When I first screen a client for movement, I always ask them if they feel pain during anything. A lot of times I will ask them and then they hesitate. I then go to the other side of the body and ask them. Usually it is a definite no. I then go back to the "kinda no" side. Usually it is a definite yes. I know these pains because I have felt them in my knee, back, and shoulder. I used to work through them in my workouts. I used to think that having some mild pain in my shoulder after my bench press was normal. It meant that I was working hard and making gains. I could not have been any farther from the truth .Like me, most people in our culture have some sort of pain.
The old cliche, "no pain, no gain" does not apply here. Pain is an outcry from our body that something has gone wrong and we have steered from the movement patterns we worked so hard to achieve developing as a human. Walking, squatting, running, standing, throwing, and pushing are just a few patterns of movement that we naturally developed. In today's world, people sit during more hours of the day than ever. Do you think 80 million Americans had back pain 100 years ago? If they did it was because they were working 12 hour days of manual labor. At least they would not go home after that long day and watch TV till they fell asleep. Today, we sit at a desk, go to the gym and sit on a machine, go home and sit on the couch until we are ready for bed and we lay down and do it all over again. With the increased use of computers, we are forced to sit down and work. Machines have became very popular because they allow us to isolate certain muscle groups so we can look lean and cut all while sitting down!
Idiot proof
What these machines have done is make our pain even worse. You cannot just exercise your way out of pain. It does not work that way. Increasing your time at the gym will not get rid of pain based on good intentions. I like to use a vehicle as an example. When we buy a new car, every part should be working properly. This is similar to how we developed from an infant to a teenager. We move great as young adults. As we live our lives, usually we become more sedentary. The car keeps running OK but we have neglected basic tune ups. We all know that every car needs scheduled maintenance. It is a pain in the ass. It costs money, time, and headaches. If we neglect the tune ups, we are putting our car at greater risk of dysfunction. This is similar to the problem we have today (and with my car). We have neglected to keep our body moving properly through the years and now we are paying for it. We see chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists in order to cure our pains away. We feel great after a massage but when we wake up the next day, the pain is back. Why would the pain recede if we have not permanently changed anything? These treatments are similar to putting new tires on a car even though the suspension is out of alignment. New tires are great in the short term but they do not fix the underlying problem. Now your tires will wear out faster and the dysfunctional suspension will probably lead to more problems.
Technology is not always an advancement for the better. Many people in our culture "relieve" the pain instead of going to the source. It is not their fault. We have been raised by our environment to mask problems with new shoes, orthotics, sleep number mattresses, Tylenol, Vicodin, and ankle braces. These options seem OK to us because they make us feel better or more secure. We tend to go for the "lose 20 pounds in 20 days" diet, or "six minute abs". People expect to look and feel great while spending minimal time at it. People want things now. Advertising has set an all time low for the American public. They are betting that we are really this stupid and we are definitely living up to it. When was the last time you saw or heard an advertisement for moving well? We have forgotten about what truly matters; the human body and the movement we create.
It is going to take a change from medical practitioners all the way down to trainers and coaches. We need to be educated to teach authentic human movement. Moving well should precede any exercise program. Unfortunately, people like to throw the hardest workout on themselves or to their clients just to show that they can make them sore or throw up.
All I want to do is shed a few pounds and look good on the outside.... so why is moving well important for me?
To be continued....
Awesome blog!!!
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