Movement Upgraded Podcast

Single-leg work might be the most underused, underloaded, and under-appreciated thing in most people's training. If your split squats, rear-foot-elevated split squats, or single-leg deadlifts feel like a wobbly afterthought you rush through after your "main lifts", you're leaving a huge amount of opportunity for gains that translate into every aspect of your life on the table. In this episode I'm giving you the top 3 pieces of advice I have to get the most out of single-leg training, so it actually starts to become some of the most valuable work you do.

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If you're convinced you won't actually make progress unless you're tracking your RPE, logging your reps in reserve, or hitting an exact percentage of your max, this episode for you. We've been taught that getting stronger depends on nailing the numbers, but I'd like to offer an alternative perspective. What if you need those numbers a lot less than you think, and could get stronger anyway? I'm getting into when these tools are actually helpful, and when they're just one more thing crowding your head, and how this conversation is far bigger than just hitting some PRs in the...

I talk all the time about not freaking out when something flares up– that pain doesn't automatically mean there is damage, and that most things just need the right load, time, and emotional regulation skills. And I stand by that. But there's a flip side that is also very important: sometimes pain is your body flagging something that needs real attention, and knowing the difference is one of the most important things I do. In this episode I'm walking through how I rule out more serious things in the context of red flags versus yellow flags, so you know wh...

This episode will take you through 10 declarations about how we relate to our bodies through the lens of movement in the name of longevity. It's an invitation to join me in stepping away from the passive, fear-based injury advice most of us have been handed, and toward the physical autonomy that you deserve, so you can keep moving, and keep doing what you love, for as long as possible. Whether you've been here for years or you're just finding this podcast, this is what drives my work and what I stand for. 

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If you've been working on your overhead mobility and it's just not changing, this episode is for you. We're breaking down what actually is involved in overhead mobility and how to figure out which piece might be your limiter.

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In last week's crossover episode, Jenna shared her side of a 5-year journey with foot pain she'd been told was plantar fasciitis. This week, I'm walking you through the other side of it: what I actually saw, what we did, and why it took more than "just do some calf raises." This is one part case study, one part a look at how I actually think through a complicated case, where the problem isn't more than just adding more exercises. This is a peak behind all the factors that need to be considered in managing a nagging injury. If...

This is a crossover episode with a client and fellow fitness professional Jenna Jozefowski where we discuss her long journey of overcoming a frustrating nagging plantar fasciitis heel pain that had her questioning the future of her career as both a dance teacher and personal trainer. You'll hear how many other providers she had seen before we started working together, the reality of how long rehab takes and why, what it really looks like to get out of a chronic injury cycle, and the unexpected bonuses that happen along the way.

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Want to burn yourself out as a coach faster than you thought possible? Of course you don't. But unfortunately there are a lot of common habits in this industry that add up more quickly that you'd realize. I see these patterns all the time with the coaches and movement pros I mentor, and I've done plenty of them myself. So if you're a coach who cares a lot, works hard, and struggles with taking work home more than you'd care to admit, this episode is for you.

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P...

If you get a pinch in the front of your hip when you squat, you've probably been told it's tight hip flexors, or you assume it is, because that's where you feel it. But your hip flexors actually aren't doing much in a squat, so that's usually not the culprit. Which is why stretching them never seems to help. In this episode I'm walking you through the top 3 things I actually look at when someone has hip pinching in their squat, why it's often more of a hip "space" problem, and the one often overlooked cause that needs a...

When we talk about balance and fall prevention as we age, the whole conversation is usually about avoiding falls — better balance, more stability, being careful. And that matters. But my perspective on fall prevention is the same as injury prevention. A better lens that changes the goal and the way we work towards is moving from prevention to preparation. Because at some point, everybody's body travels outside its base of support — and whether that turns into a scare or an injury depends on the capacity you have to build before you need it. In this episode I'm elaborating on why...

