Movement

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The Element Of Efficiency

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Earlier this week, I posted a blog on the necessity of practice to foster motor learning. Here’s the link if you missed out (The Art Of Practice). I would like to further that discussion by segueing into another closely related topic. As mentioned, there’s undeniable implications of practice on skill acquisition. While we’re on the topic of practice, how about we PRACTICE practicing things properly. Dictionary.com defines the word efficiency as, “the ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.” 

Image Courtesy Of Caldwellleasing.com

Image Courtesy Of Caldwellleasing.com

First and foremost, it takes a lot of physiological action and energy expenditure in order for movement to occur. Physiologically, we must create opportunities for our bodies to produce a lot while expending less in order to be efficient. In every single aspect of life, especially business, the goal is to get more and give less, earn more, spend less, gain a lot, spend a little. Well, my dear friend, the same objective should be carried over for our bodies. Individuals should aim to move efficiently to save time, energy, and even money. It’s all about using efficient mechanics through proper postural alignment and muscle engagement during movement. Proper posture and movement dynamics help maximize desired output (productivity) while minimizing undesired input (stress, strain). This very concept has applications for nearly all walks of life.

For everyday activity:

For those individuals with desk jobs, sitting down in a chair with proper posture can minimize back, neck, and wrist/forearm pain while allowing you to complete your full workload. It does so by decreasing the workload of over-stimulated muscles, and increasing the workload of inhibited muscles. For great insight, click on the following two links to well-written pieces by my colleague, Dr. C. Shante Cofield, addressing proper posture (Quasimodo Worked On Wall Street) and proper desk workstation setup (If It Ain’t Broke…It Probably Will Be Soon).

Moreover, the simple task of walking correctly has great implications on efficiency. Walking with proper gait mechanics will not only minimize or reduce the risk of injury to other parts of the body, but it will allow you to walk further distances for longer periods without excessive complaints. Great news for all you hikers.how-to-walk

Squatting correctly can help reduce or eliminate the potential for back or knee pain/injury when you lift an object from a low surface. It will also allow you to be more efficient at lifting heavier items by engaging the stronger big muscles in your legs to do the work as opposed to your back. 

Image Courtesy of NickTumminello.com
Image Courtesy of NickTumminello.com

For athletic performance: 

Efficiency is required to maximize athletic performance in sport. Athletes should seek opportunities to correctly go through their respective sequencing of movement(s). This maximizes production and reduces your risk for acute or overuse injury by preserving your body. For instance, the basketball player who is looking to shoot at a higher percentage can do so more readily by using his/her legs and core to power his/her jumpshot. Using the core/legs as the driving force behind your jumper, instead of your arms, preserves energy because the latter will fatigue way before the former. This holds true for nearly all aspects of ANY sport, not just basketball. As a competing athlete, efficient mechanics will undoubtedly increase your potency, consistency, and longevity.

Setting Up Jumpshot: Bend Knees, Push Your Weight Back Into Hips To Engage Glutes
Setting Up Jumpshot: Bend Knees, Push Your Weight Back Into Hips To Engage Glutes

 

Squeeze Your Glutes/Core and Push Through Your Quads and Calves To Propel Jumpshot
Squeeze Your Glutes/Core and Push Through Your Quads and Calves To Propel Jumpshot

For the average person working out hard in the gym, make sure to be using proper form with ALL exercises to effectively strengthen what you aim to without the risk for injury by using improper form. Sacrificing form at the cost of ANYTHING can develop to be quite a hefty expense. For instance, lifting heavy weights with poor form can improperly load segments of your back, which can result in a vertebral disc herniation!  Not sweet. Row Form Description Squat Form T-Plank Form

 Deadlift Form

For injury rehabilitation:

Needless to stress the importance of efficiency for those who are already compromised. Efficient mechanics help to reverse what may have led to injury, and subsequently prevent further injury. For those undiagnosed injured people attempting to DIY, faulty movement patterns may have developed secondary to injury or pain. I recommend being evaluated by a skilled PT to find out the source of pain, address it, and restore proper movement patterning. Delay in addressing the source of pain can only further perpetuate problems down the line. For all the hard-working patients who are currently receiving physical therapy, you must practice consistently to re-learn correct motor patterns and avoid perpetual problems. As quoted by the “WOD Doc”, the goal is to optimize performance by optimizing function.

