Movement and Mobility- A Reflection on The LifeTime Training Podcast; Episode 13

What do you do when you have pain? Do you pop a pill and pray that it'll go away with time? Maybe avoid what you were doing and rest?

If the pain isn't excruciating or causing limitations in your life (if it is- please go see a professional), avoiding movement is probably the worst thing that you can do. In a recent podcast by Jason Stella, he interviewed Dr. Kelly Starrett. For those that don't know who Kelly Starrett is, he's a physical therapist, CrossFit trainer, author, and speaker. His repertoire of achievements is extensive: author of Becoming a Supple Leopard, co-owner of MobilityWOD, and opened one of the first CrossFit gyms, plus many more. In the interview, they cover a variety of topics that I plan on recounting here.

First, the two elaborate on the gap in most people's fitness regimes. People are extremely complex with their nutrition, training, but ignore mobility and pain. As I recently stated, many will pop a pill and try to work around the injury or compensate. Pain doesn't always mean injury. It's subjective. It's your body giving you information. From there, it's YOUR responsibility to be proactive in fixing the problem. While you may not be able to control ALL things in life, improving the quality of your tissues and their ranges of motions is something that you can definitely control.

So, how do you fix the quality of your tissues? Look at your daily step count. Numerous doctors have conjoined sitting as the new smoking. Starrett elaborates on the importance of walking and movement; he states to achieve between 8-15,000 steps per day. However, he doesn't condemn sitting. Rather, he emphasizes limiting the amount of sitting that you do, trying to avoid sitting for more than 6 hours per day. The more sedentary that you are, the slower your body will be at filtering out inflammation in your joints and tissues. Minimizing the amount of inflammation that your body has is extremely important. Did you know that chronic low-grade inflammation can cause muscle loss and may change muscle fiber type? Thus, to improve the durability of your tissues is to increase your internal circulation. With movement, your lymphatic system is able to filter out the inflammation and bring in new blood/nutrients to the tissues. Another way to decrease inflammation is to acknowledge your gut health, the amount of sunlight you get, prioritize sleep, and enhance the relationships in your life.

Secondly, you can boost the quality of your tissues by improving your positions. I've elaborated on mobility in previous blogs but, I wholeheartedly agree with the way Starrett approaches the topic. Instead of specifically highlighting mobility, he emphasizes using training to get your body back into its natural movement ability. Think about it, if someone just prioritizes hitting percentages; they'll do it. Yet, the movement may be questionable and cause compensation patterns, injuries, or both. This is the point where you need to proactive and probably stop what you're doing. He highlights how the gym is the best place to make mistakes; so make them, but be able to work on them. And honestly, while all bodies are different, movement mechanics are the same. Furthermore, your joint capsules and fascia are not controlled by the brain but your muscles are. So to fix the movement limitations, he gives a few ways. They are as follows: 1) slowing down the movement, 2) including tempos, 3) mobilizing/stretching the problem areas, and then 4) adding weight and/or volume as necessary until movement breaks down (again).

But now, you're probably wondering "Well, how should I mobilize or stretch? Should I not do it at all?" Starrett says to yes, do it- but do it however you can. He defines mobilization as 1) your natural, raw range of motion, and 2) being able to actively control the movement. Thus, prioritize correct movement in the gym and at home, spend the final 10 minutes before bed mobilizing. Mobilizing can include gentle stretching, foam rolling, yoga, following along to a stretching protocol- whatever. Pick one problem area and work on it. As you are mobilizing, work around your breath. Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds. If you're foam rolling or using a lacrosse ball, inhale for 4 seconds, contract the muscle for 4 seconds, then exhale and relax for 6 seconds. Repeat this process until your time is complete. Continue the process the next night in a different area and 10 minutes nightly turns into 70 minutes weekly.

To conclude the podcast, Starrett leaves listeners with a thoughtful message. He exclaims, "What do you want your life to look like when you're 70? I have two aunts who are in their late 90's and doing wonderfully. Our bodies are made to live to at least 100 years old. In our twenties, our bodies are extremely durable and tolerant. As we age, our bodies don't become any less durable. Instead, we become less tolerant of doing crazy things. So, challenge your body daily and bring it back to achieving optimal movement."

Final takeaways: Starrett is extremely intelligent. His wisdom ventures beyond his years. Use your training or exercise as a tool to give your body back its natural ranges of motion. From there, take 10 minutes a day before bed to mobilize. Simple, boring things will lead to extraordinary results. Then as you age, don't settle for moving less. Keep your tolerance to movement high. From there, you'll be able to do the things that you love-longer.

Curious about listening to the podcast? Check out the link here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/63Q2INg7KiavCPNREUmefq?si=_P-6FrP8Ra6APoLvGs-ZKg

~Coach Karina, BS-Kinesiology, CF L1 Trainer, USAW L1 Sports Performance Coach