Hip Mobility-Activation Pair for Single-Leg Stability

I hope you had a great weekend. Emily and I went to the Flyers vs. Penguins game yesterday to watch one of my Fitness Segments with Jim McCrossin on the JumboTron. Check out this picture my friend took with his phone:

Kevin Neeld and Jim McCrossin

The Flyers had been undefeated since our first segment rolled; I just assume it’s because of all the great training tips they’re getting during our first period video!

I’ve been getting a lot of great feedback about the mobility/activation dynamic warm-up pair concept that I learned from Nick Tumminello.  A couple weeks ago I posted a new hip mobility exercise I’ve been using a lot recently. Below is the video of that exercise and a video of the Lateral Lunge->Reverse Crossover Drop Lunge that I pair it with.

This exercise pair is a great way to improve hip range of motion and immediately reinforce multi-planar single-leg stability. Let me know what you think!

Prone Hip Rock

Lateral Lunge -> Reverse Crossover Drop Lunge



-Kevin Neeld

P.S. If you like new and innovative hockey training exercises, check out the video library at my new ice hockey training site!

P.P.S. In the next two weeks I’ll officially be launching my OTHER new hockey training site, with a WHOLE list of incredible bonuses. Go over to HockeyTrainingExpert.com and register now. Everyone that pre-registers before the official launch is guaranteed to get ALL the bonuses, including the new Ice Hockey Speed Training Manual I’m writing!

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Push-Up Plus into Yoga Push-Up

Nick Tumminello recently posted a video of how he’s changed the way he does the “push-up plus” to get more serratus anterior activation.

For those of you that may not be familiar with that muscle, one of its major roles is to upwardly rotate the scapula (shoulder blade) which allows for more efficient overhead movement. Activating and strengthening this muscle through the push-up plus exercise is thought to enhance the muscles’ function and help prevention shoulder injuries related to poor upward rotation.

Nick has really opened up my mind to new training concepts and ways to progress/develop more effective exercises. My only problem with the push-up plus exercise is that it doesn’t actually upwardly rotate the scapula, which is the major function of that muscle. Since strength and neural control is range of motion specific, the push-up plus seems limited in its ability to improve upward rotation.

With that in mind, I used the “new and improved” push-up plus exercise in combination with a yoga push-up (which extends the hamstrings, teaches hip/lumbar spine separation, AND uses a closed-chain upper body movement to drive upward rotation of the scapulae).

Check out the exercise below:



If you haven’t yet, check out Nick’s post: Push Up Plus Exercise – A Better Way!

Train hard. Train smart.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. For hundreds of innovative exercises like this, register for a membership at my new hockey training membership site today! I have a few special surprises for people that sign-up during this “pre-registration” period!

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Top 10 Strength and Conditioning Newsletters

Last night I surprised Emily by picking her up at the airport (she was expecting a friend from work). Her flight was delayed, so I’m a little tired today!

I’m always curious what resources other Strength and Conditioning Coaches go to for new/unique training information. There are a ton of great books, websites, audio programs, and DVDs out there, all of which cost money.

Below is a list of my the Top 10 FREE Newsletters that I think all Strength and Conditioning Coaches should subscribe to.

Everyone will benefit from all of these, but you may find some speak to you more than others so I don’t think it’s fair to rank them (that’s why they’re all labeled “1”).

1) Eric Cressey’s Newsletter

1) Michael Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach Newsletter

1) Nick Tumminello’s Newsletter and Video Course

1) Mike Robertson’s Newsletter

1) SBCoachesCollege.com Newsletter

1) Brian Tracy’s Newsletters (I love the “Quote of the Day newsletter)

1) Mike Geary’s Newsletter (Great Nutrition and fat loss tips)

1) John Berardi’s/Precision Nutrition Newsletter

1) Kevin Neeld’s Newsletter (Had to throw that one in there)

1) Kim McCullough’s Hockey Newsletter (This is a must-subscribe for both male AND female hockey players and coaches)

These are the newsletters I read on a daily basis. If you know of other great newsletters please post them below so we can all benefit from them!

