Daniel Kam - Physical Therapist

23/04/2023

As a competitive athlete and a full time coach, injuries can be a huge setback & a hindrance. It may stall performance progression & affect day-day activities.

The ARKE System will help mitigate the risks of injury while simultaneously optimising every aspect in-out of training to improve.

As we look forward to his next championship in July, we are making sure he stays on top of training and his body !

Experience the ARKE System. Book at .my today!

Daniel Kam, CSCS (NSCA) (.mechanic) on Instagram: "“ I had a rib injury during sparring. My partner tried to pass my guard while I was defending...."

04/02/2021

3D MOVEMENT

Surely, we neglect the need to move our joints through its full range of motion, as it constantly craves for movements through a 3-dimensional plane.

🔺Each & every joint in the body is required to act out their task effectively, so LOAD will be transmitted effectively & hence FLUID like movement, pain free.

🔺As I discussed the importance of femur external rotation in this post, I do not despise the importance of internal rotation and the other movement the hip joint allows.

🔺Having access to all the other movements, truly defines movement.

🔺Again, that is what our body craves & sadly, most of us have lost the access to those movements.

I believe in moving.

I believe in first understanding the simple complexity of human movements.

I believe that these two elements represent the sole foundation to designing the body for longevity.

01/02/2021

WHY SQUAT DEEP?

This is not going be a discussion about why weight-lifters/power-lifters squat deep & whether or not its cooler.

🔺The purpose of this post is to highlight the UNDERVALUED POTENTIAL of moving a joint to its full range of motion (ROM). We will touch on the lower body hence the association with squats.

🔺Numerous studies have shown that deep squats for more than 30 minutes OR sustained deep squatting was a strong risk factor for knee degeneration.

🔺BUT, before we start pointing fingers at deep squatting as a “bad” exercise, although there isn’t such thing, consider who, in our modern times, goes into a squat for longer than 30 minutes?

🔺We keep our hips flexed to 90 º as we drive and sit at work, probably hit a workout or maybe none, sit for a bit more to work before bed & that’s it. People rarely take their hips & knees past the 90 º mark.

🔺With the lack of movement piling up over the months and years , this would be detrimental towards our joints & body functions. It’s cringey to say “use it, or lose it” but I guess that is over simplifying this & easier to digest.

🔺So get off your chair & start getting yourself into a deep squat, supported if you have issues balancing. If you have pain, then it’s about time you come see me ;)

Start moving & loading your joints.

Start moving with purpose.

Start designing your body for longevity.

31/01/2021

If I’d focused solely on manipulating muscle tone either manually or thru foam rolls (fixing his super hunched back and painful shoulder for years), I will never achieve a long term relief because of the poor muscle patterning that is hard wired, to how he moves & carries his day to day activities.

The goal will be to disrupt the resting state of the poor dysfunctional patterns, reinstating and challenging them with proper movement.

I believe in moving.

I believe in first understanding the simple complexity of human movements.

I believe that these two elements represent the sole foundation to designing your body for longevity.

26/01/2021

SELF CARE KNEE EDITION. Ep II
Static Runners Position + Progression

26/01/2021

SELF CARE KNEE EDITION. Ep II
Inner Thigh Leg Lifts

26/01/2021

SELF CARE KNEE EDITION. Ep II
Hamstring Bridge + Progression

26/01/2021

SELF CARE KNEE EDITION. Ep II
Elevated Static Lunges + Progression

26/01/2021

SELF CARE KNEE EDITION. Ep II

Let us not use the lockdown as an excuse to neglect our body. Don't forget to take good care of your knees during the lockdown / WFH period!

Stretching & mobility is always to blame when we consider the likelihood of getting an injury or when our performance hits the wall.

We have to acknowledge that there are tons of other training variables to be looked into & managed before we go pointing all fingers at "static stretching". To attain "FUNCTIONALITY" or simply maintaining a state of high performance without pain, the 2 main currencies are MOBILITY & STABILITY.

The movements in this episode will be to ensure that we provide global stability around the knee joint whilst integrating some components of balance & coordination. Controlling the front - back, rotational & pivoting motions that takes place at the knee joint in most lower limb movements.

15/12/2020

308

5 off the blocks. We was going for 6 but, I really needed to fart.
Well, here it is, last heavy set of 2020.

700lbs of the ground next up!

12/12/2020

Mental & Physical Health

The 2 realms that should not be separated.

Upholding self care is to first acknowledge, self value. Self value really is dictated by what I call the 3 metrics of care (money, time, effort). Reflecting on where you allocate most of your (money,time, effort) gives you a rough idea of your priorities are & what you care most about. Do you prioritize self value? Do you believe that the cliche phrase "physical activity improves mental health" actually works?

