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What is proprioception? It’s the ability to know where you are in space. By gathering information from your legs, feet, muscles, and tendons, your brain interprets this information and then sends commands back to your muscles to change where and how they are positioned to maintain balance. In this video, Point Performance’s Julie Shein demonstratesRead more

The Olympians always inspire us to be one of them. We regard these athletes are heroes and admire their dedication, determination, and discipline. One attribute we can take from these athletes is the amount of emphasis they put on resting their bodies. That is, by sleeping and allowing their bodies and minds to take a breakRead more

Need a quick, full-body warm-up before you head into your workout? This exercise helps build shoulder stabilization and core activation. Point Performance’s Allison Haynes, DPT, demonstrates how. Starting on her hands and knees in a tabletop position, she finds her neutral spine – flat back, without curving up or down. Shoulders should be over theRead more

Knee osteoarthritis is the leading cause of musculoskeletal disability worldwide. In the United States, more than 27 million people suffer from osteoarthritis, affecting the knees of 19-28 percent of Americans over 45 years of age. In Bethesda, due to the number of active individuals, the number can be even higher. What are the main causesRead more

With the Winter Olympics coming up, we’re always inspired by athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport. Here in our own DC region, we’re cheering on speed skaters Thomas Hong of Laurel, Maryland and Maame Biney of Reston, Virginia. Today we’ll take a look at what’s involved in speed skating – a fast,Read more

Balance often relies on sight to help you stay upright. To sharpen your other senses to maintaining balance, you can simply remove or reduce your visual input. In this exercise, Julie Shein demonstrates how you can do this. First, you should place your feet one in front of the other in a straight line andRead more

Breathing is an involuntary activity that shouldn’t require any thought – after all, if you stopped breathing, you’d become unconscious. However, breathing correctly can take some effort. But with that effort comes great payoffs. We’ve written many articles about the importance of breathing when it comes to meditation, calming down, reducing stress, and exercise as ways toRead more

Yes, we know – it’s really cold outside, and you believe cold weather and fitness don’t mix. Even if you’re not looking to run a marathon out there, even going out to walk the dog is painfully chilly. But think of all the people who spend hours – hours! in frigid temperatures. Hockey players, skiers, ice climbersRead more

New Year resolutions to improve your health and fitness are always great to consider, even if sometimes it peters out by the spring. At least you are motivated enough to even consider making a change in your lifestyle. Perhaps, however, the resolutions were too drastic or too complicated to maintain? After all, we are creaturesRead more

The abdominal brace is an important technique for building stronger lower abdominals, which in turn builds stabilizes the spine. This is useful in many activities and support a weaker back. Visualize pulling your front hip bones together, but make sure you continue to breathe. Hold the abdominals for a count of 10. This helps avoidRead more