Movement By McGregor

INJURIES

They suck and they happen. Two years ago today I was warming up for a heavy single squat when I injured my back. The rep itself was fine, but I lost my tightness and tension under the bar when I went to rack the weight. As I took a step forward I felt my mid back give out.

It immediately stiffened up and I could not move much for several days. Slowly I started to get my movement back and was able to do some light movement and strengthening around my back and core.

I tried to go back to barbell squatting a few times too soon and continued to irritate it. I eventually took a month off of squatting and then rebuilt my way back up.

Looking back I may have been able to prevent this as I was trying to test my strength more than build it. This led to improper recovery and likely led to the injury. Secondly if I kept my tightness and slowly racked the weight I likely wouldn’t have done it either.

Just wanted to let you guys know that we all get injured and set backs always happen. Focus on what you CAN DO and what you CAN CONTROL. There will be ups and downs but keep moving forward! You will get past it!

Mendrx

// Meet MEND|RX Physiotherapist, Connor McGregor.

From a young age Connor has always had a passion for exercise and healthcare.

He shares a belief in our core philosophy; putting the patient experience at the heart of everything we do.

At MEND|RX our patients experience:

✔️ 1 to 1 Care: We only see one patient at a time, spending more time with your therapist focused solely on helping you, so you can recover faster.

✔️ Private treatment rooms, because your privacy and comfort is important.

✔️ Customized treatment plans to suit your lifestyle and goals, to better help you get the results you want.

✔️ Direct billing to your insurance provider, to make your experience seamless and easy.

✔️ Free parking (over 100 spaces), with ground floor wheelchair access.

✔️ A dedicated team that goes above and beyond to help you on your recovery.

If you are experiencing an injury or pain that is affecting your quality of life, book a session with Connor and start your recovery!

Who’s ready for the gyms to open back up? 🙋‍♂️. Comment your deadlift face below 🤯

Squatting 🦶
When is the last time you squatted barefoot? Have you ever done it under the barbell? Learning to do this properly and implementing it into your warm ups or training routine can help boost your squat tremendously!

The squat is all about creating a stable BASE! This base is our feet connected to the ground. If we don’t have proper stability we are going to lose force as we lift and technique can be compromised.

We want 3 equal points of contact with the ground:
1️⃣ The base of your 1st toe
2️⃣ The base of your 5th toe
3️⃣ Your heel

Think about gripping the ground and keeping even pressure on these three points the entire lift! Try this out, watch your lifts improve, and get moving!




If you would like to know how physio could help you, send me a message or book a FREE consultation with me in clinic at .rx through the link in my bio!

I hope you guys had a great long weekend! All this 🌧 in Nova Scotia has me reminiscing on summer workouts ☀️. Where’s your favourite place to workout outside?

SINGLE LEG STABILITY
The single leg Romanian/Stiff Legged Deadlift is one of the best movements to train single leg stability. This exercises forces you to use your feet/ankles and hips to control your knee position and keep balance while moving. Having optimal single leg stability is not only going to reduce your risk of injury but also improve your performance!

First grip the ground with your foot 🦶 to create a stable base (I’m showing this with my hand 😂). You should have equal weight distribution between the base of your 1st toe, base of your 5th, and your heel. Keep your knee slightly bent, hips level, and hinge forward. Try to maintain a straight back and keep your knee aligned over your mid foot.

Once you’ve mastered this movement without falling over, letting your knee cave in, or having one hip hike up/down, then you can start to load the movement up! Get moving.

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

SINGLE LEG STABILITY pt. 2
The single leg touchdown squat is one of my go to exercises to help with hip and knee pain. This exercise will really show if you have imbalances from one leg to the other. As with the single leg RDL, you are forced to use your feet/ankles and hips to control your knee position and keep balance while moving. Having optimal single leg stability is not only going to reduce your risk of injury but also improve your performance!

First grip the ground with your foot 🦶 to create a stable base with equal weight distribution between the base of your 1st toe, base of your 5th, and your heel. Keep your hips level and hinge forward. Reach back with your leg and gently tap your heel on the ground.

