Is the deficit deadlift the world’s most dangerous exercise, or is it a safe way to build super strength? …read more

Blood flow restriction (BFR) training can jack up the effectiveness of your workouts and give you a skin-tearing pump! …read more

Join Rob and Dan as we get away from some of the sciency stuff and we start bashing on some exercises.  Time to hate!  Things we discuss:

• [1:05] Rob’s latest injury
• [3:10] Why Dr. Sean Rockett is the man www.321gomd.com
• [5:25] Introducing today’s topic
• [7:37] Shrugs are bad?
• [10:04] Sumo deadlift high pulls, the shoulder enemy
• [12:38] Tire flips, good for the biceps?
• [16:40] High rep rebounding box jumps do not build diamond calves
• [23:14] What about box jumps for height?
• [25:18] Running? Please say it ain’t so Rob
• [32:05] Kipping pullups, the bane of crossfit existence?
• [35:00] Wide stance squats and hip pain
• [37:03] GHD sit-up, what the hell is that?
• [39:58] Are toes to bar any good?
• [41:55] Weighted lumbar rotation, good idea?
• [42:35] Which exercises cause the most injury?
• [42:53] Pleasure and pain, snatching
• [46:53] So you’re telling my bench press can kill me?
• [50:23] Overhead pressing and shoulder pain
• [52:31] Muscle-ups hurt sometimes
• [56:30] Squats and deadlifts? Are Dan and Rob switching to yoga?

Don’t make your squat soup too spicy,

Dan Pope DPT, CSCS

P.S. If you enjoyed this podcast then head over to iTunes to subscribe to it.  Sign up for the newsletter to receive weekly updates as well as the free guide: 10 Idiot Proof Keys to Crossfit Performance and Injury Prevention

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A simple, brutal program for both size and strength that’s just begging to be taken out for a test drive. …read more

You need to set PRs in the strict curl. Here’s a program that’ll have you curling train axles in no time. …read more

The best exercise isn’t the one that hurts the most, but the one that has the greatest benefit compared to its costs. …read more

Hard-won advice on how to get the most out of rep schemes, your workouts, and your programming. …read more

Lift heavy and grow, right? Well, it turns out that lifting light weights may make you grow muscle equally as well. …read more

I wanted to go over something that seems fairly simple but is also done incorrectly frequently.  This is foam rolling your thoracic spine.

The point of rolling your thoracic spine is usually to get a bit more thoracic extension and help improve your efficiency with overhead lifts.  Remember that your shoulder joint only really achieves 165 degrees of overhead flexion and in order to get that big weight overhead we need to get that last 15 degrees from our thoracic spine.  Thoracic spine extension is also a major player in shoulder health so we better get this hammered down.

Most people I see rolling their spine tend to just go back and forth for several minutes over their spine.  While this is all well and good, I don’t think we actually ever get the effect we’re shooting for, and that is thoracic spine extension.

The main objective of foam rolling is to relax the spine over the roller so we get some mobility in the vertebral joints of the thoracic spine.

If we’re just rolling forward and back, we’re never actually getting any mobility in our thoracic spines.    The key is relaxing your spine over the roller in several different segments along the thoracic spine.

I made a video to show you just how to get the job done.

Some more of my favorite t-spine mobility drills

Lastly, I’d follow these drills up with some T-spine stability and shoulder motor control and then hammer away on your technique!

Get after that Tyrannosaurus-spine,

Dan Pope

P.S. If you enjoyed this article then sign up for the newsletter to receive the FREE guide – 10 Idiot Proof Principles to Crossfit Performance and Injury Prevention as well as to keep up to date with new information as it …read more