A client of mine unfortunately pulled their lower back about 5-6 weeks ago, doing the most mundane of household chores.

Traveling halfway across the world straight after certainly didn’t help the situation, all in all, it’s been an uncomfortable few weeks.

Before joining my program this client had a long history of lower back pain, and in the last few months, we have made some fantastic progress!

To stop the issue from ever showing its ugly face again, this week I introduced them to the most important human movement there is (in my opinion).

And that’s where we are going to start today…

What have I got for you today:

•  The hip Hinge - The most important human movement
•  The power of nasal breathing

The hip Hinge - The most important human movement

In my opinion, the hip Hinge is hands down the most important human movement there is.

Why?

It’s simple, having the ability to correctly flex and move your hips, without bending your back or knees, can not only help you get insanely strong,

But most importantly, it can prevent you from hurting your lower back.

My client didn’t hip hinge, instead, they opted to bend over and move through their lower back, which resulted in pain.

I’ve heard this same story more times than I can count and it’s why I say knowing how to hip hinge is so important.

What is a hip hinge?

As I said it is one of the fundamental human movements, along with:

•  The Squat
•  The Push
•  The Pull
•  The Lunge
•  The Carry

Whenever someone comes to me with lower back pain, one of the first things I do with them is teach them this movement.

For some it can be quite an awkward movement to learn, for others, it can happen in minutes,

But once you learn it, a plethora of new exercises become available to you.

•  Deadlift
•  Romanian deadlift
•  Kettlebell swing
•  Hip thrust

These are all hip hinge-dominant exercises.

Then once you have this movement perfected and you are strengthening it in the gym, it’s going to make everyday life that much easier - and safer.

So if you’ve ever had issues with your lower back, or maybe you’ve just never learned it,

Please add hip-hinging movements to your strength training program because it will change your life…

Yes, I’m being super dramatic but I’m being deadly honest.

Here’s a few technique pointers:

1. Feet between hip and shoulder width apart pointed forward or towards 11 & 1.
2. Knees soft, spine in a neutral position with your core stiff.
3. Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands on your hips - whichever feels most comfortable.
4. Begin by pushing your hips backward (imagine closing a door with your butt) while simultaneously bringing your upper body towards the floor.
5. Make sure your knees don’t start to bend and that you keep your spine in that neutral position throughout.
6. Stop when you can’t move your hips any further back - this is the end of your range of motion (people with flexible hamstrings and hip flexors will be able to go deeper into the movement).
7. Pause for a second at the bottom, and then return to the start position by reversing the movement - think about using your glutes to power this upward movement.
8. Pause at the top and repeat.

Hope that helps.

Oh and if you want a place to learn it, check out this video.

The power of nasal breathing

For way too long I was doing something that was damaging my health.

No, it wasn’t junk food, booze, or stupid stunts,

It was my breathing.

Yep, how I used to breathe was hurting my health.

How?

I used to breathe predominantly from my mouth.

You may be asking yourself how is that harmful?

Let me explain.

We have two methods of breathing,

•  Mouth breathing
•  Nasal breathing (through your nose)

Sustained periods of mouth breathing have been shown to increase your sympathetic nervous system, which is your body's ‘fight-or-flight’ response.

This is useful during intense situations such as hard bouts of exercise, or 10000 years ago when you would hunt for your food or fight off a saber tooth tiger (I didn’t research the date).

But it’s not so useful in your everyday life.

Being tapped into that system when you are sitting at your desk reading emails or when you are lying in bed is FAR from ideal.

Spending too much time tapping into your sympathetic nervous system can have negative consequences in the likes of:

•  Increased feelings of stress and anxiety
•  Higher blood pressure
•  Increased resting heart rate
•  Lower energy levels 
•  Poorer recovery between workouts

So hopefully you are starting to see how much of a negative impact it can have on your mind, body, and health.

For the past 15-16 months I’ve made it a priority to focus on better nasal breathing, which is tricky for me because of a stupid deviated septum. 

Which is the reason I’ve been mouth-breathing more than I should.

What have I done to fix the situation?

Two aids that have transformed my life are nose strips & mouth tape.

See picture below for how ‘sexy’ I look going to sleep every night 😂

* The nose strip opens up my nasal passage and helps me breathe through my nose correctly.

* Then the mouth tape forces me to breathe solely through my nose when I’m sleeping - which has transformed how I sleep!

I also use a nose strip when I run and the difference it has to my performance is HUGE!

So much so that quite a few of my clients are now doing the same when they do their cardiovascular training.

If you are like me and you struggle with nasal breathing, I can’t recommend nose strips enough!

When I say they’ve changed my life I truly mean it.

Quote for the day

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

– May West

We’re on this planet for a good time, not a long time.

This is something I’ve been taking more and more notice of recently, and I’ll be honest it scares me a little.

It also makes me a bit sad when I either see or hear about people who are letting their unhealthy, out-of-shape bodies dictate the quality of their lives.

Your body dictates the quality of life you have.

Not money, not fast cars, or fancy restaurants, but your body.

So my closing message to you this weekend is a simple one.

Please treat that body of yours with the respect and care it deserves, because without it you have nothing.

Speak again soon,

Mark.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here’s a few ways I can help you:

1. Are you an ambitious entrepreneur or professional who wants to get strong, lean, and boost your energy? Then apply for my 1-1 coaching here.

2. Grab a FREE copy of my Ultimate Health Guide for Entrepreneurs by Clicking here now