One’s individual movement guides the choice of exercise.
This means individualized exercise is what counts. If I have a weak neck, playing golf for five hours will not help if I walk off the course and continue to hold my head down. But Head Lifts will help to strengthen the neck. If my walk is flat and out of balance, working out for two hours on an exercise machine will not help if I continue to walk in the same old way. But Low Walks may really help. If my back is slouched, playing squash or tennis will not help if I walk away in the same slouched position. But Dumbbell Situps may really pay off.
The best exercise restores an individual to beneficial movement patterns. Neck pain may lessen by doing Head Lifts or Visual Turns to loosen the neck so that it is used more freely. A back problem may improve when a weak knee is strengthened by Single Knee Bends. It is one’s movement, not necessarily one’s pain, that guides the selection of exercises.
Note that there is really no single exercise or set of exercises that “is good for the low back” or “helps a bad knee.” Yes, walking, Dumbbell Situps, and Forward Bends are beneficial for the lower back. However, if the lower back problem is ultimately caused by a one-sided walk none of these exercises will really solve the problem.
It is important to note here any exercise has its own reward. Anyone who exercises, from lifting heavy weights, to sitting in a chair and moving one’s knees, from jogging 10 miles to lying one’s back and doing simple knee rolls, knows the great value of exercise.
You have to get to the cause–then the exercise.
It is easy to blame a sprained knee on a rock that was in the way, a sudden leap for a ball, an old injury, or a structural weakness. But a sprained knee may well be a weak knee. A strong knee–one that has not been abused by walking poorly and other inappropriate movement patterns–can take ordinary twists and spills with minimum ill effects. Only through exercise can the knee be made strong. The basic reason for exercise in the first place is to develop a body that can perform when we want it to perform–one that is resilient to the occasional jolts of everyday life. This raises a point pertinent to other approaches to exercise.
What happens when something goes wrong?
Should I quit? Or go on, even if it hurts. In Falk’s view, there is a real response to the issue of pain. A solution. That solution is–look to the way we move. Herein lies the cause of pain. When we find the cause, we select the exercise to treat the cause.
Finally here, an exercise that heads straight for a weakness may be hard, but it will feel wonderful afterwards. You will have no doubt of its efficacy.
Selection of Exercises:
Disclaimer:
I am not a qualified physician. As with all exercise programs, when using these routines and examples shown, you need to use common sense. To reduce and avoid injury, you may want to check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program. By performing these exercises, you are performing them at your own risk. Theoryofexercise.com will not be responsible or liable for any injury or harm you sustain as a result of this information shared on this website.
