Most of us can admit we have met someone, or even been a person, that couldn’t engage in an activity due to a ____fill in the blank___ (A sore low back, a bummed knee or a weak shoulder). Unfortunately, there are so many people who cannot enjoy the activities they love due to poor movement patterns. I will embarrassingly admit prior to joining BIRTHFIT that was me.
I have always been active, however I have been able to compensate movements at the expense of my hips and knees. Overtime I started to add accessories to my fitness, weight belt, wrist wraps and knee sleeves which masked my weakness and never really forced me to work on them. Then walks in BIRTHFIT and exposes all of my compensatory movement patterns – the big elephant in the room!
Like most of you who have joined the #BIRTHFITTRIBE, I do what I preach. Starting with the functional progressions. When I began, I could barely hold the starting position for functional Progression #1. I was shocked how challenging it was to do the movement properly.
I could speed through it, but slowing down and paying attention to my breath, pelvic floor orientation and maintaining intra-abdominal pressure throughout the entire movement stepped it up a notch. It took me weeks to work through the 4 movements and still I work on them every day. Like our great Mindset leader Melissa Hemphil says “slow is fast” which couldn’t be more true in this situation.
As I worked through these progressions it forced me to check my ego at the door, back down on the weights I have been using and get back to the basics. I can proudly report, as I have committed to building up my fundamentals I have watched my lifts improve in functionality and performance over time!
And the best improvement I have seen has been in the movements I do for pleasure. My fly fishing cast has improved, my bouldering skills have skyrocketed and my overall health is better. Isn’t that what this is all about, being able to love the movements you do and feel fantastic while doing them. Heck, I hope to be doing all of the activities, functionally sound until I’m 95!
All that being said Movement EQUALS Freedom and more importantly proper movement equals freedom for life! Whether you are planning, pregnant, postpartum or just a human being wanting to move better, check out our professional tab to find a Regional Director in your area!
With love,
