Attempting to diagnose your own lifting technique issues can be frustrating. You can end up spending hours researching, arriving at conflicting conclusions, and spinning in circles trying to self-assess.
Strength coach Michael Boyle and physical therapist Grey Cook have a simple approach to understanding how the body should move. It considers each joint in the body in succession.
Some joints are designed for stability, and others are designed for mobility.
Just so we are clear on what these terms actually mean – stability is defined as the ability for a joint to remain aligned in the presence of outside forces. Mobility is defined as the combination of muscular flexibility and joint range of motion.
These stable and mobile joints alternate along the body, starting at the feet. A problem at one joint will often show up as an issue at the joint above or below.
Stable and Mobile Joints
- The foot should be stable.
- The ankle should be mobile.
- The knee should be stable.
- The hip should be mobile.
- The lumbar spine (low back) should be stable.
- The thoracic spine (mid back) should be mobile.
- The middle and lower cervical spine (neck) should be stable.
- The upper cervical (upper neck) should be mobile.
- The scapulothoracic joint (shoulder blade on rib cage) should be stable.
- The shoulder joint should be mobile.
- The elbow should be stable.
- The wrist should be mobile.
- The hand should be stable.
Instead of thinking of a problematic joint as a singular issue, the joint by joint approach encourages the lifter to consider the joints above and below it that are compounding the problem. Figure out if the segment in question should be able to move better, or if it should become more stable for the lift that you are trying to do.
What’s So Great About This Approach
In the past, if muscles felt tight and movement was flawed, the typical recommendation was to increase flexibility of the muscle in question. Stretching on its own usually isn’t enough to have a lasting effect on movement changes, and in many cases, it can make things worse.
Considering the specific mobility and stability needs of the body provides better direction when trying to debug your own movements.
How This Applies to Lifting
This approach provides a simple framework for correcting technique issues.
Though there are exceptions (for example, in the bench press – you’re probably going to want the wrists to be fixed instead of mobile), it can help identity problematic areas.
Example: A Joint by Joint Approach to the Squat
- Feet – If the feet are sloppy, not only will the right muscles not be activated, the right sensory information will not be taken up. The foot may pronate even more because of a stiff ankle, or it may fire too much throughout the plantar flexors due to a sloppy knee. Stabilization ideas: cue tripod foot, barefoot lifting
- Ankles – Mobile ankles allow the squatter to reach depth. If the ankles are blocked, they are forced to lean over more to get to the hole, putting more strain on the lower back. Immobile ankles can also cause knee instability and pain. Mobilization ideas: ankle mobility drills, soft tissue work
- Knees – The knees should function as a hinge, requiring stability to keep from buckling laterally. If the knees are wobbly, then the hip may need strengthening. Stabilization ideas: single leg balance, leg raise
- Hips – The hip is unique in that it can become both immobile and unstable, resulting in knee pain from the instability, or back pain from immobility. If the hip can’t move in a squat, the stable lumbar joint will move to compensate. The lumbar joint then becomes less stable, and can become painful. Mobilization ideas: 90/90 movements, quadruped rockbacks
- Lumbar Spine – When the lower back isn’t in a stable position, it doesn’t allow for a proper transmission of force from the lower body to the bar. The end results of this can include a weak squat (can’t lift as much weight), pain, dysfunction and injury. Stabilization ideas: bird dog, dead bug, side plank
- Thoracic Spine and Shoulder – If there isn’t enough mobility in either the thoracic spine (mid back) or the shoulders, the lower back will have to extend (arch) or flex (round) more to compensate. Mobilization ideas: T-spine rotations, wall slides
** Please note that the awkwardly placed red dot in this squatter’s armpit and the blue dot below it are supposed to symbolize the scapulothoracic joint and the thoracic spine, respectively. I couldn’t quite get them where they needed to be since he is facing us.
Conclusion
The ability to self-assess is a worthwhile skill to hone in on. However, with the endless overflow of information that is available to aid us in our assessments, it can be a challenge to sift through it all and arrive at an actionable conclusion.
The Joint by Joint Approach can provide a great starting point for lift analysis. The next time that a lift is giving you trouble and Google is sending you down rabbit holes of conflicting information, try breaking down the movement down joint by joint.
More Reading
ADVANCES IN FUNCTIONAL TRAINING by Mike Boyle
MOVEMENT by Gray Cook