Working on specific mobility & postural imbalances
I got moving on my mind.
Movement is the new hot topic, and rightly so.
For too long the bodybuilders ruled the training world and everybody trained like demons in order to look great while standing still. Then we had the “functional training” craze which I’m still trying to block out from my memory. Nowadays it’s mostly a combination of Olympic Lifting, Powerlifting and high intensity intervals. Which is cool.
If we look at most athletes and what they do, it’s usually something from Oly lifting, something from powerlifting, a but of interval work and then a shit load of their actual sport.
So the current “model” that fitness is following isn’t far from the what ought to happen.
The problem lies in that the vast majority of the training takes place purely in the saggital plane, ie front to back. We squat, we deadlift, we snatch, we press, we pull. All in that front to back plane. We always maintain good form, use the same routine each time we approach and set up the lift. We are still training and moving like machines.
So this is where the rise in popularity of “Movement” comes in.
Guys like Ido Portal, Dewey Neilsen, MovNat, Primal Move, Animal Flow, GMB, Andreo Spina and the rest are encouraging you to get out of the saggital plane and into utilising all three planes at the same time. Yes every one of the above mentioned guys still uses the saggital plane for basic strength development, and so should you. But you also need to get out of position, you need to change from one position to the next, you need to explore ranges of motion both loaded and unloaded. You need to stimulate the central nervous system with physical conundrums. Take it places it really has to think about to get out of. The joints thrive on challenge, take them to your safe end range under smooth control and then bring them back. See how many ways you can get into and out of that end range. Discover where that end range actually is. You can’t know centre until you’ve found the ends.
All this adds up.
Martial Arts guys, Gymnasts and Dancers do this already in their training. Contact sports guys like Rugby players will do a good bit of it in their sport. But if you don’t take part in a sport like this, when will you ever explore these ranges in your daily life unless you put it into your training program.
So move.
Google the names I mentioned above, watch their videos.
Drop into WG-Fit on a Saturday morning for the Motion is Lotion class or attend one of the monthly Movement Classes hosted by the Irish movers Group. The next one of these is in my place on Sunday 25th Jan, 1000-1200. All are welcome.
Now, get up and move.
Regards
Dave Hedges www.WG-Fit.com