RECONsider... Crunches are making your worse with Bill Hartman | Episode #68
Release Date: 07/27/2025
RECONsider... Ramps, Heel Elevation, and Knees Over Toes Training: Understanding the Trade-Offs with Bill Hartman | Episode #81
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Foot position changes the strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Foot position is often treated as preference or style. In reality, it is a constraint that reshapes how the system manages rotation, pressure, and force. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus examine ramps, heel elevation, flat foot positions, and toe-only loading. They explain how each option biases propulsion, what each choice gives you, and what it quietly takes away when used without intention. This is not about labeling movements as good or bad. It...
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RECONsider... Why You Still Feel Lost After All Those Courses with Bill Hartman | Episode #79
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Should You Get Certified? How to Choose the Right Education for You 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Not all certifications are created equal. And more letters after your name won’t guarantee better outcomes. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus discuss what it really means to become a skilled practitioner — and why many educational paths lead to confusion instead of clarity. This episode introduces the new UHPC Practitioner Certification Pathway, but it’s more than an announcement. It’s a guide to rethinking your...
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RECONsider... Push vs Pull Is the Wrong Way to Think About Training with Bill Hartman
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Balanced training isn’t about push vs pull. It’s about pressure, shape, and strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Most training imbalances aren’t muscle problems. They’re compressive strategies that limit movement options. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus challenge the traditional idea of “balanced training” and explain why pushing and pulling are not opposites at all. They explore how all loaded exercise increases compression, how force production shapes the body, and why chasing symmetry in the gym often creates...
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RECONsider... Shoulder Impingement Isn’t What You Think: 4 Types Explained
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Shoulder pain isn't a mystery. It's a strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Shoulder impingement isn't caused by a faulty shoulder. It's a shape problem. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus break down the three common types of shoulder impingement (and one bonus type). They focus on constraint, space access, and thorax behavior instead of outdated diagnoses. You’ll learn: 🔸 Why impingement isn't about the rotator cuff, and what to look at instead 🔸 How thorax compression creates the illusion of local...
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RECONsider... Infrasternal Angle Confusion — Solved with Bill Hartman | Episode #76
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
The ISA isn’t the answer. It’s the question. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Most people measuring ISAs are looking for a fixed answer. But in the UHPC Model, the infrasternal angle (ISA) isn’t a number — it’s a behavior. And if you’re basing your entire intervention strategy off “wide vs narrow,” you’re likely missing the point. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus break down what the ISA really tells you (and what it doesn’t). It’s one of the most searched topics on our YouTube page — and also one of...
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RECONsider... Fix Tight Hamstrings — Without Stretching with Bill Hartman | Episode #75
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Stretching ≠ solving hamstring tightness. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Feeling “tight hamstrings” doesn’t mean your hamstrings are short and need to be stretched. It means your system is expressing a strategy under load. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus walk through why stretching often makes hamstring tightness worse — and what actually drives lasting change. You’ll learn: 🔸 Why hamstring “tightness” is usually a protective output, not a length problem. 🔸 How anterior...
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RECONsider... Squat Assessments: Everyone Gets This Wrong with Bill Hartman | Episode #73
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Stop guessing with assessments. Start learning from the source. Free courses and the new Assessment 101 are waiting for you: http://UHP.network Think you know how to assess a squat? Think again. In this episode, Bill Hartman and Chris dismantle the myth of “squat as pattern” and show you how to actually use squats as diagnostic behavior. The focus is on propulsion, internal rotation, and how the system expresses its real strategy. You’ll never look at a butt wink, heel lift, or shift the same way again. What You’ll Learn Why squats are not universal patterns. They are...
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RECONsider... The Squat Pattern Myth with Bill Hartman | Episode #72
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
It is so much more than biomechanics… → Join http://UHP.network FREE to start learning. Not a pattern. Not a form. A strategy. This episode redefines everything you thought you knew about squatting — through the lens of the Unified Health & Performance Continuum (UHPC) Model. We dive deep into the energetics of squatting, shape acquisition, center of gravity descent, and why movement patterns are a misleading lens. You’ll learn how strategic resistance influences squat mechanics, why some people “butt wink,” and how propulsion phases explain squatting better than any...
