Kinstretch with Alex, Saskatoon, SK (2026)

04/19/2022

I have mixed feelings about turning 30 today

I’m simultaneously ready to say goodbye to my 20’s while (at times 😉) resistant to say hello to my 30’s

The universe leaves me no choice though 🙄😝

In all seriousness, any reservation that I have about turning 30 is wrapped up in a “should” statement. And, simply being aware of that makes it easy to override

My sub 20 years were filled with LOADS of fun, sports, time outdoors, and tons of time with loved ones

My 20’s were filled with a LOT of grinding, ultimately leaving less time for everything else

Much of this grinding was fuelled by those “should” statements which are ultimately previously subconscious beliefs:

“I should be working 14hr days in construction so I can pay to go to University”

“I should be studying my butt off in Kinesiology to get into physio school”

“I should be studying FOR physio school + licensing exams”

“I should STILL be studying because I want to set my clients up for success”

“I should be working right now” (classic self-employed thought trap)

etc…

Don’t get me wrong. A LOT of good (and so many valuable lessons) came out of the decade of grinding!

But for me, I think it is time for the “shoulds” to take a back seat 😉.

The goal for my 30’s - which has been in action for a while now - is to strike more of a balance ⚖️ between grinding and simply living.

Work hard, but LIVE more.

Study hard, but LAUGH more.

And now that much of my job requires being on screens so much, this needs to be balanced by WAY more time in nature ⛰😍

And, significantly more time socializing as running your own business(es) can be isolating ❤️

I’m extremely confident in my ability to make each of these happen and am veeerrrryy much looking forward to ALL of it!

So, here’s to 30 and the next decade of living! 🥳✌🏻⛰

03/12/2022

I think this is the most desperate I’ve ever been for spring 🥲

The weather here keeps teasing me.

-30 over night 🥶 and then +2 this afternoon☀️

It’s been playing this game for a few weeks along with the “let’s melt 90% of the snow and then give them 8 inches of snow overnight” game 🙄

This photo was my first hike last year when I was cheesin at ground after the snow finally melted

I’ll be making faces at the ground today too, just not the same one 🙃

03/02/2022

THIS!! 👆🏻

Read it.

Then read it again.

And then reflect on your systems 🧠:

It’s great that you know your TRAINING goals, but what systems do you have in place to get you there?

It’s great that you know your REHAB goals, but what systems do you have in place to get you there?

It’s great that you have NUTRITION goals, but what systems do you have in place to get you there?

It’s great that you have BUSINESS goals, but what systems do you have in place to get you there?

Don’t have any systems in place? HIRE SOMEONE that you look up to who already has systems in place and who can help you design systems to get you where you want to go.

If you watch my stories you know that I share James Clear’s work all of the time.

Sharing this one in my stories alone didn’t feel adequate.

We ALL need this reminder sometimes.

Save this one and come back to it whenever you need the reminder.

Giant hat tip to James Clear 🔥

01/17/2022

CARs are not just something you do in the mornings ☀️

Nor are they simply something you do to warm up for your workout or activity

They can also be used as a:

▫️Treatment/rehab tool

▫️Assessment tool

▫️ Training tool

Here I am using CARs as a training tool and performing loaded knee CARs

By using them as a training tool I get the many benefits of doing CARs while simultaneously driving desired training adaptations

As with any exercise, the placement of the load can be strategically placed to bias certain tissue or adaptations

The placement of the load here (the dumbbell attached to my heel) increases the demand on the posterior tissue of my knee/thigh 🦵🏻

The parameters and application change depending on the context/goal

11/20/2021

She took control over her joint health and well-being.

Meet Ellen 🤗

Ellen is one of the many incredible people that I’ve bene fortunate enough to meet through my Operation Human First platform

She was kind enough to share her story about she has taken control over her health, well being, and physical state using the content and resources in OHF subscription

In the video you’ll hear her discuss how she overcame her back pain (inspiring story), shoulder pain, and knee pain

However, what I really want to draw attention to is some great points that she made:

“It’s NOT a huge time commitment”

“It is a small commitment but the gains can be significant - life changing”

“It’s one of the easiest things to incorporate into your every day life because there is almost no equipment needed”

“I love the platform and it’s worked for me. Incredibly so.”

“Give it a try because you may find that you have better control over your health and well being”

This was Ellen’s experience. I’m not going to sit here and say that yours will be the same because everyone is different, has different variables at play, and her story is a reflection of her commitment to herself (bravo 👏🏻).

Thank you Ellen for sharing your story with me, for trusting me for allowing me to support you through the OHF platform, and for the permission to share your story with others ❤️

Make sure to do something for yourself this weekend.

