Yoga for Ruckers: How Mobility and Flexibility Prevent Pain and Improve Performance
In this episode, I talk with Dean Pullman, founder and CEO of Man Flow Yoga, to break down how yoga for ruckers can improve posture, reduce pain, and increase longevity under load without requiring flexibility, experience, or long classes.
Dean explains why most ruckers struggle with mobility due to years of sitting, poor posture, and limited movement patterns and how rucking can expose those weaknesses if flexibility and stability are ignored. You’ll learn how rucking flexibility directly impacts back health, hip function, and recovery, and why short, consistent mobility sessions are more effective than doing nothing at all.
The episode also covers:
- Why flexibility is a performance tool, not just stretching
- Common yoga mistakes that lead to injury (and how to avoid them)
- Simple pre-ruck and post-ruck mobility routines
- How breathing improves movement, posture, and recovery
- How ruckers can build a sustainable rucking recovery routine with as little as 5–10 minutes a day
Whether you’re brand new to rucking or looking to keep rucking pain-free for decades, this episode provides practical, no-nonsense guidance you can apply immediately.
Links & Resources
- Man Flow Yoga – Official Site
- Free Beginner Yoga for Men 7-Day Challenge
- Follow The Rucker’s Edge on Instagram: @theruckersedgepod
Notes:
- Music Credit: "Play This Game" by Black Rhomb.
- I'm not a doctor, and this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician before starting any new exercise or physical activity.
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Have you ever started rucking, felt stronger,
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but noticed your hips, back, or shoulders tightening
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up week after week and wondered if that's just
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part of getting older? In this episode, we break
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down why stiffness and nagging pain aren't inevitable
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for ruckers and how improving mobility and flexibility
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can dramatically change how your body feels under
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load. You'll learn how yoga, when taught correctly,
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can help ruckers move better, recover faster,
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and stay in the game longer without needing hour
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-long classes or complicated routines. You're
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listening to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show
00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:32.689
all about rucking that is designed to help you
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improve your rucking routine, lose weight, and
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ultimately gain your strength and energy back.
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Each episode dives into the science, stories,
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and strategies behind rucking. You'll learn from
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top ruckers, coaches, health experts, and performance
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specialists who break down what it takes to train
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smarter, recover faster, and stay ready for the
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next challenge. So whether you're new to rucking
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or an experienced rucker that's already logged
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hundreds of miles, this is the show for you.
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I'm your host, Spencer. Thanks again for listening
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in. My guest today is Dean Pullman, certified
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yoga instructor and CEO and founder of Manflow
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Yoga. He explains exactly how ruckers can use
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simple practical mobility work to protect their
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spine, hips, knees, and shoulders, even if you've
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never done yoga before and don't think it's for
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you. Here's my conversation with Dean Pullman,
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certified yoga instructor and CEO and founder
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of Man Flow Yoga. Dean Pullman, thanks so much
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for joining the podcast today. I'm excited to
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get into how yoga can benefit ruckers and keep
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them limber between rucks. How are you doing
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today? I am doing well. I don't know if you want
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to give away dates, but as of now, we're two
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weeks into winter break. So it's, you know, you
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know, lots of lots of dadding. So I'm just just
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making it, you know. Yeah. I just recently put
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together an episode on doing a reflective rock
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and thinking about your previous year and getting
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ready for this next year. And I have yet to actually
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go on one. We're here into the new year and I
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haven't even done that yet. So that's a theme.
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I felt like as a health and wellness professional
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influencer slash community leader, yoga expert,
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whatever I am, that I needed to have like all
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of my 2026 plans laid out like before it started.
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And the reality is I'm just not at all there
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yet. So my plan is and if maybe this resonates
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with you and your listeners, but my plan is just
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to use like as much of January and as much of
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February as I need to to kind of create some
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clarity and create some. orientation around what
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is 2026 mean or what do I want it to mean for
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me? So anyways, that's my plan. No, yeah. I mean,
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you're a real person and you want to set good
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intentions. And I think it deserves some respect
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in terms of a timeline. You can't do too much,
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especially when the holidays come up. It's like
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you want to make sure you do the job right and
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you want to use it to improve your life or help
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your life. So, yeah, I mean. That's just part
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of it. Plus, you're a dad and you have priorities
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that shift daily. So yeah, you got to make time
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for what you can. But I kind of want to start
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out just asking you if you don't mind giving
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us a quick version of your background and how
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you ended up working in mobility and yoga. And
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I should take a step back. Dean, you're the CEO
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and founder of Man Flow Yoga, which is a fitness
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program for men trying to regain their flexibility
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and rejuvenate their fitness. But yeah, how did
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you get into that? Give us a bit of your background.
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Yeah, so I'm an athlete turned yoga instructor.
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And I don't say yogi because I don't really think
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of myself as, you know, like a yogi with a whole
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yoga lifestyle. My background is as a lifelong
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athlete, collegiate lacrosse player, went into
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a yoga studio completely on accident, was looking
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for the tailor, stumbled into a yoga studio.
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Did that first workout, was shocked at how challenging
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it was, and that inspired me to just keep up
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with yoga. One month in, I noticed my flexibility
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was... dramatically different for the better
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my body felt stronger but also kind of lighter
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at the same time I had more body awareness my
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breathing was so much better I had better balance
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my lifting was better so I was like wow this
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is really cool and I tried to get some of my
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friends to go with me and they're like yoga no
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and you know granted this was 2011 so I think
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that Our society's general beliefs about yoga
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have shifted as well. You go into a city, you're
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going to notice a lot more guys in their 20s
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and 30s doing yoga, going to yoga classes. But
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back then, and even now, especially with guys
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who are in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and even in their
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40s too, they don't get excited about yoga because
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of all the connotations and associations that
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go with it. It's too feminine, it's too spiritual,
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it's not a good enough workout. That was kind
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of my experience. And I was like, well, that
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was kind of their experience when I asked them
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to come. And I was like, well, you know what?
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I'll just I'll do it with you guys. Right. So
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I led them through a few workouts. I was a lacrosse
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captain and I was the kind of the conditioning
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coach at the same time. And so I led them through
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some yoga. I led them through yoga a couple of
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times a week. And they're like, oh, wow, this
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is really cool. And I started recording on YouTube.
