Does anyone ever talk about Pronation?

“A semi-related question, Dave. I had flat feet (Pes Planus). Over the past 5 years, I've developed a nice arch. The only thing I've done differently is Flow Rope work, which indirectly develops leg pronation and supination. My abductor digiti minimi muscles (of both the hand and feet) are both stronger. From where I stand, this looks like a dramatic improvement in function to me.

I've never heard anything about a relationship between strengthening that muscle and good foot posture. Am I missing something? Does anyone ever talk about this? Do you ever recommend any pronation/supination leg work for your clients?

Thanks!”

This is from Facebook and a conversation with a very smart gentleman there by the name of Phil Earnhardt

Phil is a nerd of the highest order and comes up with great questions and some seriously deep interpretations of movement which he explains through mathematical means often going into vibration and other physics based thought processes.

He is great.

So this question or series of questions, was very welcomed.

Let's start at the start, does strengthening the abductor digiti minimi muscle help foot posture?

Short answer: I don't care about individual muscles and postures are a limited way of looking at the body.

Longer answer:

A muscle tends to look or feel weak if it isn't given a job to do.

Its actual strength, by itself, isn't that important.

It's strength as part of a larger whole, now that is important.

And if a muscle exists to move a joint or joints, if those joints don't ever really move very much, how can you expect that muscle to do its job and be strong?

What if that muscles line of pull is at an angle that we don’t regularly put force through?

When does Phils Adductor Digiti get to pull?

It is the muscle running on the outside of the foot and hand to the pinky.

So it contracts when the pinky grips especially if we also cock the wrist, and stretches when the hand opens and extends. In the foot, it stretches as the foot pronates (flattens) and contracts as it supinates (arches)

Abductor Digit Minimi muscle in the Foot (L) and Hand (R)

In most people most of the time, good foot Motion and varied hand activities are limited.

Even gym folk using barbells have limited joint action in the hands. Machines even more so.

So Phil's rolling ropes probably offer him some movement vocabulary that's been missing.

If you manipulate tools, for fun or work, your hand is probably quite well developed.

What about the foot?

No one in the decade or more that I've been looking at feet has good pronation and supination mechanics.

Part of my coaching is to sneak in drills to help improve these mechanics (it is hidden in the 100 rep warm up) and as I moved more towards injury management and rehab, I stopped sneaking it and we work on it deliberately.

What then about foot posture?

Posture is a snapshot.

It is a paused movement.

A position

We have ranges of motion meaning we can create many postures.

The key is to have access to these ranges.

In the foot we move from supinated, to pronated and back again.

As the foot loads it ought to pronate, and as we push out of the foot or prepare to land onto the foot it ought to supinate.

Supinated is arched and ready to accept force. Pronated is loaded and ready to produce force.

The two end positions are where things change direction, from Supinated we can only move towards pronation and vice versa.

When we do this we'll, smooth, with good timing.

When we challenge our bodies with load, either running, jumping, lifting etc

Then the muscles through the lower leg really all should get plenty of stimulus.

But supportive or cushioned shoes, flat ground, sedentary jobs etc all rob us of stimulation.

So we must exercise.

Exercise to develop the feet and lower leg muscles, to keep joint actions and interactions fluid, to have the proprioception to manage our mass easily as we move.

It sounds like a lot.

And it is.

But Phil with his rolling ropes (do search rolling ropes and rope flow on YouTube and Instagram I've included a clip of my little mate Yuri showing his use of the rope) is moving in various directions, the movement of the rope is shifting his centre of mass and he's asking his body to react and reflexively adapt to these rapid inputs from the rope.

And because of the multi planar stimulus the ropes offer, his body moves in ways I bet he doesn't even realise its doing.

Which is just beautiful.

Movement that is reflexive, reactive and multi planar is possibly some of the best we can do.

It's what we did as kids, it's what modern kids and most adults are missing out on.

If you have read this far, congratulations, that was a hell of a journey you went on!

If you have a question or questions, feel free to send them to me for future newsletters

Thanks for reading

Chat soon

Regards

Dave Hedges

www.davehedges.net

What is my training system?

Connor has asked:

"What is your system, or what has it Evolved into?

Do you consciously have one?

It's a mix of runner/kettlebells/strength/Indian clubs/AiM/dogs/forest and so on, and how they all intertwine into what Dave does with people, injured or healthy.

I think that would be interesting."

How nice a question is this?

First off, what I do isn't what I make my clients do.

And that is because what I do is for me, not anyone else.

Just as if I gave Connor a program, I wouldn't follow it, as it would be for him, not me.

My "system" for my clients is essentially based around meeting them where they are and building them to where they want to be.

It's not dependent on tools, such as Indian Clubs or Kettlebells.

In fact here is where Paul Cox's words ring through back around 2005 when he and I were kicking around the concept of Wild Geese.

