Every September a couple of my good friends host a running challenge, you can choose between 50,100 and 150km. I went for it this year at 150 and am committed to doing it all pain free. My 4 go to exercises to keep me feeling good with the extra milage are as follows: Hamstring to Ankle Rock 2x8 Worlds Greatest Stretch 2x4 Front Back Swings 2x15 Side to Side Swings 2x15 I do that before each running session and so far so good. If you have your own pre or post running exercise that you like to do I'd love to hear about them below!

Let's break it down simply. - majority of shoulder and upper back pain is coming from a compensation patter from repeating the same movement all day long and not moving through a full range of motion (think desk worker, truck driver, electrician, etc.) - OR you have chronic pain from an old injury which isn't so different in the sense that you have a compensation pattern and likely don't take your shoulder through a full range of motion regularly you just also have an injury on top of it. So what's the solution? The opposite of where you are currently at - getting more movement into the shoulder. Now there are about a million and one corrective exercises, stretches, soft tissue releases and mobility exercises you can do for this. AND guess what - typically, assuming you pick the right one they work. BUT you don't necessarily do them do you? Drop a comment if you are guilty of not doing prescribed homework from a physio, chiro, acupuncturist. doctor etc. This is where the steel club comes in - its really fucking fun to play around with. It's literally that simple why its such a good tool. Ok there is technically more to it and why it's so good but for the depth most people need to understand is IT WORKS and IT"S SOMETHING YOU"LL ACTUALLY DO It takes about 5 minutes to go through a full shoulder routine that's really simple and can be scaled from your grandma to your jacked cousin Bob. When you look at the routine you see it takes the shoulder through a VERY full range of motion in multiple directions which is perfect for freeing the shoulder up, and because there's just a bit of weight (you don't really want it heavy for rehab) it will also clean up the weaknesses you have in your shoulder. If you want to see a video of the full routine I go through jump on my FB live tomorrow at 5 PM MST Here's my FB profile link and I will add the recorded link after in case you miss it!

This is exactly what I used when I didn't have access to a gym or any home equipment to help me prepare for an 8 day hike. It will be a great program for anyone with: - knee pain - hip pain - back pain - struggles with balance and stability - hikers who want to be stronger and worry less about injuries Comment below with anything you would change. DAILY CORRECTIVES/ MOBILITY Cat Cow Quadruped Thoracic Rotations TFL Lacrosse Ball Release Couch Stretch Pigeon Pose Hamstring Lockouts QL Ball Release Windmill Stretch Sissy Squats 2x10 Tibialis Anterior Raises 2x50 *1-2 minutes each per side DAY A Skipping 5 min Unloaded Turkish Get Up 2x10 Glute Bridge 2x10 7 Way Hips 2x10 Push Up 2x AMRAP Bench Dips 2x AMRAP Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat 2x25 Hip Airplanes 2x8 Dead Bug 2x15 Front Plank 2x1 min Tibialis Anterior Raises 2x50 Skipping 5 min DAY B Skipping 5 min Tripod Transitions 2x15 Bird Dog 2x15 Standing Glute Band March 2x15 Push Up to Down Dog 2 AMRAP Body Weight Squat 4x25 Single Leg RDL 4x10 Box Step Up 2x15 Around The World Toe Taps 2x10 Skipping 5 min SCHEDULE Run: Mon, Wed Friday Workout: Tuesday, Thursday Mobility: Daily

These muscles are so commonly tight that I would usually start with " if you work at a desk" but this is most universal. If you get tension headaches, kinks in your neck, etc., you need to work on these two muscles. - Upper Traps trigger points or knots here refer pain into your jaw, behind your eye, along the side of your head, and at the base of your skull. An easy test here is to have someone pinch your traps pretty hard and if it lights any spots up you need some work. - Suboccipitals, ok technically this is a group of muscles but that's too technical for what matters to get relief. If you have a forward head posture these guys are likely tight. They sit below the skull, kinda where the skull and neck are meeting. Similar test here, get some pressure in and see if it lights anything up, or tuck your chin right down and you might even feel the tension of them stretching. Again it's going to light up some spots behind the eye, at the base of the skull, or even the sides or top of the head. Let's talk about how to fix it. - Lacrosse ball is king unless you have a thera cane. If you have one get it into your traps, if not don't worry about it. Grab your lacrosse ball and put it on the top of your trap, find the corner of a wall, bend over and find the spot that refers pain, and hang out there with pressure until it starts to disperse. - Lay down with the ball in the palm of your hand now. Then play around with where exactly you need it along the base of your skull to get the most relief. I find there is a nice little pocket it sits into that provides good relief. 🚨 Keep reading this is important 🚨 These two spots will only provide temporary relief. They are both just one-half of greater compensation patterns. They just happen to be the half you can get instant relief with. But the pattern still exists to give you the neck and trap tension. To fix it you need to rewire the relationship between the neck flexors and extensors and the traps relationship with other muscles of the shoulder.

If you have a weaker arm pressing (chest or shoulder press) here's what you need to know. - If the body feels like it's at risk of injury it's going to hold you back - Your body feels like it's at risk of injury when it lacks stability. Stability is the name of the game with the shoulder. If there is any weakness or compensation pattern it's going to reduce the stability of your shoulder. This will drain power pretty quickly because the shoulder doesn't feel safe and all those little muscles aren't working together. These are the best 3 exercise I've found that you can do before you press to improve your stability and therefore strength. - Bottoms Up Kettlebell Presses with a light and controllable weight for 3x12 - Serratus Wall Slides with a foam roller 3x12 - Scapular Pull Ups 3x12 These three exercises address the weaknesses typically found in the shoulder and challenge it with an unstable load which will prime your shoulders for strong stable lifts. Do you have any go to shoulder exercises? 👇👇👇