Guiding Principles: Rule 3, Everything Orbit Around Centre

I am returning to the Guiding Principles thread today.

Previously I have discussed 2 of the 5 guiding principles laid out by

Gary Ward many years ago when he was still developing his Anatomy in

Motion ideas.

We spoke about Rule 1: Muscles Lengthen Before They Contract here:

https://www.davehedges.net/post/guiding-principles-rule-1-muscles-lengthen-before-they-contract

And Rule 2: Joints Act, Muscles React here:

https://www.davehedges.net/post/fundamental-principles-joints-act-muscles-react

So lets look at Rule 3: Everything Orbits Centre

And I am not going to lie, as I talk about this principle, I am going to

talk about the Joint Mobility Fundamentals Online Course I recently

launched in the hope that you may buy into it.

I may also mention how there's a second, larger Mobility course in

development that I will also want you to buy.

You have been warned.

So what does "Everything Orbits Around Centre" mean?

Long story short, we can come at this from a biomechanics perspective

or a philosophical perspective.

Biomechanical is simpler

And it goes like this:

Watch this slow mo gymnastics clip:

See how as the athlete spins in the air she rotates around a point in

the centre of her body?

Our bodies centre of mass sits more or less a couple of inches in front

of our spine approximately level with our L4 vertebra.

It varies according to individual body dimensions, but it's around there.

That's the body's centre that movement literally orbits when we're in space.

Taking it deeper, each joint then has it's own centre.

Limb.

Each movement.

And if we are looking at complex, athletic motion, we are looking at a

magic dance where we are shifting our centre of mass to achieve rapid

movement.

An easy example, is if you stand up right now with your feet close

together. Now rapidly move your head (safely!) over to one side, right

over, past the shoulder.

What happened?

Either you stepped your foot, which landed on the floor directly below

your head

Or, you shifted your hips out the other way

Or, you're currently picking yourself up off the floor....

Hopefully it's one of the former and not the latter.

How is this useful to us?

Well, when we are lifting weights, we are changing this centre of

balance. We now have to counterbalance that external load.

When we reach, bob, weave, flip, tumble we are changing our shape and

likely changing that centre of balance.

And when we become injured, we can shift that centre of balance to move

our mass away from the injury site.

And just as when we reach forward, we feel the muscle son the back

stretch and load, if we've shifted our weight away from, or into one

shape or another, we will load muscles whether we realise it or not.

And this is where we start seeing compensatory patterns and injuries

coming seemingly out of nowhere some months or years down the line.

And this is why we may tell you to do an exercise on one side but not the other.

I may tell you to do the same exercise on both sides, but concentrate on

the shoulder on this side, but the knee on that side.

What we are seeing is if we can bring the centre back to, well, the centre.

Now, individual joints all have their centre, and as a joint moves,

muscles that surround it, cross it, will lengthen or shorten accordingly.

And this is where the Joint Mobility Fundamentals comes in.

Told you there was a sales pitch coming...

Simple joint rotations, like many of did in P.E. classes back in the

day, like we did in our Karate or Judo warm ups. Old school

Callisthenics warm ups before the term became synonyms with the so

called "Bar Athletes"

These joint rotations take each joint through it's (current) fullest

range of motion.

And how do we find the centre of something?

We measure from the outside edge don't we?

Where is the middle, the centre of the screen you're reading this from?

Measure corner to corner, divide by 2 and there it is.

To find centre, you need to know where the edges are.

Joint rotations, as done in the Joint Mobility Fundamentals show you

where the edges lie and give the body the information it needs to

determine it's own centre.

Which is why we often see outsized results from people who practice

joint mobility frequently.

Their balance improves

Their flexibility improves

Their ability to demonstrate strength improves

Old injuries often feel better

Confidence in movement comes back

Now, get over to the Joint Mobility Fundamentals page and have a look