Update

[Josh Henkin]

Coach Sonnon,
After all the questions I post I figured the least I could do was to provide
the group on some of the work we are implementing with our clients.

My first pleasant note has to due with a client that was referred to us for
weight loss and flexibility improvements by her chiropractor. While we are
still dealing with some emotional eating habits she has, she did just get reviewed by her chiro and received some great news. With just using components of Z-health she passed with flying colors all of his tests! This was a woman who could barely bend to a 1/4 squat without having tremendous knee pain. Now she can perform almost a full squat with zero knee pain!

Another example are two young baseball players who have shocked their coaches with their immediate improvements in their throwing and fielding abilities. Having taught them some of the CST movements related to their weaknesses they are now throwing harder with feeling less stress on the shoulder joint. They are also able to field better because their hip flexibility allows them to get down in front of the ball instead of having to use to their low backs to get the grounders.

Finally myself, after being frustrated with the knee pain I was feeling in
most of the movements I think we have solved the problem. Thanks to CST, I finally realized how much my feet were inhibiting any progress. Now almost a month of being dedicated and consistent with my specific movements I can perform all the movements with no knee discomfort. Not only that, but I hit another PR in my clean without having it be a goal. This isn't the power version, but the full that usually is somewhat of a struggle due to flexibility issues.

I hope this convinces others that these methods work, but you have to make a sincere dedication to implementing them.

Josh Henkin
www.aaptraining.net (http://www.aaptraining.net)

[Scott Sonnon]

Josh, superb report!
Congratulations on your outstanding progress for yourself and your clients!

[Ken Harper]

Josh:

I read your update with interest & curiousity. Time permitting, could you walk us through the kinds of process you used to go from diagnostic to specific "adjustments?" For instance, what did you have to become aware of or learn before you eliminated your own knee pain? On the subject of knee pain (a common one, I think), how did you use Z to deal w/ the young woman?

I don't want to impose on you to go into minutia or something that's your intellectual property, but I'm interested in general/specific principles and trying to figure out how to apply them to individual cases (usually my own). Who knows? Maybe these could/would make excellent articles we could all learn from? As a 55 year old, I've learned I have to pay a lot more attention to what I do before, during, and after training. Get older, train smarter, get better -- that sort of thing. I really do try to learn from others' experience.

I apologize if you covered these items in previous posts. and if so, just point me and I'll do my homework.

I've been doing Z myself for a couple of years and attended Scott's Seattle seminar, so my level of awareness is slightly above rank beginner. I've also benefitted from Coach Sonnon's diagnostics/prescriptive actions for injuries that were hampering my girevoy sport training (kettlebell lifting).

I am not a trainer nor do I have clients, but Daniel Juson and I (and others) are in the process of putting together a Kettlebell/Clubbell/RMA group in Portland, so that's where the immediate application could/might be.

Thx much,

Ken

[Scott Sonnon]

Ken,

Josh has great insights to share, I am certain. From an organizational standpoint, Chain Reaction Assessment is part of the Z-Health Certification Program. We'll be happy to discus this with you offline since we are in the process of bringing the certification courses online.

[Ken Harper]

Scott:

Sure, I'll send you an e-mail or vice-versa.

Thank you,

Ken

[Josh Henkin]

Ken,
I am more than happy to share my experiences, eventhough we are far from feeling like experts with the system.

As you well know, we always start by trying to watch the individual's movement patterns and listen to what they say. By listening I mean take inventory of what their habits are, when pain exists, what types of injuries have they sufferred in the past, and their various emotional states (I find clients complain more about pain during times of high stress or depression).

With the knee issue for my client and myself I found it most helpful to perform spiral patterns to ball of foot squat. This can give you information on where a person is guarding and/or where their body allows them to move. In regards to my client and myself again, we both had the habit of not allowing our feet and ankles to move freely. In fact, we basically had locked our ankles and did not allow any movement to occur. Therefore the knee and hip had to compensate causing some significant discomfort.

Common sense dictated we address this issue first. After performing the foot drills Coach Sonnon posted previously we retested the same movement. We found that the movement improved and pain was decreased. This led us to prioritizing this exercise on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day. I also asked her to walk with and without her shoes, she commented how much better her gait and knee felt without her shoes on. Hmmm, something is wrong with her footwear. Changing to a wrestling shoe she says she feels much better when we train.

For myself, my injury history led us to the obvious conclusion that I had a similar problem. Again, we tried the exercises and repeated the movement. Just as with my client my performance improved greatly. I also felt greater freedom in my hips and low back. Now, not everyone will be as simple or feel the same relief from doing what I just mentioned.

As Coach Sonnon mentioned, being able to utilize the chain reaction program can give you great insight into problem areas. While I am becoming more comfortable with the system it is still a work in progress. However, it is not overly complex. If you have a good handle on anatomy and foundations of CST you should be able to implement the informatoin rather easily.

I hope this post is not getting too long, but one more comment. It is also wise to remove as much fear as possible when starting to learn a new CST movement. Fear-reactivity will greatly hinder progress and may instill bad habits because one will avoid points of discomfort. For my client, I allowed her to hold onto a stable support to perform the spiral patterns. She is very over weight and with having past problems her fear in performing this movement was very high! By removing the fear I was able to gain better insight on her limitations and movement patterns.

The best advice I could give a coach, trainer, or individual is to be a student of movement and become a better listener of words the individual speaks. It amazes me how many sports coaches give their athletes training programs without ever having watched them perform (sorry, small rant:). Just the same with yourself, you need to watch yourself perform the exercises and gain feedback upon what is holding you back.

Sorry for the length, but I hope this is helpful,

Josh Henkin, CSCS
www.aaptraining.net (http://www.aaptraining.net)

[Scott Sonnon]

Brilliant report, Josh!

[Josh Henkin]

Thank you Coach. Still studying how to become more efficient and effective with these methods, but the progress so far is exciting.

Josh Henkin, CSCS
www.aaptraining.net

[cobb]

Josh:

Excellent news, amigo! I am sorry that I have been absent from the board for so long... The trials of travel...

I'm really thrilled to hear about your success and the results you are seeing with your clients! Outstanding!

Hope to see you next month.

Eric

[Ken Harper]

Josh:

Thanks much. Very informative & much appreciated.

Ken