First things first, come party with us:
Bang Grand Reopening and 18th Birthday Celebration
Last week, I talked about calm as an essential nutrient. But calm isn’t an end unto itself. Calm is part of a nutrient-dense environment. Especially when it comes to skill development and body awareness. But does skill come first? Or muscle?
Sometimes, muscle is plug-and-play; load and go. Other times, movement skill comes first. Especially when it comes to moving without pain or structurally reinforcing the movement patterns your body thrives on. There are different elements you can explore to figure that out.
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Intended subject: A green pie chart divided into five wedges labelled Load, Endurance, Velocity, Complexity, and Range: a wheel diagram of the elements of movement.. No matching asset in build/assets.
Everything on the wheel is an important part of the movement experience. Your preferences may lean toward one area or another, and perfect distribution isn’t necessary. But it’s important to touch on everything periodically. Like purebred pugs, over-specialization brings a host of problems.
But one of the simplest opportunities is to make sure that you have the experience of moving well. Here, you experience a version of movement that makes biomechanical sense while also bringing a sense of lightness and fluidity.
If all you know is eye-poppingly hard workouts, grinding and straining, then you will do a great job of moving heavy barbells, building muscle, and building grit, but lag when it comes to moving fast or glowing orthopaedic health. There’s a conspicuous lack of lightness.
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Intended subject: A cartoon still from The Ren & Stimpy Show of Ren straining with his eyes bulging comically out of his head, a sight-gag for grinding, straining effort.. No matching asset in build/assets.
On the other hand, if you move with minimal to no loading and focus on rhythm, grace, and fluidity, you will move beautifully but miss out on strength – including its knock-on effect of increasing bone density. Not to mention the practice of gutting through very tough moments, which is not always graceful.
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Intended subject: A Cleveland Clinic medical illustration titled Osteopenia, showing a femur bone with three magnified cross-sections comparing healthy bone density, osteopenia, and osteoporosis.. No matching asset in build/assets.
It’s not a binary choice. You choose both. You choose everything. You grind, but you also float.
P.S. Our free pilot afternoon sessions are up and running for September. You can register here.
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One essay a week, written by Geoff. No hype.