Here’s a common exercise question, followed by a helpful explanation.
“Why do you sometimes have us twist our bodies while we’re also moving forward? Or lift our arms in front while lunging to the side?”
You see, fitness isn’t just about doing one thing at a time, like lifting a weight now and then running ahead in a straight line later.
It’s about understanding how your body moves to improve and protect it.
So, rather than think about moving just one way at a time, pay attention to how you actually move.
Sometimes straight ahead, sometimes side to side… sometimes twisting, looking back… and combining more than one of these movements without realizing it.
Your body is amazing! It wants to move. And it wants to move in all directions all the time. That’s a key component of functional fitness, the three planes of movement in the gym and in life.
First, think about how you move frontward, backward, or up and down in a straight line – like walking or running. That’s one plane of movement.
Common exercises to strengthen your abilities in this plane include squats, which require moving up and down and engaging leg muscles and the core, and lunges, which also develop balance and coordination.
Next, notice side-to-side movements, like moving at the baseline while playing tennis or stepping over something in your path.
Exercises here include lateral lunges, which involve stepping to the side and targeting the inner and outer thighs, glutes, and hips, and jumping jacks, which use multiple muscle groups.
Finally, notice how you rotate (or, maybe, how you DON’T rotate as well as you’d like). Can you turn around easily? Put away groceries – or swing a bat or golf club?
Exercises include Russian twists, core exercises that involve rotating your torso from side to side to engage the oblique muscles, and cable woodchops, which mimic chopping wood to strengthen the obliques, shoulders, and hips.
Add Them Together
Now, here’s where it gets great. A solid fitness routine will incorporate multi-planar movements, which go through at least two planes of movement. Consider bending down to scoop up a toddler or lunging to make a tennis shot.
A typical example of a multi-planar exercise is the lunge with a twist. You start at a standing position, step forward to perform a lunge, and twist your body in one direction at the bottom; then twist back to center and press up to the starting position.
This is a more natural way to move like you do when shopping, gardening, or playing Pickleball. You’re this way, that way, and all around. By working on your strength, stamina, and agility with us regularly, you’ll improve your functional fitness, muscle development, balance, and more.
So, let’s mix it up! We are here to help in any way you need—forward/back, side to side or rotational.
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