Primitive Stimulus

Movement is life.  A diminished capacity to move is a diminished capacity to live.  I’m getting a little philosophical here, but for the purpose of this post I would like to establish a difference between living and existing.

You are your physical body.  As long as you are you, your body will either allow you to truly live and experience your life, or it will inhibit you until you merely exist.  Existence, by this definition, is unacceptable because it means life is passing you by.  I am by no means postulating that we all must risk our lives or run ourselves ragged in order to lay claim to a life worth living.  Only that we should not have to talk ourselves out of trying and enjoying certain activities because our bodies are incapable.

I live in the U.S. Northwest so I’ll give you an example of how this might go down in my neck of the woods.  Let’s say you come to visit from someplace warmer.  Let’s also say you are around my age (37) and not exactly fit, though not half dead either.  I might say, “Hey, we should head up to the mountain for some snowboarding while you’re here.”  (I don’t actually snowboard.)  To which you might reply, “I’m not really a big fan of the snow.  Is there anything warmer we might do?”  But in reality you’re thinking, “Snowboarding?!?  I can’t take up snowboarding now!  I’ll kill myself!  I get sore as hell from my first round of golf each spring!”  Or maybe you’re not even thinking it.  Maybe you have subconsciously convinced yourself that you aren’t interested in anything at which you might not be able to excel.  My point is that unless you truly have no desire to snowboard (a completely valid argument) then your life experience has just been limited by your physical capacity (an unfortunate thing to have to admit to yourself).  Now take an inventory of your own missed experiences by replacing snowboarding with ________ and honestly assessing your excuses.  Any regrets?

So how do we get there from here?  How do we go from out of shape and existing to physically capable and living?

The answers can be found by using the same logic that spawned paleo nutrition.  We must simply examine human movement through an evolutionary lens.  I touched on this here, but we need to discuss the specifics of the actual movements that your bodies were made for and the areas of focus that cannot be neglected.  Understand that I cannot teach you to move properly over the internet, and anyone who claims they can should be held suspect, but I can direct you to the types of movements that will deliver the most benefit.

The following is not necessarily in order of importance.  Instead I have clearly indicated the value I perceive in each fitness component.  Also, I am mostly writing to beginners and/or those with goals relating to overall fitness and health.  The general concepts of training for more specific goals is something I hope to cover soon.

Mobility is at the heart of true fitness.  If you are incapable of safely and comfortably moving your joints through a wide range of motion you are asking for trouble every time you engage in a physical activity.  But if you struggle with tight muscles and joints you are definitely not alone.  It has been my experience that new clients are usually so deficient in mobility that by comparison they almost seem proficient in other components of fitness.  Getting someone into proper squat form for the first time since they were toddlers and did it naturally can often be an enlightening experience for them.  The good news is that mobility is something that actually can be coached over the internet, and Kelly Starrett is the man for the job.  He is on a mission to bring us 365 short videos at his site, Mobility WOD, and this access to his vast knowledge is free.  (If I were to make a guess, I’d say he’s priming us for a book he’s probably writing.  If I’m right, just buy it.  It will be great.)  Each of his videos has the potential to give you back your ability to move if you just take the initiative to participate.

One huge mistake that many people make when they attempt to get fit is underestimating the importance of strength and power.  You must lift heavy things, in many different ways, if you want to get fit by any respectable definition of fitness.  Yes, this applies to you regardless of your age, gender, or goals.  Ladies, this especially includes you and I will be writing an entire post for you on this subject soon.  (I would like to hereby go on record as saying that lifting weights is more valuable for weight loss than cardio, aerobics, or any other such uselessness in which you attempt to “burn calories”.)  In some cases, your body might be all the weight you need to start (many trainers would classify these basic body weight movements as gymnastic movements; I’m trying to keep things simple), but your goal should be some degree of progressive overload and increased strength.  Movements like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and presses (overhead) are indispensible in my opinion.  These are all functional movements that translate easily into real life work.  Aspiring to be be great at each of them is to aspire to have more real life capacity.  The Olympic lifts, the clean and jerk and the snatch, are unparalleled tools in the development of power, or the explosive application of strength.  The clean and jerk has more functional value than the snatch, but both are worth mastering in all their forms.    Beyond these basic big lifts there are myriad movements of merit that would technically fall into the resistance training category – many more than I could ever mention here.  Suffice it to say movements like barbell rows, good mornings, and rope climbs are just a few more that I personally hold in high regard.  Tools like kettlebells, medicine balls, tires, maces and clubs, sleds, and ropes add many more options for resistance training.

Sprinting is also of utmost importance and not to be left out of any fitness program in which overall capacity and health is the goal.  While running long distances is not something you are designed for (I covered that here), ask your body to sprint and it understands the concept completely.  Sprinting is escaping and catching in nature.  If sprinting sounds to you like an activity only for the young and fit, please understand that speed is subjective and effort is the implied tool here.  In other words, if I run at my absolute maximum intensity for a specific short distance or time, it doesn’t really matter if you run faster than me.  My effort defined the sprint, not my total production of power.  Sprinting can be difficult to apply for the very old or injured, but the rest of us should be doing it.  Rowing machines and Airdyne bikes also offer great substitutes for running sprints that are especially valuable if you live someplace without the best weather, like here in the Pacific Northwest.  A few rounds of all out effort for 20 or 30 seconds on a rowing machine is a fantastic way to sprint.

Plyometrics, as far as we are concerned here today, means jumping and you need to do it.  You can begin with movements that require the least amount of explosive power, like jump rope, and progress through box jumps to heights you never believed you could achieve.  Again, this is a movement that should be judged subjectively.  If you begin an exercise program for the the first time in your life at age 5o, you probably won’t jump on a 36 inch box anytime soon.  But, in my opinion, you need to jump if you aren’t broken or very old.  You can start with a height of no more than a few inches and I would cheer for you the same as I would for a college football player going for 50 inches.  I don’t feel that it is necessary to always build entire workouts around plyometrics, but do not leave them out entirely.

Walk!  No excuses on this one.  Get your butt off the couch and walk!  Even if it’s just for 15 or 20 minutes at a good pace, just walk.  When I think back on my fitness career, the one thing that brings me shame is that I was guilty long ago of telling people that walking was useless as exercise.  Yes, hubris is often a disgusting thing.  Today, if one of my clients told me they walked 35 miles per week, I would applaud them.  If one were to tell me they ran 35 miles per week, I would probably fire them if they refused to change.  Do I sound serious about walking?  I am!  You were born to walk.  Your ancient ancestors likely walked many miles per week as they hunted and gathered.  Evolution has made you into a walking machine.  Walking can also be described as hiking, which usually means walking someplace awesome.  Earth is awesome.  Go see it on foot!

Metabolic Conditioning  is the fun stuff for most people in the current high intensity interval training craze.  What CrossFit calls MetCons, workouts often comprised of multiple movements performed for time, can be fun and motivating when performed in a group, but they aren’t absolutely essential to health and fitness goals.  (Oops.  I just pissed off a bunch of people.)  Especially if you lose your focus and get too competitive, a problem I touched on here.

And there you have it.  This is the stuff that true fitness is made of.  If you are intimidated by all these scary exercises and modalities, this post also contains my best advice for finding someone to educate you and keep you safe.  I will probably go into more detail in the future, but the information above is worth considering when you begin to invest in your body.  Everything makes more sense when examined through an evolutionary lens.  So move like a human and aspire to greatness.