The Ultimate Stretch for Tight Calves and Hamstrings
This is the swiss army knife of any tension in the back of the leg, from the achilles to calves to hamstrings.If you struggle with the downward dog, forward fold, back rounding in the deadlift, or any position that involves bending at the hips, this is going to be absolute 
💵💵💵 for you.
Instructions:
- Keep the back flat. We're moving at the hips here, not rounding the spine. 👍🏼
- Place your foot on a block or stack of books. These are my favorite yoga blocks, for the record. The ball of the foot behind the big toe and the ball behind the pinky toe should be in full contact.
- Spend at least two minutes in the stretch. Your body needs time to adapt to the new position, and research shows two minutes to be right around the sweet spot.
- Go within 70-80% of your range. If you can't hold the stretch for two minutes, you're probably going too hard.
- Explore your range of motion in the stretch like a rainbow. 🌈 Don't be a robot. 🤖
- Be active in the stretch with isometrics, ramp up slowly pressing your foot into the block to about 50% of your max effort. Hold for 3-5 breaths. Then try to lift your foot off while reaching your belly button forward.
- If you feel good, repeat for 2-4 sets.
Here are some general principles to follow when stretching:
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Six Keys to Flexibility that Aren't Stretching
If you're stiff as hell, even though you're stretching, or you just want to cure tension at the root, this video is for you.I guarantee you probably haven't heard 90% of this stuff before. It's the missing link most people aren't getting and the reason they're struggling with chronic tension.Watch the whole thing, and leave a comment on the video to let me know which tip gave you the biggest "aha" moment. I'll give one person a free membership to Primal Body Reboot ($95 value).
Here are the six keys to getting more flexible that don't involve stretching:
- Open your focus. That is, expand your visual field to be open and diffused on the space around you. A chronic narrow focus keeps you in a heightened, stressful state of being, which doesn't help you relax or improve your range of motion.
- Build better motor maps. Before you try to change your body, make sure you're inhabiting it (write that shit down, yo). That is to say, don't expect your body to change if you're not first relating to it.
- Make your training goal oriented. Don't just stretch haphazardly without intent. Actually reach for a target. We evolved to stretch with purpose - to pick fruit, or tubers, or pick someone up, not to get the splits.
- Set the state you want to be in. Before any training session, set your intention. How do you want to show up? Don't just settle for going through the motions.
- Stop the source of the tension. Maybe it's your shitty job stressing you out constantly. Maybe it's sitting all day and not getting up except to refill your coffee mug. Whatever it is, you need to address it. Otherwise you're just putting a bandaid on the situation.
- Change your beliefs. You weren't born "inflexible" or "weak" or "uncoordinated." That happened probably because you started believing it, then reinforced it with your behavior. Your body will change as soon as you start changing your mind.
Which did you most resonate with?
Leave a comment on the video and let me know. I'll randomly select one person to win a free membership to my six week mobility course, Primal Body Reboot.
It's Not Too Late, F*ck Anyone Who Tells You Otherwise
7min read.It was my third chiropractic visit and the seventh person I had seen that year to try to fix my shoulder (not to mention nagging issues with my neck and hip)."It's probably just like that," he said. "You might as well get used to it."I had been dealing with a reality of a stiff, cranky shoulder for what seemed like forever. Despite endless massages, exercises and adjustments, nothing seemed to result in any lasting change."So, is there anything I can do to fix it?" I asked, trying to hide my obvious irritation. This wasn't the first time I heard someone tell me this depressing news."Well, you can try some stretches, but this is kind of what happens as you get older."I got sent home with a handful of exercises and the advice to take it easy and stop expecting so much from my body.You'd expect that I'd be defeated. But I was pissed.I just wanted to work with someone that hadn't also given up on their body. I wanted to feel like I was not just another appointment, another hopeless case on their calendar.
I didn't understand that the system was broken
Call it naive, but after going to physical therapist to chiropractor to massage therapist, I wanted to find someone that would take on my case with a serious desire to help me heal permanently.I wanted someone to get invested in my healing.I thought someone would go beyond trying to fix me and rush me out the door. I wanted a holistic treatment plan. I wanted to be asked what exercises I was doing, be told what to do and what not to do, how to fix my posture, and generally look at my whole lifestyle to fix anything aggravating the problem.I didn't understand at the time that even if someone wanted to do this, the system they were in prevented them from going deep enough with people to heal chronic issues.There's only so much you can do in an hour a week. The system is designed to treat people and get them out the door, which isn't very useful for chronic, long-term issues that involve a complex set of emotional, physical, lifestyle, social, and dietary factors.So I would wander from one person to the next, seeking help, not realizing I was fighting a losing battle.
