pelvis actually is That anterior pelvic tilt is not a pathology and we need to stop acting like it is Alignment cueing has value - let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater What place does mula bandha have in our pelvis Literally, where is mula bandha as there seems to be no agreement Is “butt wink” a bad thing or an inevitable thing? What does “navel to spine” actually do to the pelvis Ultimately, how should we be thinking about our students’ pelvic alignment and how much do we need to be doing about itSign up here for the Live Strength Training Webinar on Sept 14th with 30 day replayLaurel's Body of Knowledge CourseMovement Logic Hip and SI Joint TutorialMovement Logic Pelvic Floor Tutorial4 Types of AFAB PelvisPaul Grilley Bone ImagesIG post comparing Sarah and Laurel’s internal and external hip rotation Matthew Remski’s  Practice And All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, And Healing In Yoga And Beyond uncovers rape and sexual assault by Ashtanga Yoga’s creator Pattahbi Jois on his teachers and studentsStudy showing 75-85% of people have anterior pelvic tilt and no painAnterior tilt not correlated with low back painLumbar lordosis not correlated with low back pain