On the picture above- The beautiful Christina Strøm Fjære
Our physique is a result not just from training and nutrition. It is a product of our habits and a combination of a lot of factors. We all go insane over the details what and how much we eat, and everything is clear about workouts – the more we train and the heavier it is, the better. Or is that really the truth?
We are all familiar with macronutrients – protein, fats and carbs. We all estimate their precise ratio. On the other side, we are strictly tracking micronutrients – minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes and so forth. We pick our foods carefully and we know that if we have some kind of a health problem, it is always accompanied by some type of a deficit – we have either limited some food group or we have overeaten with another. This leaves our cells starving and thus the body gets sick.
What happens with workouts? If we have some kind of pain and we go to the doctor, the common recommendation is – DO NOT TRAIN. No deadlifts, no weights, no running, no squatting. They tell us that we should do just some light walking and a little bit of swimming. When we have pain, the sentence is no sport to the end of your life. A sentence that leads to the degeneration of your body and forces it to lose its physical abilities, long before the time has come.
For me, movements is food for our cells. Our cells need movement, just as much as they need nutrients. For me, different types of movement are different micro and macronutrients. Just like protein is important for the body, walking is one of the main macronutrients for the cells – on the side of movement.
Have you thought how many people could improve their health, if when they feel pain, instead of stop moving, they looked for the reason behind the pain – an imbalance, overtraining, some kind of a compensation and so forth? Then, with the clear idea what causes that symptom, they chose the adequate solution – proper movement and enough movement.
Pain is just a symptom. The problem is not that we have lower back pain or neck pain. This is just the red light that alarms that something is not right.
The problem is that our neck hurts, because we keep our head forward towards the PC, all day long.
The problem is that we have lower back pain, because we lean down the wrong way, we sit on a chair and we sit with a slouched posture.
The problem is that our knees hurt, because we do not step or stand properly.
The problem is that our wrists hurt, because the biggest range of motion that we have throughout the day is pressing the keyboard and the button on the mouse.
These are problems, which have a solution – and more often than not it is called movement.
Every time when somebody goes to the doctor with lower back pain and the doctor forbids him to train, this sounds me like going to the doctor and having him forbid you to eat fats, because until that moment, you have eaten trans fats, which have led to some type of a health problem. The cause of your present health status are not the fats themselves, but the quality of fats you have been eating.
It is the same with injuries. The reason behind them is not in the movement itself, but in the quality of movement.
There isn’t better exercises for the body than squats and deadlifts – when performed with proper technique. The deadlift is in the basis of picking up a dime or a sock from the ground – with straight back, taking your hips back.
HERE, you can watch a video about how you should lean properly, without injuring your lower back.
Movements is the main nutrient of our cells and our body. Our body is created for movement. Movement is the main stimulus, that keeps our bones healthy and sustains the proper functioning of most body’s systems.
We do not suffer because of moving, but because of the quality of our moving patterns.
There isn’t a better thing that we could do for our body than moving properly. When there is some kind of pain, it is just a symptom that something in our movement patterns is harming us. Then we need to address this – the quality and quantity of our moving habits and add what we need, taking out what is in excess.
I have gone through a lot of injuries. Actually, 8 years ago, doctors told me that I will never be able to train again. I am happy that I didn’t believe them – how many handstands, how many squats and how many push-ups would have been missed. How many people I would have never met and how many limitations I wouldn’t have overcome.
Never take words for your final sentence. The body is genius and it can recover. It just needs enough building blocks, that will help it reinvent itself. It needs enough macro and micronutrients – when it comes both to food and movement.
Next time, when you decide to sit in a chair or on the couch, instead of going for a walk in the wonderful autumn days, think that from what you choose depends if you are gonna starve your body. You wouldn’t go without dinner, right? Then, why would you go without a walk or a workout? You will feel the hunger for food right away and the hunger for movement adds up with time, but then the symptoms of it hurt – A LOT!
Do not wait for the symptoms! Make them unnecessary!
Here is my latest accomplishment – hip thrusts with 104 kg