"Just take my money, damn it"
What's funny is people would recommend I see them in two weeks, which I thought was not enough at all, and I would ask if money wasn't an object (I was willing to spend thousands of dollars to heal myself), how many times should I see you?I wanted to give people more money and often their own limiting beliefs about money, their value, or unrealistic ideas about how much effort healing required prevented them from giving me a treatment plan that would get me results.It took me seeing over two dozen people to realize that it was the system that was broken, not them.But I was on a mission to heal and feel capable of anything. I wouldn't accept defeat.So, I stopped blaming them and realized...
I had to become 100% in charge of my own body—so do you
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn is that no one has the energy, time or ability to care about you and your situation as much as you do.Sure, they can treat you, they can care, and sometimes those things will help, but no one can be in your body. No one can tell you how to move, how to sit, or how to train. No physical therapist or chiropractor can be there when you get excited about climbing or hiking or running and tell you you're not ready for that yet.They can't be there to analyze your gait pattern, what you're eating, and the thoughts you're having about whether it's hopeless for you or not.I'm not suggesting that finding help isn't important, surely it is. But at the end of the day, you have to be the one 100% responsible for your own journey.And sometimes, even people with the best intentions will spread toxic messages. They'll project their own feelings of shame and disappointment that they haven't taken full responsibility for their health and blame it on aging, or it being "just the way it is."
The hard truth: no one is going to save you, it's up to you
No matter how much you want someone to do the work for you, to give you the plan that solves all your problems, I'm sorry to tell you... it's just not going to happen.You have to be 100% responsible for your own body.We all know modern life isn't doing us any favors. In fact, I would say that most people's jobs and lifestyles are violently damaging their bodies on a daily basis.No yoga class or three times a week boot camp is going to fix that.It's up to you to change the patterns, get a new job, create a better environment, fix your posture, change your mindset, eat better, and upgrade your social support.
No, it's not easy, but the alternative isn't very pretty either
Taking control of your habits, learning how to be a good caretaker for your body, nourishing yourself with healthy movement—all of this takes a lot of work.Someone told me the other day, "Jonathan, it would drive me crazy to set a timer to remind myself to move."True, but what is the cost of not moving in the long run? It's only everything.Most people choose to ignore the tension and pain or delude themselves into thinking their shitty gym routine is enough to make up for the daily violence they're waging on their bodies.Delusion is never a good long-term strategy.
I want to sell you on the hard solution because it's the easiest long-term
It would be much easier for me to sell you a 30-minute workout, or tell you that these five stretches will solve all your problems.But personally, I'd rather give you the recipe, not the result. I'd rather show you how to be in charge of your own physical autonomy rather than giving it away to a trainer, coach, or someone that can never really take 100% responsibility for your health.If you want to solve the problem at the root, you need three things:
- Learn how your body actually works and be able to do basic maintenance
- Build unshakeable habits of movement that are as routine as brushing your teeth
- Take back control of your environment and build a lifestyle of movement
This is what I teach in the Primal Body Reboot.It's opening at the end of this month and I hope you'll join me in reclaiming your physical freedom.There's nothing for sale right now, but you can get a free lesson and a sweet discount when it opens.Get a free lesson to move better instantly
How to Exercise Every Day with the Visual Trigger Technique
Being a person longer obsessed with self-development and productivity, I've long known that habits are the key to success.Consistency, not perfection is what separates high performers from the pack.If you've read at all about habits, you know there are a few key elements to building them:
Trigger > Routine > Reward
- The trigger is what reminds you or initiates the habit.
- The routine is what you actually do.
- And the reward is the benefit of doing the habit.
The reward can either be intrinsic, like a feeling of pride or a rush of endorphins after a run. Or external like a smoothie or cup of butter coffee (my favorite) after a training session.There are a lot of ways to increase your chances of success with a habit. Using a habit tracker, getting accountability and making your goal small to start with are a few of the common recommendations.But if you're anything like me, you've probably tried a lot of these things. You've made big goals and struggled to achieve them (New Years, anyone?) not because of a lack of good intention, but because of a failure to implement a system.I've found the weakest link in the chain is usually the strength of the trigger.