As much as I’d love to have you - that something doesn’t have to be joining my platform. If you DO want to try OHF for yourself (no commitment required) - the link is in my bio.

Just make ANY a small commitment to do ANYTHING that takes you one step closer to where you want to be.

Have a good weekend everyone 😊

11/20/2021

She took control over her health and well being

Meet Ellen 🤗

Ellen is one of the many incredible people that I’ve bene fortunate enough to meet through my Operation Human First platform

She was kind enough to share her story about she has taken control over her health, well being, and physical state using the content and resources in OHF subscription

In the video you’ll hear her discuss how she overcame her back pain (inspiring story), shoulder pain, and knee pain

However, what I really want to draw attention to is some great points that she made:

“It’s NOT a huge time commitment”

“It is a small commitment but the gains can be significant - life changing”

“It’s one of the easiest things to incorporate into your every day life because there is almost no equipment needed”

“I love the platform and it’s worked for me. Incredibly so.”

“Give it a try because you may find that you have better control over your health and well being”

This was Ellen’s experience. I’m not going to sit here and say that yours will be the same because everyone is different, has different variables at play, and her story is a reflection of her commitment to herself (bravo 👏🏻).

Thank you Ellen for sharing your story with me, for allowing me to support you through the OHF platform, and for offering permission to share your story with others ❤️

Make sure to do something for yourself this weekend.

As much as I’d love to have you - that something doesn’t have to be subscribing to my platform. If you DO want to try OHF for yourself (no commitment required) - the link is in my bio.

Just make ANY a small commitment to do ANYTHING that takes you one step closer to where you want to be.

Have a good weekend everyone 😊

11/10/2021

Free Zoom Meetings

I have been reaching out to many of the incredible people that have been in OHF/KWA since day one to set up Zoom meetings

I am now I’m extending the invitation to all of my OHF members

The purpose of these meetings is to get to know you better and for ME to learn from YOU (turning the tables 🔁😉)

I want to know what your goals are, what’s been most helpful for you in the subscription (what classes, sections, etc.), how YOU think we can make the subscription even better or even more helpful to you, etc.

At the end of the day the better I know my people and what they need, the better I can cater the content and resources in OHF to serve you and your goals 👊🏻

I am BEYOND happy and proud of the platform, the content in it, and amazing feedback and stories about how it continues to help people 🥰.

I really think that one of the biggest reasons that OHF has become such an incredible and truly unique platform is because of YOU.

It has become a unique reflection of myself (and what I think people need) AND my people in OHF (and what you guys want/need) thanks to the conversations that I’ve had with you.

I value EVERY single conversation and right now I’m dedicating as much time as I can to hearing more about those of you in OHF, your goals, and your feedback.

I may not be able to schedule the meeting immediately as we do have a lot of members and I still have a full caseload of physical therapy clients and the OHF filming schedule that I need to work around, however I WILL schedule you in as soon as I can!

I reserve time in the calls to answer questions that you have for me as well.

If you want to set up a meeting or want more details, hit me up!

Much love and appreciation for you all ❤️

08/30/2021

You know when you feel stiff and find yourself contouring your body in various shapes trying to find a stretch in the right spot?

That’s how I had been feeling with my upper back

I finally just shut my brain off and literally just did whatever felt right and I found myself doing these and Oh. My. God.

Sometimes if you just your brain off and just listen to your body - you find gold

It may look goofy, but (to me) this feels like an upper back massage

Here’s what I was doing:

I’m basically going through single arm closed chain (meaning my hand is fixed on the ground) scap CARs my opposite hip flexed but:

I’m allowing my thoracic spine to join the party (and even encouraging it here)

So, you’ll notice my upper back flex (round) as my shoulder blade protracts (moves forward) and then come out of that as my shoulder blade retracts (moves towards my spine)

It’s hard to tell from that angle but I’m also keeping my elbow bent the whole time - so I never lock it out - which means more load through my upper extremity (hello triceps + shoulders)

Lastly, I was coordinating it with my breath, on the part of the circle that I was protracting and flexing my spine (shoulder blade moving forward) I was also exhaling

In the part of the circle where my shoulder blade was moving back and my spine was extending, I was inhaling

My back feels SO good after doing these

Similar to when I have dark chocolate in my pantry and I keep going back for more - I keep finding myself on the floor doing these

Take a quick break, give it a try and see how it feels for you

Have an awesome Monday and start to the week, people 🙌🏻

08/24/2021

Knee Rehab 🦵🏻

Show are a combination of:

