IN THE GYM,
first you identify your strengths and weaknesses – the next step is Training them accordingly.
If you are not on a professional sports team, then the “sport” you should be training for is LIFE.
And in order to have a balanced life – just as in movement – you must first identify your problems before you can go about fixing them.
All sports create asymmetries in the body due to chronic use of a specific type of movement required by the sport. This idea of ‘chronic use of a specific type of movement required…’ can and should be applied to every day life.
What types of movement (or non-movements!) to you do every day? – sitting, walking, driving or taking the bus will require your body to move in certain, habitual ways through the environment – biasing and fatiguing certain muscle groups.
Once you have identified the types of activities you do every day, you can begin to train for them in a general way. The result is that you will be able to move through your every day environment with greater ease.
Since we are speaking of generalities,
The general way to identify if you have a movement issue is with a ‘Functional Movement Screen’
- Your ability to perform specific movements (like the Squat), or tasks (like carrying groceries) will tell you what areas you need to work on
The important thing is that you treat any weakness or asymmetry as an ‘injury’ and ‘rehabilitate’ it to the point that it becomes one of your strengths. At that point it is time to start again and reassess your movement – identify any other issues, and begin the process again.
A NOTE ON Asymmetries
– this could mean any imbalance between pushing and pulling, left to right sides of the body or more commonly: and imbalance between the front and the back of the body. As a species, humans are constantly flexing the front of our bodies and neglecting our ‘posterior chain’ > All I will say in closing is this : Get Your Lats On!