control yourself with dr andreo spina

Training NFL athletes isn’t about chasing perfect programs. It’s about making the right decisions inside real-world constraints. This conversation isn’t about drills or programming trends. It’s about building and maintaining physical qualities during an NFL season — when athletes are competing weekly, managing injuries, absorbing collisions, and still expected to improve. Phil Matusz, former Head...

In this episode of Control Yourself, Dr. Andreo Spina sits down with Mike Fitch, founder of Animal Flow, for a deep conversation on the art and science of movement education. They discuss how systems evolve over time, what it means to teach with integrity, and how to balance creativity with structure when designing training for humans—not just athletes. Topics include movement variability, joint h...

In this episode of The Control Yourself Podcast, Dr. Andreo Spina is joined by fellow FRS instructor Dr. John Saratsiotis for a focused deep dive into palpation—what it is, what it isn’t, and how it fits into the broader Functional Range Systems approach.  Together, they break down some of the most common misconceptions surrounding manual therapy, including the long-standing myth that therapists a...

In this episode, I explore training to failure by analyzing the scientific literature through the lens of first principles physiology. Given the inconsistencies in research, this approach enhances our understanding and helps optimize training programs for hypertrophy and other musculoskeletal outcomes. We explore: * Conflicting research findings on training to failure vs. training with reps in res...

In this episode of Control Yourself, Dr. Andreo Spina is joined by Josh Halbert, FRS instructor, mobility trainer, and co-founder of LearnMobility.com. We dive into longevity, fitness, and the future of online training, as well as the importance of staying mobile as we age. Josh shares his insights on why mobility training is essential, how he approaches functional fitness whether he is working wi...

📝 Are you training for mobility, or just stretching aimlessly? In this episode of the Control Yourself Podcast, I am joined by Alex Nichols, manual therapist, strength coach and FRS instructor to break down the science behind mobility, strength, and injury prevention.⁣ ⁣ 📝 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:⁣ ✅ Why stretching alone won’t improve mobility⁣ ✅ How effective, joint specific assessm...

In the latest episode of the "Control Yourself Podcast," Dr. Andreo Spina interviews strength and conditioning coach Hunter Cook, who shares his experiences working with Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin. The conversation dives deep into the intricacies of training elite athletes, emphasizing the importance of maintaining joint health and optimizing performance through tailored mobility work...

In this episode, I sat down with @hunterfitness for what was supposed to be a series of short, Q&A posts. However, once we got going, we just kept going. As a result, we are releasing this as a full podcast! Some of the topics we discuss: Sport specific training, recent case studies, and training program alterations Programming for general population and moving well for life The difference bet...

In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking at the Royal College of Chiropractic Sport Sciences of Canada (RCCSS) Move 2020 Virtual Conference: The psychological, biomechanical and neurophysiological implications of human movement. I discussed some foundational FRS® principles in our approach to injury management and athletic development. ⁣Topics include:⁣ How are movements created? Natural s...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michael Chivers to discuss our ongoing development of the FRS Spine Practitioner course.  We touch upon back pain epidemiology, historic approaches to spine training, the shortcomings of spinal literature, the evolution of the bipedal spine, spinal anatomy and neurophysiology physiology, and other topics. This episode, as will the upcoming course, provides vita...

In this episode Dr. Spina sits down with Sport Specialist Chiropractor, and FRS Instructor Dr. Michael Chivers to discuss the functional anatomy and clinical management of the shoulder girdle. However, as is usually the case, the conversation ends up following a number of important tangent topics, this time related to the overarching idea of system emergence and how it affects the evolution of hum...

In this episode Dr. Spina sits down with Dr. John Saratsiotis Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Biochemist, and lead FRS instructor to discuss a controversial topic in the world of manual therapy and injury management, namely the topic of soft tissue Fibrosis.  What is it?  How does it form? How does it affect force transmission and the many misconceptions surrounding both its existence following inj...