Once you’ve mastered this movement you can increase the height and add some weight by holding a dumbbell or kb. Get moving.

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

SQUAT WARM UP
A proper warm up is going to help reduce the risk of injury as well as improve your performance. This specific warm up can be used as a general guide. If you have some specific weaker areas or mobility restrictions then you are going to want a warm up specifically modified towards you.

1️⃣ Bike & Foam Rolling (I added this because I was feeling beat up and stiff from my training cycle)

2️⃣ Dynamic Movements
* Knee hug to lunge to greatest stretch in the world
* Glute stretch to side lunge
* Squat to overhead reach
* Goblet squat - contract/relax glutes

3️⃣ Start to Load the Squat!
Make every warm up set is purposeful and perform it like it’s your top set!

Try not to overcomplicate it too much. Get to a point where you are moving freely without any restrictions and are feeling ready for the workout. Get moving.

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

Let’s talk TEMPO
If you have not been manipulating the speed of your reps, you may be missing out on some gains! Most commonly you will see variables such as number of reps, number of sets, amount of weight, exercise selection, and training frequency manipulated, but not tempo of the exercises. This is likely because it is often forgotten about or because it’s really hard.

There are 3 parts to an exercise:
1️⃣ Eccentric - Lengthening of the muscle (lowering of the weight in a bicep curl or bench press)
2️⃣ Pause - the moment where the muscle is most lengthened before it starts to shorten again (bar on your chest in the bench press or in the bottom of the squat)
3️⃣ Concentric - Shortening of the muscle (pushing the bar off your chest, curling the weight up in a curl)

Slowing down any or all three of these can be very beneficial. It allows your muscles to have more time under tension, have more control of the weight, and really perfect your technique. It can also help you break through some sticking points in your lifts where you may be weaker.

Manipulating tempo is frequently used in the rehab 🌎 as you can perform many exercises where pain has been limiting you at a lighter weight, while still getting a high work capacity!

Try manipulating the tempo of your exercises and get moving!

LANDING TECHNIQUE
Often overlooked but super important! Before you start a program with jumping or plyometrics, you want to ensure that you have optimal landing technique. Being able to accept load in an optimal position will reduce the risk of injury and optimize your power and performance.

Looking from the front, when landing we typically want our knees aligned over our mid foot. Looking from the side, we want our shoulders aligned over our knees with our knees over our toes.

With these exercises try to absorb as much force as you can and keep your balance once you’ve landed. Here are some simple single and double leg exercises to start with. Get moving.

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at Mendrx! mendrx.ca/connor-mcgregor

BOTTOMS UP KETTLEBELL PRESS
The bottoms up kettlebell press is a great exercise for overhead shoulder stability. You need to rely on your shoulder stabilizers to not let the kettlebell tip over. The half kneeling position allows for better control of the core and puts more emphasis on the shoulder. As you press the bell overhead, ensure your elbow is aligned directly under the weight.

Lighten the weight and add this movement into your routine. Get moving.

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

DESK MOBILITY
Add this easy movement into your daily routine. Keep your core engaged (do not let your low back arch) and let your chest sink through your arms as you bend your trunk forward. You might feel a few friendly cracks and a lot more mobile in your mid-upper back. Get moving!

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

DESK MOBILITY
Add this easy exercises into your daily routine to help break up sitting posture and decrease stiffness or pain. Get moving!

Want to learn more? Come see me for a free consultation at .rx ! Book in through the link in my bio!

PERFECT YOUR PUSH UP
With gyms closed the push up is likely one of your staple exercises. I see a lot of people struggle with their technique and often times experience pain.

Find a comfortable hand position around shoulder width. Actively grip the ground with your hands, rotate your elbows in, and push the ground away while keeping the core engaged. As you descend you want your elbows at ~45° angle from your trunk. Go down to a comfortable depth for you. Do not be afraid to regress this by going on your knees. When done with proper technique and control, the push up can be a difficult and effective exercise. Get moving!
Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at .rx ! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance.
mendrx.ca/connor-mcgregor

Open Up Your Upper Back
Stiff back from increased sitting or working from home? Try these three exercises out to improve mobility and decrease stiffness.

