Five Movements to do Every Day

“We do not quit playing because we grow old. We grow old because we quit playing.”- George Bernard Shaw

To paraphrase that: we do not quit moving because we grow old. We grow because we quit moving. Movement of the human body is an essential part of life; necessary for completing everyday tasks, work, athletics, and yes, to play. Movement is so vital to life that as humans we instinctively empathize with those who have lost, through accident or disease, the ability engage in normal movement of the body. Without proper movement, much of the human experience may be missed or lost. In a society that is increasingly sedentary (lacking in bodily movement), physical immobility is perhaps the most dangerous and most avoidable away to prevent premature aging; getting old before growing old.

Growing old is what happens when a person has a birthday; getting old is what happens when the body falls apart from a lack of care and physical activity. Hear YE! Hear YE!  I will proclaim that struggling to get out of a chair in the golden years is a choice; not an unavoidable fact of old age. If lack of movement is the problem than the solution is self-evident; move more! Better yet, focus on moving in specific ways that will improve mobility and strength, even if the grave seems closer than the crib. Here are five movements that can be mastered at any age; resulting in healthier, less painful or pain-free movement and better mobility. Do this every day and no one, regardless of how many years have passed, will have to help you out of chair or hold your hand on the stairs.

1.       Hip-Hinge: have trouble bending over or a weak low back? Hip-Hinge when bending over to pick things up or to push a heavy object out of the way. Doing so places the spine in a safe position, engages the glutes (the most powerful pushing muscles in the body), and increases mobility throughout the hip muscles of the hips. Mastering this movement is essential to properly executing exercises like Kettle Bell Swings and Deadlifts. The Hip-Hinge helps to avoid the dangerous rounded upper back position that leads to many exercise related injuries.

 

The picture on the left is the correct position for the hip hinge

2.       Squat: Next to incorrectly hip-hinging, poor squatting technique leads to many exercise-related injuries. Completely losing the ability to squat contributes to all kinds of lower back and hip pain. The main culprit for losing the ability to properly squat is prolonged periods of sitting. If you want to learn how to squat with proper form click here.

3.       Shoulder Retraction: The vast majority of people have poor posture as a result of sitting too much. As a result, the muscles of the upper back often grow weak resulting in a rounded-shoulder and head excessively forward position, resulting in neck pain. Retracting the shoulders; pulling the shoulders backwards to strengthen the muscles in the upper back. In the long run this will correct poor posture and possibly alleviate some pain. The best way do this is with the band pull a part.

 Band Pull Apart

Shoulder Retraction is essentially pinching the shoulder blades together

4.       Overhead reach: Pull anything off of a high shelf recently? How about putting on a T-Shirt? If these movements seem difficult or painful there is restricted movement in the shoulder. There could be several reasons for this: poor posture, a tear in the rotator cuff muscles, or simply weakness from a lack of use. Whatever the cause, maintaining a full range of movement throughout the shoulder should be the highest priority for maintaining mobility in the upper body. The mobility and strength of the shoulder determines where the arms and hands can go to reach out and grab an object.

 

Full range of motion would allow the arms to get into the position on the left

5.       Trunk Rotation: When sitting down and needing to turn to reach an object is the entire body turned or can the feet, legs, and hips remain in place while turning the upper body in the necessary direction? If a person is unable to perform the latter, then there is a restriction in the ability to rotate the trunk. This can occur due to weakness in the abdominals, lower back, and hips. Movement may be restricted as a result of injury or lower back surgery. If no injury currently exists, the inability to properly rotate the trunk may one day result injury requiring surgery. Usually the low back is the area injured as a result of poor trunk mobility. To improve this remain seated and practice rotating the upper body only while keeping the hips, legs, and feet aligned in the opposite direction.

Baring a traumatic injury, mobility is lost due inadequate amounts of physical activity. Maintaining mobility does not require intensive training or using incredibly heavy weights. Keeping and improving mobility is a simple as simply moving more and moving in the right way. Stay mobile in these movement patterns and requiring help to get out of a chair, pick an item up off the ground, or, from overhead will be someone else’s problem, not yours.