Kinetic Advantage Consulting, 508 Boulder Creek Green, Calgary, AB (2026)

05/10/2024

Update #2!! I’m thrilled to announce KAC’s collaboration with The Strength Guys which will soon not only entail launching a new Biomechanics for Powerlifting online education course, but also Jason , Ben and the TSG team have been working hard behind the scenes to help revitalize my Powerlifting Biomechanical analysis service and Technique Insights reporting capabilities🎉🎉🎉 . Also, we will be collecting movement data and generating population norms for lifters - filling a huge gap to empower lifters and coaches with truly data-informed training decisions. Stay tuned for more updates! 💪

05/03/2024

🌟 Update 1: I am thrilled to announce that I have found a fantastic team and home base at Ascent Health and Sport Injury , where we are launching the Ascent Athletics department to bridge the gap between injury prevention, rehab and athlete performance. It’s new in-person service options available for lifters and their coaches in, or visiting, Calgary, Alberta:

1️⃣ Technique Coaching & Consultations for all training experience levels and practitioner types.

2️⃣ Athlete Assessments using state-of-the-art motion capture technologies & AI-driven analytics.

3️⃣ Full clinical integration at Ascent Health & Sport Injury to bridge the performance gap for when injuries occur.

Link in bio for more information!

For those not local to Calgary, don’t worry! Stay tuned for updates on upcoming online options that will be available through collaboration with The Strength Guys 🌐💪

05/01/2024

Hey everyone, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some ongoing new changes at KAC.

Over Christmas, I experienced escalating health issues that led to me, well, losing movement control over my body. While we are still searching for a clear diagnosis to my ongoing neurological condition, things are looking up. Managing my symptoms has been a journey, and as a movement specialist, you can imagine how challenging it was for me to lose trust in my own body, as well as the toll it took on my family. This experience has led me to reevaluate my future path with KAC.

Moving forward, KAC will no longer offer its traditional consulting/assessment services. However, my loyal powerlifting following, you need not worry. We will reemerge stronger than ever in the near future. This Instagram account will continue, along with free educational content for the amazing community I’ve been fortunate to be a part of since 2017. Expect more content to gear up soon.

In the upcoming posts, I will share specific updates on my technique services, new cutting-edge technique monitoring technologies, exciting partnerships, and upcoming virtual and local Calgary events for you to look forward to.

Thank you all for your loyal support. Stay tuned for the journey ahead.

01/07/2024

There’s a reason why not every lifter moves the same on the platform. While experienced lifters have had time to naturally adopt a stance or style that works for them, novice lifters often get bombarded with opinions from every direction on what style suits them best.

If the goal is to lift as much weight as you can, play to your strengths, not everyone else’s.

10/12/2023

A framework to identify potential gaps in your current warm-up routine, while avoiding the "kitchen sink approach" by incorporating the minimum required movements to enhance your training.

Practice: Did you know that when you watch someone performing a task, the pre-motor areas of your brain light up in similar ways as if YOU were the one performing the task? This area of the brain is responsible for preparing and executing limb movements through coordinating with other parts of the brain in choosing the appropriate motions.

Range: Mobility is more than just flexibility - it is the ability to move freely and easily that is also dependent on if you are strong enough to be in a position for the given loading demands. Your functional range of motion may also be negatively impacted by pain, anxiety, and postural instability.

Engage: Each lifter has their own unique training history, including injuries and chronically overused, tight muscles. Muscles may experience neurological inhibition caused by both lack of, and distorted neurological inputs that create ongoing strength performance roadblocks for lifters.

Potentiate: Where post-activation potentiation is a phenomena that occurs to enhance muscle force exerted due to its previous contraction, there are aspects of muscle excitement that you can use to achieve similar results in our warm-up routine.

10/12/2023

Proposed framework to identify potential areas of improvement in your current warm-up routine, while avoiding the "kitchen sink approach" by incorporating the minimum required movements to enhance your training.

Practice: Did you know that when you watch someone performing a task, the pre-motor areas of your brain light up in similar ways as if YOU were the one performing the task? This area of the brain is responsible for preparing and executing limb movements through coordinating with other parts of the brain in choosing the appropriate motions.

Range: Mobility is more than just flexibility - it is the ability to move freely and easily that is also dependent on if you are strong enough to be in a position for the given loading demands. Your functional range of motion may also be negatively impacted by pain, anxiety, and postural instability.

