Wheelock Biomechanics

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Posture might be the most important aspect in training. It all comes down to how deep you’re looking at someone’s dysfunctions when you look at their standing resting position. At FP, we make all sorts of assessments in training, but standing is the first one we go to before anything. Your posture says everything about the strength of your structure, where you are flexible, where your are weak and when something is at a breaking point. It even tells me the propensity someone has to build muscle. If I can properly change your framework when you stand, I will setup your body to put the right kind of mass that will stay on for the long haul, making you look more athletic and aesthetic. Again, it just comes down to what level you’re looking at things.

Posture definitely matters and applying efficient posture is not as simple as just pinning your shoulders back and depressing them down. There’s a right way to do it and a clearly wrong way to do it. When you do it right, people eliminate pain, build muscle, improve energy, minimize anxiety and in general just feel amazing. The devil is in the details…

Live intentionally, and not habitually,

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When most people train the glutes, they rarely ever ask themselves why these muscles formed on the human body in the first place. Why do the glutes exist the way they do on humans? Because our primary mode of operation (walking and running) are what drove them into existence. Muscles don’t just appear out of the blue on animals. They evolve in relation to how they are used in the environment, especially during stressful events.

Way back I pondered this idea and adjusted all my glute training to respect running mechanics. What I’ve found is that the more specific I relate my glute training to the mechanics of running, the tougher it is on the glutes. It’s literally encoded in our genetics as humans.

The better you relate your glute training to how they were developed in the first place, the easier it is to keep them over the long haul. Atrophy of tissues happens when we stop using them. If you want the magic bullet to substantially slowing down atrophy in your glutes, train them in a manner that respects running. It’s one of the reasons people feel so great when they dial them in using FP protocols. Another big plus is that when you train the glutes this way, pain also dissipates all over the body. Wel connected glutes will support a strong spine and a strong spine means healthy motion of many other places. Healthy motion means no pain.

Hope these thoughts are helpful. Stay functional.

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Functionality in training is definitely more broad than FP's BIG 4, STANDING, WALKING, RUNNING AND THROWING. With that said, all functional human motions are interwoven with the big 4. The better you have the big 4 wired in, the more output and efficiency you get from your mechanics. In the world of dealing with pain, this is the holy grail.
I know you all watch attentively at the results being presented on this page and wonder how it all happens. It happens when you codify the functions that matter most to humans. Priority counts and unfortunately most people are still yet to understand those priorities in their exercise regimens.
When people realize this, society will look much better than it currently does. We can do this, we just need to put our focus in places that will yield consistent results.

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Yep, it’s still happening everywhere. Stretching teaches muscles to engage less in contexts where you need them most. If you want joint support, balance, strength and functionality with your muscles, the simple answer lies in moving correctly. What constitutes correct movement? Well that’s where things get foggy, depending on who you listen to…

Here’s a basic rule of thumb that will help you determine who actually knows what’s going on from who’s faking it. Simply put, if your body doesn’t look more symmetrical and decompressed after using a set of techniques a particular training method offers, while also showing clear signs of improvement in your movement, then they’re going to do you more harm than good.

Seems logical right? If an exercise doesn’t promote balance, it’s essentially going to do the opposite of that over the long haul. Since most people don’t get any decompression or symmetry with their training, they end up feeling bad which is what leads them to stretching.

When you see our results, just know that any stretch that we do is driven by a properly executed movement. Meaning that we institute a muscular fatigue while the stretch is happening. That fatigue represents the replacement of tension on the stretch. When most people stretch, they don’t think about replacing that tension, they seem to hope the body magically redistributes it. Word from the wise is that it doesn’t. Anything you don’t account for in training is going to come back around and bite you later on.

If you want to fix your body, move correctly. If you want to move correctly, FP is here to help.

