Dr. Peter Attia

There are lots of exercises that are great for balance. Anything that produces instability is great because it's, you know, for lack of a better term, I've heard it described as problem solving for your foot.

There are lots of exercises that are great for balance. Anything that produces instability is great because it's, you know, for lack of a better term, I've heard it described as problem solving for your foot.

Right? So if you think about being on any unstable surface, even if you're just walking on an unstable surface, so if you were to

Right? So if you think about being on any unstable surface, even if you're just walking on an unstable surface, so if you were to

look at a person's foot their lower leg actually as they're walking on a surface that's constantly changing so like a gravel path or something like that you're going to see like if this were my lower leg you would see the musculature of the lower leg constantly adjusting to it and so yeah i'm i really enjoy things that force that type of training do you do flexibility stuff

look at a person's foot their lower leg actually as they're walking on a surface that's constantly changing so like a gravel path or something like that you're going to see like if this were my lower leg you would see the musculature of the lower leg constantly adjusting to it and so yeah i'm i really enjoy things that force that type of training do you do flexibility stuff

Yeah, so I'm actually naturally a pretty lax person. So I don't do any stretching, if that's what you're asking. But all of the sort of stability and dynamic stuff I do incorporates movement at end ranges. So I'll give you an example of why I think the notion of flexibility might be a little bit misunderstood here.

Yeah, so I'm actually naturally a pretty lax person. So I don't do any stretching, if that's what you're asking. But all of the sort of stability and dynamic stuff I do incorporates movement at end ranges. So I'll give you an example of why I think the notion of flexibility might be a little bit misunderstood here.

If you ask a person to stand up and with their legs straight touch their toes, most people would say that's a great test of flexibility in the hamstring, right? And most people can't do that. What they don't realize is everybody's hamstrings are long enough to allow them to do that. The reason they can't do it is their central nervous system will not release them to do it. Does that make sense?

If you ask a person to stand up and with their legs straight touch their toes, most people would say that's a great test of flexibility in the hamstring, right? And most people can't do that. What they don't realize is everybody's hamstrings are long enough to allow them to do that. The reason they can't do it is their central nervous system will not release them to do it. Does that make sense?

Interesting. Their central nervous system won't release them to do it. That's right. It doesn't feel safe for them to do it. Now, how do I know this? Because if you take a person under general anesthesia, you can put them into almost any position possible. So if you took a person under general anesthesia, laid them on the operating room table, you could lift their leg up to here.

Interesting. Their central nervous system won't release them to do it. That's right. It doesn't feel safe for them to do it. Now, how do I know this? Because if you take a person under general anesthesia, you can put them into almost any position possible. So if you took a person under general anesthesia, laid them on the operating room table, you could lift their leg up to here.

When they're awake, you couldn't get it past here. When they wake up from surgery, will they have a torn hamstring? Not at all. They won't even know their leg was moved. The difference is when they're under general anesthesia, their brain is not sending a signal to the leg that says, don't lift. So why is the leg, why is the brain doing that to the individual?

When they're awake, you couldn't get it past here. When they wake up from surgery, will they have a torn hamstring? Not at all. They won't even know their leg was moved. The difference is when they're under general anesthesia, their brain is not sending a signal to the leg that says, don't lift. So why is the leg, why is the brain doing that to the individual?

This is how I learned it on a personal level. So about six years ago, I had tweaked my back and had just done a unnecessarily heavy set of deadlifts and just pushed it a little too far. And I was kind of nursing this sort of you know, just very, very tight QL. I was completely jammed up.

This is how I learned it on a personal level. So about six years ago, I had tweaked my back and had just done a unnecessarily heavy set of deadlifts and just pushed it a little too far. And I was kind of nursing this sort of you know, just very, very tight QL. I was completely jammed up.

And I came in to do some training with a friend of mine who's one of the guys that, actually, he is really the guy that introduced me to this thing called DNS, dynamic neuromuscular stabilization. And I mean, I was stiff as a board. I couldn't, you know, get past my knees bending forward. And I'd been hurting for like three days.

And I came in to do some training with a friend of mine who's one of the guys that, actually, he is really the guy that introduced me to this thing called DNS, dynamic neuromuscular stabilization. And I mean, I was stiff as a board. I couldn't, you know, get past my knees bending forward. And I'd been hurting for like three days.

And we went through a series of exercises for 40 minutes, which included me laying on my back with my legs up, him leaning on top of me. So my feet are here on his chest and doing isometric pushes while working on generating intra-abdominal pressure. And after an hour, yeah, maybe 40 minutes of this type of exercises, I was palms on the floor.

And we went through a series of exercises for 40 minutes, which included me laying on my back with my legs up, him leaning on top of me. So my feet are here on his chest and doing isometric pushes while working on generating intra-abdominal pressure. And after an hour, yeah, maybe 40 minutes of this type of exercises, I was palms on the floor.