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And so. 12 years later, now we've got this community
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of tens of thousands of guys. I've reached probably
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over a million people at this point through books
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and DVDs, my YouTube channel, all the social
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media. It's very much a fitness -focused approach
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for men, for guys who want to feel stronger,
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who want to feel younger, who want to feel more
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flexible. would be who are open to maybe some
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of the breathing and mindfulness aspects of it
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but don't want to do it in this super you know
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yogi quasi -spiritual new age type of approach
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this is very much an approach to yoga that's
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focused on a functional approach like a and that
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that includes breathing that includes body awareness
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there's nothing woo -woo about i say the word
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woo and a lot of people get offended especially
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if they are into yoga but i say woo in the sense
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of just things that concepts that don't seem
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approachable to day -to -day life and so but
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when you focus on when you're focusing on your
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body awareness when you're focusing on your breathing
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that comes with a whole bunch of other aspects
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that helps with your physical fitness helps with
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being more aware of your body, knowing which
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muscles you should be engaging as you're moving
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as you're going through exercise. But it also
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helps with it carries over into other aspects
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of your life, you notice that, oh, I do have
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the ability to be patient in a stressful situation,
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or I do have the ability to notice when I'm stressed
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and start to check in with my breathing. Or I
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can notice my shoulders really tense right now.
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And I you know, why is why are my shoulders tense,
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maybe I can relax that. So There are tons of
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physical benefits. And if you're a lifter, you
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know, you're going to notice that lifting gets
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easier, that it doesn't hurt as much, that you
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have more awareness of your body. You're using
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the right muscles instead of relying on one muscle
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group and not using your glutes or not using
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your abs. you know, as that applies to rucking,
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that means that you're going to be using your
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core more, you're not going to be relying on
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your back, your knees aren't going to hurt as
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much because you're using your hips and your
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ankles properly. You're gonna have better posture
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just because you practice being in better posture.
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So your shoulders won't hurt as much, your neck
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won't hurt as much. So there are tons of, you
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know, physical benefits that go with it. It's
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kind of just, well, how is it taught and is it
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done in a way that resonates with me? And if,
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you know, if my approach doesn't resonate with
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you and you want to go traditional yoga, cool.
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You know, like that's great. But for a lot of
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guys who are more interested in kind of, I just
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want my body to feel good and I want to have
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a high level of physical fitness. And we're talking
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relative here, right? I'm not like, you know,
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I'm not trying to reach the professional basketball.
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players of the world. I'm mostly working with
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guys who are in their fifties, who are in their
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sixties, who are coming back into fitness after,
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you know, 15 years off because they had kids,
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they had the job that they had to, you know,
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that professional lives. They didn't have time
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to do these, the workouts and the self -care
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that they wanted to do. So they're coming back
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into things now and they're realizing that, oh,
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you know what? My body doesn't feel the way that
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it used to. Maybe I need to do something differently.
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And they do some research. They figure out, oh,
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you know what? I should work on my flexibility.
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I should work on my core strength. Or I need
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to do something that's going to undo this bad
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posture that I have. And that's kind of where
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I come in. But a ton of information there. And
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I appreciate that. And I think there are some
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similarities between the folks looking at your
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programs and some of the people getting into
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rucking. It's maybe they've been sidelined for
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X amount of time. They want to do something about
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their fitness. And it's like, where do I start?
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And so I know some people start picking up the
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rucksack and rucking. And then that's sort of
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like a gateway into other workouts. And I guess
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similarly with you, they might start doing a
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workout and realize how stiff they are and how
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maybe they're not nearly as limber as they were
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a decade or so ago. And so they turn to you for
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solutions. Full disclosure here, Dean, I don't
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do yoga regularly. I did yoga several years back
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with my then girlfriend, my now wife. We did
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some hot yoga sessions. She loves yoga. We've
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started to get my daughter into yoga. We do these
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kid yoga channels on YouTube. And I'll sit there
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and we'll do like a Disney themed yoga session
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with her. And it's not easy. Like the routines
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that they're doing. I mean. Kids are incredibly
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limber, and she's doing it no problem. Here I
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am, like, sweating, trying to reach, like, my
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ankle. I'm like, it's hard. And I remember the
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first time I did yoga back in, I think it also
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was, like, 2009, 2010. I was surprised. Like,
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looking around the room, you know, seeing people
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that have been going to that class routinely
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just have no problem. And here I am, like, as
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green as can be, you know, a new timer and just
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struggling. So, yeah, that was one thing I was
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surprised about. It's not an easy thing to do.
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And with all things, the more you do it, the
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easier it becomes. But it's something you have
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to work at. Yeah. I think people go into it thinking,
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oh, I'm not flexible, so I don't do yoga. And,
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you know, yeah, flexibility is something that
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you do work on in yoga. But at the same time,
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like flexibility is something that is. beneficial
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to everybody. And just because you aren't as
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flexible as someone else in the class doesn't
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mean that you aren't also benefiting from it.
00:10:10.789 --> 00:10:12.950
So I think what's really cool about working on
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your flexibility is it doesn't take that long
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to notice the results of flexibility work in
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the sense of your body feels better, you have
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less back pain, your knees feel better, you're
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recovering better because you're more flexible.
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You're not You're using your body more efficiently
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in the sense of you're using it the way that
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it evolved to be used rather than relying on
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certain muscle groups and not using other muscle
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groups. Like a lot of guys only use their quads
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when they're doing lower body stuff. And if you
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don't have flexibility, you're not going to be
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using all the other muscles in your hips. You're
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not going to be using the muscles in your ankles
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properly. You're not going to be using your abs
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properly. And so, you know, flexibility is not
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just something that. And it's not just a goal.
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It's also working on it leads to a huge, leads
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to a bunch of fitness benefits. And a lot of
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guys who are in yoga classes, like you had the
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experience, right? You're supposed to reach down
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and touch your feet. I'm like, well, that's like
00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:13.679
loading up a bar with 225, you know, with like
00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:17.840
245s on each side when you're brand new. appropriate.
