Living in a three dimensional world part II

At the end of the last post I mentioned that in addition to increased strength and injury prevention working our bodies and limbs through all potential angles was also good for the brain.


Here's why;  Our brains are interactive.  You probably already know this.  We take in information, analyze it, use it as seems appropriate.   You know that reading and learning throughout life helps keep the neurons firing and developing.  The old adage "use it or lose it" applies here.


While it is obvious in academic learning and in life it is less obvious in movement. 


In the case of movement the data is not external like reading a book or figuring out how to nail  together a door frame.  Learning movement is mostly internal.  In this case the data is sent to the brain by sensors we have throughout the body called proprioceptors.  These proprioceptors constantly feed information to our brain about how our body and limbs are aligned, how quickly they are moving and how much tension is being put on the muscles, tendons and joints. 


The more and varied the data the more the brain has to process and analyze and the more capeable it becomes. 


Instead of "push ups hurt my shoulder" the dialogue becomes "The left shoulder was higher than the right and the push up was harder on the left side"  The ability to identify subtle changes in the body BY FEEL helps performance but it also challenges the brain.




This subject was worth a two part talk because as neuroscience continues to develop we are learning about the very powerful interaction between movement and mental health.  We are moving away from a mechanistic view of ourselves and our bodies to an organic one where everything touches and affects everything else.  As we evolve our view of our bodies so we evolve our view of the world.


Stay tuned true believers. There is always more to learn.


All the best
Steve

Why We Do What We Do Part I

Asking the right questions

The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.'

`Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

`It was the best butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

`Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the best butter, you know.'

 So why am I beginning a blog post with an excerpt from Lewis Carroll Alice in wonderland?

First of all I must say don’t get me started on it being a kid’s book.  There was a lot of subtext. Even the “simple” act of going down the rabbit hole can be an earthshaking metaphor.

So let’s stick with what is at hand.

It’s nearly as obvious as the right tool for the right job. The Mad Hatter and March Hare just put a very fine point on it.  The very best butter will do wonders for toast and scones, but, we can say, will not benefit a watch at all.  We can get to bread crumbs and bread knife on the next post.

In here I want to explore matching the right tool to the job.  Does a volleyball player need to bench press? Does an avid gardener need to do bent or rows or lat pull downs?

            To match the right tools for the right job we have to ask the right questions.  Questions like:

            What do you do?

What do you want to do better at? 

            What are the weaknesses I have to shore up?

            What are the strengths I want to capitalize on?

This is just an obvious sample.  Easily a dozen more could be added as we start to hone down on the nuts and bolts of our personal agenda.

So your take away lesson here is not to ask is it good, I am constantly learning great new training techniques but is it butter to my watch?

Until next time true believers,

Steve O’Neill

ACSM CPT