Pete RohlederWhat’s up, movers!
Today is Part 6 of the Mobilize and Move series. This is the last episode of this series dedicated to going through each phase of the P.U.M.M.P. Process to enhance mobility, so you have a good grasp on the content and can apply it appropriately to your fit your needs.
Let’s recap:
“P” stands for Proper Position,
“U” stands for Undo Hypertonic and Shortened Tissue,
The first “M” stands for Mitigate Joint Capsule Restriction,
And the second “M” stands for Muscle Activation, where we chatted about increasing neural drive to muscles that have stopped engaging correctly due to the tissue imbalances in the body.
This last phase brings everything together, and if it’s neglected, you really limit your improvement potential.
Let me go back to this series’s first episode and bring to mind a quote I shared with you.
It was Peter Drucker’s quote, and it goes, “Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.” I take it a step further. If you are effective and efficient, you’re moving mountains.
As I said, it’s about purpose. Having an idea of what you are trying to accomplish, doing it correctly and appropriately, and taking advantage of the physiological responses can make all the difference in your mobilization efforts. It means attention to details and doing the small things that may not seem as fun or dynamic. That’s what separates the people who have some improvement and those that blow the roof off.
The final “P” of the P.U.M.M.P. Process stands for Pattern Reinforcement.
And this is more than just doing a good squat 100 times to make sure it feels good. It goes beyond that. It’s about a mind-body connection that enhances your movement by drawing attention to the things you need to do to move better.
The best place to start is with motor programs.
I talked about motor programs in episode #14, but it’s worth a quick recap to help us understand this last phase.
If you recall, a motor program is an abstract representation of a movement plan, stored in memory that contains all motor commands required to carry out an intended action.
Our experiences influence motor programs. When we move, we all have experiences that pertain to that movement and direct our decisions. The more complex the task, the more time is needed to organize and execute the motor plan. However, the more the motor program is used or practiced, the easier it becomes to employ.
Think of a new movement you are trying to perform or one you are trying to correct. A movement pattern must be reinforced if you want to improve it. Further, we must be conscious of our efforts, or we may end up with old habits.
Our body’s state influences our patterns, and we’ve already addressed that with the P.U.M. and M phases. Now, it’s time to bring it all together and make the most of those efforts by consciously moving with the intent to reinforce good, solid patterns.
Unfortunately, I see the ball dropped here all the time.
It’s like taking the time to prepare a cake. You get all the ingredients; you measure them all out, add them in with the appropriate amounts, mix it to the right consistency, prep the pan, but then decide not to cook it. Sure, the batter may smell nice, but you’ll never know how it all came together unless you bake it. Once it’s baked, you can eat it and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
With our context, the fruit of our labor is improved movement, better results, and fewer aches, pains, and injuries!!
Remember, the more a motor program is used, the more refined it becomes, and the more natural it feels. If we brace our movements, and our restricted tissue is released, and our joints have balanced positions, and our underactive tissue is engaged again, then we can capitalize on this ideal environment and create better habitual movement patterns that can send our improvements through the roof.
However, if a movement is performed incorrectly with poor form and quality, then all that effort to improve mobility was all for not. Yeah, you’ll feel better, but the patterns won’t change. I wish I could tell you that you released some tissue once, and bam! everything fixes itself and, you never have to think of it again.
I started this whole thing by talking about how our body’s state is fluid and changes daily. That’s why addressing movement every day and evaluating your body’s state is essential because it changes so frequently. That includes our time in the gym. That doesn’t mean we have to over-analyze every step you take, but you should have a purpose with your movements. Every rep tells you something, and we should be tuned in to what our body is saying. That’s how we improve.
So, let’s talk about some ways to enhance our conscious movement and reinforce patterns. These strategies fall into two categories: implicit strategies and explicit strategies. These strategies are all about creating or reinforcing a mental template of how the movement should look and feel.
Implicit strategies focus inward, and the cue comes from your mind-body connection. They are all about how it feels and usually tend to be more specific or focused on an area of the body. It’s best to start with this strategy because research indicates that this method leads to higher long-term learning and retention rates.
Explicit strategies focus outward, and cues to the movement come from something or someone outside the body. These strategies still focus on how the movement feels, but the feedback is provided from an outside source that modifies the way the movement looks.
Let me give you some takeaways today that you can start using immediately. I’ll give you two implicit and two explicit strategies.
Implicit Strategies
#1: The first is called Attentional Focus Manipulations. This takes advantage of the mind-body connection.
Tell your quad to contract. Don’t get up or walk- just tell your quad to tighten.
You probably did it, no sweat. However, it’s a lot harder to do when you have multiple things to focus on, especially during a lift. If you know you have some imbalances, use this strategy to reinforce the activation of that tissue.
Here are a couple of examples.
- After you have dropped down into a squat, focusing on glute activation or telling yourself to “squeeze your glutes” as you rise up;
- Reminding yourself to keep your shoulders back and aligned with your ears as you sit in a chair, and;
- Going back to the “P” of the P.U.M.M.P. Process, focusing on a braced core or “tight tummy” as you lift
#2: The next one is called Proprioception Awareness.
