Movement Econ: 101

Movement Economics is a way that we try to explain how we can take an athlete who is relatively pain free and improve their performance by addressing deficits they didn’t know existed.

Let’s start from the very beginning. From the day we are born, we have on us all the muscles, most of the bones and a vast majority of the neural components that we will use for the remainder of our life. Our physical potential is represented by this set point. From our very first breath our “movement bank account” is open and ready to be filled with “movement capital” so that our bodies can perform all of the movement that will come over our entire lives. Not only this but every possible variation of our total performance capability is being molded from this point in time (some might argue even earlier than your birthday!).

During the course our existence, the choices made regarding physical activity intensity, frequency and duration will impact the size of our movement bank account. Generally speaking, our accounts are pretty barren when we’re born but they’re open and ready to receive funds.

All movements cost money; everything from walking up the stairs to throwing a 92mph slider. The currency of the body is multifactorial. The basics include things like muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, bone density, neuromuscular control, agility, body awareness, etc. Another neat thing is that none of these factors is mutually exclusive. They are all interrelated but can be stimulated in their own special way. To make it even more interesting, each of these components has components of their own which can play a significant role in the expressed potential.

In the blog entries that follow we’ll get a little deepr into this concept and discuss some more examples and about how ‘Movement Economics’ play a role in our day-to-day as well as in the more finely tuned movement machines like the athletes we treat on a day-to-day basis.

Stay tuned and be well.

2011 Fall into Fitness Boot Camp: Begins September 12th!

When: Begins SEPTEMBER 12th through OCTOBER 19th
Mondays and Wednesdays: Sessions to begin promptly at 7AM and end on time at 8AM.

Where: The ‘Quad’ in front of the Carlyle Club
411 John Carlyle St
Alexandria, VA 22314

Season Pass Rate: $99 for 6 weeks: that's 12 total sessions for less than $9 per!
AND each Season Pass holder will recieve a FREE physical therapy screening from the doctors at SPARK

Drop in rate: $10 per class

60-minute, high energy and FUN exercise session

Led by SPARK Physical Therapist and Performance Enhancement Specialist:
Dr. Ashley Speights, PT, DPT, PES

Each participant must bring:
-yoga or stretching mat
-towel
-water
-a positive attitude and your best effort!

Exercise session to include: warm-up, flexibility training, full-body strengthening and toning exercises, targeted core strengthening exercises, cardiovascular conditioning and cool down.

$99 per participant for entire 6-week program

Registration closes soon so contact us today: amspeights@SPARKphysio.com