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An important message from FP Founder, 

Most people think that a magic stretch or exercise is going to fix their pain, but the only thing that will have lasting impact is actually conditioning muscles to move your body efficiently. While most are on the right track with training wanting to learn how to move better and develop good joint function, the application of the techniques they use always end up falling short when it comes to attaining those things.
Unless a program can quantifiably change mechanics in a way that counts, it's likely doing the opposite of helping you. Although it's not trending (yet), being able to alter something like your running in a way that addresses pain is a great way to see if you training is actually helping. We can fake good squat mechanics, overhead motions, and even pin our shoulders back to make it look like we have better posture, but you can't fake a good gait cycle. It's pretty much a full proof way to ensure you are making progress in training.
If you are tired of being put in the fitness spin cycle and want the alternative, our 10 Week Online Course gets starts the process of learning the best method in the field. There are solutions to your joint problems. By taking our systems approach to training the body, you learn how the body functions in general and eliminate the reason you feel pain altogether.

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Unless your practice is perfect, discipline will not give you freedom. A long time ago, I set out to find the blueprint that would enable people to find the right program to get into. It’s arrived and it’s called .

You don’t have to be in conflict with your vessel. You can make it your best friend. It just comes down to understanding the human as a system, and knowing how it corresponds to your symptoms.

Live intentionally, not habitually,

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Here is an example of what 30 years of yoga and stretching produces with a human body compared to what 6 months of FP can produce with a human body. Great work here by .santamonica
Improved posture results here by my client over 6 months training about 2-3x per month.
He is 48 years old and came to me after 30 years of practicing and teaching yoga. He was struggling with back and neck pain that didn’t seem to go away even after decades of yoga.

AFTER

✅Neutralized shoulder position
✅Better upper trap engagement
✅Neutralized scapular position
✅Rib cage decompression
✅Lumbar decompression
✅Better intra abdominal pressure
✅Neck and back very much improved

My client’s own words:

“I feel younger and more bounce. I tried lifting weights in my early twenties for three months. I felt tight and like I was losing my range of motion. I continued doing yoga, which I have been doing since I was a boy. It felt much better to me, yet I was plagued by lower back pain and a stiff neck.

FP instantly felt right for my body when I tried it. It was like slowly ending an argument in my body that had been there for years. My breath has also changed. I was primarily a belly breather before, and now I feel my lungs and rib cage waking up and Walking, I feel my spine and ribs more integrated, my stomach responds more to my legs movement and most recently my solar plexus feels like it finally understands why it exists, which has also helped me feel my whole back feel present in my awareness. Another great surprise is that my eyes naturally make contact with others effortlessly without fear of being seen. It’s funny how yoga can really make me feel good, yet I had all of these holding patterns in my body that we’re not going away.

FP really helped me undo them and integrate them. I wish I had this available to me when I was a teenager. I would’ve really excelled in sports more than I did
and just generally felt great.”

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Here is an example of what 30 years of yoga and stretching produces with a human body compared to what 6 months of FP can produce with a human body. Great work here by .santamonica
Improved posture results here by my client over 6 months training about 2-3x per month.
He is 48 years old and came to me after 30 years of practicing and teaching yoga. He was struggling with back and neck pain that didn’t seem to go away even after decades of yoga.

AFTER

✅Neutralized shoulder position
✅Better upper trap engagement
✅Neutralized scapular position
✅Rib cage decompression
✅Lumbar decompression
✅Better intra abdominal pressure
✅Neck and back very much improved

My client’s own words:

“I feel younger and more bounce. I tried lifting weights in my early twenties for three months. I felt tight and like I was losing my range of motion. I continued doing yoga, which I have been doing since I was a boy. It felt much better to me, yet I was plagued by lower back pain and a stiff neck.

FP instantly felt right for my body when I tried it. It was like slowly ending an argument in my body that had been there for years. My breath has also changed. I was primarily a belly breather before, and now I feel my lungs and rib cage waking up and Walking, I feel my spine and ribs more integrated, my stomach responds more to my legs movement and most recently my solar plexus feels like it finally understands why it exists, which has also helped me feel my whole back feel present in my awareness. Another great surprise is that my eyes naturally make contact with others effortlessly without fear of being seen. It’s funny how yoga can really make me feel good, yet I had all of these holding patterns in my body that we’re not going away.