Normalizing mental health is to optimize human movements.
We have to start acknowledging that our body craves to move in a 3- dimensional space.

When we teach the body to utilise each and every joint in the every plane of movement available to it, improvement in posture, balance, strength and as well as contribution to pain reduction while reducing the risk of future injury, comes naturally.

Block your schedule, sign yourself up (link in bio) & join us as we dive in deeper into this next week !

25/11/2020

SMARTER GLUTE TRAINING

Stay with me until the end of the video, I promise you it doesn't only better your single leg stability but it teaches you to execute every other exercise with such detailed level of mindfulness.

Pointers:

🔺️Distinguish what structure needs to stay rigid, what structures are moving. Boils down to the PURPOSE of the exercise. What are you getting out of it ?

🔺️Hip Hinge (the front & back movement of the hips in the sagittal plane or Front & Back plane), should be brought about by the hips. Commonly mistaken with lumbar or low back flexion/rounding, which makes the movement easier & inefficient.

🔺️Regress to the regular Stiff Leg Deadlift, or Tip toe supported Single Leg Deadlift in attempt to provide more balance, allowing you to focus sitting into the hinge at the hips.

🔺️Tempos will come in really handy. Perform a rep really slowly, as you will be able to distinguish whether or not you are executing the movement through your hips or the lumbar. We will leave balancing issues & time under tension out of the equation for now.

📹:

17/11/2020

Don't be sleepin' on your level, cause it's beauty in the struggle.

Extremely grateful for this one here. Although most of the time distanced, we've kept each other motivated & driven, to never settle for average so we don’t suck. No matter where you are, with success/ experience or not, don't sleep on your level because there is always another goal, another level to reach . Get lost in the process, enjoy it.

Keep doing what you do brother.

See you at the top

17/10/2020

Pay attention to how different root causes of dysfunction, does manifest itself through similar symptoms/pain/restrictions.

His back is locked, therefore restricting so much of movement at the hips. Since most back muscles are attached to the pelvis, this also limits specific hip movements, which may also trigger the pain.

Logically, the tight muscles are causing the problem, so should we stretch it or not?

At the pelvis, tightening of certain muscle is a tale sign of the lacking stability at the hip. Depending on the nature of movement/sports, surrounding muscles of the hip plays a huge role in pelvic STABILITY, which when ever neglected causes pain at the low back due to:

▫️Excessive sitting, putting some huge hip stabilizers to sleep
▫️Cultivating poor movement patterns when exercising/working out
▫️Practicing poor daily habits, such as shifting weight onto one leg when standing, crossing leg up while sitting, slouching for long periods & list goes on.

So, the next time your low back hurts, question yourself, do you really need to stretch? Or is there something missing in the equation causing all this unnecessary tightening?

Start moving with purpose, Start designing your body for longevity.

15/09/2020

NO EXCUSES

When Joe first came in, he could barely move his left arm. Daily task as simple as reaching out for objects or driving, would be so painful.

With poor awareness of maintaining proper posture and taking care of his body, the last 40 years of work has led him to develop poor patterns which is now limiting his should function. (Locked/rounded mid-back, severe muscular imbalances of the shoulder muscles)

Huge shout out to Joe for putting in the work & believing in me to get him to where he is today. I mean from not being able to move an arm, to being able to perform exercises that a regular gym goer does? Being able to get into/sustain these position during the exercises has shown significant improvement in his body awareness.

Super PROUD of him!

Take home : Joe is in his golden age. Joe doesn't whine. Joe doesn't make excuses. Joe shows up. Joe commits.

Start designing your body for longevity!

____________________________________________

🔺️ Serratus Wall Slide
For all the times you cue your clients to retract and depress their scapula, there is something called Reciprocal Inhibition. It is the process of muscles on one side of a joint relaxing to accommodate contraction on the other side of that joint.

Yes recognize the importance of retraction and depression, but constant cueing of that without direct stimulation to the opposing muscle will put the muscle at a weakened state. So, dont forget the Serratus Anterior.

This variation requires the upper traps to be at ease as much as possible during spread rotation of the scapula, allowing the Serratus Ant. to take over especially during the end ranges of shoulder flexion.

🔺️ Banded Pulldown
🔺️ Bent Over Banded Pull
These 2 variants are directed to improve the function of the lat muscle, which to stabilize and extend the T-spine. (Improving mid back extension)

This 2 variants requires minimal tension at the hands and arm, focusing on driving the shoulder bone (humerus) closer to the body, which is Shoulder Extension.

As his arms approaches closer to his body, that is when he will be cued to "Open Up Chest" which is technically, retraction & depression.