John Quint and I recently visited Tom Barry, Chief Operations Officer of Westside Barbell, and we’ll be co-releasing that episode in the coming weeks. For this podcast, John and I took the opportunity to sit down to discuss John’s history at WSBB and his relationship with Louie Simmons who was a pioneer in developing world, record- breaking strength athletes. We also discuss the present state of s...

In this episode I sit down with FRS Instructor Josh Halbert for a philosophical discussion about the concept of “exercise”. We discuss the merits of using an evolutionary perspective to view exercise, modern approaches to physical training, inherent problems with current approaches, and how to reframe intentions and results through training. Other topics include: The influence of memetic selection...

In this podcast, I sit down with FRS Master Instructor Dr. Michael Chivers for a technical discussion about the evolutionary perspective of anatomy with special attention on the hip joint. We explore how evolutionary pressures forged anatomical structures and their influence on the biomechanics of joints and how the FRS Bioflow model differs from traditional understandings of anatomy. We also disc...

In this episode Dr. Spina sits down with FRS Master Instructor Hunter Cook to discuss case study of a retired professional baseball pitcher. Though an FRS lens, Hunter and Dre discuss how this athlete’s training was managed over time with reference videos and photos of his progress.  Topics covered in the conversation include: The pathophysiological effects of pitching over time The pitfalls of ki...

In this bonus episode we listen in on a meeting between Dr. Spina and FRS instructors John Quint and Dewey Nielsen as they discuss a variety of topics surrounding two cases of Jiu Jitsu athletes with very different backgrounds.  Topics covered in the conversation include the cultivation of absolute strength in non-absolute strength sport athletes; how to prioritize training goals using the FRS Int...

Volume has largely been viewed as an endlessly positive quality to pursue in current strength and conditioning protocols. However, “more” doesn’t alway equal “better”.  In this episode, Dr. Spina sits down with FRS Instructors John Quint and Dr. Michael Chivers to discuss programming and volume issues in training. What are the downsides of pursuing volume? Moreover, what is missing from standard-m...

LOAD > CAPACITY = INJURY. Using this simple equation as a starting point, Dr. Spina explores the idea of Load Management in professional athletics. Specifically, he discusses how a shift in focus to tissue specific training can hedge an athlete's tissue capacity against the increasing loading demands that occur over their career.  Topics covered include injury mitigation and management, the physio...

In this episode Dr. Spina discusses the management of low back pain and what may be missing from your treatment and/or rehabilitation strategy. Topics include the evolutionary anatomy of the spine, the importance of re-establishing segmental spinal motion, the misunderstandings regarding neutral spine, the need for specificity in treatment and training inputs, and more. Whether you are a therapist...

In this episode Dr. Spina, along with his fellow FRS lead instructors Dr. Michael Chivers, John Quint, and Dewey Nielsen, takes a deep dive into the new Functional Range Systems Internal Strength Model.  The conversation covers the evolution of strength training, the distinction between training for strength vs skill in high level athletics, contrasting standard model training with the Internal St...

In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Spina sits down for a conversation with conditioning specialist and Functional Range Systems Instructor Josh Halbert about a number of topics including his experience managing and training professional athletes, consciousness and its evolutionary basis, the physiology of meditation and its role in pain management, regular meditative practice, free will and manag...

In this white board session, Dr. Spina sits down to discuss the evolutionary origins of human movement and how an understanding of those origins leads to better exercise selection and programming. Also covered is the concept of movement and exercise prerequisites – Play Basketball? Love yoga? Want to smash your WODS? You love to run? Just remember, all movements have prerequisites and managing the...

For over 20 years, Don has coached actors, athletes, musicians, and business executives pushing them to function at their fullest potential. In 2005, he opened his NYC Gym, Drive 495. He has developed a reputation for training some of the biggest names in Hollywood for the big screen. Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Liev Schreiber, Sebastian Stan, Anne Ha...

In this white board session, Dr. Spina sits down to answer some questions specific to the Functional Range Systems, as well as questions relating to manual therapy as a whole. Topics discussed include – a detailed description of the purpose/utilization of Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) for articular assessment, training, and therapy; the differentiation between capsular workspace (CW), arti...