My name is Becca! If you’ve been following SOL’s blog lately, you know that I’ve been sharing my SOL physical therapy story. Shortly into my treatment, SOL Performance started offering a small group training called SOL Functional Movement (Tuesdays at 11 am). I planned to drop in once. I wanted to be able to give our patients more information about what the training offered.
5 weeks later, I’m still participating. SOL Functional Movement has literally changed the way I move through the world.
SOL always starts the training with foam rolling.
We roll out hamstrings, backs, IT bands, shoulders, pecs, or whatever else we tell the Trainer is bothering us (when I say us, I mean the 4-6 other folks who regularly attend). Foam rolling un-sticks adhesions and increases blood flow to the tissues, helping them to move more smoothly. It’s painful, but important.
It’s also hilarious. SOL’s favorite line about whether we’re rolling out the right spot is, “Does it hurt? Then you’re doing it right!” Because we all know how much pain everyone else is in, we do a lot of laughing to get through this part of the training.
After the foam rolling, SOL moves us into dynamic stretching and strengthening.
The dynamic stretches warm up our muscles without tiring them out, and our Trainer provides helpful suggestions on how to improve our body posture. He is also diligent about doling out the modifications we need to ensure we don’t aggravate existing injuries.
We also rock exercises that engage the core, and build the support muscles that ensure healthy, injury-free movement. Our Trainer often reminds us, “The purpose of this class isn’t building strength. It’s about helping you to move better.”
And to move better, good form is key.
Unfortunately, shrugging my shoulders and arching my back are ingrained into my body, and they are the opposite of good form. I need to get a shirt that says, “Relax your traps, pull your shoulders down, and pull your ribs in!” so that our Trainer doesn’t have to remind me during (literally) every single exercise.
Despite my struggles, I find myself using movements I learned in SOL’s Functional Movement training to correct my movement in everyday life.
One week, I found myself changing the way I reached toward the bottom shelf of the fridge. Instead of letting my spine collapse, I hinged from my hips. And instead of allowing my knees to collapse inward, I kept them wide and in alignment.
Another week, our Trainer had us carry kettlebells around the parking lot. He coached us to squeeze our shoulder blades and stack our vertebrae. The next day, I carried a heavy sewing machine up the stairs for my partner’s mother, and I carried it just like I had carried the kettlebells.
SOL Functional Movement is all about improving how you move in everyday life, and it totally delivers – if you practice what you learn.
As I mentioned, I decided to keep going to this class on my own time, well past my first visit. It’s really helpful to have an extra set of eyes watching me move, and it’s the perfect compliment to physical therapy. I plan to keep going until that magic session when I don’t hear anything about needing to adjust my traps, ribs, or shoulders.
Want to take SOL’s Functional Movement Class? Check it out every Tuesday & Thursday from 11a – 12p at Sol Performance.
You can sign up online today!
