REVIEW: Secrets of the Hip and Knee - Gray Cook, Brett Jones

This will get a few people in a tizzy I know.  The whole 'does the FMS work at all?' argument that has sprung up.  So, let's cover that first.  The FMS (functional movement screen) is at its heart a series of 7 movements using bodyweight & a few tools like a height adjustable hurdle, a measuring rod & a board.  I won't go on to describe every movement involved, but if you are interested pop over to the Functional movement website & check it out (& buy the book called movement if you want a real close look at it).  So, let's cut to the chase.  Looking at the research it does not look like the FMS does a good job of predicting short term injury, if you want references I've got quite a few & the consensus seems to be that for short term injury prediction this isn't an accurate tool, it is very bad at picking up on previous injury (the single biggest indicator of injury is previous injury, if it can't spot that, then it's in trouble when it comes to short term injury prediction).  So, the FMS is worthless right?  Well, no, I don't think so.  A huge factor of the FMS is finding asymmetry & correcting these as much as possible & creating a minimum acceptable movement pattern.  For some things this will be useless or even counter productive, so asymmetrical sports like throwing, fighting etc may actually suffer from symmetry!  But symmetrical sports like swimming, running etc or your average gym-rat may not gain short term injury prevention, but may gain longevity in an activity if they remain more symmetrical & keep decent range of motion.  My personal view is the FMS does a fair job of that, well part of it, I have seen people who can breeze a lot of the FMS tests, but load them & suddenly their squat looks REALLY ugly, so assessing under load is as vital as unloaded to get a full picture as well as previous injury history & many other bits before you can really understand a persons needs.
I haven't referenced the above as I just wanted to give a brief snippet of the arguments raging right now, if you want a piece specifically about the whole FMS debate post below & I'll do a fully referenced blog on that as it would take some time to take you through the whole thing covering all the issues.
So back to the DVD.  Whether you accept the FMS or not this video has some useful exercises you could incorporate into your training & shows you how many knee & lower back issues can be traced back to the hip (the ankle being another major cause of issues elsewhere too), so although the DVD says it's about knees & hips, it actually focusses on the hip as the major player in the whole knee problem arena.  As long time readers will know I have had a few back issues in the past & a couple of the things mentioned on this DVD showed I was definitely lacking in some core stability (especially when loaded across the body - so for example loading the right arm while on the left leg), I cannot hold this stable when moving - for some reason I've never thought to load up like this before, so for example a one leg deadlift with the left arm picking up the weight, while the right leg stays down on the ground & I look like I'm tightrope walking (all wibble-wobble), so that's got to get included.  I do regularly foam roll & as a massage therapist I obviously agree with soft tissue work (nothing beats hands-on, but a roller can get done everyday, so use both!), so I'll be doing the one leg deadlift & I'll be including a split squat progression that isn't exactly the way these guys suggested it, it was something I coincidently had planned for this cycle anyway, but watching this I'm going to load only the opposite shoulder with a kettlebell (you can use a dumbbell just as easily).  So, remember when the weight bearing leg is the right, hold the kettlebell or dumbbell in the left hand at the shoulder, like you are about to press it). My progression ideas for this are as follows:

Stage 1/ Static split squat
Stage 2/ Rear foot elevated split squat
Stage 3/ Forward, backward, lateral lunging

