MoVeMenT

The M3 Model Continued...

This article is a part of a series of articles that explain the underlying concepts and ideas we’ll be tackling in this Check Engine Light Substack. We’re developing this overarching idea of building performance longevity or how we can do our very best for as long as possible. In order to accomplish this we need a reliable way to calibrate our perceptions against real indicators for both our acute performance as well as receive good information coming malfunctions for both body and mind.

To do this we use what we affectionately refer to as a performance longevity dashboard. Just like the dashboard in an automobile or a computer, our dashboard summarizes key information so we can more easily make decisions.

In order to more easily categorize the nearly infinite amount of indicators we could put on this dashboard we’ve bucketed them into the M3 Model which stand for MIND, MVMT, and MTTR each with its own appropriate indicators that can be applied to our model. In the last article (found HERE) we dove into the category of MIND.

I recommend you go back and check out that article for foundational information on the M3 Model. For the this article we’ll be exploring the category of MVMT (movement) and how we can become more sophisticated caretakers of the bodies in which we inhabit and not wait until the muffler falls off on the interstate before we take this thing in for service.

Finally, It Happened To Me

For most of us, we don’t stop to think about how well we’re moving around until something gets taken away. We nonchalantly flutter about until pain, injury, or loss of capacity suddenly get in the way. Of course by then we are paying the piper double. In the course of my long career as a massage therapist and strength coach many times athletes would arrive in my office and report to me that their issue had arrived “all of the sudden”.

But unlike a flash of lightning, it’s very rare that limitations in our movement happen in an instant. Of course there are moments of catastrophic injury that occur from traumatic impacts on the body but far more regularly we allow our available window of movement to shrink over time by simply being unaware of it in the first place. This is because the vast majority of human movement is executed under a Task Completion program.

Just Do It

Task Completion is exactly what it sounds like - accomplishing the task or series of tasks without any conscious input from us. For the most part that’s how it should be. The human body organizes itself according to the demands of the environment and the given attributes of our physical structure. This relationship allows us to save lots of energy by automatically acting out tasks where we need to. Drinking a cup of coffee and carrying your child out of a burning building require the same exact amount of biomechanical forethought - zero. There’s no proper angles or form checks in these situations. It is simply complete the tasks of getting your coffee to your mouth and pick the kid up and get out.

In large part, we move on auto-pilot. Your eyes are moving while you read this article. Are You moving them? No. They’re just doing it. Auto-pilot saves energy and allows us to allocate our attention elsewhere. That’s a great plan until you blow out your achilles playing pickleball and tell the doctor it “came out of nowhere”. Even though you haven’t drank a real glass of water, sprinted, or rapidly changed direction in two decades. But it definitely happened because that day you weren’t wearing your new pair of Pickleball 5000 sneakers; not at all because you fooled yourself about the true state of your physical abilities and limitations.

Human beings are master compensators and as such we’ll hobble around our issues for much longer than we need to. Why? Because the thermostat will just reset itself to the new normal of our ever shrinking capacity if that’s our only touch point with our own function. Our remarkable adaptive capacity for keeping on keeping on can in the long haul, bite us in the ass. The solution? Awareness through formal movement practices.

Normative Human

Unlike task completion, Formal Movement practices have given standards for human motion that allow us to compare our capacity for movement over time. These normative values provide insight into the ideal range of biomechanical function for how the human body can move. Just like heart rate and blood pressure have normative values for function. I.e., beats per minute and systolic/diastolic respectively. So too does the human body have definable values for ideal function in the way we move the body through space. It’s easy enough to Google the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ recommendations for any given joint range of motion across our entire skeletal structure.

These ranges are extrapolated further our into more broad ranges of motion and even combinations of ranges that comprise fundamental movement patterns like gait (walking, running, etc.), squatting (a position of rest at its root), and hanging (arms over your head). One of the core objectives of any structured physical practice should be to possess a set of movements by which you can keep a running tally of your ability to move efficiently and pain free.

Of course personality and taste will to some degree determine which systems and types of movements you may choose as your measuring stick. Some people like powerlifting, some people like yoga. I've found it's best to be agnostic in regards to which one and instead focus on using that particular path to serve me and not the other way around. Specifics regarding which system is best as well as the standards used are in a process of continuous learning and debate. One thing remains clear though, standards are necessary if we want to mitigate the effects of chaos on the bodies we inhabit.

Cultivating Motion

A brief bit of advice before we close. Regularly expose yourself to novel movement challenges. It’s easy for what was once a good measuring stick to obfuscate the reality of our abilities. Our own personal normal can become a far cry from ideal function because after all, the default setting for the body is to get it done.

Having a formal movement practice allows us to cultivate a better relationship with how well we are, in the most literal sense, moving through life. We can make good choices about how and when we give ourselves a bit more ease and nourishment and which times we push through discomfort. Clear benchmarks for movement keep us ahead of the curve by providing clear information about where it is we stand in the range of abilities necessary to fully express the human body. Not to mention regular, vigorous, and purposeful movement is as near a panacea as any medicine on Earth.

The data on movement capability and the correlation to all cause mortality is absurdly clear. Reductions in the ability to get up off the ground, grip strength, foot speed, etc. are all known leading indicators for demise. Many injuries have known correlate losses in movement capability that may be avoidable if properly attuned to. Don't wait until you're behind the curve to do something about it. Find a practice that works for you and carry it out with attention and consistency.

Thanks for reading,

Rob

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