Movement is the key to any fitness training program. It will keep your trainees burning calories even when they aren’t working out. And here are a few benefits of this. It improves your metabolism. When you move more often, your metabolism will get a jumpstart, which helps your body burn more calories even when you’re not exercising. It promotes appetite control. You’re less likely to overeat and store fat if you have a healthy appetite. It improves your digestion. When you move more often, your digestion will improve as well, which means you’ll be able to break down food more efficiently and extract more nutrients.
It all starts with movement.
When I started my rehab company way back when I called it Healing Through Movement.
The reason why I called it that is that with movement, many injuries got better.
Below Tyler Bramlett takes it to a new level.
Enjoy the article.
Rick
It doesn’t matter if you are a world-class athlete, coach to the pros, or a weekend warrior. The one thing you share with everyone on the planet, whether you know it or not, is movement.
Without movement, people whither and die. Without movement, there would be no fitness industry. So it stands to reason that movement can be viewed as the granddaddy of everything within the vast spectrum of the field of fitness.
Ok. Before you ditch this page, say to yourself, “this guy’s crazy.” Give me one sec to convince you that your ability to move is the key to successful training. And if you agree with the following statement, keep reading because I will give you a few different methods you can use to move better, feel better and perform better.
Movement is the Key: Challenge yourself with weights and exercises
If you’re not challenging yourself with enough weight and different exercises, you won’t get stronger or gain more muscle mass. This is especially true if you’re training with a program that doesn’t incorporate progressive overload, which is the process of increasing the amount of stress on your body with each successive workout so your muscles can’t keep up and your body is forced to adapt and grow stronger. That’s why you shouldn’t fear lifting weights that are too heavy for you. It’s also why you should always start with the heaviest weight possible on each exercise and never try to “save yourself” by using lighter weight on each set. The last thing you want to do is lift the light stuff and then fail on the heavy set at the end.
Ask yourself this question. Who will get better results?
PERSON – A) They approached the squat feeling tight and restricted throughout their hips and ankles. They don’t feel very coordinated, and when asked what muscles they use, they have no idea.
OR…
PERSON – B) They gracefully approach the squat with full confidence that they have total control over their body. They are flexible but strong, coordinated, and can feel every muscle in their body working correctly.
Ok, so it’s obvious who will get better results.
But how do you go about achieving better movement?
First things first, you don’t need to switch your exercise program to get better results, and you don’t need to work harder than you already are. There are three components to better movement; each involves how well you can control your body.
Inability to Contract Muscles
The major downfall that prevents most people from improving their movement is their inability to contract their muscles maximally, their lack of access to a complete range of motion, and seemingly non-existent coordination.
I see this over and over again at the gym. Observing the same people mindlessly going from one exercise to the other with ZERO muscle control and awareness. They perform the same routine for months and years and still look the same.
Many of my clients proudly tell me they are in tip-top shape and have been training for years in the gym, but all agree something is missing. They are frustrated and don’t feel like getting the most out of their workouts.
What’s missing is better movement. Below, I will explain the 3 Ways To Improve Movement And Maximize Your Results.
1. Generate Maximum Contraction
The problem is that you don’t spend enough time focusing on the muscles that should be firing and essentially miss out on the connection your body lacks.
On average, people only have access to roughly 15% of their full muscle strength potential. At the same time, research has shown that world-class athletes use roughly 30-50% of their available muscle strength.
So what’s the game changer here?
The better connection you have with your body, the better muscle activation you’ll acquire by recruiting the proper muscles throughout your workout.
The harder you contract and control your muscles, the greater physical performance you can achieve.
2. Flexibility and Range of Motion
Flexibility is a common challenge for people. A lack thereof or being hypermobile creates issues with the inability to activate their muscles properly.
Being flexible is great but, in reality, is worthless if you can’t generate tension (muscle control) throughout a movement’s full range of motion.
The ability to move through exercises with a full range of motion while engaging and firing your muscles increases your potential to maximize your workouts.
3. Your Coordination
The above two highlighted points are useless if you cannot coordinate your body around a given movement. Your ability to transition from one movement to the next with perfect form is one of the unique keys few people practice.
This happens in real-life day-to-day activities. Think about how much you subconsciously move in and out of positions daily.
When you access your full muscle activation potential, with controlled movements, through a full range of motion, you will be maximizing your results as movement is the key.
However, obtaining these three unique components doesn’t require countless hours of exercising or time figuring it out. You can increase your physical potential by following a short 2-3 minute Metabolic Ignition Sequence.
What Does Movement Have To Do With Fat Loss?
If you want to help your trainees lose fat and make as the movement is the key, you must get them moving as much as possible, which will help them burn more calories. Exercises that force your body to move both your upper and lower body are particularly beneficial.
What is a Metabolic Ignition Sequence?
Simply put, this is a series, or flow if you will, of movements designed to teach you better movement as the key. If you can imagine a hybrid of advanced mobility, powerful yoga, and martial arts, then you will have a small idea of what one of these sequences looks like.
These Metabolic Ignition Sequences may sound easy but are surprisingly intense.
They are designed to address the three components above in the shortest time possible so you can get better results from your workouts.
Why should you care about learning to move better by using short bodyweight movement sequences?
Studies published in the Journal of Sports Science have proven that following a short sequence of exercises just like the ones in Bodyweight Flow using the MIS system has been found to:
- *Increase oxygen uptake and your Fat Burning Potential during high-intensity workouts by 21.4%
- *Increase upper body strength by 32%
- *Increase flexibility by 7%
- *Increase speed/agility by 2.5%
All without changing any part of the workout itself!!
The bottom line is that you now know three things are preventing you from maximizing your time working out. You have the potential to unlock your physical performance and enhance your workouts by building a stronger connection to your muscles, increasing your functional range of motion, and building massive coordination!
If you want to improve your movement, check out the program Sylvia Favela and I created called Bodyweight Flow.
Tyler Bramlett