Engage: Each lifter has their own unique training history, including injuries and chronically overused, tight muscles. Muscles may experience neurological inhibition caused by both lack of, and distorted neurological inputs that create ongoing strength performance roadblocks for lifters.

Potentiate: Where post-activation potentiation is a phenomena that occurs to enhance muscle force exerted due to its previous contraction, there are aspects of muscle excitement that you can use to achieve similar results in our warm-up routine.

09/11/2023

Various research studies have found that a raised heel allows for a more upright torso, increased knee extensor muscle activation, and reduced paraspinal muscle activation when squatting. The general consensus is also that the participants can squat deeper with the heeled shoe. This always seems to be attributed to a raised heel compensating for reduced ankle mobility (dorsiflexion range of motion). Unfortunately, this is only a small piece of the puzzle….

Lee et al (2019)’s investigation actually involved trained lifter research participants, and also evaluated their squat biomechanics at actually heavy loads! What did they find? None of the aforementioned benefits that heeled squat shoes provided in previous investigations!

It’s all comes down to the external loading demands relative to LOWER LEG ANGLE. For example, we can achieve similar dorsiflexion angles with heeled vs. flat shoes, but the heeled shoe would allow for a more forward knee, and upright torso to keep our Center of mass over the mid-foot.

THE MORE FORWARD THE KNEES = THE MORE CHALLENGING THE LOADING DEMANDS ON THE KNEE EXTENSORS, ESPECIALLY IN DEEP SQUAT POSITIONS.

Think of it this way: if a lifter has relatively stronger knee extensors strength that enables them to squat with a more forward knee position in heeled shoes, this might help them play to their strengths in competition.

But if a lifter’s knee extensors are their weakest link, they will restrict forward knee travel regardless of what shoes they are wearing! They might also be able to keep a more upright torso at lower loads, but as soon as the load gets heavier and their knee extensors are working too hard, the body is going to transfer demands loading to the hip anyways and will cause them to lean forward more anyways.

09/06/2023

Observing and providing feedback on your lifters’ technique is a key component of your role as their coach, but how can we objectively capture movement performance?

Quantifying technique also needs to be done in a way that is actionable. Yes we may be able to measure lower leg and torso segment angles, bar and hip displacements, but what does that even tell us over time aside from that it may or may not have changed??

Let’s face it. Biomechanics is tough, and TIME is a coach’s biggest limiting factor. We know that lifting technique is essential for both strength success and injury prevention, but how can you “do it all” for your lifters while also trying to scale your business?

Well, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes this past year trying to do just that with our Technique Insights Reports and scores.

To learn more about the upcoming All-In-One PRO Membership that does all the heavy lifting for you (yup, pun intended!) follow .analytics.inc to stay updated, and visit our website:

https://kineticadvantage.ca/coaches

and get on the list for the opportunity to be one of our beta testers before it is officially launched!

09/04/2023

Happy Labour Day to our fellow Canadians, and extending our promotional celebrations to our international followers as well!

Use promo code “LIFTMORE25” to save big on EVERYTHING KAC 🥳🥳🥳

From our famous 3-Lift Powerlifting Technique Assessment Packages, or more streamlined PAY-PER-LIFT Technique Insights Reports, to our Powerlifting Biomechanics and other online courses or Members Zone Video Library and Technique Resources, and even all store items in the new Kinetic Analytics App to save on Monthly Memberships, Webinars and even Merchandise!!!🤪🥳🤪🥳

Simply use links in bio to take advantage of these limited time savings!

09/03/2023

Somatosensation involves sensory information from the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints capsules, bones, and internal tissues.

Somatosensory input therefore provides the central nervous system (CNS) with information regarding temperature, pain, pressure, vibration, stretch and tension, and body positioning (proprioception).

We often don’t realize the important role these signals play in depicting our movement strategies and muscle force generating capabilities.

Based on the sensory information the CNS receives results in a series of decision making processes to determine the “best” way to produce movement, when to contract muscles, and regulate the tension that they are creating to control the movement. Think of it like it has a bunch of pre-planned motor solutions to choose from and our sense determine which one is picked. Yes it does have its favourite, but that can change if the somatosensation says so!

Example 1: PAIN is a manifestation of what the sensory receptors in the body are telling the brain. When pain receptors are stimulated, the CNS will inhibit muscle actions that will cause further pain or injury. If you’ve injured a muscle, the CNS will down-regulate its motor signal for contraction and loading demands will be transferred to another muscle that crosses the same joint or to muscles at different joints during compound movements. This will result in a change in movement characteristics and technique.

