Nicholas Rolnick, The Human Performance Mechanic

Nicholas Rolnick, The Human Performance Mechanic Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Learning and growin

Physical Therapist
Strength and Conditioning
Personal Training
Optimizing Movement
Brookbush Institute Author
Adjunct Faculty for Concordia University-Chicago teaching Kinesiology
"The Human Performance Mechanic"

04/08/2026

The protocol was stupid simple.

Every 90 seconds for 5 sets. AMRAP minus 2 strict handstand pushups. Cuffs on at 50-60% pressure, staying inflated the entire session. Easy assault bike between sets.

I progressed it up to 10 sets (15 minutes total time in cuffs).

My max strict HSPU before: 16-17.
My max strict HSPU after: 32.

I gave the protocol to a client whose max was 12. Eight weeks later at CrossFit semifinals, he hit 24 unbroken on his first set, then ripped off sixes after.

First time I've ever done something that actually had significant improvement in strict handstand pushups.

Full Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdJz4W3csg

04/07/2026

Some of the research shows that during VO2-level exercise, the diaphragm can use up to 30% of your total oxygen.

30%.

That's oxygen that isn't going to your quads, glutes, shoulders, or lungs.

With consistent isocapnic training, you can lower that oxygen utilization by 5% to 10%. That's 5-10% more oxygen and blood flow to your working tissues, rather than your respiratory system.

For high-intensity athletes, that's real value.

Full Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdJz4W3csg

04/06/2026

Just load it, bro. .

Some opinions have changed after managing a ton of complex cases. Exercise is awesome. But sometimes in order to get there, some TLC is needed. Oh and never discount how an asymmetry can change the game even if it’s not directly adjacent to the area of pain.

04/06/2026

It's called an isocapnic breath trainer. You breathe through this device with a big balloon attached to it, and it traps the carbon dioxide you're exhaling.

What that lets you do is breathe at 45 breaths per minute at REST. Which if you tried right now without the device, you'd pass straight out because you'd blow off all your CO2.

Instead, you just sit there for 30 minutes and isolate respiratory muscle endurance. It's challenging in an entirely different way than doing endurance training.

Full Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdJz4W3csg

04/06/2026

Just load it, bro. .

Some opinions have changed after managing a ton of complex cases. Exercise is awesome. But sometimes in order to get there, some TLC is needed.

04/05/2026

The problem is that I have seen so many athletes who have elite metrics in those isolated tests that are not elite CrossFitters.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned over 13 years is that there's a huge difference between having great metrics and being able to put them together in a performance setting.

In the off-season we use those metrics to raise the ceiling. Because if your 1RM back squat is only 315, you're not going to do 315 for 10 reps, which is required by the sport.

Full Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdJz4W3csg

04/04/2026

I had Kyle Ruth on the BFR Better For Results Podcast and he laid out some numbers that still blow my mind.

Elite CrossFitters are 70% as strong as the world's strongest powerlifters, 80% as strong as the world's strongest Olympic weightlifters, and they can run sub-20-minute 5Ks and sub-5-minute miles. All in one athlete.

As a PT who works with hybrid athletes, this is the kind of data that reframes how you think about human potential. People used to say you couldn't build strength and endurance at the elite level simultaneously. These athletes are proof you can.

Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdJz4W3csg

04/04/2026

is spot on here. IMO there is a continuum for exercise selection whereby you want to select exercises with less technical proficiency required and less spinal load (for Gen pops). The is highly technically demanding with high spinal load, which under the implementation of novice lifters, will be more likely to experience or of any kind.

As we need to consider the goals of the client, their current capacities, and their orthopedic injury history. In almost all circumstances, the backsquat can be substituted out for a less technically demanding alternative.

04/03/2026

BFR is not fun. It's not comfortable.

But in order for us to improve ourselves, we need to push into discomfort to shift our equilibrium into the positive. If we're afraid to do that, we're never going to change.

All good things in life come with a cost. And that cost is discomfort: pushing ourselves into an area where not many people want to go.

The bodybuilders know this. The athletes know this. And the best practitioners know this too.

Full Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRvD7qKUFnQ

04/03/2026

Return to squatting doesn’t have to mean return to pain. Here’s the progression I use 👇

1. Wall squat with physioball — We start here to lock in breathing mechanics. Inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up. That eccentric breath engages the transverse abdominis naturally, so your body stabilizes with you instead of bracing against you.

2. Heel lift squats, hands behind back — Elevating the heels promotes a more vertical torso, taking demand off the lower back and helping you find a cleaner pattern without fighting your anatomy.

3. Same position, add weight — Now we load the pattern with confidence. The torso position is already dialed in, so the weight is an enhancement, not a stressor.

4. Weight between the legs, between the hips — A bridge load. More spinal demand than before, but intentionally so — this is the transition that earns the next step.

5. Goblet squat / plate hold — Squeeze to tighten the posterior chain and back fascia, layer in your breath, and use tempo as a tool. Slow it down. Own every inch. This is where the movement experience shifts. LowBackRecovery

Every step here is about building trust with your body before building load on it.

💬 How are you approaching squatting with lower back pain? Drop it below — let’s talk through it.

04/03/2026

was recently on a podcast that talked about the recent ACSM position stand for . They found didn’t really have any impact on hypertrophy within their included studies to be able to recommend it, but as I discuss above, there’s nuance. Nonetheless, a niche practice is probably spot on - especially for the fitness populations the paper was intended to be written for.

04/02/2026

Most people know me as "the BFR guy." And I love blood flow restriction training. It's been a huge part of my career, my research, and my clinical practice.

But BFR isn't the only thing I'm passionate about. I care about anything that helps people stay moving, recover faster, and get back to what they love. That's why BFR also stands for Better For Results. Any technique. Any technology. If it's better for results than what we're currently doing, it belongs on this podcast.

Full Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRvD7qKUFnQ

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