By: Ian Nay, PT, DPT, OCS There is a clear psychological component with both knee sleeves and belts. Athletes consistently report improved confidence and a greater sense of stability when using them. That matters. In both Physical Therapy and strength training, perception influences output. If a sleeve or belt allows you to train with less...
By: Kristin Carpenter, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT Low back pain affects 60–80% of people at some point in their lives (Roth, 2022). For athletes and active adults in Boulder County, back pain can be especially frustrating because it interferes with training, outdoor activities, and performance. Whether you enjoy barbell training, cycling, running, skiing, or CrossFit,...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve done enough workouts in the CrossFit Open, you know one thing is almost guaranteed: double unders will show up when your heart rate is already through the roof. The difference between smooth sets and frustrating trip-ups often comes down to how well your ankles, calves, and reactive...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS and Megan Davis, PT, DPT OCS Training for 26.2 in Lafayette, Colorado? Discover why shoulder stability will likely determine performance in the CrossFit Open and how to prepare with targeted mobility and strength drills. If you’re preparing for 26.2 in the CrossFit Open, there’s one performance factor that will...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS CrossFit Open 26.1 places a significant metabolic demand on the lower body through repeated high volume wall balls. While leg fatigue is expected many athletes experience a rapid heart rate spike early in the workout that limits performance well before muscular failure. In most cases this response is driven...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve been training long enough, you know the feeling: the CrossFit Open is coming, jump ropes are coming out, and suddenly double-unders feel a little more… stressful than usual. For a lot of athletes especially women, but not only women that stress can show up as SUI (stress...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you want your overhead squats, snatches, and handstand push-ups to feel effortless in the CrossFit Open, it’s not just about strength it’s about stability. Most athletes fail under fatigue not because they aren’t strong enough, but because their shoulders, elbows, and core aren’t fully prepared to hold under...
By: Megan Davis, PT, DPT, OCS Neck pain is one of the most common conditions we treat in our Lafayette and Boulder offices. Neck and shoulder blade pain are a common pattern we see in our patients who may have only neck or scapular pain but could also have neck and shoulder pain together. We...
By: Ian Nay, PT, DPT, OCS CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting are highly effective for developing strength, power output, and work capacity, but from a biomechanical perspective, these three training styles are heavily biased toward the sagittal plane of motion. The sagittal plane involves forward-and-backward or vertical movement patterns, which dominate foundational lifts such as...
By: Megan Davis, PT, DPT, OCS A common question I get asked when I am working out at CrossFit or working with my patients who also participate in Crossfit is how to keep our shoulders more stable to withstand the demands of CrossFit? It is recommended to have at least 1-3 strict pull ups before...
