In a perfect world, we would have all learned to move well when we were children and our daily lives would have kept us able to move well. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. So now we have to relearn how to move the way we were designed. And there’s something important to remember while we do it.Static before dynamic, and dynamic before ballistic. So what does that mean? If you can’t hold a position competently, you shouldn’t try to move through it. And if you can’t competently move through a position, then you should try to move quickly through a position.
I’m going to use the example of running. Running is a very complex motion and it’s extremely common for people who want to get in shape to just start running. However, most people aren’t physically ready to run. So the what’s the static phase of running. You should be able to stand on one leg without wobbling all other the place for 30 to 60 seconds.
Why? Because when you run you’re alternately jumping from one leg to the other and while your foot is on the ground, you are balancing on one leg. The muscles in you body need to be able to organize themselves well enough to be stable on one leg. If they’re not, you greatly increase your risk of injury.
Ok, so you can balance on one foot. Onto the dynamic. You should be able to do at least a half single leg squat. When you land running, your legs act as shock absorbers. They do this by basically doing a single leg squat. The more shock to absorb, the deeper you have to squat. If you’re not strong enough to handle this, your ligaments will have to make up the difference and you greatly increase your risk of injury.
Ok so ballistic. Now you’re ready to run. During the ballistic phase, you move from position to position with little time to reorganize your body. You can get away with moving to this phase while skipping the first two for a while, but eventually you will probably break. Tissues take time to adapt and so does learning the skill of running.
Movements are skills that have to be practiced with attention. Breaking a movement down into simpler movements so you can master the more complex movement makes the skill easier to learn and minimizes your risk of injuries!
