All those flashy jumping and dynamic movements are a lot of fun to watch and make us feel good to pull off. But if you haven’t spent time working on your movements slowly, you could be missing some issues in your range of motion!https://youtu.be/tUHU8D2LEIk
Why You Need Slow Movement
You see, momentum allows us to use a range of motion even if we don’t have good control through that range of motion. It covers up problem areas in our movement pattern. Its true momentum can improve our movement efficiency. But it can also make our movement efficiency worse.
Our brains contain a map of our bodies and of our bodies range of motion. They use this map to coordinate our movement patterns. When you move very slowly you can find holes in these maps. The example I use in the video is slow hip circles from the hand knee position.
When you perform these hip circles slowly, it’s likely you’ll find areas of movement that feel tight or sticky or areas that feel jerky as you move through them.
These are areas where your brain doesn’t have a good map of your range of motion. By moving through these areas slowly, you can better build that map. The problem with these map gaps is that your body will either move less efficiently through these gaps or around them.
So movement gaps increase your risk of injury and also lower your movement efficiency. It’s important to fill these gaps in with slow movement practice so that you can move onto more complex movements with a solid foundation!