00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:19.679
And so it also does create the sense of like,
00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.120
oh, well, yoga is not for me, or oh, it's too
00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:24.700
hard, or I'm discouraged because I couldn't do
00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:27.659
a basic pose. And it's just because most yoga
00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:31.419
isn't made for guys who are not flexible, right?
00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:33.799
It's made for women who are already flexible.
00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:36.820
Again, just kind of goes to you got to find something
00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:38.720
that is actually going to meet you where you
00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.019
are with your flexibility level now and help
00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:43.379
you feel encouraged about the work that you're
00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.320
doing and also is realistic for like where you
00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:50.750
are now. Yeah. I wanted to ask you, you know,
00:11:50.750 --> 00:11:54.269
what's the long -term cost for athletes or ruckers
00:11:54.269 --> 00:11:57.990
who ignore mobility at an early stage? Like let's
00:11:57.990 --> 00:12:00.950
just say a 40 year old completely ignoring mobility
00:12:00.950 --> 00:12:06.210
and stability. Longevity. I mean, longevity is
00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:08.490
the easiest way to answer that question, but
00:12:08.490 --> 00:12:11.450
also, you know, preventable injuries, you know,
00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:14.320
things that could sideline you for months. that
00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.960
could require, you know, surgery. And there are
00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:20.679
things that are preventable. I think there's
00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:24.700
also a mindset that people in their 40s, 50s
00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:28.080
tend to adopt when they realize that the workouts
00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:30.080
that they used to do aren't working the same
00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.259
way anymore. And they say, oh, you know what,
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:33.980
this is just part of getting older and I can't
00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:36.399
do these exercises anymore. And so the question
00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.720
becomes like, hey, how do I modify this? Or like,
00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:41.159
how do I avoid doing this? And my, you know,
00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:43.789
my kind of... my interjection is, well, how about
00:12:43.789 --> 00:12:46.230
you just work on the weakness that's causing
00:12:46.230 --> 00:12:49.649
that issue? You know, how about you work on having
00:12:49.649 --> 00:12:52.730
just a basic level of range of motion? Like,
00:12:52.730 --> 00:12:54.789
how about you work on your hip flexibility, work
00:12:54.789 --> 00:12:57.210
on your shoulder flexibility? Let's move your
00:12:57.210 --> 00:12:59.809
spine. Because the reality for most of us is
00:12:59.809 --> 00:13:04.110
that we are sitting down or inactive for, you
00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:07.009
know, 12 hours a day. So you have to do something
00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:10.070
to work on undoing that poor posture. You've
00:13:10.070 --> 00:13:11.629
got to do something that is going to open your
00:13:11.629 --> 00:13:13.370
hips. That's going to get you to twist from side
00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:15.350
to side. It's going to make you do a backbend
00:13:15.350 --> 00:13:18.250
or get your arms overhead or behind you and do
00:13:18.250 --> 00:13:20.389
all these things that your body is meant to do,
00:13:20.389 --> 00:13:22.570
but isn't doing. But, you know, to go to the,
00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.250
go to your question, like if you're not doing
00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:27.009
some sort of, and I don't care if it's yoga,
00:13:27.190 --> 00:13:29.790
like there's tons of different mobility. You
00:13:29.790 --> 00:13:32.610
know, I think the, I think why, I think the reason
00:13:32.610 --> 00:13:35.490
why people like yoga as a mobility flexibility
00:13:35.490 --> 00:13:38.690
program is because it's in the, it's in the format
00:13:38.690 --> 00:13:42.429
of flow. It's not like a lot of people don't
00:13:42.429 --> 00:13:44.929
like doing a workout when it's like do 10 of
00:13:44.929 --> 00:13:46.450
these, then do 10 of these. And if you're just
00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:48.750
going down a list, cause it's just not fun. It
00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:51.590
takes more willpower in some ways and it might
00:13:51.590 --> 00:13:54.129
just not be fun. So, you know, I think one reason
00:13:54.129 --> 00:13:57.309
why people who, I think one reason people might
00:13:57.309 --> 00:14:02.220
like yoga. versus that is because they you know
00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:03.899
when you think of flexibility you do think of
00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:06.559
yoga so like okay yoga i'm gonna work on flexibility
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:09.000
but also because if you can just press play and
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.539
follow along it's a lot more it's a lot less
00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:16.139
mentally demanding than following a list of you
00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:19.759
know a list of exercises so point being is if
00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:23.440
you're not doing any sort of mobility work period
00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:28.100
then you are going to eventually run into some
00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:32.100
sort of injuries or you're going to deal with
00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:37.019
preventable pain in a way that yeah you can make
00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:39.179
it through it maybe you can push through it maybe
00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.679
you have to take some days off but like that's
00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.259
pain that you don't need to have that you could
00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:48.500
solve at the source with just you know, a few
00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:51.080
minutes of the appropriate movements on a daily
00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:53.100
basis. Or if you want to split it up and do like
00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:55.360
three times per week or even two times per week,
00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:58.419
you know, these are point being like, these are
00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:01.960
all, all those aches and pains that, that, that
00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:04.179
prevent you from doing what you want to do as
00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:07.059
you get older. Those are preventable with, to
00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:09.179
a certain extent, right? With the appropriate
00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.159
exercise and, you know, a well -structured yoga
00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.360
program, like, like what I do with Manful Yoga.
00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:16.919
is going to help with addressing the majority
00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:22.539
of those weaknesses that do lead to pain. More
00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:24.600
with Dean in just a moment, including a simple
00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:27.120
pre -ruck and post -ruck mobility routine you
00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.919
can do in just a few minutes. But I want to take
00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:31.700
a quick break to say thanks for listening to
00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.000
the podcast. Please text this episode with a
00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.700
fellow rucker that might find it interesting
00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.620
or a friend that could benefit from rucking.
