Jamie Mraz DPT

Jamie Mraz DPT Human Performance Clinician, Educator, and Consultant for Tactical Professionals

01/10/2026

Posterior chain engagement

These are some of my favorite ways to help athletes get a sense of their spinal and pelvic position while working on posterior chain recruitment

They are useful drills in rehab setting but I often also incorporate them into my performance training programs

As a built in feedback mechanism athletes can self-assess if they feel themselves holding more muscle engagement in the low back or the glutes as they hold these positions.

Fatigue will also help further unmask potential compensatory patterns so doing these for longer hold times and higher reps can be useful

As always there are no cookie cutter fixes for back pain, but there should always be a logical thought process and movement training that continuously moves the needle forward

01/08/2026

Feel good spinal moves 👌🏻

There is a lot more to managing back pain than simple mobility drills, but I still like to equip my athletes with some movements they can do from anywhere to get their back moving and feeling better when pain or stiffness flares up

Pictured are some of my favorite options hitting a variety of movements

01/08/2026

Distal hamstring training

When I review fitness programs for my athletes, many of them are completely neglecting distal hamstring work

At the knee joint, the hamstrings aide in providing dynamic stability

I love hamstring curls machines at the gym, but for many years my clinic didn’t have one nor do I have one at my home gym so these are some of my favorite minimal equipment ways to load up the distal hamstrings

As you perform these, be mindful of compensatory patterns- often times the low back likes to come to the rescue of weak hamstrings

Interested in my training approach?

Then join me for RESOLUTE 12-Week Fitness Training Program where we target notorious weak links like these all the while getting strong and improving joint and tendon health.

Link in bio to get started 🔗

01/07/2026

‘Hanging’ shoulder series

Not necessarily things that I would use on an injured shoulder but great for those wanting to improve upper body mobility and durability

This is a sequence that I personally do a few times a week aiming to spend about 30 seconds in each position

The key is allowing yourself to settle in an take nice expansive inhales in each position. As you inhale you are seeking ribcage expansion

Thought maybe some of you could use this routine to get those shoulders, chest, and midback opened up!

Friendly reminder from your favorite physical therapist 😉Get outside and walk every damn day. Regardless of weather. Reg...
01/06/2026

Friendly reminder from your favorite physical therapist 😉

Get outside and walk every damn day.

Regardless of weather.

Regardless of how hard you worked in the gym.

And regardless if you would rather be on the couch.

Your body and mind need movement and fresh air.

Your body needs the chance to adapt to weather (hot and cold).

Your gut needs movement to digest your food.

I am for 60 minutes of outside walking a day. Sometimes split into several mini walks and sometimes one long one. This is not a workout, it’s daily health hygiene 🫡

01/05/2026

Non-traditional options for a stiff mid back

There is a time and place for adjustments, foam rolling etc…and that is short term relief which absolutely has its merit.

Back in the height of my Army sick call days, I would have infantry guys lined up out the door to get their back popped after days out in the field or a long ruck march.

After I would adjust them, I would have them spend some time on the foam roller and then off they would go to continue the day’s work

But when things settle back down and we can look at a more long term approach to mitigating back pain under load- we want to implement some loaded mobility work into regular training sessions.

These are some of my favorites to get the mid back moving and grooving and to create lasting positive change in movement and mobility.

1. Rotational inverted row
2. Supine thoracic press
3. Reciprocal row + press
4. Shot put slam
5. Half-kneeling spinal CARs

Done correctly, these types of movements can be seamlessly integrated into regularly strength and conditioning sessions.

Again, no hate on the short term fixes but always consider a long term approach as well.

01/02/2026

A fundamental requirement for healthy shoulders is the ability to control (and move) the shoulder blades

But many of my athletes are pretty disconnected with these movements

Personally it is one of my favorite things to train because you can implement it in so many ways- with pushing, pulling, hanging, weight bearing etc…

And it just feels so damn good when you let those shoulder blades move freely

But remember we want controlled (not sloppy) movement!

Pictured are some of my favorite movements to incorporate shoulder blade control and mobility work 💪🏼

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RESOLUTE 12-Week training program designed to get you strong, mobile, and less injury prone. We attack notorious weak links including getting those shoulder blades in line!

Link in bio to get started 🔗

01/01/2026

When it comes to the spine you fight for millimeters of movement

Each joint needs to contribute to help evenly distribute the load and prevent wear and tear

But most people are unable to move the spine one segment at a time. Instead it moves in chunks.

Training segmental control ensures that each joint contributes their share of load distribution and is important for keeping the spine healthy

It’s boring tedious work. But soooo important. Fighting for millimeters of movement that can make the world of difference in overcoming and preventing back issues.

These are some various set-ups that I use used to train spine segmental control throughout the year 🫡

Cheers to 2026!

12/30/2025

People with good body control and awareness can make any exercise ‘difficult’

They have learned how to tune into their body, create internal tension, and are aware of how their body may try to compensate

But many times when I first start working with athletes they are so used to needing heavy load or resistance to find meaning and difficulty in movements

The truth is that we need the ability to perform well under load but also the ability and skill to manipulate and control body position without it.

This is a true movement art to master. And in my experience, the people that can control their body well internally also perform the best under load.

Food for thought.

12/29/2025

Home gym options to work spinal extension

99.9% of the time I love my home gym, the other 0.01% is when I want/ need to train spine extensors

Ive tinkered around with a lot of minimal equipment set ups and these are two that I keep coming back to

Nothing beats getting on a GHD, Roman chair, or reverse hyper but these are better than simply neglecting the movement in the name of lack of equipment

Sometimes working around equipment access and injury movement limitations is the most fun part of my job 🤯😉

12/29/2025

I feel that everyone regardless of age or injury history should train impact attenuation in some capacity

Too often people accept that they have to ‘be low impact’ because of XYZ diagnosis, previous injury or of a certain age

The reality is that we need this type of training to keep tendons and joints healthy and to mitigate injury risk

No you don’t have to do 60 inch box jumps. But your tendons would benefit from some quick and light ‘spring work’. And your joints would benefit from training to make sure tendons and muscles can dissipate force and energy.

This is why my workouts always include some form of this training because I believe it is another component of fitness that keeps us healthy and well rounded.

Train with me ⬇️
RESOLUTE 12-week fitness program that includes a progression of this type of training.

Link in bio to get started 🔗

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