Hi All,
Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last instalment and are intrigued to find out more. Today I’d like to talk to you about your Foundation; what is it, how to get one, and why it’s so important for your functional fitness. When you buy a house, ‘they’ tell you the most important thing is: location, location, location. When you ‘buy’ into establishing and developing functional fitness, it is all about, Foundation, Foundation, Foundation. Our bodies need a strong foundation to function properly and efficiently, and contrary to what you might think, the body foundation is not built from the ground up like building a home, but is built from the ‘True Core’ outwards. And remember, the ‘True Core’ is internal, around the middle of our bodies in the region of the centre of gravity (COG). This region, in my expert opinion, is the most important region in the body. Mind the ‘True Core’ and it will mind you; it is our body’s lifelong guardian.
Because we associate a physical foundation with the ground, we mistakenly think the stronger components of the body should be the ones touching the ground and therefore, spend time developing and sometimes overdeveloping, in my opinion, the leg and hip muscles. We think just because we can, and do lift and carry heavy objects with our arms and hands, we need the arm muscles to be developed or overdeveloped as well. And the chest? Well, those muscles are just for showing off at the beach. The chest muscles do have a role in lifting and carrying but only when you have to carry something straight in front of you or close to the chest like when Richard Gere swept Debra Winger off her feet and carried her away in an Officer and a Gentleman. But most importantly-my own opinion- they are for hugging people-too strong and you could seriously injure your Granny! The only other plausible use for overdeveloped chest muscles, other than feeding your own ego, is if you had to kill someone with them as a Bond Villain.
When I attended Physio school in the U.S. many moons ago, one of the very first lessons I learned; a concept which has served me well over the past 33 years, was this: proximal stability (core strength) = distal mobility (function). For all of us, this means if your ‘True Core’ is strong, then you will have better use of your arms and legs. This concept was beautifully and tragically illustrated when I worked with spinal cord and stroke patients during my time in the Rehabilitation Unit at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Again, I ask, as noted in my last Blog entry: Why are we expending so much time, energy, and effort on specifically developing limb size and strength, when we should be concentrating on developing strength and power in the ‘True Core’ which will then transfer strength and power into the limbs for better function, both now and in the future, when it may be of greater importance.
Let me share a great story and example of why we need to re-examine how we see fitness, and why it’s so important to consider the ‘True Core’ in a different light. I realise this is just one sample, but it beautifully illustrates why we need to open the conversation around fitness, especially with our aging populations. My father-in-law, the lovely and amazing Michael, came to live with us in 2013, at the age of 95, from his solitary life in the country as a farmer. He had a very physical life there and was still climbing into and using his tractor at this grand age of 95. As a Physio and expert in all things ergonomic, I realised his ‘hard’ physical life on the farm would not be fully replicated in the ‘soft’ city, so I had a chat with him about changing the way he did a few functional tasks, to optimise the use of his ‘True Core’. I say this to you, but to him I just explained that changing a few things would be good for his body. He did not like walking on the pavement, so walking around the neighbourhood was out, and besides, at 95, his two primary goals were to walk to the bathroom and to walk to the kitchen for his tea. I did not put him on limb exercises as I knew he would not do them or like them, and for me, they are a far inferior way for developing functional fitness than developing overall strength and power through the ‘True Core’. The key was to get him to consistently perform certain functional movements that would force the ‘True Core’ to work, and without him thinking it was exercise, when, in fact, that’s exactly what it was! It was functional exercise. There were 3 simple things I did with him over the course of time. Firstly, I showed him how to get out of his chair with the least amount of, or no help from his hands/arms, thus transferring the work to his ‘True Core’ and his big central thigh muscles-yes, those Rugby players. (See the first Blog if you’re confused) Secondly, I taught him how to roll to the side, when getting out of bed, and more importantly, by leading from the COG not by the head or the arms, again, transferring the work to his ‘True Core’. Thirdly, we did a small nightly 5-min routine of stretching as he got into the bed to keep his hips and waist as flexible as possible. He also slept with one pillow that was about a half inch thick, so he was essentially flat in the bed.
At first, I think he was just humouring me by going along with my suggestions as he felt I had his best interests at heart, but over time, I could see in him his understanding of just how beneficial this routine was to him. I would always ask him if he felt the benefits, and he always said yes. I frequently asked him if he wanted to stop the routine and he always said no. The result of this small intervention, in my opinion, was huge. When he came to us, he had his Roscommon ‘counthry’ stick with him-a perfectly shaped and sized branch from one of his trees- used,” just in case”. As time went on, the stick was left in the corner and was never again used in the house. The chair he sat in was a bit lower than most couches and he never needed assistance getting out of it, and upon rising there was no hesitation in his walk, into the kitchen or bathroom. He could walk the 300yds to the kitchen and bathroom, at speed and without loss of balance, and was able to toilet himself both during the day, and at night with the use of a bedside commode. To encourage rolling in the bed at night, just in case he wanted to get up to the commode, we installed a small curved hand rail on the bed, and most importantly, at the level of his shoulder. If any bedrail is placed lower than the shoulder, as a lot of the hand rails are, it will interfere with natural rolling and the use of the ‘True Core’. It is also important to make sure the rolling body is positioned away from the edge of the bed, (about a forearm width away), enough to facilitate a safe roll to the edge of the bed. This is good as it facilitates scooting and the use of the big gluteal muscles during bridging. I believe the transfer of the ‘work’ to the ‘True Core’ through simple functional tasks done correctly allowed Michael to live freely, and unencumbered with us for the next 6 years before he passed away at the age of 101. I never felt nervous about leaving him alone in the house for short periods of time. Michael’s success in physical aging, in my opinion, was due to the fact he had his pillars in place, now let me help you get yours in place.
So exactly what is our foundation and of what does it consist? Our foundation is created by, what I call, the 4 pillars of Functional Fitness. They are:
- Pillar# 1. Posture and Flexibility, which go hand in hand, as you can’t have one without the other.
- Pillar# 2. ‘True Core’ and Ergonomics-how we move. The ‘True Core’ drives the Ergonomics and is dependent on posture and flexibility. And here is the best part: Ergonomics done in conjunction with correct Posture, controlled and driven by the ‘True Core’, results in the creation of perpetual strengthening, without residual tension.
- Pillar #3. Cardio fitness-it’s not what you think.
- Pillar #4. Balance, which gets its own pillar, though it is dependent on good flexibility and ‘True Core’ control, because it has its own very unique component, the Vestibular System, which, simply put, is a system influenced by the fluid in our inner ears, and our neck muscle receptors.
You must, in my opinion, regularly monitor and nurture all 4 pillars if you want your physical self to not only perform well, but to age well. Conquer all four and you are on your way to a fully and efficiently run body that will stand the test of time. Ignore the pillars at your peril, I say. Each pillar is no more or less important than the other, and they differ only in the way you achieve optimal use of each pillar.
Be patient, but persistent. 4 pillars. Not just one, nor two or even three, but four. Find them all, train them all, and then sit back and enjoy the freedom it could give you in your physical life.
If your health is your wealth, then Functional Fitness is the strong vault that surrounds and protects your (physical) health.
You can train in the Roberts Protocol through this website, or in person, in Galway, Ireland.
Bye for now. Mind those Pillars. See you in the next installment.
