BODY AWARENESS: WHERE DO YOU LINE UP?
TERRY ROACH, M.ED., REGISTERED KINESIOTHERAPIST, PRES. BODY STABILIZATION TRAINING, INC., Multi World and National Masters Track Cycling Champion
Are you aware of where you are in space? Take a moment to watch people around you. Most people are oblivious to how they move or where they are in space. We are disconnected from our bodies with little ability to isolate muscles individually. When one muscle contracts all of them contract, thus we lack body control.
By contracting all your muscles all of the time, you are wasting a lot of energy making yourself work harder. Learning to isolate muscle groups before you do work allows you to rest over used body parts and helps prevent injury to the joints.
Try contracting your bicep holding your arm up like the strongman pose. If you look at your fist and forearm, are they tightened and curled? Your brain thinks you have to tighten the forearm to contract your bicep. If I were to amputate your forearm, you would still be able to tighten your bicep. The same is true if you tighten your thigh muscles as you don’t need your lower legs to do the work for the thighs.
If you are aware that you are tightening a part of the body that does not need to be tightened, to perform whatever you have to do, then you have the opportunity to control where your power comes from. Noticing how your body reacts in situations and understanding how to isolate muscles will give you improved body control.