We did some of our best writing to date in 2015. Our efforts to adhere to an evidence-based approach have helped us to produce high-caliber writing that we’re proud to share with you. Some of the prominent topics from this year’s articles include movement variability and autonomic variability, how the autonomic nervous system affects performance and how you can use this information to improve your performance, and the ideas and methods of the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI). To help you learn as efficiently as you can and to get you excited to read the articles we intend to post in the near future, we’ve listed and discussed our best articles from 2015 below. We suggest you put away all potential distraction and prepare to take notes, since we expect that, in the infamous words of Kevin Hart, you gon’ learn today.
Our most viewed article of the year is a worthwhile read if you’re a dedicated athlete, weightlifter, are overstressed, or if you train any of these types of people, and I’d bet that most fit into at least one of these categories. The article was the third installment in a series in which I described the pattern of human posture and movement that PRI has termed the Posterior Exterior Chain (PEC). Broadly speaking, a PEC is someone who has bilateral anterior pelvic tilt and a relatively large arch in his or her lower back (hyperlordosis). In the three-part series, I provided three exercises to correct the postural and movement asymmetries inherent in the PEC pattern as well as detailed explanations of why these exercises are effective. In the third article of the series, I discussed a sagittal plane repositioning exercise that’s a staple of our clients’ programs, called the Supine Hemi Extension with Alternating Respiratory Rectus Femoris and Sartorius (a.k.a. The Hemi). You can view our instructional video of that exercise below. In addition, our third- and fourth-most popular articles from 2015 were the first and second articles in the aforementioned “Do You Even Exhale, Bro” series, which you can read here (part one) and here (part two).
Supine Hip Extension with Alternating Respiratory Rectus Femoris and Sartorius
Our second-most viewed article of the year was the third installment of Peter’s discussion of PRI’s ideas and methods. Whether you’re a PRI newbie or a seasoned veteran, if you want to gain a better understanding of PRI’s ideological underpinnings then this series is a must-read. In this article, Peter writes about human neurological and anatomical asymmetries as they pertain to PRI as well as the benefits of PRI’s methods for athletes. To gain a greater understanding of PRI’s ideas and methods, you can also read the first and second articles of the series, which are excellent syntheses of a vast amount of dense information, here (part one) and here (part two).
The Best of the Rest
To give this list a little more variability, our fifth-most popular article was Rob’s discussion of unconventional methods you can use to regulate your physical and mental well-being as well as the activity of your autonomic nervous system. The article contains practical methods you can use to improve your or your clients’ recovery and boost their performance. You can read the article here.
Last but not least, Peter wrote an excellent analysis of recent research on the value of different metrics to measure aerobic fitness, and the direct innervation of skeletal muscle fibers by the sympathetic nervous system. You can read the article by clicking on the following hyperlink (link).
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles or videos, then you’re welcome to share them in the comments section below. We hope to continue to share more excellent content in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to keep abreast of our updates on our Twitter and Facebook pages.