Got a lot of great feedback on the "hips 101" video that does a short but very important analysis on hip stability (passive activity) and mobility (active activity) - try those 3 exercises out and see if your squat doesn't automatically improve.  [I'm going to add that stability exercise to a revised version of Cure Tight Hips Forever because it indeed can Cure Tight Hips]

But what about arms?  

Just got a question asking if you can "link" your arms like you can link your feet and legs and hips and lower and upper back in Posterior Chain Linked.

Short answer is yes.

First, linking is firing up muscle groups relevant to an activity/life before you do it.  Its like making sure your muscles work before you use them because you can sense themwhereas before you couldn't.

It isn't a warm up, it is a fire up.  And I hope this doesn't offend you, but linking will set your workouts on fire - burning wildly with better movement and strength.  Some of the other KB guys are starting to catch on and this is great to see.

Linking preemptively fixes (or at least addresses) muscle imbalances and makes you stronger, faster by ensuring you use the right muscle groups instead of the wrong ones.  The biggest culprit for bad movement/injuries and ugly lifting is simply that - using the wrong muscles.  When I spent some time in the hotel weight room it became apparent that the folks in there had no clue how to use the muscles on their bodies.  So they did everything they possibly could to avoid exercising the right muscles at the appropriate machines.  No lats in the lat pulldown, no triceps in the whatever the tricep thing is called. Don't even get me started on kettlebells.

What's the point of exercising then?

Even if you aren't on a formal exercise program, you get stronger, sometimes instantly, just from spending a few minutes linking and you will look like someone who knows how to use your body when you exercise instead of all those people who invest time in exercising but get little to none of the benefits.

I really hope you try it out because the results can be pretty drastic for how little effort and time it takes to link.

Link First

Since linking is a systematic and fast way to get your muscle groups on board the proverbial ship before activity, we suggest doing it before a workout or, if you are hard pressed for time like me, using a linking sequence as a workout in itself.

How to Link Your Arms

[First first is to stabilize the shoulder.  Here's a free ebook explaining how to do that in the easiest

possible way]

First, move your wrists around in all possible ranges (forward/back and side/side) to fire up the forearm muscles.  Crush grip (make a tight fist), then extend all your fingers.  These aren't that big of a deal, but it only takes a few seconds.

Now between your shoulder and your elbow you've got biceps and triceps that move the elbow.  The elbow only moves in two ways - biceps to flex and triceps to extend.

Linking these two are important before pushing (pushups and any kind of press) or pulling (pullups/chinups/etc.) with your arms.

Smart triceps from linking make your arms look strong and be stronger.

Try this bodyweight experiment:

Do a set of medium intensity pushups, however you like to do them.

Now, do a tricep extension pushup against a wall.  So

-make fists and put the outside of your fists against a wall a few inches from each other-Maintain a tall posture (keep abs and lats firing)-extend hips- put feet about 2-3 feet lengths from the wall

[If you are stronger do it using one arm at a time.]

Slowly and under control bring your head toward your fists like you are lowering yourself into a wall pushup.  To return to the initial position, extend your arms using the triceps.  You should feel your triceps working.

Feels awesome right?

To balance it out, do a set of curls for your biceps (using weights or isometrics like placing one palm over the other and using as resistance to "curl" against.

Do two round of each - triceps and biceps for 10 seconds each.

Now, go back and do a set of medium intensity pushups on the ground.

Arms feel stronger?  If you're close to a one arm pushup, try this before you do a OAP.

You've just LINKED your arms.

For more check this out.

Sean

PS for more linking resources go here and here.