00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:39.659
Sharing this episode would help the show grow
00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:41.820
and help more people improve their health and
00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:46.620
lives. Okay, back to it. I did want to ask you
00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:49.700
about how you practice yoga. I always see these
00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:51.740
yoga classes being offered and they're always
00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:55.820
guided. It's almost like a routine. Is it possible
00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:58.799
to use certain yoga stretches just independently
00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.879
or is it more beneficial to go through a routine
00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:03.980
where you're kind of building on different movements
00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:07.690
or stretches? I think the sequence is important
00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:10.809
in the sense of like, it wouldn't, there are
00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:13.470
poses that are more demanding than other poses
00:16:13.470 --> 00:16:16.269
in the same way that like, like, let's look at
00:16:16.269 --> 00:16:18.509
a squat, for example, right? Most people don't
00:16:18.509 --> 00:16:20.090
go straight into a squat. You're going to do
00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.389
some sort of warmup for that. Or you look at
00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:24.289
like a strict press, right? A shoulder press,
00:16:24.429 --> 00:16:26.330
holding a barbell and pushing it overhead, or
00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:28.850
even dumbbells and pushing overhead. And you
00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:30.730
probably wouldn't go straight into that without
00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:32.149
some warmup, especially if you're going to do
00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:34.450
heavy, right? And it's kind of the same way with
00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.970
yoga in the sense. And you don't have to even
00:16:37.970 --> 00:16:39.830
call it yoga because a lot of it is just isometric
00:16:39.830 --> 00:16:43.509
body exercises. different variations of lunges
00:16:43.509 --> 00:16:47.389
or squats or planks or, you know, core exercises
00:16:47.389 --> 00:16:50.230
or backbends or twists. So like, yeah, a lot
00:16:50.230 --> 00:16:52.450
of these are quote unquote yoga poses, but a
00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:54.470
lot of them are also just borrowed from other
00:16:54.470 --> 00:16:58.129
body weight exercises. The idea of what you're
00:16:58.129 --> 00:17:00.809
doing at a yoga studio being the same thing that,
00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:03.769
you know, an ancient yogi in the subcontinent
00:17:03.769 --> 00:17:07.250
of India was doing 2 ,500 years ago is, it's
00:17:07.250 --> 00:17:09.250
not true. Like a lot of the, most of the poses
00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:12.490
that they were doing, They are not found in modern
00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:16.269
yoga. Most of the poses found in yoga are borrowed
00:17:16.269 --> 00:17:20.329
from other types of exercise, notably British
00:17:20.329 --> 00:17:23.250
gymnastics. Like a lot of what we think of yoga
00:17:23.250 --> 00:17:26.710
now actually came over from like 19th century
00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:31.529
British gymnastics because Britain, you know,
00:17:31.529 --> 00:17:34.529
Britain colonized India. And so they looked at
00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:36.269
what the British soldiers were doing for their
00:17:36.269 --> 00:17:39.089
calisthenics and they integrated it into yoga.
00:17:39.369 --> 00:17:41.970
So point of this being a lot of these bodyweight
00:17:41.970 --> 00:17:44.829
exercises, it makes sense to start with sooner
00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:46.829
in the routine, right? So you want to do something
00:17:46.829 --> 00:17:49.299
that doesn't. take a ton of flexibility right
00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:51.460
at the beginning. It makes sense to go through
00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:54.960
a progression of exercises, which you can somewhat
00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:56.799
learn on your own. Like that's actually, I think
00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.480
one of the coolest things that I hear about from
00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:01.720
people in our community is they do manful yoga
00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:03.420
for a couple of years, three years. And then
00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:04.599
they're like, you know what, Dean, I think I
00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.319
got it from here. I'm like, great, good job,
00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:09.240
man. That means I'm a pretty good teacher, I
00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:10.960
guess. Like if you were able to figure everything
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.819
out, like from... you know, from that. So it
00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:16.380
isn't, I mean, it is helpful to go through a
00:18:16.380 --> 00:18:18.519
progression of exercises to make sure that you're
00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:20.880
warming up the proper muscles before you're going,
00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:24.019
you know, too deep into the movements. But it
00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:26.000
also doesn't have to take 60 minutes. Like most
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.460
of my routines are in the 20 to 25 minute range.
00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:30.500
I've got a ton on YouTube that are five minutes,
00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.259
10 minutes, 15 minutes. So yes, like there should
00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:38.700
be, sequencing is somewhat science, somewhat
00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:43.210
of an art. Um, but you don't have to, you know,
00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:45.630
it doesn't have to be this 60 minute long process
00:18:45.630 --> 00:18:48.269
if that's kind of the answer you're looking for.
00:18:48.390 --> 00:18:51.029
Yeah, it does. And you just mentioned warmup
00:18:51.029 --> 00:18:53.750
and I'm curious using your expertise, can you
00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:56.309
enlighten us, maybe give us a few pointers pre
00:18:56.309 --> 00:18:59.690
and post ruck, what sort of poses or routines
00:18:59.690 --> 00:19:01.869
we should be doing? Like if someone can only
00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:04.269
pick up maybe three moves before going on a ruck,
00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:06.650
what would you guide them or what would you say
00:19:06.650 --> 00:19:09.200
to them? So since you have that weight on your
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:10.819
back and you're going to be kind of, you know,
00:19:10.819 --> 00:19:13.279
leaning forward, what I would do is what's called
00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:16.019
a bridge position, which, you know, yes, it is
00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:17.960
a yoga pose, but it also you'll find this in
00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.339
tons of non -yoga exercises, workouts as well.
00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.400
So I'd start with a bridge position because.
00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:26.349
That's going to get you in a bit of an open position
00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:28.049
with your chest. It's going to get your back
00:19:28.049 --> 00:19:30.630
into extension, meaning arching your back versus
00:19:30.630 --> 00:19:33.130
rounding your back, which is what you'll be rounding
00:19:33.130 --> 00:19:35.390
your back when you're rucking a little bit. Also
00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:37.309
get your glutes firing, which is going to help
00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:40.849
with your knees. I'd also do some sort of upper.
00:19:44.430 --> 00:19:46.990
back kind of thoracic opening so a standing side
00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:49.190
bend is a really good warm -up which basically
00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:51.089
if you can visualize standing up reaching up
00:19:51.089 --> 00:19:53.309
as tall as you can with your arms and then leaning
00:19:53.309 --> 00:19:56.490
over to one side while maintaining height that
00:19:56.490 --> 00:19:58.009
would be a really good one that's going to help
00:19:58.009 --> 00:19:59.869
open your rib cage that's going to help with
00:19:59.869 --> 00:20:02.710
your thoracic mobility and then inserting some
00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:08.220
sort of some sort of twist as well. So I like
00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:10.940
a side angle pose is a really good one for this.
