Pete RohlederWelcome to the very first episode of More to Movement!
I am your host, Pete Rohleder, and I’m very excited to be here to talk to you about all things Movement!
Let me start by asking you a question-
Have you ever hit a plateau with your fitness or performance goals? You’re working hard, but things just aren’t coming along. Or do any of you have constant aches, pains, or discomfort that hinder you from training, or even doing daily activities?
All of that was me, and then some. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get past the obstacles that were holding me back, whether it was in my training or my persistent injuries. I was a highly-recruited athlete, but my struggles with injuries and pain ultimately cut my career short.
My first knee surgery was when I was 13- and I persisted in having one almost every year and a half for the next 12 years-all on my right knee. I never understood why I was plagued with so many injuries when I worked so hard. I carried that question for years and became obsessed with finding answers.
Eight surgeries, two Exercise Science and Human Performance degrees, and seventeen years of experience in the field helped me find not only the reasons but the solutions to the problems. And I am going to share these solutions with you.
Though many things can contribute to fitness plateaus, aches, pains, and injuries, so many times, we neglect and dismiss the most prominent contributor- and that is our movement.
Yep- it’s that simple. The way we move. If it’s that simple, why don’t we all just fix it?
Because we don’t know how to move, and more specifically, we don’t know how to move the right way. That’s not to say everyone’s movement is complete trash, but most of our movements are habitual that come from a subconscious and reactionary response to life. Meaning, we are not fully aware of how we move. That’s what happened to me. I was working hard, but I wasn’t working hard the right way- I was reinforcing poor movements that just contributed to the problem. I had the best of intentions, but accidentally, I was training the wrong way, which inevitably set me up for failure.
Let’s take the Squat as an example. It’s universally used to develop strength, but is the Squat a “one-size-fits-all” exercise?
Sure, to Squat, we all dorsiflex our ankles, flex our knees, hips, and trunk to descend- but that’s as far as the similarities go. Everything from neuromuscular development and control, limb lengths, postural control, bilateral discrepancies, stance, load placement, squat style, and muscle imbalance (just to name a few) can significantly impact the outcome of our efforts.
So based on this, squatting just to squat may or may not yield the results we want. Of course, you’ll get something out of it, but are we optimizing our efforts? If we are not optimizing our movement quality, we may not be developing to our fullest potential. Further, we may even be pushing ourselves closer to injury, or chronic aches and pains.
Knowing how to do exercises is one thing. Understanding movement and the interdependent systems that optimize quality and efficiency within those exercises is another.
That’s why I’m here- to breakdown the science behind movement so that it’s easy to understand. Moreover, I’m here to provide you with tangible takeaways so you can apply the knowledge the right way so you can avoid preventable issues and achieve the results you want.
All this info is out there, so I am not proposing anything completely groundbreaking, but what I am offering is my unique perspective and years of experience to help these concepts resonate with you so that you can infuse them into your life.
With my clients or students, I always stress my approach: move with purpose and move as optimally as possible.
There are so many components that can impede our goal of optimal movement, and that’s one of the reasons I started this podcast- to address and provide easy fixes for these issues.
So, you may be asking, why does this matter, Pete?
Here’s why: if you can determine the sources that disrupt your movement, you will have better corrective strategies, higher quality of life, and quicker results.
Let me expand a bit with three points.
- If you want to make the best possible improvements, regardless of what potential physical issues interrupt your progress, KNOW MORE. Know what to do, how to do it, and why you should. The more you know, the more you can take control and improve.
- You’re limited by what you know. I know how to change a car battery and put gas in the car. It would be a guessing game if I tried to replace an alternator or oil pump seal, and ultimately would be a waste of time, effort, and money. Now think about specific goals you have- do you know the best ways to achieve them?
- For the professionals reading this, you can help more people. If you understand how the body works, you can expand your services and help more people with an array of movement discrepancies. This increases your professionalism and allows you to offer a practical, unique approach for each client, especially in a time of information overload and confusion for health and fitness.
So who can benefit from this? Who is should listen to this podcast?
Anybody hungry for the “why” behind what they do. I’m talking to you DIY Fitness goers out there who want to take charge of their lives and appreciate and educated approach to health, fitness, and movement.
This is for anybody who wants to be proactive and learn to address issues before they become injuries or hindrances to performance. You can be a beginner, a seasoned lifter, or parents of athletes young and old- you all can benefit from this approach.
Anyone willing to invest in understanding and improving their health fitness the right way.
Anyone ready to take on the challenging journey of self-improvement.
And of course, professionals who want to improve their professionalism and offer their patients or clients more.
The focus of the podcast will have several components:
Because we must crawl before we can walk, I will spend time on basic, foundational principles of the science of movement to help lay the foundation of these strategies.
I will spend time on higher-level, advanced concepts that will enhance and optimize performance.
Further, I will discuss corrective movement strategies to help you move better and get more out of your efforts.
In general, I’ll discuss methods on how to take ownership of your health and fitness, and add purpose to your training- including exercises, nutrition, mindsets, and resources for self-development.
So what leads to this? What’s the problem? Why do I think it’s necessary to address this?
