This post is sponsored by our partners at TheOptimal.me, dedicated to helping people optimize their fitness and functional movement as they age.
Remember when you could sit, walk, run and jump without a second thought? Nowadays, many of us can’t even reach into the cupboard to get food off the top shelf without pause: Will I be able to support this weight overhead? Will I lose my balance and fall? And even if you exercise or play sports, the movements probably don’t feel as effortless as they once did. In fact, you may find your movements are slower and more awkward than ever before.
These aren’t just symptoms of getting older — they’re the unfortunate side effects of living a life with too little movement.
You have to move to survive … and thrive
Back when humans first inhabited the earth, we had to walk, run, sprint and fight to survive. Today, we can get away with sitting for hours on end. We sit behind our desks at work, in our cars at the drive-thru, and on our couches at home. Our modern environments are built for convenience — at the expense of movement. That is a real problem.
No matter how much our lifestyles have changed over the centuries, one thing remains the same: Our bodies were built to move.
The movements your exercise routine might be missing
You may be thinking, I go to yoga class and walk my dog every day — isn’t that good enough?
Not quite.
While exercises like yoga, walking, strength training and Zumba classes are a key part of a healthy lifestyle, many exercises we do work our body parts in isolation, not as a coordinated, controlled integrated whole body workout — and lack the full spectrum of functional, everyday movements that ultimately keep us healthy and mobile for life. Remember, our bodies are made up of 600+ muscles and approximately 206 bones, each with a job to do, each connected to another, with no part moving or functioning in isolation.
In order to preserve balance, stability, strength and flexibility — all things that begin to slowly fade away from your 20s and continue to limit your mobility as you age — you have to go back to basics.
Meet integrated functional movement routines, the best fitness-for-life exercise available
Integrated functional movement routines is a name for a specially designed workout made up of a series of functional movement patterns that mimic the way we move in real life. By practicing these patterns, you’ll relearn how the puzzle pieces in your body (joints, tendons, muscles) all fit together, and build strength, stability, flexibility and balance to boot. Eventually, your movements in both life and sport will feel a lot easier once again.
The fact is, few of us are going to join the ballet or win an Olympic gold medal. But all of us want to make doing things easier and show up for life engaged and energized. We want to stand taller, move with confidence, reach without pulling a muscle, and live independently for the rest of our lives.
Integrated functional movement routines will not only keep your body moving for years to come but they’ll keep your brain sharp, too.
Sign up for TheOptimal.me FREE 21-day Integrated Functional Movement course
At a time when many of us are getting back to the basics in so many areas of our lives – eating less-processed foods and finding natural remedies to heal us, isn’t it time we return to the basics of movement?
TheOptimal.me offers an extensive collection of at-home Integrated (Functional) Movement Routines (IMRs), graded by fitness level and time. Every routine works your whole body to stretch and strengthen muscles, improve joint durability, and build better body alignment. You’ll feel a noticeable difference in the way you move and feel after just a couple of weeks.
Growing Bolder readers, we invite you to take advantage of our 30 Day Free Trial starting with the FREE 21 Day Course: First Steps to Physical Freedom. Go to TheOptimal.me and sign up to begin your journey to better movement today.