00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:15.720
So getting some mobility to the upper back side
00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:19.319
angle is a little hard to explain. But you can
00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.940
visualize going into a lunge position with your
00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:26.420
hips facing out to the side, and then reaching
00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:29.779
one arm up and one arm down and kind of twisting
00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:32.829
to open up your chest. to the sky or ceiling.
00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:35.589
Those are three that would be really good, just
00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:38.049
kind of off the top of my head. Awesome. What
00:20:38.049 --> 00:20:41.950
about post -ruck? Same thing, or would you recommend
00:20:41.950 --> 00:20:44.849
a few different poses? So post -ruck, you want
00:20:44.849 --> 00:20:47.349
to focus on recovery in the areas that you've
00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:52.859
worked the most. I would say probably a child's
00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:56.180
pose would be a good way to wind down from a
00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:58.519
ruck. That's going to be a good shoulder stretch.
00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.059
That's going to allow your back to release at
00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:05.019
the same time. I'd also recommend probably a
00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:08.079
pigeon pose. A pigeon is just a really deep hip
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.940
stretch for your glutes and your external hip
00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:13.420
rotators. So any sort of lower body workout,
00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.859
doing that afterwards would be a good idea. And
00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:19.170
then if you have a little bit of... I'd also
00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:23.849
go into that, maybe go into that cool down with
00:21:23.849 --> 00:21:27.049
a down dog. And since most people aren't, you
00:21:27.049 --> 00:21:30.190
know, yoga experts yet, what I would do is I
00:21:30.190 --> 00:21:32.049
would find a staircase where you can put your
00:21:32.049 --> 00:21:35.759
hands on maybe the second step. of that staircase.
00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:38.599
So you don't have to be as flexible versus if
00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:40.180
you did it like with your hands and your feet
00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:43.140
on the same level, you might have kind of crappy
00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:45.380
technique, but if you put your hands, maybe a
00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:48.019
foot up, right? So if you're using that staircase
00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:50.539
or a landing or something like that, where your
00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:52.640
hands are higher than your feet, that's going
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.140
to help you with modifying for your, you know,
00:21:55.140 --> 00:21:58.079
your lack of flexibility slash yoga experience.
00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:00.460
That's a great tip. I appreciate that. Yeah.
00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:04.500
We have a yoga block, but with my... inability
00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:07.079
to do some of these poses. I've had to stack
00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:09.799
a few on top of each other to achieve what I
00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:11.859
needed to. Yeah, we actually made, we're in the
00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:13.559
process of renaming it, but we call it the big
00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:17.059
ass block. Nice. It's 60 % taller than the standard
00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:20.640
yoga block. So for those guys. Yeah, entry level.
00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:22.500
You need it so you don't get, don't hurt yourself
00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:25.079
or you don't do it incorrectly. Speaking of,
00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:28.299
I want to go into maybe a routine between rucks,
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:30.299
but I wanted to touch base on this since we're
00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:32.660
talking about form. What are some of the... more
00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:35.880
common mistakes people make when trying a new
00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.380
yoga pose or what do we need to look out for?
00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:42.140
So I'm going to go through concepts instead.
00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.700
The first thing is mirroring, right? So most
00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:48.079
people approach yoga with the sense that I'm
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:50.220
going to mirror what other people are doing.
00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.819
And some of this comes down to just poor instruction,
00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:54.880
right? If you're most yoga classes don't actually
00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.000
focus on technique and they say, everybody do
00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:59.920
a downward dog and breathe in and breathe out.
00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:04.430
And Imagine your body is a, I don't know, a tree
00:23:04.430 --> 00:23:06.349
and, you know, whatever it is, but like there's
00:23:06.349 --> 00:23:09.069
not enough focus on like actual technique. And
00:23:09.069 --> 00:23:12.170
so the first thing you want to do is avoid mirroring
00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:13.769
the instructor. You want to make sure that you're
00:23:13.769 --> 00:23:17.009
doing the poses or the postures, the stretches,
00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:20.789
exercises as it applies to your body. So you're
00:23:20.789 --> 00:23:22.589
not just trying, if you see the instructor like
00:23:22.589 --> 00:23:25.240
reaching down and touching her toes. or his toes,
00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.400
you don't want to go straight to touching your
00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:29.160
toes. You want to think, well, what's the goal
00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:30.880
of this pose? Well, it's a hamstring stretch.
00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:33.220
Okay. So I'm going to focus on stretching my
00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:36.279
hamstrings instead of just getting my hands to
00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:39.519
touch the ground. So avoiding mirroring and focusing
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.359
on like, well, what is the goal of the pose?
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.180
What are the target muscles? What am I supposed
00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:45.339
to be? You know, how does this apply to my flexibility
00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:47.740
level? The second thing would be using props
00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:50.599
appropriately. So props bring the ground up to
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:54.009
you, or they help with shoulder flexibility if
00:23:54.009 --> 00:23:55.970
you're holding a strap so holding a strap instead
00:23:55.970 --> 00:23:58.710
of bringing your hands together um they're going
00:23:58.710 --> 00:24:00.509
to help you just modify the pose so that instead
00:24:00.509 --> 00:24:04.630
of you again like doing a 225 pound back squat
00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:06.509
when you're just starting lifting now you're
00:24:06.509 --> 00:24:08.490
doing just the bar instead right that's what
00:24:08.490 --> 00:24:10.970
props do they make it so that you can modify
00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:14.410
the exercise to fit your flexibility level and
00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:17.630
then broadly speaking most guys should be bending
00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:22.509
their knees um more in in hip stretches when
00:24:22.509 --> 00:24:26.029
you bend your knees that means that you're not
00:24:26.029 --> 00:24:28.670
putting as much strain on your back so like if
00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:30.309
you're trying to reach down and touch your toes
00:24:30.309 --> 00:24:34.910
and you lock out your legs to try and get your
00:24:34.910 --> 00:24:37.329
hands to your feet your hamstrings are tight
00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:39.009
the limit there's flexibility that's limited
00:24:39.009 --> 00:24:41.730
there and so you're going to make up for that
00:24:41.730 --> 00:24:44.150
lack of flexibility by trying to use your lower
00:24:44.150 --> 00:24:47.680
back to compensate And that's a really easy way
00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:51.059
to overstretch and injure your back. There's
00:24:51.059 --> 00:24:52.940
actually a lot of injuries that happen in yoga
00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:55.400
because people are just trying to force themselves
00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:57.900
into positions they're not ready for. So bending
00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:01.299
your knees and using blocks is going to help
00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:04.880
with hip stretches. Excellent. And sort of along
00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:09.019
the same lines as form, can you... Talk about
00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:10.880
breathing for a second, because I know breathing
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.579
can be pretty critical to achieving these poses,
00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.220
if I remember correctly. How does breathing fit
00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:18.799
into a yoga routine and achieving these poses?
