If it feels like a fight, something's not right

This past Sunday was "Epic Battle Day" in silks class. It seemed that no matter what skill I was working on, I would find the hardest and most complicated way to do it.

The cool thing is that before a couple of days ago, I had no idea that I was overworking in my aerial skills. At least now I'm aware.

First lesson learned was on flying trapeze. Working on my take off, we made a basic change that, while seemingly simple, altered the whole way I leave the board, saving my shoulders and allowing for more movement in my swing. I look forward to finding what other wonderful new discoveries will come from this one small change.

What does this mean for fitness overall? 

My thinking is this: Look for efficiency in your movement. Try not to make things harder than they need to be. If what you are doing feels like a struggle or a battle, it's likely that there's a more efficient (and therefore easier) way to do it.


Learning new skills often involves sifting through various attempts before finding that "sweet spot" where everything falls into place.

Moving out of the box

So why am I so interested in animal movement, breakdancing, challenge course, martial arts and flying trapeze? What do these forms of movement and exercise have in common and how can they improve our health, fitness and wellbeing?

Integrated movement - our bodies move as a whole - everything is     interconnected and moving in this way in a safe and efficient manner helps us learn healthy movement patterns that we can use in everyday life.
 
Balance, stability, change of direction, force production, momentum, physical strength, adaptability and responsiveness to outside forces
 
For many of us, these movements are “out of the box” in terms of our regular daily patterns, and building our capacity to move in these ways builds confidence in our ability to learn and adapt to new challenges.

Keeping your workout planning priorities in order

There are so many standardized workouts out there right now. Too many for me to count. While I’m all for working through a progression and following a methodology, I worry that people sometimes lose sight of the importance of really looking at the individual you are working with. Whether it’s a 1:1 training client or several people in a class you are teaching, it’s important to be ready to make changes on the fly based on what participants are bringing to you on a given day.

In my view, the person always comes before the workout. Assess the person and then develop the workout based on what you see and learn about them that day. It’s good to be prepared with a plan and a progression, but be ready to make changes on the fly.

This is true for your own workouts as well. Set a goal; have a plan, but listen to your body and adjust accordingly.