Have you heard the saying “use it or lose it?” – your muscular system is a perfect example.
Allow me to draw a comparison between our schooling and our muscular systems: Did you have to learn a second language in school that you no longer need? (Thank you Google translate!)
If you sat your way through schools and now continue to do so at work, you may fall into a painful trap when trying to become physically fit that no one warned you about.
You see, our ancestors once had to move vigorously to hunt, conquer and fight. Today, we might fight for a parking spot and sitting is enough for our survival. More than half of our fascinating body features have become unnecessary because a sedentary position requires only minimal muscle use.
If you forgot Spanish, just use Google. However, if you forgot how to engage your buttocks, say hello to low back tension. It could become a dangerous and slippery slope where tension turns into pain –> then injury –> then surgery –> then wearing diapers in a nursing home … Potentially not as dramatic if you can understand this:
Most workouts aim to engage all muscles, that’s the reason you exercise, right? BUT when you go from sitting all day to moving roughly 600 skeletal muscles and 300 joints that have been snoozing throughout the day, half of them have forgotten how to do their jobs. Imagine half of your body just dragging along causing the other half to work twice as hard. Eventually this imbalance creates tension that can pull bones out of alignment, and cause degeneration and nerve “pinching” which in turn, hurts.
Unfortunately, the lack of human anatomy in schools makes it hard for you to know what, where, and how to wake up properly. In addition, many instructors may not give enough attention to certain anatomical imbalances because they don’t have the same issues.
TIP: To master most of your workouts, foam roll the laziest muscles right BEFORE the workout until you feel warmth or see redness in those areas. !Attention! The areas I am talking about are not the ones that are already sore but rather the quiet ones like abs and the buttocks.
If you are not doing a full body workout but instead are just focusing on the upper body – I recommend also waking up your triceps and chest. For the lower body – calves and quads. If you do not have a foam roller, you can use your hands to rub and awaken the areas.
While majority of massage therapists aim to relax the body, OLEA bodyworkers focus on balancing it by releasing the overworked muscles and waking up the sleepy ones. If you don’t notice soreness in the gluteals or abs after your workouts, you may have a problem with the diaphragm – your breathing muscle. See one of our muscular specialists to address this issue to have more fulfilling workouts.