Is your “why” (you work out) being realized? (PART I)
There are times during my interactions with patients (I’m a chiropractor) in which I will ask “Why do you work out?” What is your purpose for working out? The reason I ask this is to first see if they are doing anything to pro-actively manage their health and well-being. You see, despite working out on a consistent basis they still manage to experience an insidious onset of musculoskeletal pain, e.g., lower back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain to name a few. After they answer this question I will then follow up with another question, “Define what you mean by _____________ (their answer to the first question). For example, many people will respond to the first question with “I want to be healthier, more fit.” My reply to this is, “Define what being healthier, more fit looks and feels like.” They may respond with, “Aging gracefully, having the ability to execute given activities freely throughout my life; keep up with my kids, my grandchildren, my wife, my colleagues,” Once we have determined their “WHY,” I then ask the following question: “Is your WHY being realized?” Meaning is your current mode of body conditioning helping you to achieve your physical capacity goal(s) relative to your daily and recreational activities?
Can you confidently carry your bags of groceries from the trunk of your car to your kitchen countertop?
Are you able to lift and carry that bag of water softener salt down your basement stairs without a physical incident?
Can you confidently get up and down off the floor without any assistance?
Are you able to garden and do yard work without some type of joint and muscular pain?
How does your workout prepare your body for daily activities?
Many people do exercise on a regular basis. The most popular mode of exercise seems to be running/walking on a treadmill. It’s interesting that those that do this feel this is enough to prepare their body for anything they subject it to. This includes lifting, bending, reaching, twisting activities. In their mind being active in this way is enough to prevent their body from falling prey to some form of musculoskeletal pain. For those of you who do some form of consistent strength and conditioning program, I ask the question: “Does this program challenge your body in a way that transfers well into your daily activities? In these examples, you may notice a mismatch between the choice of exercises you are doing and your perception of what these exercises are doing to prepare you for your activities of daily living. This mismatch stems from the fact that most of us do not know how to use our bodies efficiently. Discover how to use your body better during daily activities here. Unlike most new high-tech equipment such as laptops, tablets, and desk top computers, the human body doesn’t come equipped with an instruction manual. You may be asking, “so what are we to do if we are not sure?” The answer to this inquiry is twofold:
First, it helpful to have some basic knowledge of how the human body is structurally and functionally designed and organized.
Second, it is beneficial to learn how to apply this knowledge so that you can challenge your body to move relatively better, and consistently within various changing environments.
In my next post I will elaborate on the structure and function of the human body as it applies to its daily use. My goal here is to provide simple perspectives regarding both the structure and function of the human body relative to helping you learn to move better.
In the meantime, spend some time thinking about the activities that you desire to achieve throughout your life without some form of injury. Next, ask yourself: “What is the best way to condition my body to achieve my movement goals?” If you currently have a conditioning program, ask yourself: “Is my current conditioning program helping me to achieve my movement goals?” If you don’t think it does; ask yourself: “How would I modify my existing conditioning program to satisfy these movement goals?”
Until next time.