00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:21.799
So breathing helps you regulate your nervous
00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.539
system, and it complements whatever you're doing
00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:26.559
with your body. So if you're working on getting
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.279
deeper into a posture and you are holding your
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.559
breath, your body is going to resist. Your muscles
00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:34.980
are not going to open up. So if you can start...
00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.140
pause in a way where it doesn't feel that intense
00:25:38.140 --> 00:25:41.059
if you can aim for like the three four out of
00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.920
ten intensity range to start and Then you can
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:46.079
use your breath to ease deeper into the pose.
00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:48.500
That's going to help you. That's gonna help you
00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:50.339
stretch more That's gonna help you increase flexibility
00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:53.079
more versus if you go straight to I'm gonna go
00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.799
as far as I can I'm gonna go to this eight out
00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:57.319
of ten intensity to start right away, and I'm
00:25:57.319 --> 00:26:00.319
just gonna hope I can breathe so you do really
00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:03.450
want to be able to So maintain awareness of your
00:26:03.450 --> 00:26:05.869
breathing as you're doing it. And if you're new
00:26:05.869 --> 00:26:07.829
to yoga, it is really overwhelming because you're
00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:09.450
like, ah, where does my knee go? Where do my,
00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:11.289
where does my hand go? Where's my shoulder go?
00:26:11.349 --> 00:26:14.410
Oh, it's just breathing too. Right. So you have
00:26:14.410 --> 00:26:17.490
to be just going to it, knowing that you're not
00:26:17.490 --> 00:26:20.119
going to remember. to be present with every single
00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:22.059
breath that you do. You're not going to be locked
00:26:22.059 --> 00:26:25.099
in awareness -wise to every breath that you do.
00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:28.079
But every time that you recognize, oh, I'm supposed
00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.160
to be focusing on my breathing, that's actually
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.980
a win. So that's a big piece of advice that I
00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:34.940
give to people who are starting out is, yes,
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:37.519
breathing is very important, but it's going to
00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.039
take a lot of time and consistency to build awareness
00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:44.150
of your breathing. So you can... Every time you
00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:46.630
forget that you're breathing is actually a win
00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:48.910
because you're remembering that you're not breathing
00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:51.289
and therefore building awareness of it. Yeah,
00:26:51.309 --> 00:26:53.930
I like that. I appreciate you explaining that.
00:26:54.009 --> 00:26:56.690
Starting out, I definitely fell into that role
00:26:56.690 --> 00:27:00.829
of trying to achieve the max amount of the stress
00:27:00.829 --> 00:27:04.190
immediately going into that pose. And that's
00:27:04.190 --> 00:27:07.130
just not how that works. So let's say a rucker
00:27:07.130 --> 00:27:09.730
wants to develop some sort of routine between
00:27:09.730 --> 00:27:14.329
rucks. How do I want to phrase this? How often
00:27:14.329 --> 00:27:17.609
or how long should that routine or that session
00:27:17.609 --> 00:27:20.609
be? Or should they do multiple sessions between
00:27:20.609 --> 00:27:22.829
rucks? Let's just say, you know, maybe they go
00:27:22.829 --> 00:27:24.869
on a long ruck on the weekends, a Saturday or
00:27:24.869 --> 00:27:28.049
Sunday, and they want to maintain some stability
00:27:28.049 --> 00:27:31.569
and some limberness, I guess, between those rucks.
00:27:31.809 --> 00:27:34.109
They want to maybe start doing a yoga routine.
00:27:34.490 --> 00:27:37.289
Should they do it multiple days that week? Or
00:27:37.289 --> 00:27:39.769
how long should the average session be, I guess?
00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:43.319
I mean, it depends on what you have time for.
00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:45.720
Like, you know, it'd be great if everyone had
00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:49.940
time for a 60 minute, you know, active recovery
00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:53.380
yoga session on Sundays. But most people, myself
00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:56.259
included, don't always have time for that. So,
00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:59.200
you know, I think recognizing that even five
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:04.259
minutes is beneficial is important. And there's
00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:06.759
also different approaches that you can use for
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:08.700
your yoga routines. Like you mentioned wanting
00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:11.279
to do like a stability slash maybe a little bit
00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:15.259
of active recovery routine. And that's something
00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:18.799
that's great to do either, you know, maybe six
00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:21.259
to eight plus hours after your rucking session.
00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:24.180
So if you do like a Saturday morning ruck and
00:28:24.180 --> 00:28:26.960
it's Saturday evening now and you're like me
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.079
and your Saturday evenings don't involve. you
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.099
know, going to the bar or, you know, a club,
00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:35.299
then you can do some stretching while you're
00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:37.759
in front of the TV. Or if it's Sunday and it's
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.740
the day afterward, then that's a great time to,
00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:45.279
you know, do this combination of yoga, stability.
