I have seen a lot of interesting research and discussion lately on the issue of movement variability. The ability to make small adjustments to a basic repetitive pattern like heart rate, brain waves, energy use and movement seems to be a good indicator of health and function.
Read MoreIn the previous two posts, I discussed two basic ideas. First, that the developmental movement patterns learned in infancy are building blocks for the more complex movements that we use in our daily lives as adults. These simple patterns are combined to form complex movements, just as words and letters are combined to make sentences. If someone is limited in performing a basic movement like squatting or rotating, there are a very wide range of everyday movements that will be compromised. Therefore, if we are going to spend any time working to improve our movement, it is these fundamental patterns that should get most of our attention.
Read MoreIn the previous post I pointed out that the developmental movement patterns learned in infancy are building blocks for the more complex movements that we use in our daily lives as adults. These simple patterns are combined to form sophisticated movements, just as words and letters are combined to make sentences.
Read MoreInfants develop movement by progressively learning a series of fundamental movement patterns, which form the building blocks for more complex movements. For example, while lying on the ground and sitting in various positions, an infant learns to stabilize her head so she can see the world. Her head stabilization skills are a building block for the postural control required in standing and walking. While reaching to grab interesting objects, she learns the arm/trunk coordination patterns that are also used to crawl and walk, and eventually throw and climb.
Read MoreRecently I had the pleasure of meeting Rafe Kelley, who owns and operates a parkour gym here in Seattle called Parkour Visions. Rafe is a very knowledgeable movement geek, so we had a great time chatting.
Read MoreI have made the claim several times on this blog that quality of movement is primarily determined by its efficiency. In fact, I have stated that "efficiency is the "essence of coordination" and that the best movement is always the most efficient movement.
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Have you ever noticed that toddlers are champion squatters? They sit into the deep squat with total ease, hang out there for a while, play with some toys, look around aimlessly, eat some dirt, poop their pants, get up again, walk three steps, and then drop down smooth as silk into the deep squat again. And then over and over again, like twenty times in ten minutes, with no sense of effort or fatigue at all....
A few weeks ago I posted a twenty five minute audio lesson on improving the squat. Below is a link to volume two. If you haven’t done volume one already, I would highly recommend that you do that before moving to volume two. On the other hand, I think I saw Godfather Two before the first one, and the results were excellent.