Supple Leopard?

You may have just asked yourself "What in the world does a leopard have to do with health?..."

Well, believe it or not, this has everything to do with your personal health.

This week I am focusing on mobility and how to improve the way we move. The post (and its title) is inspired by Dr. Kelly Starrett's book Becoming A Supple Leopard. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about body mechanics and how to troubleshoot errors in function.

So what exactly do I mean by mobility?

I mean the ability to move safely, freely and effectively through life and sport.

Many people experience chronic back pain and joint stiffness. Mobility seems to decrease with age more rapidly in the US than other countries.

Some of the main causes of decreased mobility are poor nutrition, obesity and lack of movement.

Luckily, we don't have to settle for this. We don't have to accept stiffness and immobility as a part of getting older.

Did you know you can improve athletic performance, increase range of motion, treat stiffness and achy joints, and promote functional longevity without a doctor, prescription, chiropractor or physical therapy?

You can!

Kelly Starrett says in his book "all human beings should be able to preform basic maintenance on themselves". His book and Youtube page offer tons of stretches and exercises to help diagnose, treat and prevent injury.

Mobilizing your body can improve muscle tissue and pull bones back into proper alignment. This is mostly achieved by applying a lot of pressure to your muscles while performing an exercise or stretch.

Many mobilizing exercises require some equipment for applying pressure (bands, lacrosse balls, foam rollers) and can be very uncomfortable.

But today I just want to offer some quick tips that you can do without anything extra.

1. How to stand

Posture is huge. Our bodies are amazing machines and have an impressive ability to recover from serious insult. Over time, however, repeated dysfunction can lead to pain and injury. We will start with posture because maintaining a neutral spine is vital for optimal movement and avoiding injury.

Step one: Stand up with feet directly under hips

Step two: Squeeze your butt (not so hard that your pushing your pelvis out in front and over extending your back)

Step three: Take a deep breath in using your diaphragm

Step four: As you breath out, stiffen your belly, imagine pulling your rib cage down by flexing your abs

Don't suck in just stiffen your stomach in place. The idea is to keep the abs slightly engaged at all times, creating pressure around the spine to keep it straight

Step five: Pull your shoulders back and down slightly, opening up your chest. Keep your arms at your side with thumbs facing out

Step six: Make sure your ears are in line with your shoulders

The goal is to have ears over shoulders, shoulders over pelvis, and pelvis over feet. This is ideal posture.

Maintaining this bracing sequence requires mental and physical effort at first. Retraining your body takes time, but practice at home and think about your posture throughout the day.

Improving posture alone can help reduce nagging pains and improve other movements.

2. Stop Sitting

Sitting for long periods of time shortens muscles and makes them tight. Back pain is common with frequent sitting. Obviously, sitting is unavoidable, but trying to limit the amount of hours we sit in a day is very helpful. Take breaks at work to stand or maybe try a standing desk. You can also use the same bracing sequence from earlier for sitting to help keep that neutral spine, instead of hunching forward or slouching.

3. Move

I talked about this in another post. There is a strong correlation between mortality and immobility. Staying active is crucial for maintaining range of motion and optimizing longevity. So get up and do something!

4. Control the Weight

This is for all the weight lifters out there. Keeping your body tight and controlling the weight all the way down will keep you from punching a one-way ticket to Snap City (injury). Dropping and/or bouncing the weight is unacceptable. Tweaks and strains happen occasionally, but injuries that put you out of the gym for several days should not happen.

These are all the quick tips I have today. I would love to post some individual mobility exercises if people are interested. I want everyone to feel like that have the tools and knowledge to take care of their own bodies.

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Have you been experiencing aches, pains, stiffness?

Was any of this information beneficial?

Do you have any other tips you'd like to share?

Let me know at thomaszkry@gmail.com.

Here's a link to Kelly Starrett's Youtube channel. He's truly a mobility guru and has taught me a lot. Check him out.

https://www.youtube.com/user/sanfranciscocrossfit