Cause number 4 – Poor Core Stability
Our bodies are set up as a series of alternation sections of mobile and stabile parts. The greater majority of Crossfit exercises involve flexion and extension of the hips. For this action to occur we rely on the spine to act as anchor for muscles like your psoas to contract and flex the hip by pulling on the femur or the quadratus lumborum to maintain stability in pelvis when transferring weight from one leg to the other. Without the stability within our core we change the distance origin and insertion points for all our muscles which ultimately prevent us from maintaining control over how joints are controlled during motion.
“Our potential is unlimited but needs to be controlled.”
Cause number 5 – Weight Changes Everything
As the saying goes: “If the bar ain’t bending, you just pretending.” The more you do, the more you ask your body to co-operate.
PR’s are an awesome reason to head to the gym each and everyday. That internal desire to perform a little better today than yesterday is vital to us becoming more “fit.” With that being said, the more we chase a movement variable goal (reps, times, max weight lifted, etc.) the more specific demand gets placed upon the body and the more specific we need to be with the action.
Movement is a cooperation between your brain and body. Yes, I know that the brain develops a pattern for how we move. Yes, I know that this pattern is largely dependent upon a balance between agonist and antagonist muscles (i.e. think back versus front, left versus right). What I can testify to knowing is that everything changes with load and fatigue. As soon as we put load on your back when you squat, whatever imbalances you have in smallest of muscles creep to the surface and alter how you move and how your brains asks you to generate force. This brings up TWO very important points:
- Movement cues are essential. Find good coaching. At some point in time you will need an extra set of eyes that lets you know when your external rotators aren’t firing and yells “KNEES OUT, HIPS BACK, CHEST UP, EYES UP!”
- Progression is a ramp, not a leap. Movement is learned and programmed pattern. Smaller incremental increases stress and trick the body less and allow it to adapt more efficiently.
If you love fitness and exercise, you don’t have to just stop doing it because you have aches and pains. There are alternatives. You may need a regression from what you are currently doing to allow your body a chance to rebuild stronger but completely stropping fitness all together is generally not a good choice.
