Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

Welcome to episode 79 of the Movement Logic Podcast! Laurel and Sarah explore whether yoga strengthens bones, examining Yoga U's claims and Dr. Loren Fishman’s controversial study. We'll uncover how Yoga U often exaggerates or cherry-picks evidence while overlooking effective bone-building exercises like heavy resistance and impact training.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How research can be misrepresented to support biases.
• The difference between bone resorption and bone-building.
• Why yoga isn't effective for bone strengthening due to lack of adequate loading and progressive overload.
• The limitations of yoga's balance improvements for real-world activities.
• The importance of critically evaluating research claims about yoga and bone health.

Sign up here for our FREE Live Strength Class on September 19th at 8:30am PT/11:30am ET.

Reference links:

Our interview on Evidence-Based Pilates

Yoga U blogs on bone health:

• 5 Best Natural Sources of Calcium for Healthy Bones
• Yoga for Osteoporosis
• Yoga for Osteoporosis and Fracture Prevention
• Yoga for Osteoporosis - What does the research say?
• Ways to reduce fracture: Muscle Strength

Movement Logic podcast episodes mentioned:

• Persistent Myths About Osteoporosis
• Three! Easy! Rules! About! Research
• Weebles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down
• Does Yoga Asana Build Bone Density?
• Got Bones? Yoga Asana Isn’t Enough.

LIFTMOR TRIAL RESEARCH

the LIFTMOR trial on YouTube

Welcome to Episode 78 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss what current science, versus outdated advice and conventional wisdom, have to say about the knees—namely whether “bone on bone” is a thing, and if deep squats, knee valgus aka “knee cave”, or high impact are inherently bad for your knees. Learn what research has to say about some of the most common fragilizing beliefs people hear about their knees, and why these scary tales are just plain wrong. In this episode you will learn that:

• The knee is strong and adaptable, capable of handling various loads with training.
• The knee has a wide range of safe positions, especially with progressive exposure.
• Knee pain doesn’t always mean injury, and injuries can heal with proper care.
• The knee isn't a simple hinge; it allows rotational and lateral movement.
• The kneecap doesn’t always need to face forward in standing.
• Knees can lock or hyperextend without causing harm, depending on the person.
• The knee can safely move past the ankle and toes during squats or lunges.
• Running and landing don’t require the knee to track perfectly forward.
• Knee valgus is not inherently dangerous.
• Deep squats, high-intensity exercise, and running do not cause arthritis or "wear and tear"; they strengthen the knee.
• Strength training and running thicken knee cartilage compared to inactivity.

Sign up here for our FREE Live Strength Class (and sample our Bone Density Course) on September 19th at 8:30am PT/11:30am ET with free replay!

Analysis of the load on the knee joint and vertebral column with changes in squatting depth - PMID: 23821469

Positive effects of moderate exercise on glycosaminoglycan content in knee cartilage - PMID: 16258919

Thickening of the knee joint cartilage in elite weightlifters as a potential adaptation mechanism - PMID: 24648385

Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee: a Cochrane systematic review - PMID: 26405113

Knee alignment does not predict incident osteoarthritis - PMID: 17393450

Gluteal muscle weakness on joint kinematics - PMID: 37309814

The effect of experimentally induced gluteal muscle weakness on joint kinematics - PMID: 37309814

Impact of Three Strengthening Exercises on Dynamic Knee Valgus - PMID: 34068810

Anteromedial versus posterolateral hip musculature strengthening with dose-controlled in women with patellofemoral pain - PMID: 33689989

Kiss goodbye to the 'kissing knees' - PMID: 33906580

Research on Crossfit injury risk - PMID: 24276294, PMID: 28253059, PMID: 32343082, PMID: 33322981

Instagram post about Sharon Lokedi 

Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 77 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah dive into the history of how DEXA scans came to be so ubiquitous, what are the risks around osteoporosis medication, and whether osteoporosis and osteopenia were intended to be diagnoses in the first place. You will learn:

• How was the DEXA score for osteoporosis first decided on
• Was osteopenia supposed to be a diagnosis for treatment
• What role did Merck play in getting more women to take their new drug Fosamax
• What are the risk factors for the side effects of bisphosphonate drugs
• What is the difference between a population risk vs an individual risk
• Why it’s not recommended to get a DEXA scan before you are 65 years old
• The role of iatrogenesis in the medication choices and use for women with osteoporosis

Sign up here for our FREE Live Strength Class (and sample our Bone Density Course) on September 19th at 8:30am PT/11:30am ET with free replay!

Reference links:

Estrogen Matters

North American Menopause Society

Osteoporosis: Innovations in screening and diagnostics

Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 76 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this second episode in our Posture Panic series, Laurel and Sarah take a deep dive into the currently available research around posture to debunk some of the long held beliefs around posture, pain prevention, muscle activation, and more.

You will learn:

• Does good posture keep you pain free?
• Is Text Neck or Tech Neck really a thing we need to worry about?
• Do we need to spend so much time finding a “neutral spine”?
• Do you need to keep your shoulders “back and down” at all times?
• Does a flexed spine automatically lead to a disc herniation?
• What the actual predictors of pain and injury are (spoiler: it’s not your posture)
• Why we hate @postureguymike’s fearmongering pseudoscience approach to “strength” for seniors

And more!