00:28:46.410 --> 00:28:49.170
light strength work plus flexibility and recovery
00:28:49.170 --> 00:28:51.750
work. But then you can also use it like it's
00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:54.190
I think it's great to do it as a warm up before
00:28:54.190 --> 00:28:55.829
other workouts. So like you could definitely
00:28:55.829 --> 00:28:58.369
do it as a warm up before rucking to kind of
00:28:58.369 --> 00:29:00.549
prime your muscles like we talked about. And
00:29:00.549 --> 00:29:03.190
then it also is great as a cool down either immediately
00:29:03.190 --> 00:29:06.470
after the rucking session or like I said at the
00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:09.190
beginning of this answer like six to eight plus
00:29:09.190 --> 00:29:11.789
hours afterward as a way to kind of get out in
00:29:11.789 --> 00:29:14.329
front of the soreness. And then you can also
00:29:14.329 --> 00:29:16.170
do it as a standalone workout. So if you want
00:29:16.170 --> 00:29:18.009
to do a more intense yoga session where you're
00:29:18.009 --> 00:29:20.990
focusing on building hip strength, building hip
00:29:20.990 --> 00:29:23.250
stability and ankle strength so that you can
00:29:23.250 --> 00:29:25.349
support your knees better and your back doesn't
00:29:25.349 --> 00:29:27.410
hurt as much, then that's a great thing to do
00:29:27.410 --> 00:29:29.829
kind of on your non -rucking days if you have
00:29:29.829 --> 00:29:33.390
a little bit more gas in the tank, so to speak.
00:29:33.869 --> 00:29:36.789
yeah no that that makes sense and with that routine
00:29:36.789 --> 00:29:41.049
let's just say like everyone's crazy busy you
00:29:41.049 --> 00:29:44.250
know managing schedule for yourself your spouse
00:29:44.250 --> 00:29:49.410
your kids what's the number one like biggest
00:29:49.410 --> 00:29:51.289
bang for your buck mobility drill that you would
00:29:51.289 --> 00:29:53.670
recommend to ruckers if they only had you know
00:29:53.670 --> 00:29:55.750
just a few minutes a day to to maybe achieve
00:29:55.750 --> 00:30:00.210
some poses or some sort of routine I hate that
00:30:00.210 --> 00:30:04.089
question. I know, right? As I was asking, it's
00:30:04.089 --> 00:30:06.529
like, it's so dependent on each person. It's
00:30:06.529 --> 00:30:08.410
dependent on each person. And also like, I get
00:30:08.410 --> 00:30:09.750
a lot of people who are like, I'm just doing
00:30:09.750 --> 00:30:11.470
the same workout over and over again until I
00:30:11.470 --> 00:30:14.289
master it. I'm like, okay, that's, there's a
00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:16.549
lot of other exercises you could and should be
00:30:16.549 --> 00:30:19.349
doing. I think the important thing is just doing,
00:30:19.470 --> 00:30:22.410
I think the important thing is doing a sort of
00:30:22.410 --> 00:30:24.750
establishing some sort of cadence or a rhythm
00:30:24.750 --> 00:30:27.819
with it and doing. you know, again, five minutes
00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:30.299
is helpful, 10 minutes. The good thing about
00:30:30.299 --> 00:30:34.299
yoga is most of it is full body. So I mean, poses
00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:37.259
specifically for Rutgers, you and just for our
00:30:37.259 --> 00:30:41.480
modern kind of world, I do a lot of hip opening
00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:45.180
stretches, like with strength. So Something called
00:30:45.180 --> 00:30:47.559
a goddess or a horse pose is really good for
00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:50.380
your hip mobility, your groin. Something called
00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:52.880
like a high lunge or a crescent lunge is just
00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:55.680
a really good thing to do for opening your hip
00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:58.200
flexors, strengthening your core, opening up
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:02.059
your chest. A standing backbend would be something
00:31:02.059 --> 00:31:04.319
that's really important, really good to do if
00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:06.519
you're rucking in particular, just getting your
00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:09.380
chest open, getting an arch to your spine instead
00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:12.910
of rounding forward. Okay, gotcha. Now let's
00:31:12.910 --> 00:31:15.349
talk about Man Flow Yoga. Who does Man Flow Yoga
00:31:15.349 --> 00:31:18.049
usually serve? What's your usual clientele like?
00:31:19.329 --> 00:31:24.849
Our guys are men who are interested in longevity,
00:31:25.130 --> 00:31:29.589
who are interested in pain relief, who want to
00:31:29.589 --> 00:31:32.470
be able to do the exercises that they're doing
00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:36.299
now or would like to do. for as long as possible
00:31:36.299 --> 00:31:40.059
without pain. So they want to enjoy the things
00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:42.039
that they're physically doing. They want to be
00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:45.099
able to be capable of doing those things. And
00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:48.440
they want to do it for as long as possible. So,
00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:51.039
you know, most of our guys, I'd say the sweet
00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.779
spot is guys in their 50s and early 60s. We've
00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:57.900
got guys in their 40s and 70s as well, in addition
00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:00.980
to, you know, guys who are in their 30s and 80s.
00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:04.779
the mostly it is in like that 40s to i would
00:32:04.779 --> 00:32:07.859
say the late 40s to 60s range for the most part
00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:10.680
It's not just guys who lift weights or guys who
00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:15.599
run. It's also guys who are office workers who
00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:19.180
have bad posture. They want to get back into
00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:21.980
fitness, and they don't know where to start.
00:32:22.099 --> 00:32:24.140
They know that they can't go straight to a boot
00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:26.200
camp class or a weightlifting program. They want
00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:29.599
to ease back into it. I've also had guys who
00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.099
have signed up because they're looking for sexual
00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:35.819
wellness. These are guys who need medication
00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:40.289
to... to perform. And so they're looking at this
00:32:40.289 --> 00:32:44.549
as a way to build that fitness. These are also
00:32:44.549 --> 00:32:48.829
guys who have chronic aches and pains, chronic
00:32:48.829 --> 00:32:51.509
back pain, chronic knee pain, chronic shoulder
00:32:51.509 --> 00:32:54.369
pain, poor posture from years of sitting at a
00:32:54.369 --> 00:32:56.910
desk and who are looking for fitness that will
00:32:56.910 --> 00:32:59.630
specifically work on these issues. And then we've
00:32:59.630 --> 00:33:01.450
also got a lot of guys, like I mentioned, kind
00:33:01.450 --> 00:33:03.660
of in that the athletes and runners category
00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:07.259
who have been lifelong, usually recreational
00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:09.799
athletes. I've got some pretty interesting professional
00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:12.740
athletes who have joined as well, but most of
00:33:12.740 --> 00:33:14.579
the guys are recreational athletes. And these
00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:16.640
are guys who just want to be able to keep doing
00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:18.509
what they're doing now. you know, they notice
00:33:18.509 --> 00:33:20.809
like, Hey, my knees hurt way more than they used
00:33:20.809 --> 00:33:22.390
to, or my back starting to hurt. And that never
00:33:22.390 --> 00:33:24.730
used to happen. So these are guys who understand,
00:33:25.130 --> 00:33:27.470
Oh, I do need to work on my flexibility, mobility.
