September 11, 2021
As a big fan of bodywork for performance enhancement and general healthspan and lifespan benefits…
…I was intrigued when heard about a new bodywork technique that claims to repattern your body neurologically and retrain your broken muscles for optimal mobility.
I was contacted about Shawn Sherman—the founder of the Square 1 System—by a man named Adam McDowell, a coach and trainer who reached out through his Instagram. After looking into Shawn's work, I thought I ought to try it for myself and flew both Adam and Shawn out to my house in Spokane, Washington for a few days.
Shawn Sherman earned his Exercise and Sport Science degree from Penn State University and operates a private practice in Western Springs, Illinois, outside of Chicago. Shawn holds numerous industry certifications and therefore understands what and how the conventionalists think and believe. Over the past 25 years, Shawn's understanding of movement has evolved from that of an apprentice level to a level of mastery by continually seeking answers to his questions. Because he now intimately and thoroughly understands the most basic components of movement, Shawn brings an unparalleled perspective to the table. Not only does he consistently deliver absolutely amazing results to his clients, but he also teaches his students to be able to do the same. Additionally, Shawn has consulted with hundreds of elite athletes from professional organizations including the United States Olympic Team, the Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants, and many more.
Shawn Sherman's Square 1 System addresses the deep source behind why your body compensates, bringing your movement system closer to where it was designed to be. Most clients experience positive results within the first session, with no pain and minimal soreness. The Square 1 System typically yields much longer-lasting “effects” than conventional approaches to pain. Because you can't actually make a body impervious to all forms of stress, Shawn says that future “breakdowns” are just part of being a living, breathing human being, but with this form of bodywork, you can maintain health and mobility with periodic maintenance.
After a big feast at my house (it's standard practice to put the Traeger Grill to work with guests in town) Shawn worked his magic on me for a couple of hours with a form of therapy that is definitely unlike anything I ever talked about before on a podcast. While it was an awesome experience and I learned a lot, Shawn's approach is kind of hard to explain, so I'm including the video below to give you a firsthand look at what we did together.
During my discussion with Shawn Sherman, you'll discover:
-What is the Square 1 System?…05:30
- Square 1 System
- Find out where there are flawed perceptions of ground forces
- Trauma, injury affects our perception
- Clean up inefficiencies for optimal movement, from elite athletes to casual walkers
- Boil down all human movement into 2 basic patterns:
- Getting upright – static balance pattern or posture; getting up and going down
- Locomotion – dynamic balance; right or left
- Shawn's background:
- Early adopter of MAT: Muscle Activation Technique
- Greg Roskopf, developer of MAT – Muscle Activation Technique
- Dr. Craig Buhler
- Episode #137: “Dr. Two Fingers” Reveals His Teeth-Gritting, Body-Healing Secrets. Interview with Dr. Craig Buhler.
- The 4-hour Body by Tim Ferris
- Dr. Craig Buhler working on Ben's Spine and glutes
- Joint actions create patterns of muscle movements
-Pre-treatment checks on Ben the patient…12:30
- Range of motion checks
- Right leg doesn't turn in as well as the left
- The patient's intuition is often incorrect
- Quick muscle test
- Looking for load response more than force production
- Locomotion helps the nervous system get more organized
- AK/CK – Applied Kinesiology/Clinical Kinesiology
- AK is an offshoot of chiropractic Dr. George Goodheart
- Dr. Alan Beardall's extensive research developed CK
- Chinese medicine applied to the western world
- Mimicking ground forces to find where the break is
- Ben's issue was the T-spine; was fixed on the spot with the test
- Continually looking for the flaw throughout the test
- Cervical extension is an issue
-How basic, seemingly simple patterns can cause problems…31:27
- Closed eye squats: 70-80% of squatting is visual
- It is not to make you squat better but to teach your brain to say “I've got this, I can take this in stride”
- The test is to keep on exposing you to the provoking pattern until the brain stops telling you that that movement is “not so good”
- It's a matter of setting up puzzles for the brain to solve
