Advancements in technology over the last decades have brought huge benefits to us, but unfortunately, there are some downsides too. One of them is the lack of daily movement. Nowadays we can have everything we need without moving at all. We don’t need to go to the bank, we can get food delivered, we don’t need to walk from the couch to the tv to switch the channel, etc. With such sedentary behaviors, we tend to lose flexibility and strength, and develop aches and pains in our muscles and joints.
It’s rare now to have someone coming to the gym without some sort of achy joint. Considering the “new normal”, the NASM - National Academy of Sports Medicine - created the concept of the Corrective Exercise Continuum.
We really like that approach, we have been using it for years and have had great results with it. The continuum is as follows: Inhibit - Lengthen - Activate - Integrate.
1) Inhibit = Tight muscles, or muscle spasms, can alter the ideal length-tension and force-couple relationships in our muscles, leading to poor joint movements. In other words, muscles can get too tight and overactive, while others get weaker and underactive. So the goal of this step is to loosen-up muscles that are overly tight. For this we use foam rollers, lacrosse balls, massage guns, etc.
2) Lengthen = Although stretching doesn’t make the muscles “longer” nor acutely decrease the risk of injuries, it increases the joints’ range of motion, thus allowing us to move better, with less restrictions, more fluidity. We accomplish this step with different types of stretching.
3) Activate = The goal here is to enhance intramuscular coordination of specific muscles - the weaker or uncoordinated ones - to prevent overcompensation of synergistic muscles. For example, when we squat, we want to make sure that the glutes and hamstrings work too, not just the quads. When we raise our arms overhead, we need the serratus anterior and the lower trapezius doing their job. Single joint exercises, with moderate loads are key here.
4) Integrate = If we had to do only one of the steps, this would be the one. Here the goal is to improve the intermuscular coordination while performing functional movements. In other words, engage the correct muscles, move with full ranges of motion, while performing exercises that resemble day to day activities, so that we’re better able to move our bodies at home, during our work, hiking, playing sports, etc.
There is no “one size fits all'' in training. This approach should be guided towards the needs and goals of everyone individually, of course, but it’s a great way to get people to move better, get stronger, more flexible, pain free and ready to deal with the physical challenges that life throws at us. Willian Alba
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