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Latest Episodes:

39: RPE, 1 RM, 3 sets of 10, oh my? May 03, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 39 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Sarah takes a trip back in time to find out: Where did the ubiquitous 3x10 come from? It’s a wild ride that takes her down more than one rabbit hole and brings us face to face with 1RM, RPE, RIR, and everything else with an R in it.

You will learn:

Where did the 3 x 10 protocol come from
How 3 x 10 has changed over time, in a significant departure from what it originally contained: progressive overload
How long held beliefs around effort level and pain created a rehab emphasis on volume over effort
Where RPE came from
The RPE - RIR relationship
Pros and Cons of using RPE - RIR versus 1RM in your strength training

And more!

3 Sets x 10 Reps The History Logic and Reasoning on Physical Culture Study Website

Thomas L DeLorme and the science of progressive resistive exercise (abstract)

Progressive Resistance Exercise excerpts on Dave Draper Website

Exercise in Education and Medicine by R. Tait McKenzie (full digital download)

RPE In Powerlifting on Progressive Rehab And Strength Website

RPE vs Percentage Based Training Explained on Barbend Website

38: Got Bones? Yoga Asana Isn't Enough Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 38 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode about bone density, Sarah and Laurel talk all about what kinds of exercise are indicated by research to improve bone density, and almost more importantly: what isn’t (including yoga).

We also discuss:

What is bone density and how do we measure it
Why women are at more risk for fracture than men, especially following menopause
How to interpret DEXA scan results and its relationship to fracture risk
What lifestyle and medical factors can contribute to bone density loss (osteopenia and osteoporosis)
Why so many people believe that yoga can improve or reverse osteoporosis
How an often-repeated yet very flawed study convinced a lot of people that claim about yoga
How the media coverage of this study contributed to the problem
How heavy weight training and impact training are proven to improve bone density
What other exercises may or may not possess the necessary qualities to improve bone density

12-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Bone Loss

LIFTMOR Study

Video of women doing LIFTMOR Intervention

1 RM calculator

Harvard Health Article

37: Plyometrics—Get More Bang for your Bones Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 37 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah talk about the connection between plyometrics, impact training, and bone building.

You will learn:

The difference between plyometrics and impact training.
What we need to consider if we are using plyometrics and/or impact training to increase bone density.
What the stretch-shortening cycle is and why it is important for plyometric exercise.
The phases of the stretch-shortening cycle, and why the amortization phase must be short for an exercise to be plyometric.
The differences and similarities between ballistic exercises and plyometric exercises (according to scientific and non-scientific sources).
The mechanical and neurophysiological components of the stretch-shortening cycle.
Exercises that utilize the stretch-shortening cycle and whether or not they are conducive to bone-building.
Exercises that are not plyometric, but still build bone density.
How to modulate intensity in plyometric exercise.
What the appropriate volume is for plyometric exercise for beginners.

LIFTMOR Study

Video of women doing LIFTMOR Intervention

Essentials of Strength and Conditioning

James Lederach, MS, CSCS on Instagram

James Lederach’s gym Heavy Athletics

36: Somatic Dominance Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 36 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this listener-requested episode, Sarah and Laurel discuss somatic dominance, a phrase coined by author Matthew Remski to describe the manner in which teachers of movement, and yoga specifically, can come to exert control over their students, and the potential for abuse of this control.

Content Warning: This episode contains references to physical and sexual abuse.

We discuss:

The definition of somatic dominance
How some teachers use somatic influence, purposefully or not
Sarah’s experiences as a Jivamukti Yoga teacher and practitioner, including the famously aggressive physical adjustments, the culture of explaining away behaviors and pain as karma, and whether Jivamukti Yoga can be considered “cult-lite”
How we can all monitor and adjust our teaching methodology to avoid unconsciously creating unwanted somatic influence over our students

Matthew Remski book: Practice and All is Coming

Remski article on Sharon Gannon’s Somatic Dominance

Conspirituality Podcast

Remski article on Michael Roach, Christie McNally and Ian Thorson

NY Times article: Michael Roach and Christie McNally

NY Times article: Diamond Mountain University and death of Ian Thorson

35: Therapeutic Movement Through an Anti-Fragile Lens Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 35 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode Laurel sits down to talk with an old friend and colleague Dr. Caitlin Casella, DPT. In their conversation, Caitlin shares about her journey from yoga teacher to movement teacher to physical therapist. Laurel and Caitlin get into a multi-faceted discussion around the goals of rehabilitation, and how unfortunately sometimes the rehab process can fall short in fully preparing people to get back to the activities of their life after injury. Laurel & Caitlin discuss why this happens, and then ways that Caitlin works to help her patients better bridge the gap between rehab and getting back to the activities that give their lives meaning.

You will also learn:

What exercise intensity is and how, as a physical therapist, Caitlin gauges the appropriate intensity for her patients, which tends to be a lot higher than they expect!
What the concept of graded exposure is and how it’s both similar and different from the concept of progressive overload.
What it means to see the human body through an anti-fragile lens.
How the beliefs people have about their joints like “I have bad knees” or “there will be wear and tear” has made people afraid of exercise and rehab modalities like strength training and impact loading.
How Caitlin works with two types of people: those who get hurt because they did too much too soon, versus people who get hurt because they are deconditioned.
That working with some level of pain is better than movement avoidance, a sedentary lifestyle, and the deconditioning that brings.
How Caitlin motivates patients to get moving even with some amount of pain.