1️⃣ Open Book 📖
Support your bent leg on a foam roller. Rotate your top arm and trunk back as far as you comfortably can.

2️⃣ Upper Back Foam Rolling 🚶🏽⚫️
Bring your hips up into a bridge position and extend over the roller. Pause at any points that feel tight or restricted.

3️⃣ Downward Dog 🐶
Press the ground away and lift your hips in the air. Let your chest sink through your arms as you come to the top of the position.

Try these out and get moving! . Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at Mendrx! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance.
mendrx.ca/connor-mcgregor

FIX YOUR DEADLIFT
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A common mistake I see time and time again in the deadlift is not creating enough tightness/tension BEFORE the lift. Far too often athletes will start pulling before any slack has been taken up through the bar or before they have created stability (the classic grip and rip). This is where we can run into injury, as well as not lifting as much as you could be. Once you grip the bar, lower your hips and create as much tightness and tension in your hamstrings/glutes as possible. From here you want to brace your core to create maximum spinal stability and engage your lats by thinking about bending the bar over your shins. This will take up the tension in the bar and sometimes even start to lift the bar as shown in the video. NOW you can start to stand the weight up! Get moving!
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Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at .rx ! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance. Book in through the link in my bio!

High Bar vs. Low Bar Squat
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With the high bar squat the bar is going to rest higher up on your back along your upper trap area, whereas in the low bar it will rest lower on your back along your posterior deltoids.

The different bar positions change the leverages of the lift. In high bar your torso will be more upright with more forward knee travel and greater depth. This will make the movement more quad dominant. In the low bar squat your torso will be more inclined forward, making the movement more hip/glute dominant with less forward knee travel and less depth.

A key factor with both positions is creating as much tightness in the upper back as possible. This allows for a more stability and no force to be lost during the lift. I like to suggest for people to try out both versions. Everyone’s body type and proportions are different. Some will feel better and be able to lift more in one variation vs the other. Some people may also use more of a hybrid position in between. Do whatever works for you and get moving.
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Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at Mendrx ! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance. Book in through the link in my bio!

⬇️ BACK PAIN SQUATTING
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Over arching your back on the descent of the squat is a common cause of low back pain. This puts a lot of pressure and compression on the joints in your low back. Instead, rotate your pelvis around as if you’re tucking your tailbone under you. Keep your ribs down, bracing your core like you are about to get punched in the stomach. This will help increase the stability of your spine, decrease the compression in your low back, and increase your lifts!
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Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at .rx! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance. Book in through the link in my bio!

I often see many athletes with pain in the front, side, or back of their shoulder from paddling. Often times this pain is experienced on the catch of the stroke. In this position our shoulder needs a lot of stability as it is stretched out far away from our body. This is a great exercise to start building up some strength and stability of the shoulder in a stretched out position. Make sure you feel the muscles working between your shoulder blades/back of the shoulder and not in your neck. Get moving!
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Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at Mendrx ! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance. mendrx.ca/connor-mcgregor

THORACIC EXTENSION 🐪
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The area where the bottom of our neck and upper back meets (cervicothoracic junction) tends to be stiff and in a flexed (forward) position with a lot of activities in life; paddling, studying, looking down at your phone, etc. Try this movement out and perform it several times a day to loosen up and get moving!

BACK PAIN WITH SQUATS?
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A common fault I see while squatting is letting the hips shoot backwards when the weight starts to get heavy. We typically do this to increase the lever to help get the weight up easier. However, this causes increased stress in the small structures in our lower back which can cause pain. Instead focus on bracing your core and engaging your glutes in the bottom of the squat to push your hips forward.
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Want to learn more? Come see me for a consultation at .rx ! With a personalized program, one on one treatment, and manual work, you will be able to decrease your symptoms faster and maximize your performance. Book in through the link in my bio!

LOW BACK STRETCH
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The QL (quadratus lumborum) muscle can get stiff and cause some discomfort with prolonged sitting or being in a half kneeling position. This is another muscle that is used a lot in paddling and many other activities! Find a doorway, try this stretch, and get moving!