Example 2: adding a vibration machine at the Achilles’ tendon to trigger mechanoreceptors, will cause the individual to lean backwards and even fall backwards if their eyes are closed. This is because the vibration stimulus tricks the brain into thinking the calves are in a more lengthened position (leaning forward), and automatically triggers them to contract to cause plantarflexion and bring the muscle length back to what it thinks is neutral standing position (which is obviously wrong lol).

Crazy right?

Can you think of some circumstances in your training where something like this has happened to you?

08/30/2023

“Quad dominant” or deep squats have both been blamed for chronic knee pain, yet neither are supported in the research. But where did these accusation originate from?

For Powerlifters, knee pain may be related to
hip extensor strategy. The body has many “degrees of freedom” and several synergists available to help the glutes extend the hip such as the hamstrings and adductor magnus.

Scenario 1: In contrast to Weightlifters, many Powerlifters use a more “hips back” squat technique that necessitates both greater hip extensor loading demands and hamstring lengths = greater hamstrings contributions to a larger hip extensor net joint moments (i.e., torques).

Scenario 2: the lifter has very strong quads and avoids torso leaning at all costs. They exhibit a whole body posterior shift out of the hole as a way to take advantage of the biarticular hamstrings to transfer large energies generated at the knee, to assist at the hip. This may also lead to chronically HIGH hamstring tensions over time too!

So how is this all linked to knee pain? While we may think, "Great! The more muscles the merrier!", but its all about balance and old adage "too much of a good thing."

The biarticular hamstrings are hip extensors AND knee flexors. In both of the above scenarios we may underestimating the actual quadriceps tensions present to achieve the NET joint moments required to extend the knee and achieve the lift, especially during high intensity training blocks. The greater the glute efforts (muscle weakness, fatigue, or large loading demands due to technique chosen) = greater hamstring recruitment = greater quadriceps tensions at the knee, regardless of technique.

Many lifters experiencing knee pain report that restricting forward knee travel when squatting can temporarily relieve their knee pain, BUT the pain eventually comes back. Despite their best load management efforts, this temporary reduction in knee extensor demands, quadriceps tensions eventually build back up since the underlying cause of their knee pain and compensatory hamstring recruitment was not addressed.

What would YOU do differently?

08/29/2023

While the current body of research supports how breathing and various cueing techniques can enhance TVA engagement and strengthening, its applications for improving squat performance is scarce. In the presented study, investigators aimed to determine how different bracing and "active exhalation" breathing techniques impacted lower extremity muscle activities during the squat for the purpose of improving their strength (i.e., strength of the hips, quads, etc., not just the core musculature).

There's actually a lot to unpack in the paper, not necessarily for the best reasons of which we will expanded upon in the KAC Blog article "To Breathe Or Not To Breathe", so here's the Coles notes for some practice in interpreting academic research and critical thinking:

Since normalized EMG levels did not exceed 60% MVIC for any muscle group evaluated, its a big reach to suggest superior strategy for the purpose of lower extremity muscle strengthening and will extend to squatting to greater depths and with external bar loading.

Greater EMG activation levels do not necessarily guarantee greater muscle tensions, just like how a statistically significant difference does not guarantee clinically MEANINGFUL differences. We also cannot extend these results to ALL lower extremity musculature; EMG only collected for bi-articular and antagonist muscles. Unlike the primary agonist glute max, vastii and soleus muscles for the squat, the RF, BF, and GAS help coordinate as synergists, and at the same time, as antagonists that increase joint rigidity like the TA. In fact, the RF has been shown to minimally contribute to knee extensor joint moments during the squat.

THIRD. Although greater co-activity does technically increase stability, let me put it to you this way: mobility impaired geriatric older adults tend to have the highest co-contraction levels of all to compensate for reduced strength, force control and proprioception. Would it not make more sense to prioritize eccentric strengthening of muscles that matter like the vastii to control the knee rather than relying on higher hamstring co-contraction to compensate?

What do you think?

Kinetic Advantage Consulting

05/10/2024

05/03/2024

05/01/2024

01/07/2024

10/12/2023

10/12/2023

09/11/2023

09/06/2023

09/04/2023

09/03/2023

08/30/2023

08/29/2023

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category