Don't think this guy understands the importance of proper movement and his back isn't going to like him for it
Proper movement is the base point of exercise and performance. I don't care how great of shape you think you are in or how many times a week you go and workout; if you are not moving the right way, you are wasting a large amount of your time.
"Oh my knee hurts!" Well, if you had any idea how to squat and use your hips and glutes the correct way, your knee probably wouldn't hurt so much. When you squat with your weight on your toes, heels off the ground and your knees are coming forward so far it hurts to watch, you're probably giving yourself knee pain. If you do this throughout the day with work activities, etc. you can only imagine the issues you are creating. "Oh but I went to physical therapy and they said I shouldn't squat." Well sorry to tell you, but if you ever want to get better, you're going to have to learn how to use your hips and guess what, squatting is pretty much the best way to do that. If your therapist was any good, they would have shown you how to move the right way and fix this problem but since they probably have no idea how to move correctly themselves, they screwed you. Sorry. "Oh well I've worked with another trainer before and they gave me a workout plan." Really!? Well that workout plan and that trainer must've really sucked because they sure didn't teach you the most important aspect of any exercise program: HOW TO MOVE!!!
"My back hurts" Well, lets see you pick this ball up. Well since you just picked that up with a flexed lumbar spine, and you do repetitive motion like that at work all day, five days a week, you are probably causing problems. Let me show you how to deadlift properly and that should begin to help you. "Well, my friend works out like all the time and he said that deadlifts can hurt my back." Well, your friend just proved that he has no right to an opinion on the matter. Picking feathers up off of the ground with the form you just showed me is bad for your back. Deadlifting respectable weights with proper form will help you like you wouldn't believe.
(These were just generalizations, not directed towards any individual)
If you are trying to exercise and you are not performing free motion, multi joint movements either because you are scared to or don't think you need to, you have two options. A- Just stay home and eat chips because you are wasting your time and probably creating future problems for yourself B-Get help from an expert who can actually teach you proper movement patterns with effective exercises for yourself.
If you are performing multi joint, free motion movements but have terrible neuromuscular coordination and movement patterns then props to you for at least trying to do something worthwhile. However, you still should refer to option B from above. Get help from an expert who can actually teach you proper movement patterns and effective exercises for yourself.
Movement is so important guys. You need to learn to move through your hips with a stable trunk. You need to learn how to squat both bilaterally and unilaterally while utilizing proper hip, knee and trunk position. You need to learn how to pull and push with proper thoracic mechanics. You need to learn how to rotate correctly. You need to learn how to perform locomotion effectively. You need to understand how to fire the correct muscles at the right times to do all of these things our bodies are meant to do the right way. Its not as simple as going to the gym and guessing your way through random useless things. A home video can't teach you if you have no idea how to feel things. A magazine is even worse. A lot of health professionals that deal with the body can't even help you (also a lot who can). I know this because I constantly see people who have been to other health professionals and still have absolutely atrocious movement skills. It blows my mind.
It all comes down to movement. There are many great exercises that can do a lot for you, regardless of what your goals may be; however, the fact of the matter is that no matter how great the potential of an exercise, if your movement pattern is less than optimal, the exercise is not going to do what it should for you.
You owe it to yourself. If you are going to invest your time in exercise and bettering your body and life, you owe it to yourself to invest some time in learning how to do things the right way. I have talked about and could get into all of the trillion other things that go into proper and effective training and programming but no matter what topic or aspect I talk about, it still comes back to proper movement. It is the essential base point for everything else and has to be mastered first. So give yourself a great gift this holiday season and learn how to move!!
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