The importance of proper movement

Whatever your fitness goals, having good mobility, range of motion, and proper muscle activation is key, as it provides the foundation on which all exercise is built upon.

Our movement patterns are affected by the repetitive motions we do (or don’t do) in our day-to-day lives. Over time this can compound into some muscles being shortened and overactive, and other muscles being lengthened and underactive. These changes result in altered muscle relationships, which can lead to something called synergistic dominance - meaning that muscles that are supposed to assist the primary muscle responsible for the movement end up being the main drivers of the movement, while the prime mover muscle contributes less than it should to the movement.

An example of this is someone who has an underactive gluteus maximus and overactive hip flexors. This is a commonly seen altered muscle relationship and is largely caused by extended periods of sitting which put the gluteus maximus in a chronically lengthened state, and the hip flexors in a chronically shortened state. If left unaddressed, this compensated movement pattern can lead to the quadriceps - which are prime movers for knee extension, and synergist muscles for hip extension becoming the primary driving muscle for the hip extension motion. Over time, this altered movement pattern can lead to knee issues, back issues, and more. This is just one simplified example of synergistic dominance. Although some patterns are common across populations, ultimately everybody is different and presents with various altered movement patterns to different degrees based on lifestyle, individual injury history, and numerous other factors.

Addressing the issue of muscular imbalance, altered muscle relationships, and synergistic dominance begins with identifying which muscles are overactive, and which muscles are underactive. Using inhibitory techniques such as foam rolling and static stretching to lengthen overactive muscles is the first step toward achieving better movement patterns. The next step is to focus on activating underactive muscles and help restore mind-muscle connection to them so that they can do their job and activate when they are supposed to. Finally, we must put the pieces of the whole together and integrate them into full-body movement patterns.

These changes in movement quality are not made overnight, in a week, or possibly not even in a month. Changing these movement patterns is a summation of small changes made over time - things like integrating these techniques into a warm-up, or taking care to stretch and roll overactive muscles at home. Over time, these things add up, and you will begin to gain more mobility, mind-muscle connection, and restore your body to optimum movement patterns - providing a strong foundation for you to tackle any fitness or exercise goal more effectively and with a reduced risk of injury.