00:33:27.950 --> 00:33:30.329
Okay. So this program, this manful yoga thing
00:33:30.329 --> 00:33:33.170
will help with that. But for the most part within.
00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:37.480
A month or two months, guys notice the improvements.
00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.779
They notice that their bodies don't have as much
00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:42.000
pain. They notice that they can do their other
00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.619
workouts with less pain. They notice less pain
00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:47.400
day to day. They start to increase flexibility
00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:50.740
and they're more aware of their bodies. So yeah,
00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:52.240
that's what we work with. That's what we do.
00:33:52.460 --> 00:33:56.339
And the program, is it 100 % online? It's all
00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:58.539
online. We have some community events that we
00:33:58.539 --> 00:34:00.059
do. So that's something that I started doing
00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:03.039
within the last couple of years, putting more
00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:07.579
effort into doing weekend events in cities with
00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:11.900
high member populations. So like Chicago, this
00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:16.159
upcoming year, we went to Chicago, we did Washington,
00:34:16.380 --> 00:34:20.400
D .C., we'll be doing Boston, Seattle, Denver,
00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:24.269
and Atlanta next year. That's a lot. That's a
00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:27.269
lot in person. That's great, Dean. Yeah, but
00:34:27.269 --> 00:34:31.730
mostly online. And we also have a cool community,
00:34:31.809 --> 00:34:34.929
which makes it more fun, more enjoyable, and
00:34:34.929 --> 00:34:38.389
also adds an element to it that ultimately makes
00:34:38.389 --> 00:34:42.489
it easier and helps with you doing it more. Because
00:34:42.489 --> 00:34:44.429
if you're just doing it by yourself, there are
00:34:44.429 --> 00:34:48.079
some people who like that. don't need any sort
00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:50.860
of extra motivation or push. But for a lot of
00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:53.119
people, they want more of a community sense.
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:54.920
They want some sense of like, oh, I'm not the
00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:56.559
only person doing this. And so the community
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:59.860
aspect really does help with that. And then it
00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:02.800
also, people get to, you know, meet each other
00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.039
at these in -person events that we do from time
00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.260
to time, people that they know from the community
00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:10.519
and the members area, community section. And
00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:12.480
also we have a Facebook group where a lot of
00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:15.480
that interaction happens. Okay. Good deal. Yeah.
00:35:15.539 --> 00:35:18.000
Lastly, if any of the listeners would like to
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:19.559
learn more about it, where should they go to
00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:22.440
check it out? We've got a free seven day challenge.
00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:24.679
It's a beginner's yoga for men challenge, which
00:35:24.679 --> 00:35:27.659
is a really good way for you to see what this
00:35:27.659 --> 00:35:30.000
looks like and try it out. There's no credit
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.179
card required. This is just solely like delivered
00:35:32.179 --> 00:35:35.139
via email. So those are 15 minute workouts. They're
00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:37.659
made with beginners in mind and to help you understand
00:35:37.659 --> 00:35:40.300
and kind of notice for yourself firsthand the
00:35:40.300 --> 00:35:43.510
benefits of what doing yoga on a, you know, regular
00:35:43.510 --> 00:35:45.909
basis can be. And it is a seven day challenge.
00:35:45.949 --> 00:35:48.650
So it's seven days in a row. But, you know, most
00:35:48.650 --> 00:35:50.789
of our guys are doing these probably about three
00:35:50.789 --> 00:35:53.289
times per week. So don't feel obligated to do,
00:35:53.309 --> 00:35:56.789
you know, or overwhelmed by daily, you know,
00:35:56.789 --> 00:35:59.590
things. So even two or three times a week will
00:35:59.590 --> 00:36:02.889
help with noticeable results. And that said,
00:36:02.949 --> 00:36:05.369
a link for that we'll put in the show notes for
00:36:05.369 --> 00:36:10.489
sure. But ManfulYoga .com slash 7DC. Excellent.
00:36:10.610 --> 00:36:12.539
Well, I'm gonna go. Check it out right now. I'm
00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:15.539
curious. Instead of doing Elsa yoga for the 13th
00:36:15.539 --> 00:36:18.900
time in a row, I'm going to mix it up. I'm sure
00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:21.659
this will resonate with your daughter. Well,
00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:23.760
Dean, thanks so much for coming on, man. I think
00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:26.099
you've provided a lot of value to us Rutgers,
00:36:26.219 --> 00:36:28.840
but I've enjoyed our conversation and I just
00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:30.380
want to say thanks again for joining us today
00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:33.239
and good luck to you with Manful of Yoga. Yeah,
00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.300
man. I appreciate you having me. This was a good
00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:38.000
conversation and best of luck to everything and
00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:39.440
let me know if there's anything else I can do
00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:42.019
for your community. All right, that wraps up
00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:44.019
my conversation with Dean Pullman for Manflow
00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:46.539
Yoga. To learn more about his program, head on
00:36:46.539 --> 00:36:49.260
over to manfloyoga .com or check out the seven
00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:52.219
-day challenge he mentioned at manfloyoga .com
00:36:52.219 --> 00:36:56.659
slash 7DC. That's the number seven, Delta, Charlie.
00:36:57.079 --> 00:36:58.739
If you want to reach out to me, head on over
00:36:58.739 --> 00:37:02.239
to theruckersedge .com or on Instagram at theruckersedgepod.
00:37:02.960 --> 00:37:05.059
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to
00:37:05.059 --> 00:37:06.860
follow or subscribe to the show in your favorite
00:37:06.860 --> 00:37:09.099
podcast app so you're notified of new episodes.
00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:11.519
And in next week's episode, we sit down with
00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:14.199
Dan Vinson from Wild Gem. We talk about rucking
00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:16.760
in the snow and the packs that Wild Gem offers.
00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:19.780
Okay, that's it for today. Thanks again for listening
00:37:19.780 --> 00:37:21.579
to this episode of The Rucker's Edge.