"I want people to understand that it's not about a style or a system, it's about an attitude!"

Which I adopted in many of my posts and emails with the slightly more catchy "attitude is everything"

My system really is about helping bring out that attitude.

Which is why I love the Anatomy in Motion (AiM) principles and it's "Flow Motion Model"

AiM is a set of principles on human movement, which extrapolates out across mind and spirit.

The Flow Motion Model (FMM) is a "map" of that movement that helps us figure out limitations and/or aberrations and figure out our interventions.

That's a lot of big words.

Basically, because of the FMM I can look at your foot Motion and make an educated guess as to what your shoulder is or isn't doing.

Then, we talk about how you like to exercise and train, what kit you have etc.

For some, they go to a fully kitted out gym 4 days per week for an hour at a time.

Others have 30 minutes on their lunch break, 1 kettlebell and a resistance band.

Some want to run, others hate running and would rather poke their eyes out.

And you know what?

That is all good.

You are you, none of you are me, or the next person.

So why would I have you train as I train?

Now, I do think Connor is looking for a snapshot of how I do train though. So let's give you a look at what Dave does.

I no longer work in a gym, since leaving Dublin and my Wild Geese facility, I now spend a lot of time on a computer doing online training and zoom calls.

I have full access to the local Hurling Club gym, and at home I have a Bulgarian Bag, some kettlebells, Indian Clubs, a Mace, running shoes and a 1 Yr old Border Collie called Meg.

I'm also a 48 yr old father of teenage boys

My training changes as the seasons change. In the winter I tend to be more gym based, and in the better weather more outside.

With the Bulgarian Bag, I usually do a conditioning set combined with some running.

Kettlebells, varies depending on how I feel. Swings and Push Ups, or mace and push ups are common post run.

Running, I do 2 sessions in a week. One interval and one steady, Meg accompanies me and loves it.

And I may also do another run should the mood take me and the old beaten up ankle is game ball.

Strength is once or twice per week in good weather, 2-4 in bad weather.

Let's lay it out:

Mon: Usually strength day, Usually from my TrainHeroic App workout of the day, I may look for a strength session if it's not presented for that day.

Friday: Bulgarian Bag outdoors with running

Run 2x/week, with a 20 minute home session afterwards.

Walk: daily with dig

Other stuff:

Ad hoc Run to my clinic/office to do online and zoom, then run home again. You can’t smell me through zoom!

Second gym session, again using my app

Indian Clubs just come out to play whenever I'm not doing much else in the kitchen.

Stretch and AiM rehab - anytime/anywhere I happen to be and have a minute or two.

Honestly, I am so long in the habit of training, with body awareness and expertise, that I don’t have to think too much about it, which is why my example maybe isn't that useful to you.

The key really is to move a lot.

Usually at a low intensity

Lift heavy a couple of times a week

And elevate the heart rate a couple of times per week.

It's simple

Not easy.

Regards

Dave Hedges

www.davehedges.net

What do clients struggle to understand?

"What aspects of injury management have you found most difficult for clients to grasp when beginning their recovery process?" - Jack Austin

This is a lovely question.

There's really two kinds of people I work with on their recovery and injury management journeys.

Those who have worked with me in the past, most likely in Wild Geese, Dublin.

And those who have not.

Of the Wild Geese crew, there really wasn't any issues ever.

People knew me, knew how I worked and trusted the process.

Many clients would come to me after a years long hiatus simply because they were injured or struggling.

So to answer Jack's question I need to talk about the other people. Those who don't know me from Wild Geese.

And here we have a few questions come up.

As I use movement, guided by the Anatomy in Motion training I recieved, people are often caught off guard as they expect to be rubbed or have fancy machinery pulled out.

You see my main goal, my purpose if you like, is to help you become independent.

To not need me to rub you or have to use my fancy equipment.

I want you to be able to look after yourself.

It's a case of teaching you to fish rather than simply giving you a fish.

And a lot of people struggle with this concept, a lot more than I ever realised.

In Dublin, you had to come into a gym that smelled of hard work, poor lighting, rusty plates and kettlebells, well worn tatami mats and lots of people training hard all around you.

There was nothing about coming to see me in Wild Geese that was your run of the mill therapeutics session!

But in Dungannon, I have my Clinic. It's quiet. It's just me and the client. No banging soundtrack on the speakers, no banging pads in your eyeline.

So it may seem a more "normal" setting where a more "normal" treatment takes place.

But no, I'm not a fan of "normal" treatment, even the people who are surprised by my methods agree much of the standard physio work has done little for them.

To sum up, the biggest thing clients struggle to grasp when they cine to see me is that they are responsible for their own journey.

That their body does the healing, I just help you find the best stimulus to trigger that development.

Regards

Dave Hedges

www.davehedges.net