In this week’s ‘Make Movement Matter Mini’ podcast, I reflect on the joy that travelling can bring, but also on how our bodies need to be capable of lots of different skills to fully enjoy and take advantage of the varied opportunities on offer when we do travel.
One of the four movements I recommended incorporating into daily life was overhead arm movement. In fact, anything and everything above your arms hanging at your sides. If we want to put a heavy case into the overhead locker on a plane, lift luggage onto a high shelf on the train, or hold onto an overhead rail whilst standing on a busy bus or underground, we need shoulders that allow these movements without issue.
The movements we forget to practise
So much of modern life happens in front of us, below shoulder height. Reaching up, holding on, lifting overhead are movements we often only do occasionally, yet when we need them, we really need them. These are not extreme skills. They are everyday capabilities that quietly determine how confident and independent we feel.
A remarkable, complex joint
Shoulders are very complicated joints. If you fancy more detailed anatomical information, I really like this Instagram post that helps you visualise and clearly lay out the workings of the shoulder.
They are ball and socket joints with a wide range of motion, but they are also made up of lots of moving parts that work together. This enables us to twist and reach, push and pull, and do so much more.
The issue comes when we rarely use those ranges of movement and then expect, especially under load, that they will be capable. That’s when we become more injury-prone.
I mentioned in the podcast, that using our shoulders well affects our ability to transport our luggage. But it’s about far more things in daily life, like being able to do up zips and clasps at the back of our clothes, or reducing impact in the rest of the body if we fall. It’s about playing and having fun, pulling ourselves up onto things, and feeling stable holding on in unstable environments, such as on boats.
Bring it into daily life
How often do you use your arms overhead? If it’s rare, I would encourage you to start by thinking about one regularly used item you could place on a higher shelf, so you have to reach for it consistently. In my signature course, we then play with foot and body position in relation to what we’re reaching for, bringing in lots of variety.
Small changes, done often, are far more powerful than you might think.
Ground time builds shoulders too
The second thing I recommend is incorporating ground time into your day. I mostly suggest this for lower and middle body mobility and strength, but if you can’t get up and down without your hands, which is the case for the vast majority of people, then you will be using your arms and shoulders to weight bear through wider ranges of motion just to get down and back up again.
I also coach lots of ways of moving whilst on the ground that build shoulder mobility and strength. I’ll be posting about some of these movements on Instagram this week. For a wider range of options, and to build up gradually, my signature course ‘Reclaim Everyday Ease’ comes highly recommended by current participants, who say things like, “I feel good. Seeing it as movement rather than exercise, and fitting it into daily life has really helped. The only other thing to say is thank you. I think it is an excellent course.”
Carry more, gain more
Finally, carrying is not just great for grip strength, but for shoulder strength too. This one is less about range of motion. It has been widely reported that the ‘farmer’s carry’, or perhaps more aptly here the other name ‘suitcase carry’; simply carrying heavy things on either side for as long a distance as you can, is excellent for strength. It’s also one of those ‘tests’ sometimes linked to longevity. Weight plus time equals resilience, as you need overall body strength to sustain it.
As you know, I’m not a big fan of tests that may leave you feeling lacking and serve as a demotivator rather than the opposite. Instead, let’s simply think about carrying more often. How could you bring more carrying into your everyday life? Could you walk to the shops and carry your shopping home, not just in a backpack but also in bags on either side or one side and keep swapping?
Could you create an opportunity, as I mention in the podcast, such as taking a heavy bag up and down the stairs just for fun, or carrying something from A to B around the house because you need to go and fetch or do something? I use the cat litter bag as an example.
This is the ‘O’ for opportunities in the acronym B.O.S, I use to remember how to add in more daily movement with Everyday Ease Method™ that you learn about in my book and all my courses, and that helps you fit movement into your own unique everyday life.
Strong without the to-do list
As you can see, there is far more to strengthening and mobilising your shoulders for optimal health than simply doing overhead lifts in the gym, although they are great too. By making these movements regular occurrences in daily life, you build and maintain capacity without having to ‘fit the movements in’.
If you’d like to be supported to start reclaiming the ground, and would relish the accountability and support from a group learning experience, with personal input from me in a group community and weekly workshops – join the waiting list for the next ‘Reclaim Everyday Ease’ signature course that starts at the end of April.
You can also get going yourself now with the self-paced version for £297 and if you feel some extra accountability will help solidify your learning, you can upgrade to join the next live cohort nearer the time.
