Jamie Mraz DPT

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

03/07/2026

SI joint pain and one sided low back pain generally needs more sidebending and lateral flexion

As one side gaps and opens up, the other side closes. Symptoms can be felt on either the opening side or the closing side and generally prefer to move in only 1 direction, but the joints needs to be able to move in both directions to stay healthy and lubricated

The first few sessions of incorporating this work can feel a bit sticky, but once things start moving and grooving most people find that this movement feels pretty good

Cueing to breathe deep into the lengthened position helps the body relax and learn to utilize this range

As a notoriously undertrained spine direction, I like to sprinkle this work into training sessions in a variety of ways. These are some of my favorites ranging from more rehab focused to things that can be incorporated into performance programs

03/05/2026

Hip movements for stiff dudes

Priority on rotation and then opening up the groin as these are two areas that are lacking in nearly every guy I work with

Heavy loads and high mileage days can beat the crap out of the body. Utilizing movement to nourish the joints and restore range of motion can help mitigate things from breaking down over time

If you are a stiff dude and want some structured mobility come join us on the Warfighter Mobility Program 💪🏼

03/01/2026

Shoulder prep 💪🏼

Taking a few minutes to hit some supplemental shoulder work PRIOR to hitting heavy push movements can yield huge return both on performance and mitigating shoulder issues

The goal is to get the shoulder rotating and get the shoulder blades cooperating

I usually pick 2- 3 movements that compliment and support my primary lift and then do a couple sets as joint prep and some preventative maintenance work

Most of the guys I treat in the clinic are anxious to hit the gym and jump right into the heavy lifting but this prep work should be a non-negotiable primer

41st birthday for me today 🎉Celebrated with an early morning leg day 🤪
02/25/2026

41st birthday for me today 🎉

Celebrated with an early morning leg day 🤪

02/11/2026

The biggest piece of advice I give to my athletes navigating low back pain-is to incorporate more movement variety into your daily life and training programs

This becomes especially true for ‘core training’. Too often this is watered down to a few planks or sit-ups. In reality the spine should flex, extend, rotate, and sideband. Your ‘core muscles’ facilitate these spine movements.

The old school soccer player in me likes to finish all my workouts with some core work. I use to think only of abs. Now I think more in terms of ‘spine’. Pick a few movements that incorporate a variety of spine movements and then circuit through them.

Pictured are some core favorites in the rotation of programming that I use for myself and with athletes.

As always, back pain is a big ol ‘it depends’. But when in doubt, movement variety is likely a good place to start.

02/07/2026

At the heart of most shoulder problems, lies a neck problem.

I see this all the time in the clinic with my military guys

The neck loves to refer symptoms into the shoulder, arm, and shoulder blade. Sometimes neck pain goes along with this and sometimes not.

This is why it’s important to zoom out and take a look at the bigger picture instead of focusing solely on where things hurt

Pictured are some movements that I use to keep the joints in the neck moving to try to prevent issues from popping up

For the past 10+ years I have had technology strapped to my wrist 24/7. When my Garmin Fenix watch finally died recently...
01/24/2026

For the past 10+ years I have had technology strapped to my wrist 24/7.

When my Garmin Fenix watch finally died recently all I could think was that I wanted to go back to just a regular watch that did nothing but tell me the time

So that’s exactly what I bought as a replacement.

Feels sort of odd at first. How many steps/miles did I move today? What is my resting HR? No cool graphs after a workout.

But what has also come is some peace and a continued nudge to disconnect from technology

I don’t feel that the wearable technology gave me a training edge, only a distraction. And at this phase of life, I am eliminating as many unwanted distractions as possible.

If any of you are looking for the same, this is the Casio G-shock series. Simple. No tech. Just a plain ol sports watch ⌚️

Movement, fresh air, and sunshine heals what medicine cannot. Feeling recharged after a week in my favorite place 🤙🏼
01/20/2026

Movement, fresh air, and sunshine heals what medicine cannot.

Feeling recharged after a week in my favorite place 🤙🏼

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 🔗

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