Better yet, pay close attention next time a little guy takes off running down the sidewalk (3 to 5 years old is the best). His arms are smoothly swinging with proportion. Look at his body from a side view. His entire body from the ankles up is a straight line that’s correctly leaned forward with a grade between 5 to 10 degrees as he runs. His core is engaged, but he’s not hinged at the waist at all. His feet are not heel striking, nor is he running on his toes. It’s a comfortable combination between the two. Check out this picture of my nephew running a race last year when he was 4.
You will hear me use the word functional often. I, myself, define functional as “the exact way things are meant and supposed to be done“. There’s no cheating on form, no maxing out, and it doesn’t mean doing as many reps as possible in a certain amount of time. All those things are great if you’re trying to beat your friends’ times or number of reps in workouts. But the downside is this will leave you in pain with loads of unnecessary muscle soreness for days. To me, the word functional means solid form no matter the movement. Functional is sitting in a chair correctly with the proper lumbar curve in the lower back. Functional is bending over to pick up a child while using your legs, instead of your back. Functional means injury-free. Muscles should be prime and pumped after a workout, not incredibly sore and destroyed to the point where you can barely walk or get out of a chair. In my opinion, those extreme workouts should only be done by the experts (professional athletes, military, public service like firemen and policemen, etc etc). You’ll notice that none of these studs I’ve mentioned will be found sitting at a desk 40+ hours a week. They’re constantly moving, active, and on the go.
That’s where we are very different…..the part-time athlete who sits at a desk full-time. We’re desk jockeys living the rat race. Day in, day out. It doesn’t matter how positive-minded and grateful we are, or even how much we love our life. Sitting at a desk will take a major toll on our existence, but that’s only if we let it.
HSH Athlete of the Week
This week's athlete of the week is good old mom (aka Peggy Bowen, Mom-Mom, and Mommarazzi). That's right, she's tough with her high speed action-sport camera. She captures everyday sporting events like no other and turns them into permanent memories. She took the picture of my nephew above and the picture of me below.
Todd Bowen
High Speed Health
www.facebook.com/highspeedhealth (<----LIKE me)