There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Hey there,
Traditional fitness often falls short of our body's unique needs, leaving us seeking something more fulfilling, something more appropriate for our unique bodies. It's time to embark on a fitness journey that not only enriches your physical well-being but also nurtures a profound connection with your body's inner rhythms. In this edition, we introduce the concept of movement exploration—a path that invites you to uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary. It's about breaking free from convention and embarking on a journey of self-discovery through movement. Every stretch, bend, and sway becomes a narrative of your body's wisdom. Join us on this extraordinary odyssey to explore, understand, and transform.
🤔A Bodyweight Squat: Exercise or Exploration?
In this edition, we'll delve into the concept of a bodyweight squat, a simple yet enlightening example that illustrates the contrasting approaches of traditional fitness and movement exploration.
🏋️♂️ The Exercise Approach
A bodyweight squat, as traditionally taught, is an exercise with prescribed rules. Begin with a comfortable stance, typically about hip-width. Turn your toes 0-15 degrees to the side. Hinge at the hips while flexing at the knees and lower down towards the ground. Be cautious not to allow your knees to extend beyond your toes! Maintain three points of contact within each foot, as some experts suggest. Eventually, return to an upright position.
This approach undeniably has its merits:
It enhances strength and flexibility within specific patterns.
It offers simplicity in programming.
However, it's not without its challenges:
The traditional bodyweight squat may not align well with your body's current state, potentially increasing the risk of injury.
There's limited time to address your entire body's diverse needs. If we were to create a collection of movements for every body part, we'd spend our lives in the gym.
What should work often gets in the way of what works
-Jon Yuen
🧭 The Exploration Approach
Conversely, a bodyweight squat can be embraced as an exploration—an open-ended journey in which your center of mass (COM) descends and then returns to its starting point. How you achieve this squat is entirely up to you. Flex your hips and knees as you see fit, experiment with your ankles, and decide how to move your COM. What truly matters is that you move toward the floor, change direction, and return to an upright position.
The explorative movement offers remarkable advantages:
It encourages you to understand and adapt to your body's unique limitations at the moment - I’d argue exploration ought to be our foundation, as it can inform the entirety of our practice
It demands you to listen to the signals your body presents and respond accordingly.
Of course, this approach presents a few challenges:
Integrating it into a traditional fitness program can be complex.
There's a potential for injury, as it forces us to come face to face with our weaknesses.
📜 The Balance and Recommendation
The benefits of exploration far outweigh the challenges it poses. It serves as a vital guide for discovering weaknesses and transforming them into strengths. While traditional fitness often focuses on a limited set of movements performed in a specific manner, the explorative movement gives a voice to neglected parts of our bodies, highlighting areas that yearn for attention and improvement.
So, what's my recommendation? I suggest dividing your time between the two approaches. You may find one style of movement more enjoyable, but the true power lies in the synergy of both.
🛠️ How to incorporate
You can begin by incorporating explorative movement into your warm-up. For instance, if you're preparing for barbell squats, spend a few minutes exploring movements in the squat's lower position. If you would like to combine the two approaches even further, spend a few additional minutes of more structured exercise, based on what you discovered! This could be strengthening, lengthening, or other specific needs. When it's time to lift the barbell, your body will be remarkably well-prepared, thanks to this balanced approach.
Another great approach is having sessions dedicated to gentle exploration- a fantastic way to discover the subtleties ever present within your body! Attached below is the movement meditation for your shoulders- elements can be a great addition to any upper body day!
🧘♀️Listening to Your Body’s Whispers
In every stretch, every bend, and every sway, a unique journey of self-discovery awaits. Movement exploration is an open invitation to dive into the mysteries of your own body. It's time to take that first step, follow your curiosity, and listen closely to your body's whispers. Embrace the extraordinary within the ordinary. So, without further ado, let's begin our movement exploration – your body is the canvas, and the story it tells is yours to create.
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Wishing you a great week ahead!
Sam
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
A happy person isn’t someone who’s happy all the time. It’s someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don’t lose their innate peace.
-Naval Ravikant
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered health or medical advice. You should consult with a physician prior to beginning any exercise program. Your use of the newsletter is solely at your own risk.
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Hey Sam! I love this idea of exploring in the squat position. While it should probably be avoided with any sort of external load, this is a fantastic idea to attune with your body and sniff out any mobility limitations (ex. my left ankle seems to have less mobility than my right, my hips seem to be locking up below 90 degrees, etc.). This sense of bodily awareness can help us determine when we're doing something that might get us injured as well as identify areas that we should emphasize in our mobility/flexibility practice and pre-exercise warm-up. Thanks for sharing!
Also, if it's of any interest to you, I wrote this article on proper squat form based the principles outlined in Becoming A Supple Leopard: https://www.longevityminded.ca/p/the-5-principles-of-squatting
Thanks for your comment! Exploration has totally transformed the way I move, as well as changed the way I program for myself, clients and patients! Let me know how it goes for you!
I totally agree that it is probably unwise to use any sort of load for exploration... at least initially. The body is fantastic at applying to the stressors we place upon it... if we manage the load properly! Force is force. It is not good or bad, its about how we use it. Different tissues have different loads they can handle and different times for adaptations, but all tissues are capable of responding positively to load if we do it wisely!
I will check out your article!