I’ve mentioned earlier how our habits influence our movement, and I will address that at length in future episodes.
But this is important for several other reasons-
First- The “State of Movement” in America is on a significant decline. There’s a lot to blame, but for sure, the sedentary lifestyle is heavily influenced by improvements in technology and increases in automation.
- 39.8% of US adults 20 years and older are obese, with 71.6% being overweight (including obese)[1].
- 77% of adult Americans do not get the recommended amounts of exercise each week, which could lead to years of health problems[2].
- Musculoskeletal pain is much more common now than it was 40 years ago, specifically with 80% of adults being affected by low-back pain [3].
The list goes on, but you get the picture. It’s incredible to me that in today’s boom of health and fitness media and technology, we as a society are unhealthier than ever. And just think, all these things could improve significantly with movement.
This leads to the second reason I believe this podcast is important- our mindset.
It’s no secret that many have a warped attitude and mindset of instant results, and indifference regarding health, fitness, and exercise. “It is what it is, right?” Of course not. It is what you decide to make it.
That’s the problem- everybody wants the “what”; the workout plan, or the diet, for example, without considering the “why” or “how” behind it. The latest trending Pinterest “best workout to lose 5 pounds” may be fun, but without knowing how to apply that program to fit your unique body, movement, and physiology, it may be all for not. I’m not knocking Pinterest workouts; I’m knocking the notion that optimal results come from simply following a list. There’s more to it.
Though I’m one voice, if I can educate, inform, and inspire even just one person to embrace a lifestyle based in movement, then my efforts are worth it.
There’s so much truth in the saying, “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.” When you take time to learn and understand something, you can apply it the best way to benefit YOU. This leads to ownership; when you own something, you tend to invest in it. I think of this adage: “give someone a fish, and they will eat for a day; teach someone to fish, they will eat for a lifetime.”
And that’s the purpose here. If you understand movement, you can modify, adapt, or change your methods of training to better suit you and your unique body, which will lead to better and lasting results throughout your life.
What are the takeaways from this discussion?
1. Work on something I call your “Movement Mindset.”
It is a mindset in which you work to view obstacles differently: as a means of growth. Where others quit and submit to discomfort, you choose to be motivated by it and find a way to overcome it. Simply, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. The same goes for health, fitness, or movement improvement.
At 25, I was told by my surgeon that I would qualify for a knee replacement. He aged my knee at approximately 89-years old. I embraced this movement mindset, worked on my discrepancies, and refused to resign to a sedentary lifestyle. If you saw how I trained now, you’d never know how many issues and injuries I’ve had. That’s the beauty of understanding movement. Sure, I still have my aches, pains, and issues I deal with, but it’s not stopping me.
2. Become mindful of your movement habits.
Work to become aware of what you do or don’t do every day. Ask yourself, what do you do most of the day? Do you sit? Do you stand? Do you avoid movement? Think about it, and put it down in your journal or your Notes App, and date it, so you can revisit this in the future to see how you’ve changed. This self-reflection starts the process of creating a movement mindset.
3. Determine your balances and imbalances in movement.
This can be a pretty advanced topic, and I have future episodes in which we will learn how to dig-in to find movement and musculoskeletal imbalances. But you can start right away- just by being aware of your body. For example, do you use one hand, or one leg, or one side of your body more than the other? Do you put your bag on one shoulder and not the other? Do you have aches or pains that prevent you from moving a certain way?
Like early, write these issues down as well, so that you can begin to address them as we talk about different movement discrepancies and corrective strategies.
4. Be proactive about your Movement Mindset.
It’s one thing to recognize areas of improvement, but it’s another to start taking steps. I’ll expand on this in the future, but for now, ask yourself, “How can I add movement to your life? What little things can I change to start moving more?” Don’t fool yourself and think that little things won’t matter. Will it really matter if I take one flight of stairs up to work? Will standing a few minutes during my break make an impact? Will taking five extra minutes to add some stretches to the end of my workout make a difference?
YES! It’s about creating awareness and habits around movement. And how are habits formed? Repetition. The more you move, even in little ways, the more the habit is reinforced, and you can build on that.
That’s why I’m here, and this is where we are headed. Optimal results don’t just come from hard work; they come from focused, efficient, and intentional hard work. Let’s add purpose to our movement.
Thanks so much for listening to my very first podcast episode. Your time is valuable, but you’ve chosen to spend some of that with me. I truly appreciate it.
As we’ve discussed, we need a solid foundation to understand how to improve our movement, so next time, I will be discussing some Principles of Movement. Specifically, I will talk about movement patterns: what they are, and how they directly enhance or hinder our results.
I hope to see you next time!
Thanks again and remember-where ever you are: keep moving.
[1] Adult Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html [2] Molina, B., & Price, L. (2018, June 28). Only 23% of U.S. adults are getting enough exercise, CDC report says. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/28/cdc-report-only-23-americans-get-enough-exercise/741433002/[3] Clark, M., Lucett, S., & Sutton, B. G. (2014). Nasm essentials of corrective exercise training. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pete Rohleder
