By WIN Contributor: Dr. Matthew Bird, Chiropractor
How well do you know your range of motion (ROM) or more importantly how well do you know how to stabilize your joints in your given ROM?
Many of us assume we move correctly and many of us have an idea of how we move and just assume we are doing it correctly. What we think we are doing tends to be very different than what we are actually doing. The question now becomes, are you willing to break down your motions/habits to improve your performance, technique or fitness?
Breaking old habits is by far one of the hardest challenges we face as individuals and it is not just limited to active/volitional movements but also in the realm of behaviours, idiosyncrasies, beliefs and emotions.
Everything in the aspect of health care comes down to a choice and understanding the consequences of those choices that we make every day. These life choices we make everyday are not always complex but can easily start to follow a pattern for which end up becoming idiosyncrasies and ingrained into our behaviours. There is not always a right and wrong choice, but every choice carries a consequence. Can you accept that consequence? If yes, continue and enjoy, if no, then reconsider your options.
So, in the aspect of healthy movements or training for health are you making the right movement choices for your body or are you just simply flying through exercises because these exercises are “deemed” good for you?
There are many questions that could be asked of us but there is only one person who must understand their actions and that is YOU.
Ask yourself, are you working the tissue you should be?
Are you working the joint ranges in the right plane of motion?
Are you even firing the muscles correctly to hold the tissue in a stable form for your desired action/sport?
A lot can be said for focused training in order to maximize your performance, but we must remember that we are not machines and errors do occur in our motor patterns. It is our goal, as individuals, to minimize errors to not create undo strain on our bodies and to improve its capacity for loading.
Remember…
If Capacity > Load = Performance
If Capacity < Load = Injury
…and we all want to minimize injury.
So, before you just jump into the latest and greatest workout/fitness routine, ask yourself if your body is ready?
Here at WIN Health Solutions we can offer you strategies to help you progress through your health goals, to help identify areas that need just a little more TLC and provide the needed treatments to optimize performance to keep you in the game. Remember, it is your choice to address your health and we are here to help so that your consequences are a stronger and faster version of you!