One of the most common reasons people get stuck in a chronic injury cycle is because they keep accidentally overdoing it in their workouts or rehab program. I am currently in a rehab phase right now, actively trying not to overdo it, and I want to take you inside my actual process and what this advice is currently looking like for me. Because overdoing it in rehab is sneakier than you think, especially when your body doesn't offer clear signs in the moment. And the one step forward and 5 steps back situations are rarely from one single decision, they...

If you're the kind of coach who builds strong relationships with your clients. The kind who knows which client has the cranky knee with step ups, the sensitive low back that needs careful progressions with squats and deadlifts, or the neck that tweaks when they're stressed, you know that the best way to navigate those type of issues is to prevent them from flaring up as much as possible. You care about moving people well and keeping them out of pain, so you watch closely, you catch the things that look off, and you go to work on them...

If you're hypermobile, you've almost certainly been told the same thing: don't stretch. You're already flexible — why would you stretch? It sounds logical, and it comes from people who mean well. But it's advice built on a misunderstanding of what stretching actually is, and following it means missing out on something hypermobile bodies genuinely need. In this episode I'm getting into the nuance nobody seems to be talking about and why the blanket "don't stretch" advice misses the point when you actually understand flexibility training, and what stretching done well is really building.

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Prehab purgatory is a term that gets thrown around in this space to describe a really particular place too many people get stuck in. If you've been doing all the mobility, activation, and corrective work and still feel like you're perpetually getting ready for the training you hope to get to…eventually, this episode is for you. I'm breaking down how people end up here, why it's so hard to climb out, and what it actually takes to move forward.

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When a flare-up hits, it's scary. Your brain starts catastrophizing, running through every worst-case scenario. And unfortunately, when you start learning more about pain, there's an added layer of "shoulds" that can make things worse. If you're someone who deals with flare-ups, chronic pain, or a body that likes to throw you curveballs, and you're tired of that fear running the show (even when you know it can make things worse), this episode is for you. 

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If you've noticed your knee hurts more or just that it's harder for you when you're going down the stairs compared to up, it can feel confusing. Most people take that as a sign something's wearing out. That they're just getting old. But that's not really what's happening. In this episode I'm breaking down what's actually different about descending, why "getting stronger" doesn't always fix it, and what you need to do to make descending stairs a non-issue for your knees.

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Most of my content will tell you that you need a committed, strategic mobility practice to get the results you want, and I stand by that. But that's not the whole picture when it comes to mobility work. Most people also just need to move more, and move in ways they don't regularly, and that doesn't always have to be programmed and specific. In this episode I'm sharing the three ways I like to sneak mobility into my day, the difference between a movement snack and a mobility snack (they're not the same thing and they don't do the...

Progressive overload matters and is a necessity in making gains in strength training, but sometimes it gets treated like the only sign that your training is working. But some of the most important adaptations don't come from doing more and more. They come from doing the same thing, over and over, for longer than you'd expect. In this episode, I'm breaking down when repetition is actually the point, why "not progressing" often isn't always the problem you think it is, and how to tell the difference between spinning your wheels and building something that just takes time.

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Almost everyone experiences a little "snap, crackle, pop" in their body when they move, whether intentionally created when you twist to crack your back or unintentionally as you squat down. In this episode, I'm breaking down what's actually making all that noise, how I help my clients figure out when a sound is worth paying attention to versus when it's completely fine, and why the fix usually isn't some special corrective exercise. If you're a coach or movement pro, this is also language you can borrow the next time a client panics about their clicking knee.

CARs...

This episode is brought to you by my caffeine-fueled rage at opening Instagram and being told, once again, all the things I'm doing wrong and missing in my life. Sometimes that content is helpful; I've made it too. But I think we've kind of lost the plot. We've gotten so deep into optimization culture, so zoomed in on what we should be doing and arguing over the tiny details, that we've lost the bigger picture. And one casualty of that is we almost never stop to look at what we're already getting right. If you're a high-performing, I-care-a-lot, always-chasing-the-next-thing...

