Fitmark Ambassador Josh Courage explains why understanding and applying proper movement is important and should be the key focus of the human body
It’s fascinating to me how poorly most people move. I have athletes in the gym from 6 years old to 70, and I can easily say that most of the people who walk into my gym have some serious movement restrictions. All of them want the same things: look better, feel better, be stronger, leaner, and fitter. They want to throw weight on the bar and condition for hours. But what we do is simply move. No weights, not too much intensity, just learn to control the body correctly and in a stable and strong manner through large ranges of motion.
Being able to move is one thing, understanding it is a whole added level and an incredibly advantageous aspect to true fitness. How strong are you going to get if you can’t properly get yourself into a squat? And I don’t mean simply dropping into some sort of knee and hip flexion. I mean fully understanding how to engage the proper musculature, in the correct sequences to hold yourself perfectly in a deep squat. If done properly you should be able to almost touch your butt to the ground while having an almost perfectly vertical torso. Your knees will be protected, as will your back and rest of spine from any form of injury because your muscles and joints will be working in perfect unison to control the movement and each position within it. Now if you can find yourself in that perfect bottom position, think about how much you’d be able to squat. I’m going to guarantee a LOT more! And when you can squat more, you’ll be able to handle so many more wonderful things in life.
Being able to move ALL of your joints with full range of motion AND with strength is what I would argue is the most important aspect of physical living (this does not take into account emotional/psychological, dietary aspects, and so on). I preach to my athletes all the time that rather than trying to lift heavier weights and train more, learn to move better. Simply put: understanding how to move more efficiently and with strength will make you better at everything else.
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Stay fit,
Josh Courage
Fitmark Ambassador 2013
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