Why Movement is Important - Part 1

Though it may seem like a statement that is obvious or that does not need be made: humans need to move. Allow me to qualify this slightly. Humans need to move throughout their entire range of motion as what is not used is lost.

To a strength and conditioning specialist, this means using the full range of motion for movements such as the squat. So often, we fall victim to the narrow views of studies or of specialists who work with a small fraction of the population when dealing with training and conditioning. It is important that coaches and athletes alike take into consideration the larger implications of exercise prescription when programming and training.

Because I referred to the squat earlier, let's take that movement as an example. (Notice that I used the word "movement" and not "exercise".) Many athletes who perform the squat only go through the motion such that the lowest point is when their femurs are parallel with the ground. This is good, but is not great and will not build a great athlete. These athletes will not make the gains made by those who squat completely such that their hips are very near their ankles.

This is for a number of reasons. The first is that the athlete has not gone through the entire range of motion. This means that if and when his or her joints do need to go through the entire range, they will be unaccustomed to doing so, especially because they have not been loaded throughout that entire range of motion. This has obvious implications for injury prevention as the athlete will be more likely to be injured if he or she has not performed the movement throughout the entire ROM. Additionally, moving through the entire ROM will induce the growth and solidification of connective tissue. For the squat, the connective tissue on the back side of the hips and lower back will be loaded optimally if the athlete moves through the entire ROM.

On top of the strength gains that will be made, the major antagonist musculature during the squat will be forced to increase in length at the bottom of the squat. This will serve to elicit gains in dynamic flexibility--essential for movement.

These are just a few of the reasons why a full squat is an important movement for all athletes, especially triathletes! In future blog posts, I will examine other movements that are important to the development of "triathletic athletes."