If you don't have a strong reminder to do the habit, you fail before you even start
Let's look at a common example, trying to jog every day before work. Let's say I decide that my trigger to run is my morning shower. I take my shower, then I put on my shoes (and clothes, hopefully) and go head out the door.Great idea. But what if I don't remember that my shower is my trigger? What if I forget?You can try to combat this by setting a reminder on your phone, but we all know how easy it is to ignore an alarm amidst the other million notifications. It's not a great idea to rely on being reminded in a place that is a vortex of distraction.I mean, how many times have you looked at your phone meaning to do something, and found yourself in Instagram or email trying to remember what exactly you were intending to do in the first place?My point exactly.The bottom line is this: the most important first part of creating a new habit isn't willpower or discipline, it's remembering to do the habit.The technique that I want to share with you is called the visual trigger technique. I've used it to build my coaching business, exercise more regularly, and create deeper relationships.
So, what is the visual trigger technique and why does it work?
Watch this video to see how I use this technique:
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A visual trigger is something that's in your physical space you interact with every day. Ideally, it's something very visually loud and hard to ignore.The more visceral it is, the better. It's something you want to be physically interacting with.
Example one: The Rock Jar Strategy
One of my current goals is to build more meaningful relationships. I know that doing a better job of keeping in touch with my friends, family and peers will have a huge impact on my quality of life and the success of my work.So, I put two jars on my desk. One is filled with rocks, the other is empty. Each rock represents a connection, whether that be an email, phone call or voice message. Every time I make a connection, I move one rock to the other jar. My goal is 30 connections a month, or one a day. At the end of the month, I want to have all the rocks moved from one jar to the other.The rocks for you could represent 30 minutes of movement or submitting a resume. Whatever your goal is, you decide what each rock represents.The purpose is to choose an action you can control. You can't control the outcome, but you can control how many rocks you move each day.Move enough of them, and success is pretty much inevitable.Note: This is a technique I adapted from James Clear's paper clip strategy.
Example two: The Sticky Note Strategy
If you're a
coach or some kind of service provider, you know that following up with leads and serving your clients is critical to your business. But it can be easy to forget to forget to check in if you don't have a system for tracking potential clients.I solved this problem with the visual trigger technique. Each client and potential client gets a sticky note with their name, primary concern, and the last date I contacted them.It's right above my desk and in constant view so I can't ignore it.Every day I touch each one and look at the last date I followed up. I never let a client or potential client go more than a few days without me following up to check in and add value.Since doing this, I have no problem filling up my client roster.The sticky note approach isn't limited to building your business though. You could create a note for each workout you do, and the date of the last time you did it. You might have another note reminding you why it's important for you to follow through, and even another with a reminder what to do if things get tough like "do your best" or "text my coach."No coach? I can help with that. :)
How you can use this technique to stay consistent with your habits
It literally takes 5-10 minutes to get the sticky notes, or jars of rocks set up. Don't make it complicated, just decide what your goal is, and how you're going to track it.If you want to really bulletproof your odds, use this with some kind of accountability. Tell someone you're going to do this, so they can follow up with you.Your future self will thank you.
Want to master the exercise habit?
Get a free mobility lesson you can do anywhere when you join the waitlist for my course, the Primal Body Reboot.You'll learn how to create functional strength and flexibility with simple ground-based movements. No equipment necessary.Get your free lesson
Four Restorative Primal Movements to Relieve Aches and Pains
Your body never evolved for the modern lifestyle. In reality, as far as your body's concerned, it still thinks you're hunting and gathering.But since most of us aren't going back to that lifeway anytime soon, the best we can do is break up our day with more movement.These are the primal patterns I start all of my coaching clients with because they give you the most bang for your buck.
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Try doing this routine to break up periods of sitting, or as a start or end to your day:
- Reach with leg and arm to side sitting
- Side plank to quadruped position
- Opposite hand/foot reach from quadruped
- Walk the hands back to squat
Repeating this cycle 3-4 times, focusing on exploration and being curious about your body will produce profound effects.Give it a try, and share this if you think more people could benefit from primal patterns.
Want to free yourself from daily aches and pains?
Check out my course, the Primal Body Reboot for a six-week guided process to reclaiming your naturally flexible, strong body.Learn more