References:

Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America

Can we reduce the effort of maintaining a neutral sitting posture?

Why Sitting Posture is Mostly Irrelevant to Future Pain

Sign up here to take our free Strength Class on September 19th 8:30am PT/11:30am ET

Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 75 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this episode, Laurel and Sarah are joined by Nikki Naab-Levy, strength coach and hypermobility specialist.

You will learn:

• What is hypermobility and how does it differ from flexibility
• What are the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and how do they differ from Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder
• Who can and can’t diagnose hypermobility
• Whether hypermobile people should never lock out their joints
• What are the most important considerations when working with hypermobile clients
• The negative consequences of catastrophizing positions as safe or unsafe
• Why social media focuses on the wrong issues for hypermobile people
• Strategies for hypermobile people to sense what level of activity they should undertake on any given day

Sign up here to get on the waitlist for our next Bone Density Course in October 2024!

Reference links:

Nikki Naab-Levy on Instagram

Nikki Naab-Levy’s website

Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 74 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this unplanned episode, Laurel and Sarah discuss Stu McGill’s recent appearance on the Huberman podcast. In Episode 62, we identified McGill’s big themes around movement. In this episode, we go through his appearance on Huberman to see if he’s still promoting the same ideas or if he has updated his approach.

You will learn:

• Why we are once more deconstructing Stu McGill’s standpoint and outdated views on movement safety
• Why a hyperfocus on potential future pain is not only unhelpful but can put people off from exercising at all
• Why we need to be encouraging more people to lift weights vs scaremongering them away from it
• How McGill seems to continue to characterize himself as a ‘healer’ when in fact he is often well out of his scope of practice
• McGill’s continued overuse of anecdote and analogy in lieu of evidence and research
• Whether we will cover it if and when McGill goes on Rogan next (spoiler: we won’t)

Sign up here to get on the wait list for our next Bone Density Course in October 2024!

Reference links:

Episode 62: Make McGill Make Sense

Stu McGill on Huberman: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 73 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this first part of our much-requested three-part series "Posture Panic," Laurel and Sarah dive into the history of posture. They discuss Beth Linker's book, Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, providing insights and context to how posture has been perceived and addressed through history starting around the turn of the century up until now.

You will learn:

• The origins of "Posture Panic" around the turn of the century.
• How Darwin's theories influenced the medicalization of posture.
• The fear that human spines weren’t "ready" for bipedal stance, contributing to back pain and other issues.
• Why we believe it’s important to move like animals and babies, and where these beliefs came from.
• The intersectional impact of posture panic, affecting different races, classes, ages, and genders.
• The critique of evolutionary anthropology and its perpetuation of race science.
• The parallels between historical posture scrutiny and current fitness and diet trends like paleo, primal, and Crossfit.
• How "primitive" and "natural" marketing terms are often used inappropriately and simplistically.
• The evolution of posture surveillance from top-down to peer-based monitoring, emphasizing self-surveillance.
• The controversial practice turned scandal of nude posture photography in colleges.
• The historical use of posture as a symbol of civility and its implications for modern fitness standards.

Sign up here to get on the Wait List for our next Bone Density Course [https://mailchi.mp/8c60a64eba9b/waitlist] in October 2024!

Reference links:

Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, by Beth Linker

Episode 62: Make McGill Make Sense

Laurel and Sarah’s interview on the Conspirituality Podcast - Episode 205: Dismantling Movement Dogma

Episode 60: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 1

Episode 63: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 2

Episode 66: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 3

Welcome to Episode 72 of the Movement Logic Podcast! In this inbetweenisode, Laurel poses a thought-provoking question: “Are you trying to spend the least on exercise?”

We delve into how we prioritize spending on exercise compared to other essential health needs like diet and sleep and ask, “if investing more in exercise could give us access to better communities, education, equipment, time-saving convenience, and even luxury, would we be more inclined to engage in and enjoy it?” We ask, “considering the significant role exercise plays in our health and longevity, is it rational to hesitate in spending more to build and strengthen an exercise habit, especially when we have the means to do so?”

Sign up here to get on the Wait List for our next Bone Density Course in October 2024! It’s the only place you’ll get a discount on the course plus fun free bonus content along the way.

Ramit Sethi’s stuff —

I Will Teach You To Be Rich (the book)

I Will Teach You To Be Rich (the podcast)

Welcome to Episode 71 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this inbetweenisode, Sarah analyzes a recent NY Times article about exercise and bone density. How much do they get right, and how much do they get wrong? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Sign up here to get on the Wait List for our next Bone Density Course in October 2024! It’s the only place you’ll get a discount on the course plus fun free bonus content along the way.

NYT Article: How to Strengthen Your Bones with Exercise

Welcome to Episode 70 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this inbetweenisode, Laurel answers the question, “Do you need a deload week?” In strength training, a deload week is a planned, periodic reduction in training intensity and/or volume.  Spoiler: you probably don't need to plan deload weeks into your training, but listen more to find out!

Sign up here to get on the Wait List for our next Bone Density Course in October 2024! It’s the only place you’ll get a discount on the course plus fun free bonus content along the way.

Episode 32: Load & Volume: When is Enough Enough? When is it Too Much?

Episode 39: RPE, 1 RM, 3 sets of 10, oh my?