1️⃣ Knee Capsule CARs - Rotating my tibia on my femur

2️⃣ Full Knee CARs - Combining rotation with flexion/extension

These have been filing almost every void in my day in addition to being done within my actual rehab program

CARs stands for “controlled articular rotations” which involves taking one specific joint and moving it through its (pain free) outer limits of motion

The CAR for each joint is performed in a way that maximizes joint capsule activation (your joint capsule can be thought of as tissue that lives immediately around the bones and encapsulates your joint)

The neural infrastructure in these capsules are incredible and because of it our brain gets a LOT of information about the joint from these same capsules that we target with CARs

There are MANY benefits to doing CARs. Two big ones are:

✅ Nourishing the joint and deep joint structures through a diffusion process associated with movement
✅ Teaching my brain/nervous system about my knee

I always think of doing my rehab exercises like typing in a document

I like to think of the document itself as my brain’s “Owner’s Manual” for my knee 📑🦵🏻

The more information (and more refined the information) in the manual, the better my brain understands my knee (whatever joint) and the better my knee adapts to the demands I place on it

I make additions to the Owners Manual through inputs to the tissues via specific exercises (including isometrics), following which I can then use CARs to hit “Save and Send” button and send information from (and about) my knee to my brain

CARs = 📑 ➡️ 🧠

I am still waiting on that knee MRI

Waiting on imaging doesn’t mean absence of action

I’ll be over here making gains, creating one hell of an Owners Manual, nourishing my knee all damn day, and seeing what I can get out of it in the mean time 🦵🏻

08/23/2021

These beliefs around pain often result in people becoming their own worst enemy when rehabbing an injury

Common Problem #1:

The“no pain no gain” mindset remains deeply engrained in the minds of many

Sometimes I’ll work with someone who consciously or subconsciously believes that if something doesn’t hurt - it’s not doing them any good

This often results in people:

▫️Not doing an exercise because it didn’t cause any pain/discomfort

▫️Doing WAY more reps/sets than I prescribed OR ⬆️ the intensity/weight (until they feel pain/discomfort)

Here we expect to feel pain to confirm that we "did something"

I’ll agree that you likely did SOMETHING, whether or not it was the desired outcome is up for debate

"No pain on gain" is something that many of us have learned at some point in life and the moment you walk into my office it is time to un-learn it 😉

While there are times that discomfort is normal/expected, by making it the GOAL we can run into problems

Common Problem #2

Expecting pain to go away immediately after doing a rehab exercise (immediate relief)

This is a problem because:

We know we can’t improve tissue quality, joint health, strength etc. in a short period of time - yet we expect pain to improve immediately 🤔

Pain is VERY complex, subjective, and highly variable from person to person

Pain often doesn’t correlate with:
▫️Tissue quality, damage, or healing
▫️Joint health
▫️Physical function

So, it cannot be the metric that we use to determine if something is working/not working

The primary goal any exercise is neither to CAUSE you pain nor to offer IMMEDIATE RELEIF from pain

Pain is a subjective experience while the primary goal of most exercises that I program are to drive a (positive) biological or neurological change

This may mean improved function, strength, tissue quality, mobility, etc. (most of which we can measure and track over time)

Often when these things improve, pain improves - but if/when that occurs is HIGHLY variable

That is not to say that your pain isn’t important. I see you, I hear you, and I want you to feel better!

We just can’t make pain the outcome that we use to determine success 👊🏻

08/09/2021

My current hip ER set-up 👀

I like this set-up a lot for myself for a few reasons:

▪️It checks a few boxes for various things that I’m working on

▪️It’s easier for me to relax and actually get my body to “chill” in the stretch here as compared to standing variations

▪️I also like that I can easily take most of the weight through my back leg and offload the front leg OR shift such that there is more weight (and therefore more force) going through my front (hip ER) leg

▪️The wedge is key to meet my hip ER where it is currently at all while making things way more comfortable and offering more surface area to produce force into for the isometrics that follow

Here is the hip ER work that I did between physical therapy clients today:

1️⃣ Passive stretching

2️⃣ Progressive angle isometrics (PAILs) - trying to drive OUT of the stretch

3️⃣ Regressive angle isometrics (RAILs) - trying to pull myself deeper INTO a stretch

4️⃣ Passive range holds - using the stick to take myself from my active end range into my passive range and then attempting to hold it

5️⃣ Side lying capsule CARs + ankle weight

Always squeaking in those joint gains when I can between clients 🤘🏻

Have a killer day, people! 🙌🏻

Kinstretch with Alex

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