Keep learning. Keep training smart.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. Don’t forget to register for this FREE teleseminar with guest speakers like Mike Boyle, Eric Cressey, Gray Cook, Shirley Sahrmann, and Stu McGill: Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

P.P.S. I’m really excited that my Ultimate Ice Hockey Training Facebook Group has broken the 1,000 fan barrier. Help spread the word to other motivated hockey players and coaches!

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Sports Rehab to Sports Performance

My friend Joe Heiler, the brilliant Physical Therapist behind SportsRehabExpert.com, just sent me an email announcing the final line-up to his FREE “Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar.”

Check out this list of presenters!

Gray Cook and Shirley Sahrmann
Robert Panariello
Stuart McGill (bonus interview with Chris Poirier from Perform Better)
Craig Liebenson and Clare Frank
Mike Reinold
Greg Rose
Mike Boyle
Gary Gray
Eric Cressey

I don’t know how he managed to get those names to join forces for this (or why he’s offering this seminar for free), but I’m really excited for the seminar. This list includes the most influential Physical Therapists, Strength Coaches, Chiropractors, and Athletic Trainers in the industry, and they ALWAYS deliver unbelievable content.

Gray Cook, Shirley Sahrmann, Stuart McGill, Mike Boyle, and Eric Cressey have all had a profound impact on the way I train my athletes. In fact, from my desk at Endeavor I can see at least one book from each one of them!

The presentations will begin on January 27th and run every Wednesday night at 8 pm. Joe mentioned that he knew that time may not work for everyone so he’s making all the presentation recordings available for up to 48 hours afterward.

This is one of the few presentations/seminars every year that you MUST be a part of. Last year’s was incredible and the line-up is even better this year! Since it’s free…and you have two days to listen to each presentation, you really don’t have an excuse not to.

Click the link below for more information or to register:

Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Remember that this is a FREE teleseminar! At the risk of offending you, you’d have to be stupid not to register: Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

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Dynamic Warm-Ups, Nick Tumminello Style

On Friday I posted a revolutionary training tip from Nick Tumminello (a personal trainer in Baltimore) that has completely changed the way I write my dynamic warm-ups.

In short, now I pair mobility and stability/activation exercises for each joint within the warm-up, instead of doing all mobility work first and all activation work second.

To give you an example of how this has changed my warm-ups, take a look at an old and new dynamic warm-up:

Old Dynamic Warm-Up:

  1. 3-Way Ankle Mobility (Toes on Wall): (3×5)/side
  2. Rectus Femoris Mobilization: 8/side
  3. Quadruped Rocking: 8
  4. 1/2 Kneeling 2-Way Thoracic Mobility: (2×5)/side
  5. Wall March Glute Activation: 15s/side
  6. Lateral Squat: 6/side
  7. Reverse lunge: 6/side
  8. Overhead Squat: 8
  9. Side Shuffle: 10 yards/side
  10. Long Stride Carioca: 15 yards/side
  11. Butt Kickers: 15 yards
  12. Back Pedal: 15 yards
  13. Penguin Walk (Heel walk): 25 yards

New Warm-Up (after making the change that Nick Tumminello clued me in on):

  1. 3-Way Ankle Mobility (Toes on Wall): (3×5)/side
  2. Penguin Walk: 25 yards
  3. Rectus Femoris Mobilization: 8/side
  4. Reverse Lunge: 8/side
  5. 2-Way Hamstring Mobilization: (2×5)/side
  6. Yoga Push-Up: 8
  7. Inverted Reach: 8/side
  8. Prone 2-Way Hip Rock: (2×8)/side
  9. Lateral Lunge -> Reverse Crossover Lunge: (2×6)/side
  10. Scap Wall Slide: 10
  11. Side Shuffle: 15 yards/side
  12. Butt Kickers: 15 yards
  13. Back Pedal: 15 yards
  14. 3/4 Speed Jog: 2 x 25 yards

See how easy that is? It’s a simple change that you can make to improve the effectiveness of your warm-ups.

Train hard. Train smart.

-Kevin Neeld

P.S. If you’re a hockey player or coach and want to get access to dozens of done-for-you dynamic warm-ups and training programs, go check out my hockey training site.

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