Movement Literacy

Everyone that comes to the practice has their movement assessed. Whether you’re training for the New York Marathon or still trying to figure out where to start on your fitness path, your ability to move says a lot about you. This is part of assessing your movement literacy, your ability to complete basic movements in a controlled way.

It is an idea that is gaining popularity among therapists and trainers as we move toward building resilience and improving performance. Just like numeracy and literacy, your movement literacy is not predetermined and can be improved with practice and will suffer without practice and bad habits.

Your body is the most advanced piece of machinery you will ever have the privilege of using. USE IT! Test it! You’ve got a Ferrari and you’re driving it like a golf buggy.

With school holidays coming up I’ve been scouring the net for kids activities that will build movement literacy. Gymnastics, rock-climbing, high-ropes courses, parkour groups. There are tons of great ideas for kids. But what about the adults?

Everyone that comes to the practice is given a series of specific movement correctives to help improve their movement literacy. The problem is, and I’m the first to admit it, these can be dry and boring, even if they are effective. Being able to view your environment as a potential play ground is a really great way of improving your movement. Turn the mundane into the extraordinary.

The gurus of this are skaters and parkour free runners, who effectively transform the urban environment into a massive playground.Now, not everyone needs to get out and start doing nose-side grinds past the GPO in Martin Place, or pop-vaulting the cenotaph…

Just use your body in unusual ways. If you’re already into training, mix it up, try something new. As a rule of thumb, if you find it a challenge, you probably need more of it in your routine.

A few ideas….

In the gym look for ViPRs, Sledge hammers, sand bags, and other multi-planar resistance training.

At home, try getting down to the floor and back up again without using your hands or knees. For every limb that touches the floor you loose a point. See how you do.

Out and about, get off road, go bush, hit the rock shelf at your local beach, play with kids, crawl, scramble, climb, jump, pull, throw, balance, pounce. You may feel tight, off balance, uncoordinated, that’s OK. If you keep it up, you’ll get better.

Your body is the most advanced piece of machinery you will ever have the privilege of using. USE IT! Test it! You’ve got a Ferrari and you’re driving it like a golf buggy.

Bottom line, the human body is animated, it thrives on movement, it needs movement. Move it!