Movement is the Foundation of Youth

Movement is the foundation of youth. The older we get, the less we move and the more pain we experience. Everyone wants to move better to accomplish the tasks which they desire: athletes want to jump higher, run faster, react quicker, and everyday exercisers want to perform daily tasks efficiently without pain.

Unifying truths of human movement are principles, proven as facts, which serve as a foundation and guide for how we train movement. They are UNIFIED principles because everyone in the profession dealing with movement (i.e. strength trainers, athletic trainers, coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists, manual therapist, etc.) can agree on them. If we understand the unified principles of human movement, then we can develop training programs that help each person accomplish their movement goals and live life without pain. For you to move better, your training program should respect all the unifying truths of human movement.

Unified Truths of Human Movement

Movement is a chain reaction

Everything in our bodies is connected via muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves, fascia, and connective tissue. Our bodies are integrated units and do not operate in isolation. Every time we take a step, we set off a series of events up the chain. If we have a restriction somewhere along the chain, it will affect other areas of our body. In order for our bodies to work as the integrated unit they were designed to be, it is essential to have a training program that treats it as such. Therefore, we should provide a training environment that allows our bodies to work as an integrated unit as opposed to training muscles alone in isolation.

Movement is proprioceptively driven (muscles are reactors)

Most movements are not made consciously--they can be fast, dynamic and complex. Proprioception is the sense that indicates where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other and whether the body is moving with required effort. You can sense your hand picking up a cup without consciously looking at your hand and picking it up. A person catching a ball doesn’t think about what every muscle and joint needs to be doing to make that catch possible. Learning new movements involves training the proprioceptive sense. A good training program should give your body experience practicing every movement that is required of you so that you are able to react most efficiently.

Movement is driven by gravity

Gravity is a universal law. It is something that constantly affects our movement. If our neuromusculoskeletal systems did not keep our bodies in the upright position, gravity would leave us looking like puddles on the ground. So it makes sense that gravity should play a huge role in our training. Because most movement is done in the upright position, we should train as such. A client performing an exercise lying on their back or sitting in a machine is not incorporating gravity into their program the way they deal with it in real life.

Movement is driven by ground reaction

Ground reaction and gravity are not mutually exclusive to each other. Most sports and required movements are done standing in the upright position, with feet on the ground. We use the ground to load and unload our muscles. If I hooked cables to you and picked you up off the ground, how far would you be able to drive the ball while swinging a golf club? What if I then put your feet back down onto the ground and allowed you to perform that same function? Clients can learn to use the ground to harness energy and create power.

Movement is driven by momentum

Momentum is the movement of some part of our body relative to another that results in the loading of muscles. Momentum can either be an obstacle for us, or a great tool if we learn to control and utilize it to our advantage. Golfers can create a load through the hips and core during their backswing and by harnessing this energy; they can create a powerful drive when the club makes contact with the ball.

Movement is driven in all 3 planes of motion

Movement takes place in three planes of motion: sagittal (forward and backward), frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotational). All movement requires all three planes of motion. More traditional training demands the majority of your movement be performed in the sagittal plane during training even though your movements in real life demand even more movement in the other two planes. Quite simply, if our bodies need to move in all three planes of motion, train your body to move in all three planes of motion.

Movement is transformational

Transformational is going from an eccentric (lengthen or stretch) load to and concentric (shorten or explode) unloading. Although each task has its unique transformational zones, it is important to understand that all movement is transformational, and should play an integral role in the exercise program.

For years, people in our profession have had their clients/patients perform exercises because they appear to be beneficial exercises or they are entrenched in tradition. The unified truths of human movement explain WHY we do each exercise. The exercise is simply what it looks like. If you do not understand why you are doing an exercise or it is not born from the unified truths, you may want to replace it with something else.

Want to stay young, healthy, pain-free? Learn the unified principles of human movement and then . . . move.