Working from the inside, out including small intrinsic muscles with larger extrinsic muscles is a sure-fire way to condition your body to reveal a world of physical freedom that affects every aspect of your life. Then, pull your tailbone down to the floor, slightly arching your lower back (axial skeleton.) Pull your legs a little closer to your body (appendicular skeleton). Hips: Lie down on your back and make a figure 4 with your legs.You will immediately feel the stretch in your neck from the top of your shoulder all the way up to your ear/jaw. Then, pull your opposite shoulder away from your opposite ear (appendicular skeleton). Drop one ear to your shoulder (axial skeleton). Neck: Sitting on the floor with your ankles crossed, lengthen your spine as tall and straight as possible.And since it’s something you need to feel to understand and appreciate, here are two examples you can try: While we could go on and on breaking this down, we would only be exercising our minds and not our bodies. But, what’s cool is that you can coordinate the axial skeleton with your appendicular skeleton to create the most amazing stretch! These larger muscle groups are easily accessible and respond well to any form of weight or resistance training. Second is the appendicular skeleton which underlies the extremities and are fairly straightforward when it comes to strengthening. For some, pelvic floor fitness is also a vital component to axial spine health. So, to keep the muscles groups along the axial skeleton in tip-top shape, they benefit from strengthening the core and stretching the back and neck. Its stability (strength) and mobility (flexibility) are key to moving freely and without pain because the spine, from end-to-end, can either facilitate movement or prohibit it. (See illustration below.)įirst, let’s take the axial skeleton. ![]() And, taken together, they also create a visual structure that helps explain why and how Lastics is so different and effective. Taken together they can help build a sound strategy for better balance, overall. That’s like all our movement every day!Īs flexibility experts, we use the axial and appendicular skeletons as organizing principles because they provide a structural framework that nicely informs the relationship between stretch and strength, both conceptually and practically. But it also has additional layers when you consider that agility and mobility come from flexibility, power and stability come from strength and endurance and stamina come from the two working together. The answer is a balancing act between strength and flexibility, for sure. No, instead, we want to be strong and fast, and as efficient and agile as possible. ![]() ![]() Certainly, we don’t want to be tight and slow any more than we want to be loose and weak, especially since tight and weak are major causes for pain as well. The fitness industry, by-and-large, focuses on strength without due consideration to the fact that the more power you pack into a muscle, the tighter you make it. ![]() And, that is, they need to be loose to be fast, but they also need to be tight to be strong. But, there is a curious dichotomy in our muscles. With that in mind, we think a lot about the beauty of being able to be move freely and comfortably. It’s important to us because bodies feel their happiest in this Zen state, and if our bodies feel happy, it’s easier for us to feel happy too. That’s why everything we do at Lastics is about coming up with ways to help our bodies find the homeostasis they automatically seek 24/7. This is why we are big believers in giving the body the support it needs throughout its never-ending quest for equilibrium any way we can.īut that equilibrium is like a scale where aiming for center is conceptually complex and can be evasive in practice when you consider that it requires all of the biological, biochemical and mechanical systems to work together in harmony. If you view the human body as a remarkable machine (as we do), you appreciate the fact that our bodies are “programmed” to maintain balance, which is a concept core to the body’s ability to heal. Muscles Present A Curious Dichotomy That Can Inform Your Exercise Routine
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