If you recall, proprioceptors are mechanosensory neurons that provide feedback regarding movement and position of the body. One way to reinforce good patterns is to make sure our proprioceptors relay the appropriate message about our movement. We can do that by removing the visual system that provides a significant amount of feedback about our environment and our movement.
Here’s one of my favorites.
It’s best to have someone watch you and provide feedback, but if you don’t, just record yourself. I’d start with this unloaded and progress from there.
First, pick a movement, move to the position you want to achieve, and then return to the start. Next, perform that movement again for several reps, with your eyes closed. The goal is not to complete them with your eyes closed. The goal is to move to the same position on every rep.
For example, do a bodyweight or air squat. Pick a depth- one that will be challenging. Not all the way down or all the up, but somewhere in the middle. Watch yourself do it. Then, close your eyes, move slowly to the position, and return. Keep the eyes closed, move the feet a bit, then reset and do it again. Now, how many times did you get your feet placement right? How many times did you reach the target position?
This is a great drill to reinforce accurate proprioceptor feedback. Once your movement is consistent, you’ll be able to focus on other details of your movement.
Explicit Strategies
#1: The first is called Demonstration. It’s simple but very effective.
Many of us can mimic and learn by watch others. If there is a movement we are trying to improve, watch someone perform that movement. Even better is someone talking you through the movement, providing verbal cues. Those play into as well. Someone telling you how to improve the movement can have significant impacts.
For example, hearing the verbal cue to “look straight ahead as you squat” can trigger a response to fix your head position, which in turn kicks on the attentional focus method. Getting that outside perspective can help because they can catch things you are not aware of.
Slower is better, so try to find someone, whether in person or on YouTube or Instagram, that not only is doing the movement but explaining how to perform it.
Let’s be real for a second. There are thousands of people posting themselves working out. It’s awesome! I mean it. They are proud of what they are doing and are celebrating a healthy lifestyle.
Rock on.
But that doesn’t mean they are performing it correctly or have insight into how you should be performing it.
My advice is to seek out qualified professionals. Notable names or reputable sites that understand the mechanics of the movement can present it in a helpful way.
#2: The second one is called Kinesthetic Correction.
This is all about physical manipulation to help you achieve a position. It could be someone moving you into position or using a tool of some kind to achieve this tactile response yourself. This can help force the body to comply, which will either help you achieve the position or bring your attention to the areas of restriction, preventing you from reaching the ideal position.
For example, let’s say you lean over or flex at the trunk when you lunge. Once kinesthetic tactic is to hold a dowel rod along your back, with one end in contact with the back of your head and the other end against your glutes. Don’t let them come off as you lunge.
Either you will adhere to the strict position and perform a great lunge, or you’ll lose contact with the dowel and immediately feel that you lost the position. This provides great pattern reinforcement because you will move through an efficient pattern and address your restrictions brought out by this manipulation.
All these strategies can help you improve your patterns and reinforce good ones. Now, keep in mind, not every exercise you do has to be this involved. These will be focused on patterns you are struggling with. But still, if we want to optimize our efforts, we should have little reminders for every exercise, set, and rep we perform.
It can be as simple as “breath,” or “squeeze,” or “stay tight,” or “keep position.” It’s these little things that keep us engaged and aware of our movement and provide the best outcomes.
Alright, to wrap up, lets hit the P.U.M.M.P. Process one more time:
“P” stands for Proper Position, where it’s about consistently having a neutral, braced spine to improve stability and mitigate shear forces that can lead to injury;
“U” stands for Undo Hypertonic and Shortened Tissue, where it’s about identifying restricted tissue and using different techniques to tap into the physiological process to relax tissue and improve range of motion.
The first “M” stands for Mitigate Joint Capsule Restriction, where the focus is addressing joint capsule position through banded joint distraction and banded flossing techniques to address joint position restriction;
The second “M” stands for Muscle Activation, where it’s about increasing neural drive to muscles that have stopped engaging correctly due to the tissue imbalances in the body;
“P” stands for Pattern Reinforcement, where the focus is optimizing motor programs by utilizing strategies that improve our movement awareness and enhance our mind-body connection so we can move better.
And that, my friends, completes the circle. And with this process, you can sustain an effective and efficient means of improving and maintaining your mobility and movement.
What do you think of the P.U.M.M.P. Process? Did you make some improvements with your movements? I’d love to know your thoughts!
I hope this series resonated with you, and you were able to take something from it and impact your movement. I wish more people embraced the process to move better because it takes care of so many issues and allows for freedom of movement. I hope you can take steps to better movement, and I hope it’s leading to better outcomes and results. And I hope your improvements inspires others to do the same! We’ll never be perfect, but we can definitely reach higher and higher levels of our potential by continually trying to be better. That’s what it’s about!
Thanks so much for tuning in. It means the world to me, and I appreciate you.
I look forward to chatting with you next time!
Take care of yourselves, and remember, wherever you are, keep moving.
Pete Rohleder