- Patterns/skills you get with practice but doesn't mean you need to; play with mental triggers
- Neural systems cannot distinguish between types of stress – mechanical, emotional, thermal…
-Customizing triggers for an individual…44:06
- Activities during the day that keep the left and right hemispheres of the brain connected
- Once exposures are cleared, it stays that way for a long time
- The body and the brain self-regulates
- Eyes up and left is organizing response, eyes down and right is disorganizing response
- It's good to customize if you want more details but organizing the pattern does the trick most of the time
- A simple corrective exercise is head back nasal breath/head forward nasal breath
-What is going on during corrective exercise to fix the movement…59:20
- Reward chemicals are released/spiked-up when synapses are formed during corrective exercise
- The vagus nerve plays a potential role
- Other activities can be incorporated to customize the response, like foam rolling, massage…
- It comes down to trigger or train
- If accepted, train
- If it is a trigger (not accepted), cannot progress until it is controlled
-Test after using functional activity equipment (bow)…1:15:02
- Improved after corrected left eye dysfunction
-How to identify activities that produce pain…1:17:14
- Follow on Instagram
-And much more…
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
– Shawn Sherman:
- Square 1 System
- Follow on Instagram
– Podcasts:
– Other Resources:
- The 4-hour Body by Tim Ferris
- MAT (Muscle Activation Techniques)
- Greg Roskopf
- Dr. Craig Buhler
- Dr. Craig Buhler Working On Ben Greenfield's Spine And Glutes
- Dr. George Goodheart
- Applied Kinesiology
- Dr. Alan Beardall and Clinical Kinesiology
- Foam Roller
Upcoming Events:
- Join me and my wife Jessa at Runga for The Gathering. Click here to grab one of the very limited spots we have open to the public for The Gathering at Runga (October 7-9, 2021).
- Las Vegas Keto Expo (October 15-16, 2021). Ben will be speaking at the Las Vegas Keto Expo along with 13 other keto experts. The first 300 guests to register here will get a free drink chip for the poolside party and a free t-shirt.
- Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar
Episode sponsors:
–Kion Dark Roast Coffee: All you serious, die-hard, black-as-mud, “I put coffee in my coffee coffee” drinkers out there, you can try Kion Dark Roast and save 10%.
–Organifi Red Juice: Enjoy all the benefits of the 11 superfoods and their micronutrients that help increase resting metabolism, support cardiovascular health, and remove toxins to turn back the hands of time! Receive a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code BENG20.
-Beekeeper's Naturals: A wellness company specializing in innovative nutraceuticals made from healing hive compounds and plant-based ingredients. Get 15% off your order when you use discount code BEN.
–Paleo Valley Organ Complex: Contains not one but three organs from healthy, grass fed, pasture-raised cows so you are getting a more diverse array of nutrients. Receive a 15% discount off your order when you use discount code BENGREENFIELD15.
Its really interesting that topic. Is there any evidence-based research around, that could strengthen this concept that differs between an placebo effect and an real effect by the method itsels.
I would appreciate any literature or study that you could provide me.
Thanks a lot.
Really great stuff! I’m certified in Clinical Kinesiology, too, and use it in my office daily on patients. I use it to reset the nervous system and do a lot of work with the mental/emotional component of it, which then affects the physical body. I haven’t met too many others who are familiar with the technique. Would love to get in touch with Shawn to chat.
Do you know anything about RPR Reflexive Performance Reset : it works and is easy to incorporate in you’re warm up before workouts.
Check with Cal Dietz at the University of Minnesota.
Great question!
I’m very familiar with Douglas Heel’s Be Activated/RPR. Cal is actually a SQUARE 1 student and we initially met years ago when the U of MN football would bring me up to reset (SQUARE 1 was originally called RESET) their team.
Be Activated/RPR is cool & it’s easy to use. But when we’ve tested BA/RPR against SQUARE 1, BA/RPR’s consistently fleeting effect is where it repetitively fell behind SQUARE 1. RPR effects didn’t last like SQUARE 1.
Sounds interesting because RPR worked for me but I had to do it daily for the best results.
As a PTA 30+ years and massage therapist , level 1 acupressure certification: this sounds very good.