Moreover, there’s a great diagnosing system that we use at the clinic where I’m employed known as the “FMS’ (Functional Movement Screen). The FMS pinpoints individuals’ inefficiencies in movement that may result into problematic issues down the road. Come see us at Duffy & Bracken PT to have an FMS screening to find out where you stand and what you can do to improve. 

Duffy & Bracken Physical Therapy

 Ladies and gents, let’s trend towards being more efficient. There’s all the more to gain with less to lose (pun intended). Movement efficiency enables individuals to produce more while decreasing costs of energy, time, and money, all of which might be spent on healthcare and rehab. You can preserve what you have and maximize its longevity by moving efficiently.

The Art Of Practice

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The cliche, “practice makes perfect” is so overused and over-exemplified; however, it should never be overLOOKED. Indeed, it is very true that practice does make your efforts perfect. Why you ask? Well, it’s the result of a little scientific phenomenon known as Motor Learning. In a nutshell, motor learning is a concept that involves creating a new motor skill, a physical movement, applying it and mastering it. Motor Learning in humans began when we were all infants learning how to roll, crawl, cruise, and eventually walk. The concept also continues into adulthood when individuals learn new movement patterns that may be specific to a particular sport, dance, or movements necessary for everyday locomotion and activities of daily living. 

Image Courtesy Of Pinterest

Image Courtesy Of Pinterest

Here’s a basic science lesson:
Our human brain is known as the anatomical command center. It’s responsible for sending very regulated signals down the anatomical chain to create movement. In simplicity, our brain sends output down to the spinal cord for the majority of movements to occur. The signal then gets propagated down to nerve roots, which in turn travels down to the individual nerves that are responsible for innervating muscle fibers within muscles. The innervated muscles must have a harmonious contraction for the efficient production of the intended movement. Yes, this propagation of signaling happens in an instant. Amazing, I know.

The conceptual cliche,”Practice makes perfect,” involves the body’s neuromuscular system developing a familiarity with a motor skill(s) after it is rehearsed frequently. After continuous attempts, your brain and body finally get adapted to whatever movement you are trying to master. There are 3 known stages of motor learning: 1) the cognitive stage, (2) associative stage, and (3) autonomous stage.

The Three Stages Of Motor Learning

The Three Stages Of Motor Learning — Image Courtesy of HumanKinetics.com

These are 3 proposed stages in which we learn, create mastery, and eventual automaticity of a motor skill. The aforementioned cliche is best correlated with the 2nd stage of the 3 stages of motor learning: the associative stage. First, we go through the cognitive stage: why and how to perform a skill; then, the associative stage is  where we practice to learn exactly how to perform the skill. The last stage (automatic) is when we have practiced enough that the skill becomes automatic like second nature. 

My point behind this blog is not to bombard and bore you with a condensed version of complex science, but rather to stress the importance of the 3 “C’s”: compliance, commitment, and consistency. In order to be successful, one must apply all three “C’s” when learning a new motor skill. Whether it’s learning how to walk appropriately with your physical therapist, learning the correct shooting mechanics with your basketball coach, or how to squat with proper body mechanics with your fitness trainer (I happen to teach all 3 by the way), you must practice, practice, practice to develop mastery. Don’t expect to get it the minute you are introduced to it with your respective source of influence. It takes multiple repetitions to train/retrain your body’s neuromuscular system for motor learning/re-learning to occur. What is practiced and repeated continuously becomes learned, and each subsequent repetition becomes easier. Moreover, research has shown that varied practice is best for long-term retention of skills. I will probably save that discussion for a later post.  

 

Me Performing Gait Training With A Patient To Foster Motor Learning

Gait Training With A Patient To Foster Motor Learning On Proper Walking Mechanics

Practice makes perfect guys. Numerous trial-and-error attempts are needed for the acquisition of skill. DO NOT think you’re underqualified. DO NOT be frustrated when you have failed a bunch of times. Frustration has the propensity to act as a big deterrent to new movement skill acquisition. Lastly, DO NOT give up. Keep pushing. As a fitness specialist, physical therapist, and basketball coach, trust and believe I know the importance of skill practice. More importantly, I know the practice of PATIENCE. Exercise patience with skill learning and you will master your target skill in no time.