FP really helped me undo them and integrate them. I wish I had this available to me when I was a teenager. I would’ve really excelled in sports more than I did
and just generally felt great.”

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Ten 90min sessions from July 28 -Oct 27th. After a decades worth of regular yoga practice left her body in shambles she looked into trying FP. Before, she would tweak her knees on a regular basis just walking or throw out her hip/back out doing normal daily activities. Because her scapula’s were stuck in depression and retraction it caused her entire ribcage to pretty much be immobile which lead to hypermobility of her hips and extremely unstable knee joints. However, as we began to turn her dormant lats on, creating an upward suspension of her ribs, did her problems start to resolve. She feels much less tension/pain in her back & hips & is not tweaking out her knees on a regular basis anymore. FP for the win again! santamonica

Online client’s resting posture progress from May - September thanks to .

+ Improved intra-abdominal pressure
+ Decreased lumbar compression
+ Improved thoracic extension
+ Rib & shoulder decompression with improved scapula positioning

“For years I’ve dealt with postural issues and choric back, shoulder, and neck pain. I’ve sought help through chiropractic care, physical therapy, yoga, pilates, and—you name it. And whereas I learned things from each attempt and felt “a little better,” nothing has solved the problem. Thankfully, I came across Functional Patterns. For the last five months we’ve been working virtually, one-on-one, and I can honestly say it’s the most challenging and helpful thing I’ve ever done for my body. I’m a dance instructor and someone who studies movement mechanics, and Functional Patterns is the smartest and most practical system I’ve ever come across. I’m rethinking and relearning everything, and this is a good thing. There’s still more to do, of course, but my posture is improved, my thoracic mobility and flexibility have increased, and my pain in everyday activities has decreased. Thank you, Functional Patterns and Nathan Wheelock. Change is possible.”
Let’s keep chipping away 👊

Posterior chain work

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Before and After Results - October ‘17 - July ‘20
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Left Photos - Day 1 of my first FP course - my structure was compressed and my muscles were atrophied from over a year and a half of debilitating pain from lumbar disc herniation and bulges. I had pain in my lumbar, hip, knee, and shoulder. I was anxious and depressed from being in chronic pain.
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Right Photos - current structure after almost 3 years of utilizing the FUNCTIONAL PATTERNS System exclusively.
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Growing up I took many hits snowboarding and riding BMX. I had a major right leg fracture and broke my right scapula. My body developed imbalances - especially in my lumbar spine and pelvis.
For several years I practiced traditional and Olympic style weightlifting while supplementing stretching and mobility protocols. I could tell my movement capabilities in athletics that involved rotation and lateral movement we’re going to s**t as I improved in the linear lifts. The compression and imbalance increased in my body until my low back finally gave out one day playing basketball. I graduated college in debilitating pain with severely limited function. The following year and half I sought solutions through traditional protocols of PT and Chiropractic. With no success in those methods I finally discovered Functional Patterns.
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FP has improved me physically and mentally. Im more athletic and stronger in applied scenarios then I ever was from traditional weightlifting. I’m less stressed and more confident. My overall pain levels have made a 90% improvement. The remaining 10% is mild discomfort after playing sports in the areas I have structural damage. Fortunately with the tools I’ve learned through FP - I’m able to remedy these pains quickly and I have the knowledge to solve root cause of these problems as I continue to improve my biomechanics.
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As I eliminate distractions and approach my problems with FP concepts I continue to alter my physiology in a way that is producing permanent results. Thank you and the rest of the FP community. FUNCTIONAL PATTERNS IS THE STANDARD.

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1 year scoliosis optimization.
June 30, 2020 - June 24, 2021
(with all of August & January off)

Before: noticeable scoliotic curve of spine 🟡head shifted left/ribcage shifted right 🟡scapular winging 🟡left hip rotated forward 🟡front line pulling down creating excessive length tension of neck.

Afterwards: improved neutrality of spine 🟣improved overall symmetry 🟣decreased in rib shift 🟣improved positioning of clavicles and shoulders
🟣Increased tonicity of facial, jawline, neck and trap tension suspending upward as opposed to pulling down 🟣overall improved structural integrity



santamonica