So much of mobility and corrective work is about fixing your limitations, addressing what's wrong, working on your weak spots. And that's useful until it isn't. Until movement becomes one more thing on your endless self-improvement to-do list. One more way you're "not enough". There's a slippery slope where the work meant to help you accidentally ends up like a pit of quick sand keeping you stuck in a cycle of constantly fixing yourself. If you've found yourself burned out, dreading your mobility work, or feeling like your body is just a never-ending project, this episode is for you...

One of the biggest misconceptions I see with flexibility training is that it should be linear, that you're always making progress, always going deeper each session. So when your stretch depth varies, you think it's not working or that you're losing progress. And that's exactly why people give up. In this episode, I'm breaking down what's actually driving these changes and how to know if your stretching is actually working.

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If you're anything like me, you've probably been told something along the lines of "it's hell to get old" or "just wait until you get older". And you are working hard to avoid letting those things reign true. But if you're honest, there are more moments than you'd like where you feel... old. Restricted. Fragile. Limited. I see this all the time, with clients, with people I mentor or happen to strike up a conversation with, even with myself. When you're coming off an injury, trying something new and challenging, or finding yourself in a season where your body...

Contrary to what most of the internet will tell you, most sciatica is not caused by a "tight" piriformis. If you're stretching your piriformis, strengthening your glutes, doing all the things, but your sciatica or leg pain isn't getting better, this episode is for you. Sciatica is not usually what you think it is, and stretching your piriformis might actually be making it worse. In this episode, I'm breaking down what sciatica actually is, why your piriformis gets all the blame, and the framework you need to figure out what's really irritating your nerve and how to actually fix...

If you're like myself and many of my clients, you've spent alot of time trying to find the right neck exercise for your constant neck and jaw tension. You've done breathwork and the stretches, but you're still feeling like you're on an uphill battle with constant tension. If you're someone who constantly reads the room, notices other people's emotions, or are a recovering "people-pleaser", your chronic tension might not be a mechanical problem. In this episode, I'm sharing a pattern I see all the time with my clients (and something I've been working through myself): the connection between people-pleasing...

If you've been doing the mobility work, stretching, and implementing more core exercises, but your low back keeps flaring up this episode is for you. Most of my clients find me when they've tried a lot of things. They're looking for something different and feel like they need mobility work. And most do, but mobility work alone is never the full solution. When you add more exercises to manage the pain flare ups and tweaks, you also need to look at what's creating them in the first place. Most often there are things in your training program that also...

You're listening to podcasts, following coaches you respect, consuming solid advice. And it doesn't apply to you. You can't push intensity the way they recommend. You can't do high-volume training without your body breaking down. You can't just "work harder" without consequences. And that can feel really isolating. In this episode, I'm talking about the subset of people whose bodies have different rules, such as people with dysautonomia, chronic illnesses, hypermobility, or just nervous systems that run differently. Most fitness content isn't made for you, and trying to follow it can not only be frustrating, but detrimental. If you've...

If you're hypermobile (or train hypermobile bodies) and cues never seem to land the way you or coaches expect, it's not because you're doing something wrong. Most cues assume you already have prerequisite skills that hypermobile bodies often don't, and when you add neurodivergence into the mix, it gets even more complicated. In this episode, I break down why standard cueing doesn't work for bendy bodies, what's actually missing, and what coaches need to understand about working with hypermobility (especially when there's a brain component or neurodivergent crossover).

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One of the hardest parts about coaching is helping people stay consistent with the exercises or behaviors that will get them the results they want. Mobility work is no different, and in the past several years of mentoring coaches and movement pros, I've noticed a bigger pattern that impacts clients' consistency more than anything else. In this episode, I break down what's actually driving this pattern and what you can do about it. If you're struggling with clients who won't commit to their mobility work, give this a listen.

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One of the most common questions I get when people are learning spine CARs for the first time is "Why can't I breathe when I'm doing spine CARs?". It's a really common issue as you're trying to segment your spine and control the movement, and then suddenly you're holding your breath or feeling like you can't get air in. In this episode, I walk through why this happens and give you two practical tips to make it easier.