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RECONsider... The Truth About Movement Screens with Bill Hartman | Episode #71
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
"You’re Not Measuring What You Think: Movement Screens, Compensations, and Energetic Behavior" → Join http://UHP.network FREE to start learning. Episode Overview Bill and Chris explore how complex movements—like squats, toe touches, and turns—serve as energetic assessments within the UHPC Model. Rather than relying on outdated biomechanical frameworks or traditional mobility screens, they explain how movement reflects behavioral strategy under constraint. Gravity, pressure, and shape—not joints or range of motion—govern what you see. The episode walks through real examples,...
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RECONsider... Why Your Assessments are Wrong with Bill Hartman | Episode #70
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Episode Overview Bill and Chris unpack the philosophy and implementation of assessment within the UHPC Model, showing how testing reveals energetic behavior—not just structural position. Rather than focusing on static joint angles, they illustrate how relative motion, systemic organization, and phase-based strategies tell the real story of what a system can or cannot do. The discussion critiques isolative and reductionist interpretations and offers a coherent, propulsion-informed approach to understanding and intervening effectively. Key Topics & Chapter Highlights 00:00 – What...
info_outlineLearn the truth about health and performance from Bill Hartman at http://uhp.network
Episode Overview
Bill and Chris unpack the widespread misuse of “core training” — especially crunches — as a solution for back pain or a shortcut to aesthetics. They challenge the isolative logic behind ab-focused exercises, arguing that these strategies often reinforce compression, reduce movement options, and degrade systemic adaptability. Drawing from UHPC principles, they reframe the core not as a region to be strengthened, but as a dynamic interface for managing pressure, guiding shape change, and enabling forward propulsion. Crunches may feel productive, but they often compromise what the system truly needs: coherence. #coreworkout #fitness #physicaltherapy #movement #absworkout
Key Topics & Chapter Highlights
00:00 – Crunches Reinforce the Problem
Chris explains why clients with back or hip issues often gravitate toward crunches — and why that instinct is counterproductive. Crunching magnifies existing compression and removes options for movement.
01:20 – Segmental Training Misses the System
Bill critiques bodybuilding’s part-by-part training mentality. Targeting the “six-pack” promotes aesthetic shapes at the expense of dynamic function, especially when it becomes the default movement strategy.
04:00 – Compression Restricts Access
They discuss how repeated emphasis on rectus abdominis compresses the thorax, limits rotational capacity, and eventually leads to structural compromise.
06:00 – Creating Space vs. Forcing Downforce
Bill explains how pushing down without making space leads to compensatory shapes like spinal rounding. These strategies feel helpful in the short term but trade away joint integrity over time.
10:00 – What the “Core” Actually Does
Chris introduces the common canister model, and Bill reframes it: these muscles don’t need to be braced — they need to behave. The goal is not stiffness, but regulated pressure and guided movement.
13:00 – Pressure ≠ Strength
High-pressure strategies can create stability, but they also reduce motion. That trade-off may benefit performance in short bursts, but it often undermines movement health.
16:00 – Breath and Base Before Load
Chris explains how true “core training” begins with pressure organization — not reps. Ground contact, breath, and position shape how the system behaves under load.
20:00 – Trade-offs of Aesthetic Focus
They share examples of extreme body prep — dehydration, restrictive diets, and rigid bracing — that achieve visual goals while silently degrading system adaptability.
27:00 – A Coherent Core Sequence
Chris offers a functional approach: breathing on the ground, squats on wedges, and suitcase carries. The core is trained through integration — not isolation.
Key Takeaways
Crunches constrain, they don’t liberate
Core muscles organize pressure, not aesthetics
True training integrates breath, position, and propulsion
Movement freedom is the ultimate measure of “core strength”
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Podcast audio:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7cJM6v5S38RLroac6BQjrd?si=eca3b211dafc4202
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reconsider-with-bill-hartman/id1662268221
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