I use to hear physical therapy students talk about how they would analyze how people move in public once they began studying movement. Now I know what they were talking about. Anytime I am out in the public, I watch how people move. If you want to see what happens to a lifetime of not working on your movements, go the the grocery store when it is packed with senior citizens. You will be amazed at how slowly most of them move.
Some of them will move slowly due to injuries. Most of them will move slowly because they allowed their bodies to get weaker, stiffer and less mobile. Unless you work to minimize the effects of aging, it will happen to you.
Having worked with clients up to 95 years of age, I have studied what changes occur to our bodies due to the aging process with a lack of focus on maintaining a basic level of strength and conditioning.
The two biggest physical changes that I have observed are less reliance on the hips and a loss of proper mobility in the thoracic spine. Most people don't work on these two areas. This is why I train clients the way I do.
An example of this would be how people are taught how to get out of a chair once it becomes more difficult for them. I have observed many people being taught to have their knees and shoulders move forward when trying to get out of their chairs. This teaches them to use their knees and backs.
When I work with a client, I teach them to use their hips to get out of the chair. (or any squatting or lunging movement) This takes the strain off of their knees and backs.
Why should you care about your thoracic spine? When it moves properly, your shoulders and lower back are protected. If you want to develop shoulder problems, quit using your thoracic spine to reach for things. Want to develop lower back pain, begin bending at the waist instead of the hips when picking something up.
The next time you are at the grocery store, observe how the older customers are moving. The choice is yours on how you will move when you reach their age.
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