Our Body, the Machine

This section studies basic movement. There are many nuances to how we can move, and it is important to recognize that learning movement is DIFFICULT and there will always be more to learn.

Our bodies are incredible machines. Like most machines, our bodies combine a bundle of parts to allow for various movements. We as humans have been able to accomplish some incredible feats with nothing more than our own body power. But how are we supposed to move? If you’ll humor me and sidestep philosophy, religion, and anthropology (for now), here’s what we know about the body as a machine:

Our bodies, while each unique, generally come with the same major tools and can be customized to navigate nearly any conceivable lifestyle. These bodies can be resilient, trainable, and durable if given the proper care. We regularly see people walk, run, jump, dunk, go up, down, and all around town through their own force. From typing to walking around a grocery store, we are strongly advantaged by our ability to move.

Why is it then that most people don’t invest the time to understand basic movement?

Our bodies, being the incredible systems that they are, make movement accessible so that we can start moving at a young age. However, the ease of access to basic movement tends to also let people disregard its intricacies, leaving us susceptible to injury and muscle imbalances due to a lack of understanding (we also see this with our social/emotional health, but that’s for another section).

Consider a movement as simple as pointing a finger. Is your arm extended? Which way is your hand oriented? Where does your finger point? Which finger is it? Is your finger fully extended? How is your elbow oriented?

Movement’s About the Details

While it’s easy to simply get up and move around, we can save ourselves A LOT of trouble by taking a closer look at how we are designed to move and learn to move properly.

It is easy to think “come on, G, I’m just pointing a finger. Get over yourself!” I likely would have said something to that effect not too long ago. But safe performance requires a detailed understanding of how to power ourselves throughout our ranges of motion, and I contend that an average person needs a much higher understanding of movement than they realize.

Not so Easy, is it?

It’s much harder to learn to move properly than we’d like (that said, I can’t imagine we’d appreciate our capabilities if we were born with every skill unlocked. The best RPGs make you earn your character upgrades). We commonly hear advice to “lift with your legs” or to “walk with your feet straight,” but this guidance does not show us how proper movement looks or teach us what we should feel during each movement.

Almost as common as vague movement recommendations are training programs designed to beat us into shape. These programs exhaust us with different (often repetitive) movements and positions, with the idea that we will learn how to use our bodies by necessity and repetition. These routines often combine with a unique stretch or muscle group focus that purports to identify the trainee’s muscular weaknesses and keep them moving “free of pain” (how many of you have heard about your psoas or how your low back is the root of all your problems?).

Move With Purpose

If we practice movement without a deliberate effort to understand how our body is designed to move, how will we know if we are moving properly? More importantly, how do we ensure we are teaching our bodies to use the right combination of muscles for each application, rather than allowing ourselves to stick with whatever combination of muscles allowed us to complete a movement in the first place?

I have found through experience that intense training without matching or greater efforts to understand body movement generally yields muscle imbalances, often resulting in injury and training delays. While I cannot pretend I am completely free of injury, I find that a deliberate effort to build an understanding of my body’s ability to move and where I need further training has drastically reduced the frequency and severity of my injuries. I find that for the most part, we are in the best position to understand what it is that our bodies need.

So, How do I Learn How to Move Properly?

I, like most people, want to be able to move around without pain. I want to learn to build on functional movements that improve my quality of life and enable me to learn to move properly. I want to get better at sports and workouts and athletic feats, just without being force fed unsustainable/detrimental routines or newfangled supplements which do not support a long-term sustainable existence.

While I do not want to spend every waking moment learning more about my body, I do want to make sure this form is given justice.

I find that the trick to continually improving my ability to move is threefold:

1. I take time to build a practical knowledge of positioning and how basic movements feel (ex. walking, sitting down, reaching my arms out);
2. I conduct quick and regular assessments, where I devote a few moments to think about, try and activate, and move a particular muscle or group of muscles; and
3. I make sure to include varying types of active hobbies and workouts into my week, doing what I enjoy and staying active.

The pursuit of efficiency comes with the constant recognition that there is more to do if we have the time to do it. If we break our movement studies into manageable pieces, it becomes easier to learn exactly as much as we are prepared to handle. Everything we do counts, and we can always make room for improvement.

Is it too Late to Start? I have Never Trained this Way.

Once we forgive ourselves for how we have spent our past time, it is important to persevere toward our goal of becoming elite. My definition of elite may vary from yours. For me, I believe we are elite when we can do what we enjoy at a high level sustainably.

Our desire to grow and learn more about these beautiful systems we occupy is what will take us to our own elite. We can build tools to assess our own soreness and pain, and we can consider our movements to make them better and easier. As we continue to study ourselves and develop mind-body connections, we will be able to more effectively train and know when rest is needed. We should not forego actual medical visits, as these professionals have specialized training for a reason.

However, we can, and must, take more autonomy over general physical movement.

Consider Where You Want to Be

In the pursuit of controlled and sustainable movement, I ask you to carefully consider how you spend your time and whether your activities align with your long-term goals. I encourage you to do what you love and enjoy your life, but also note that it is easiest to maintain and build our abilities to move if we keep active lifestyles and avoid unnecessary risk of injury. I also ask you to recognize that your time is limited, and one person’s fitness ideals should not control how you train or negate your accomplishments. Life is our time to spend, and we can optimize our systems to best fit how we seek to live.

Click HERE to navigate to the next section in my study of movement.

-G

Efficiently ELITE

At the end of the day, this site is designed to serve as a resource. Like many good resources, Efficiently ELITE is always seeking outside input to refine its content and improve its ability to help people take more autonomy over their ability to move. Do you have any suggestions? Please contact me and let me know below!