Caitlin’s PT clinic in NYC Practice Human Physical Therapy

34: The Cues We Use Pt. 3 Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this third episode about cueing, Sarah and Laurel discuss a specific subset (that’s a circle within a circle) of cues: feedback. Namely, we focus on when and how your feedback cues to your yoga, movement, and strength training clients can be most effective, and how there’s a strong chance you’re not helping them with that all important goal: motor learning.

We also discuss:

The three stages of motor learning that all practitioners of movement are going through, whether they know it or not
How the timing of your feedback may be the most important part (possibly even more than the content)
In what ways your current feedback habits could be getting in the way of your students’ learning (it’s not your fault!)
What three components you should pay attention to when you are giving feedback
How to transform your “motor performers” back into “motor learners”

Sarah’s Motor Learning Presentation

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33: Weebles Wobble But They Don't Fall Down Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 33 of the Movement Logic podcast! Today, Sarah is flying solo - good thing she’s spent a lot of time working on her balance. We tend to think of balance as a precision activity to strive for, but in this episode, Sarah flips the script and shows you why balance is a non-falling event.

You will learn:

The 3 systems in the body that contribute to balance
The difference between static and dynamic balance, and which is more important
What types of exercise improve functional balance, and which don’t (you might be surprised)
The real reason older clients are afraid of falling
How to challenge the 3 balance systems for your clients and students in a fun and playful way
Why Sarah is obstacle course obsessed!

Balance System Challenge Table

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Sarah’s Obstacle Course Demonstration

Long-term strength and balance training in prevention of decline in muscle strength and mobility in older adults

Lower-extremity resistance training on unstable surfaces improves proxies of muscle strength, power and balance in healthy older adults: a randomised control trial

32: Load & Volume: When is Enough Enough? When is it Too Much? Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Season 2 and Episode 32 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel discusses a topic that is important but poorly understood—training volume. Too much too soon leads to pain, injury, and burnout. Too little too late leads to frustrating plateaus and boredom. It’s important to understand volume, as well as its relationship to load, progressive loading, and changing up our strength training routine with well-timed variety. In this episode, Laurel also discusses:

The concept of load is not new to folks interested in strength training, but the concept of volume may be.
Why understanding volume is important for beginners who end up doing too much too soon and more advanced lifters who plateau and don’t know why.
How understanding load and volume can ensure we’ve allowed adequate time to recover.
What intensity is and the difference between intensity of load and intensity of effort.
What fatigue is and what it isn’t.
What volume is and how it’s defined.
What work capacity is—how it’s like a sink—and how it’s a bigger topic than strength.
The role variety plays in keeping our body responsive to a strength stimulus so we can continue driving adaptations toward increased strength and work capacity.

Episode 29: Pink Dumbbells and the Shrinking Female Body

A 1RM chart to determine intensity of load

The Science of Autoregulation, on strongerbyscience.com all about measuring intensity of effort using RPE and reps in reserve

How to Increase Work Capacity and Bust Through Plateaus, by Greg Nuckols on strongerbyscience.com

What is Training Volume? by Chris Beardsley

Strength Training Frequency, by Paul Ingraham

Episode 9: What Are the Best Exercises for Strength?

Listeners can use code PODCAST20 for half off your first month of membership to Laurel’s Virtual Studio. More details here.

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31: The Cues We Use Pt. 2 Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Season 2 and Episode 31 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss three types of cues movement teachers like yoga teachers and strength coaches use—verbal, visual, and tactile cues. Namely, we look at the differences between these three ways of cueing, and the plusses and minuses of all three types. We also discuss:

What deeper understanding we need to have about our students as well as the movement we’re teaching before we cue at all
What a verbal, versus a visual, versus tactile cue is.
The timing of verbal cues and how it relates to motor learning.
A debate in the yoga community about whether or not teaching using verbal cues (only or predominantly) is preferable to demoing while teaching.
How Laurel & Sarah’s teaching has changed with respect to cueing.
Different ways of stage and contextualize a demo.
Why highlighting the difference between what a movement looks like versus what it feels like can be helpful.
Whether to use first person or second person pronouns (or even to talk at all!) while demoing.
3 main ways you can give tactile cues, tips for teachers when giving tactile cues, and the benefits and drawbacks of each way of giving tactile cues.
Why obtaining consent is crucial before touching students.
The perils of “creepy hands”.
How trying to teach too many things means not teaching much at all.
The importance of using multiple types of cues—verbal, visual, and tactile—and aligning them toward a clear movement goal.

Sarah’s Motor Learning Presentation

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30: Mastering Physical Literacy with Dr. Chris Raynor, MD Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

Mastering Physical Literacy with Dr. Chris Raynor, MD

Welcome to Episode 30 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Sarah is joined by Dr. Chris Raynor, orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine specialist, and founder of Human 2.0, an integrated healthcare and fitness facility in Ottawa that holds a “Movement Is Medicine” philosophy.

Sarah and Chris discuss how he managed to avoid surgeon stereotypes, why avoiding pain at all costs is not the answer, how to determine if surgery is the right approach, PLUS your Instagram questions answered!

The difference between discomfort and pain, our tendencies to interpret all pain the same way, and the need to better interpret this “low level language” to make better movement choices
Whether myofascial manual techniques are really making as much difference as we think they are
How and when he steers patients away from surgery and towards strength and mobility work instead
The frustrations he faces with non-musculoskeletal doctors who instill fear of movement in their patients through their own lack of knowledge
How the conservative world of orthopedic surgeons is slowly changing with the newer generations to emphasize mobility and strength for themselves and their patients

Human 2.0

Dr. Raynor’s YouTube Channel

StableKneez (Dr. Raynor on Instagram)

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