me doing a glute bridge

Get Your Glutes Back Into Working Order

Our glutes aren’t what they used to be. These are the largest, most powerful muscles in the whole human body and most of us barely use them.

It’s not really our fault though. All the sitting and driving have made them weak and stupid. Here’s a really simple glute exercise with several variations to help get them back into prime form!

Make your hands work like NEW!

We use our hands constantly. We use them a lot for repetitive motions and also hold them in fixed positions for long time periods. This can lead to shortened muscles and tendons that leave your hands less mobile.

Here are some simple stretches, strengthening exercises, and coordination drills to help you restore your hands to full working order!

me chopping tomatoes to make salsa

Simple Homemade Fermented Salsa

Recipe:
8-10 tomatoes
1 large red onion
2 jalapenos
small handful cilantro
salt amount equal to 5% of produce weight

Here’s a really simple fermented salsa recipe! I love salsa and put it on all kinds of things. I practically live on eggs so salsa is my go to condiment.

The extra benefit of this salsa is that it is fermented so it keeps longer and also has beneficial bacterial to help out you digestion! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Learn About Active Stretching

Active stretching, or PNF stretching, can really help you increase your flexibility very quickly. In this video I’ll talk about the basic concept of active stretching and demo the technique using a hamstring stretch.

PNF stretching is often done with a partner, but it can be done without a partner too! Even though I’m using a hamstring stretch to demo the technique, the principle applies to any stretch.

But Isn’t Crawling for Infants!?

Why in the world would you want to crawl once you’ve learned how to walk? The truth is there are a lot of benefits to crawling!

If we still lived out in the woods where things aren’t groomed, we’d HAVE to crawl fairly often. This could be to get under obstacles, over steep terrain, or to sneak up on dinner.

Crawling is also more stable as we have more points of contact and out center of gravity is lower. This can be incredibly helpful when moving over narrow or unstable objects. Think about crossing a downed log over a stream. How many times have you see someone crawl across that log if they can’t balance well enough walking?

Some of the main benefits to crawling are more developed core stabilization, better coordination between opposing limbs i.e. right arm to left leg, and Hip Flexor and Glute activation!

So give it a try and see if you still have what it takes to crawl!

Simple Neck and Shoulder Stretch

I’m going to share my go to stretch for my neck and shoulders. This one is a little awkward until you get used to it, but it really helps loosen up my neck, shoulders, and back. I even find that I have a little more space in my ribs after doing it.

If you have physical neck limitations, this stretch could be a little of a problem for you. Things like herniated discs or fused vertebra may make this out of reach.

Keeping It Real In the Digital Age

I’m changing things up today! The world of social media is constantly showing us everyone’s amazing lives. It can really make you depressed about your own!

Don’t let what everyone is showing you fool you. You’re only seeing a tiny glimpse into their lives.

They’re only sharing the planned and scripted jewels. Live your life your way and know that social media isn’t the whole picture.

Just Hanging Around

Hanging is an important movement for the development of the human shoulder girdle. Without these motions bones deform and muscles weaken. Or rather they don’t develop properly.

But since we are living organisms, we can restore a healthy shoulder girdle! It’s time to start hanging and swinging to rebuild a healthy shoulder.

Hiking The Little Devil Stairs

I went out to the Little Devil Stairs this weekend. It’s one of my favorite hikes! I usually hike in my Lems boots, but this time I decided to try out the Five Fingers.

Despite spending lots of time in minimal shoes, your foot just works differently in the Five Fingers. I’m actually a little sore today. The hike is around 6 miles if I remember right.

The first couple miles are a combination of hill climbing, rock scrambling, and creek crossing. It’s a great place to work on your balance! You can extend the trail a few miles onto an offshoot trail, but I decided not to this time since it was my first real test in the Five Fingers.

After you get up the stairs you have a nice easy walk back to the car down the fire road. Bring some snacks and plenty of water. If you have a water filter, there’s plenty to scoop up through the stairs. After that water gets a little scarce.

If you want to try this hike, get there early so the parking lot isn’t full! Keysir Run Rd, that leads to the parking lot, is off Gid Brown Hollow Road in Washington, VA. Happy Trails!