Each stage will be worked until total stability is achieved.  These are not going to be my 'strength moves' as such, I still have to keep my big 3 lifts going the right way (barbell back squat, Barbell deadlift & bench), so I'm keeping them in & working these in around that - that probably wouldn't be to the authors of these DVDs liking as they believe in dropping exercises & focussing in on issues, fixing them & then reintroducing other exercises, but for now I'm trying it this way, if that fails to correct things then I'll think about dropping the big movements, but for now they are staying - as they say, we learn best by doing, so I'm doing this, I may learn it won't work this way..or I may learn that in some situations it does, either way I'll learn another lesson.  By now you probably know I don't always just follow what people say, I tend to tweak & see if I prefer another path, sometimes I've really gone wrong, but on others I've found new ways of doing things that I've included into my bag of tricks.
So DVD, worth the cost or not?  I'd say yes.  If you are new the whole corrective idea it is a good place to start.  If you've had bad knees, hips or lower back in the past (this includes runners, not just lifters), then I'd say yes get it.  Please don't follow the whole 'corrective exercise' thing right down the rabbit hole (Alison in wonderland reference), please do not end up on tip toe balanced on a bosu ball, juggling oranges while pressing a pink dumbbell.  Most dysfunction is fixed by lifting heavy & getting a decent mix of strength, power & muscular endurance, going unilateral where necessary & finding the issues, the whole squatting on a stability ball is just a short cut to an injury in my view.  If you want instability, add chains, add weights from the bar hanging from bands.  These add instability without the injury risk.  If you are not spending at least some of most sessions going heavy (heavy for you that is) then you are doing something very, very wrong.  So, yes do any correctives you need, but do not fall into the 'corrective trap' or you'll waste years doing all sorts of nonsense when you should have been gaining strength! ...ok rant over.

If you want to get hold of the DVD pop over to dragondoor

Core Stabilisation

I had a query from a girl who wanted to strengthen her core muscularity. She had back issues so sit-ups & crunches were out as any movement like that aggravated the neck, so I quickly snapped a few pics of a few static holds you can do that will strengthen the area & work to 'resist motion' which is a major function of the abs & core region that is overlooked.
If you are just starting I would simply move into the position then lower until you get a feel for the movements, but once you are confident you have them correctly mastered begin to hold each position for time. I would work up to 90 seconds or so, then begin to either add weight, lift a limb or use some other method to make the stance more difficult.
I've included 4 (5 if you include both sides of the side plank), which will work your static holding strength & anti-rotational strength. Do these exercises once or twice a week will aid you in increasing your deadlift, squat or any other exercise that needs a strong core.

Front plank







In the front plank the body should be straight & the spine should follow its natural curvature. The top of the arms should be at right angles when viewed from the front & sides. Do not lift your head, but let it follow the natural flow of the rest of the spine. Do not let you belly sink down (so you look like a seal). The idea is to use your stomach muscles to keep your belly in place (pink socks are optional)

Side plank





With the side plank you are using your obliques to stop your hips sagging into the ground. Your upper arm should be at 90°. An important point to note is the spine & neck should remain straight so the head shouldn’t droop or be pulled upwards, but the whole spine should be straight.

Bird dog





With the bird dog you are resisting rotation, so the idea is to keep the back flat & the curve of the spine natural. The head should not droop or be raised, but the neck should follow the natural curve of the rest of the spine. Your back & buttocks should be level, not twisted. You lift the opposite arm & leg, so in this example you’ve got the right arm & the left leg raised.

Shoulder Bridge





The shoulder bridge works the back muscles directly. In the pictures I should have the feet just a little closer so the bottom of the legs are at 90° to the floor. The idea is not to extend the back, but to hold the body in its normal position with the spine holding its normal shape, so don’t lift the hips too high, just enough to keep the back in its natural shape.

Final points

If you need any further explanation then feel free to leave a comment & I'll get back to you. If you are doing stretches for the back, do them after you have done these, not before.
Work up slowly & start off easy. Learn to do the moves right first, then go up in time. Stop as soon as you feel the form is slipping, do not hold a pose using the wrong form or you’ll do more harm than good.
Don’t start these while you have a bad back, be patient, let any back injuries heal, then start adding them into your day.
Twice a week is plenty.
Use a mirror to begin with to see if you’re doing them right, or get someone to check out that you are getting into the right position.
Get hold of a book & write down how long you hold each position for, the date you did it, etc. It is probably best to set a day or 2 aside each week (like say Monday & Thursday for example) & those are the days you do them, that way you’ll form a habit of doing them those days. Aim at doing a little bit more every week.