As you all know, The Ark is seeing a shift in its fitness programming. The WODs are focusing more on capacity workouts, breathing through our movements, and learning how to brace. This change is particularly important because it gives us athletes time to recover and reevaluate how we move.
How are we going to accomplish this? Using postural restoration and gymnastic style movements.
Postural restoration impacts our posture and corrects our body movements. Improper movements can be corrected by restoring proper breathing. This maximizes good posture, restores function, and decreases any muscular strain or pain. The results are better body stability, balance, and alignment, which helps prevent injuries.
Oftentimes the injuries we think we have, are not actual injuries at the site, but are collateral damage of some breathing dysfunction. The dysfunction stimulates the surrounding musculature to compensate. In addition, the tension and stress accumulated through workouts and everyday life can induce improper breathing patterns. Taking time to learn and become aware of how to breathe properly can alleviate this stress. It is recommended we focus on learning how to use the diaphragm, which is our primary breathing muscle. Using the diaphragm can help reduce the work of other muscles.
Gymnastics movements add on to this. They help develop coordination and body awareness. Since most exercises are done using body weight, they increase strength, balance, and flexibility. Additionally, learning how to properly move your body can be a powerful tool in injury prevention, as well as an asset in athletic performance. It is important to mention that because gymnastics is well rounded, it help improve performance in other sports.
It has been shown that gymnastics aid your cognitive abilities to recognize where your body is in space and how it moves so that you don’t force yourself into a position outside your range of motion, ROM. It also helps your posture, which allows the body to recognize imbalances and naturally re-align itself and it has been recognized as one of the best sports to develop balance. This will be especially important later on when we start moving on to the major lifts.
Enjoy these recovery weeks and take advantage of the movements so that you can effectively recognize how your body moves in order to be stronger and more prepared for the training that’s to come.