The developmental sequence constitutes a journey we have all taken. Many of us may need to take it again (more on this later). In today’s message I’m going to focus on the physical development sequence common to humans. This is represented by the motor programs, positions, and movement patterns that infants utilize to progress from a fetal position to independent ambulation (walking).
You might be wondering why we’re talking about such basic and fundamental processes when much of our content at TLA is all about high-level athletic capacities. It’s because of the Reaper. Mr. Grim Reaper, that is. He gets us all in the end but he preys upon those who let their basic movement competencies erode away. The stiff, frail, weak, and fragile critter becomes easier for the Reaper to take down. And he goes for them.
If we’re inclined to use evolutionarily-consistent thinking, the developmental sequence variants form the foundation of our more complex functional and athletic existence. I often talk about the goal of being a MOVEMENTSMITH, one who owns every position and who has mastery of motion in every direction. All of this stems from the developmental sequence. Going from a fetal position to prone (on your stomach), lifting your head up, rolling onto your back, sitting up, crawling, creeping, kneeling, standing up, and walking. Keeping these and related positions/movements intact in your organism, or in ye ole athletic toolbox, is essential.
Our modern world involves a lot of sitting. Think of the commonalities of the sitting position regarding chairs, couches, park benches, restaurants, autos, planes, trains, boats…even many exercise machines. The combined impact of all those examples is a case of “too much of a thing.” And in this case the thing is sitting and we don’t really have to worry if it is a good thing or a bad thing. Doesn’t matter. It’s the dose that makes the poison. A moderate amount of sitting (variable per person) is fine for the human body. The Beast is versatile and durable. But if we primarily or exclusively sit in those similar positions all the time, for years and decades, two things happen. One, our bodies “mold” to this position and we experience a unique combination of shortening and stiffening along with lengthening and weakening across multiple muscles and joints. Second, we gradually lose the ability to get up and down off the floor and use those previously mentioned positions. This isn’t really due to aging. It’s known as disuse atrophy. That which is not frequently utilized or stimulated gradually fades away. In this case our actions dictate our capabilities. A perfect example of “use it or lose it.”
Obviously, the people we worry about most in this consideration are the elderly. Two more facts here. Many, but certainly not all, people in their 70’s and 80’s have lost almost all their developmental sequence abilities. They can fall into a chair, and then use an assist to get upright and stagger a few steps. And a lot of these people have been in the same sitting intensive lifestyle since their 30’s and 40’s. It takes 3-4 decades of neglect in many cases for those MOVEMENTSMITH properties to decay.
You might be thinking that those are only the concerns of old, sedentary people. But I’ve known a lot of people who were middle-aged regular gym-goers. Yet when they were asked to go through those down/up sequences, they struggled mightily. Many were surprised and frustrated because they didn’t realize they were losing these properties. And they all felt and performed better when we (in almost all cases) easily tuned them back up.
There’s a saying about fitness that goes something like this: “The best way to get in shape is to never get out of shape.” Consequently, it behooves every Lifetime Athlete to practice these patterns. Sure, get your 5,000-15,000 steps in every day (General Daily Activity). And hit your workouts regularly (Train for LIFE). But also make it a point to do the following 4 things every day.
- Spend less time sitting. It’s not necessary to try to totally eliminate sitting. It’s actually a good resting and working position, but let’s all admit that we would be better off sitting less in general. Accept the realities of travel but do what you can at work and home to find your ideal, and probably lower, level of daily sitting.
- Make it a daily habit to test and explore the ease with which you can get down on the floor (with and without your hands), roll to each side, sit in cross-legged and oblique positions, and ascend from half-kneeling using either leg. Spend a few (or many) minutes doing applicable tasks (including reading or watching TV) in these positions.
- Use a wide variety of positions and movement patterns in your training, not just standing upright or using seated machines. Those are fine where they shine, but perform exercises on the floor in prone, supine, sidelying, quadruped, tall kneeling, and half-kneeling positions. Make some of your work unilateral and incorporate rotation as well as whole-body triplanar motion, change of direction, varying speeds, and isometric holds. Keep checking that you are competent and comfortable with all these spatial arrangements. Experiment with a little gymnastics and tumbling at an elementary level. But always keep it safe and never work into or through pain. Have fun, play, and compete.
- Share this wisdom with those around you. This includes just about everyone. Those who are “chair-bound” will be relieved to know that there is hope. Developmental sequence patterns are in their motor memory and can be restored. And just as important, there are many regular exercisers who have good aerobic fitness and blood work but who could really benefit from a tuneup.
The developmental sequence is indeed a journey we have all taken. And it’s one that we should continue to take…for LIFE!