Dr. Jordan Jiunta and Dr. Jordan Shallow are co-founders of Pre-Script, co-hosts of RX’D RADIO, chiropractors, and competitive athletes. Jiunta competes in CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting, and is a CrossFit Level 1 trainer. Shallow competes in Powerlifting and also coaches strength and conditioning at Stanford University Rugby Team.

Jiunta understands the importance of learning and training our bodies natural movement patterns to not only prevent injury, but to live a higher quality life as well. Shallow’s patients range from world-class athletes to 9–5 weekend warriors, and he understands the needs of each individual paired with the demand of their lifestyle.

In this episode, we dive into why and how they created Pre-Script, a service dedicated to helping its members move better, and perform at their best. We cover how they assess athletes, why stability is misunderstood, why scaled stimulus is more than resistance, and more.

Mobility, Stability and Strength

Both Jiunta and Shallow have suffered from sports injuries in the past, learned how to overcome them, and are now stronger than ever, competing and getting PRs. They created Pre-Script, a service dedicated to helping its members move better, and perform at their best. Being an athlete-chiropractor mix is what helps both Jordans come up with their injury rehab and prevention programs, and why they can relate to their clients.

Pre-Script’s programs are used in over 15 countries and are focused on Mobility, Stability and Strength model. Their premise is that if we’re lifting, then we’re creating forces through our joints, and Pre-Script is meant to reinforce the better way to do movement. Their model is built on freeing up the full range of motion, followed by lightweight/bodyweight drills to stabilize that range of motion, and once you gain control, add strength.

“Whether it’s introductory corrective exercise programs for beginner lifters or a personalized Pre-Script program for a more tailored approach, Pre-Script prides itself on fitting the needs of the athlete with the demands of their sport. Allowing each member to pursue to their passion to their highest potential.”

Key Takeaways

• When you train under load, you make structural changes — Training under load is what makes the body adapt, as it allows the body to recover when we’re not under load.
• Stability is misunderstood — If you are missing stability, then you are more likely to get injured. Loading unstable muscles is what causes injuries. You need to be loading muscles both anatomically and neurologically, doing a range of stability drills.
• Assessing weaknesses — Jiunta and Shallow look first at shoulders and hamstrings, as those muscles have the most freedom of movement. Jiunta is the more acute assessor, and likes to start with a bodyweight squat. If that looks good, he moves onto an overhead squat, which reveals most weaknesses. Shallow likes to assess athletes using an overhead press, one leg hinges and rotation drills.
• The conversation between the brain and the body — The body will always find ways to get stable, and will trade structure for function.
• Using resistance to progress the stimulus of instability — Jiunta and Shallow like unilateral movements for stability. Their favorite exercises include, single leg RDLs, kettlebell bottom-up presses, and bulgarian split squats. They like to lean more into the unstable, for example: using only one dumbell instead of two for bulgarian squats.
• Scaled stimulus is more than resistance — Range of motion is more important than weight. You need to understand the input and gauge for output. When something is out of whack or injured, you can’t ignore those muscles, you need to regress into very low intensity movements, and slowly increase intensity and volume. That will help you recover correctly.
• If you can’t do one leg movements — You can still get unilateral stability with both of your legs on the ground. For example do: Lateral lunges, walking lunges, even stationary lunges, and loaded step-ups are really great for creating stability.
• If you can’t overhead squat—Don’t try to perform the movement until you are good at it. Load stability drills in the best range of motion as you can, and slowly move into full range of motion. For example do: Overhead walks and front rack lunges, slowly creating better patterns.

“Stability is the body’s capability to resist force, and strength is the body’s capability to exert force.” — Jordan Shallow

A post shared by Pre-Script (@pre_script) on Dec 12, 2017 at 5:00pm PST

Connect with Dr. Jordan Jiunta

Connect on social: Instagram

Resources: Pre-Script, RX’D RADIO on iTunes, Pre-Script Instagram, RX’D Radio Instagram

Connect with Dr. Jordan Shallow

Connect on social: Instagram

Resources: Pre-Script, RX’D RADIO on iTunes, The Muscle Doc Seminars, Pre-Script Instagram, RX’D Radio Instagram