Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed how torn ACLs have become much more prevalent these past few years.  In fact, this type of knee injury has become so common that nowadays it's almost synonymous with a broken leg or a bad case of the flu....that sidelines you for the rest of the year.  

Let's make no mistake, a torn ACL is a very serious injury to the knee joint.  In fact, the rise of ACL tears has been almost historic, particularly in the NFL this year, with 41 individuals already tearing their ACL compared with only 25 in 2011.

So, what gives?

So, I've decided to stop being lame and finally write a new post!  I know, you're excited....but try to keep your paws off the screen.

Anyway, I decided to break tradition with my normal posts, as I've had a few odds and ends floating around my mind for some time.  While none of them really make a full post, hopefully the collection of all three certainly do..

1. With Thanksgiving in the books, and the holidays being literally right around the corner, it's a good time to touch on a conversation that I had with a client of mine.  A few days before Thanksgiving, they told me that they needed to burn 1400-1700 calories during their workout because they heard that amount was the average Thanksgiving meal.  My first reaction?  Well, I hope mine completely dwarfs that number..

I can hear the groans already....another post about diet and nutrition?  Ugh.

Well, in some ways, you're right.  This IS another post about diet and nutrition, but it's a bit different.  Rather than simply talking the talk, I've decided to show that I walk the walk, by taking a picture of my weekly grocery shopping cart.  And messy apartment aside, this isn't a tale of deprivation - it's how I shop every week.  

I hate bragging, but my clients have been absolutely ferocious in the gym these past few weeks.  I'm not sure if it's been the fact that the holidays are right around the corner, or if the moon is in some crazy lunar stage, but personal records are falling faster than Miley Cyrus' dignity.  This past week, five clients of mine have hit new PR's on their deadlifts (of at least 15 pounds or more), which makes me as happy as a Camel on Wednesday.

True or false: I love lifting heavy things. 

If you answered false, either a) you don't know me very well, b) I've somehow slipped into a parallel universe or, c) you're trying to give the joker a run for his money.

That said, there's a lot more to lifting heavy things than simply lifting heavy things.  In order to get stronger (or even, dare I say..."tone up"), it's absolutely necessary that we move well - and that's where things get real interesting. 

It's pretty simple to explain to someone that in order to do certain exercises correctly (like the deadlift), we need to move well in order to simply get down to the bar in a correct manner.  From there, we need to continue to work on moving correctly and understanding the hip hinge, to avoid having your back resemble the upper half of a question mark.

But, it's also important to move well for the reasons below: