Think about when you were a kid. There was so much you could do, and you pretty much did it without thinking. We used to jump around, crawl, roll, run, and really just "play". As adults we really don't engage in those activities as much. Think about it. When was the last time you did these things for fun. Not just part of a workout?
Babies squat! Babies squat perfectly.
Without even thinking about it, they drop down, and are in perfect squat form. I try to get my clients to strive for this. I will always say "squat like a baby." This image is exactly why. Adults, as we get older move less and sit a lot more. This leads to muscles to kind of "fall asleep." More inactivity lead to your body not knowing how to move properly and leads to all sorts of compensation patterns. I cant even tell you how many times I've told clients to push their hips out and keep their chest up or lead with the hips and the knees will follow. So tip #1 SQUAT MORE.
Running has evolved from something you do as a kid on instinct while playing games like tag or sports to something adults do as a chore, slaving away on a treadmill. Kids run around everywhere. I watch my nephew and hes bouncing off the walls, running all over the place. On a visit to see them in Georgia, I spent a lot of time chasing him around the house. From one end : "race me uncle Chris!" to the other and back to the couch. Over and over again. No thinking, not forced into it, just playing. So tip #2 PLAY MORE.
What is the first thing we learn to do as kids? We learn to roll then crawl. We should crawl a lot more. I have my clients crawl a lot. Sometimes within a workout, sometimes just in terms of a warm-up, but crawling is great for mobility. As we age, we lose mobility, especially in the hips. We also lose the ability to support our own body weight, either because we get heavier or because we don't take part in exercises that require us to support our own weight.
There are many ways to crawl and many workout systems have popped up that are all about crawling. Like Animal Flow. Even just for mobility purposes alone, crawling is worth it. Tip #3 CRAWL. By the way, its a great core workout.
Kids jump on and off of everything. Couches, chairs, stairs, beds. They love to jump. Try telling a kid to not jump on something. Doesn't really work. They jump without fear. Kids also play hopscotch, jump rope, leap frog. All little kids games. I try to get clients to jump, broad jumps, box jumps, whatever. They have to size it up, stand there, think about it, and then finally do it. Then it comes down to teaching how to land properly. Landing softly is instinct for kids. Adults need to think about it.
Jump rope is even harder. We lose that coordination and skill for jumping rope when it used to be so natural. The first time I give a client a jump rope, its "oh i remember, i used to do this as a kid." Time to relearn!! So last tip; JUMP MORE.
There ya go, get out there and start acting and moving more like a kid. It'll do your body good.
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