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Winged scapula gets thrown around a lot in the rehab and fitness industries. A coach or clinician points it out, you start doing corrective exercises to fix it, feeling like it's another thing wrong with your body and maybe the cause of your pain. But most of the time, it's not the problem you think it is. In this episode, I walk through what winged scapula actually means, when it matters, and what to do about it, from a practical, evidence-based lens.

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Just because you're "healed" doesn't mean your body has fully recovered. In this episode, we dive into the inconspicuous changes that happen after a surgery or periods of immobility from a major injury, how that impacts your movement, how subtle this can happen, and what rehab often misses along the way. If you've ever felt off, stiff, or like something just isn't right post-surgery, this episode is for you.

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Anterior pelvic tilt is one of the most talked-about "issues" in fitness, but it's often misunderstood. In this episode, we break down what it actually is, why it shows up, and how it relates to movement, strength, and pain, without defaulting to the usual "tight hip flexors, weak glutes" or "lower crossed syndrome" narrative. If you've been trying to fix your (or your clients') pelvic tilt but not getting improvements, this will give you a more useful way to think about it.

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Tightness is a sensation, not a diagnosis. And what that sensation is communicating depends entirely on when you feel it, where you feel it, and what it actually feels like. In this episode, I'm walking you through how to interpret what your hamstrings are actually telling you, so you can address the real issue instead of stretching harder, hoping it works, and accidentally making it worse (something that happens far too often). If you've been stretching your hamstrings, chasing tightness, or were recently told you need to stretch them, this episode is for you.

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Your best performance doesn't define your capacity. Your worst day does. In this episode, I'm breaking down the difference between raising your ceiling and raising your floor in fitness, and why most people are training for the wrong one. I don't care how much you can lift on your best day. I care what you can do when you don't sleep well, life is stressful, or your body isn't cooperating. That's where your actual capacity shows up, and that's what we're going to talk about in this episode. If you're stuck in a cycle of progress, setback, restart, this...

One of the most frustrating and confusing parts of dealing with nagging pain: some exercises or movements can feel totally fine in the moment, but are actually keeping you stuck in the chronic flare-up cycle. When pain shows up hours later, it's easy to blame the wrong exercise, the wrong movement, or even feel like there's something deeper wrong with your body itself. And that's where a lot of rehab strategies can feel like you're running on a hamster wheel. In this episode, I'm breaking down why delayed pain happens, why it can completely scramble our cause-and-effect thinking, and...

It's been 8 weeks of training sessions with my mom and MIL already, so this episode is a re-cap of how it's gone, and the things that we've navigated. We've had the classic "why does this feel so heavy all of a sudden?" week, an old hamstring injury resurface, a bench press twinge, and a back twinge during deadlifts. I peel back the curtains on how I think during these moments, and exactly why I decide to pull back, shift into more of a rehab mode, and when I intentionally don't "overcorrect" for something that might be a future problem...

In this episode, I'm exploring what happens when all the health-driven habits like movement, meditation, and "taking care of yourself" start to feel like obligations instead of choices.There's a subtle resentment that grows when your body starts to become one more "responsibility to manage". If you've been going through the motions but feeling disconnected or frustrated that your body still isn't cooperating, this might explain why.

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Guest Speaker Allison Tenney is a strength and conditioning coach and online business mentor for women who want real, sustainable strength. A former Division I collegiate coach, she brings an athlete's mindset and a no-BS approach to fitness and business, helping women reject quick fixes, build self-trust, and feel capable in their bodies and lives.

In this episode we talk about Allison's transition from coaching elite athletes to becoming an online strength and conditioning coach and the honest identity shift she had to make along the way. We dive into the foundation of her approach: starting from "...

Injury prevention is often framed as doing everything right:  better form, smarter programming, more strength, etc. And while that work matters, it leaves out a crucial piece of the picture. In this episode, I talk about the hidden message many of us absorb when we focus solely on prevention, why injuries can feel especially devastating for people who "did everything right," and what real longevity requires in an unpredictable life. 

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