#5 - Cracking the Mobility Code - The Athletic Spectrum
For age group 40 y/o and above.
Here is a very important question for you. Where do you fall within the athletic spectrum? Pipeline, Competitor, Recreational?
Pipeline - This category is usually younger people ages from 12 through high school. They aspire to be college players and professionals at their sport and will workout, practice and compete as much as they possibly can. They will also find local or online coaches and programs in an effort to improve.
Full-Time Competitor - This is usually the college or professional who can devote their entire life to doing all the things necessary to play their sport at the highest level. They will attempt to find the best skills coach, mental coach, workout coach, manager and agent.
Recreational - These are the people who love their sport and practice as much as they can, but would rather play. They don't have the time to devote their entire life to working out or practicing.
Social media is filled with all sorts of exercises and programs for the Pipeline athletes and Full-Time Competitors. We can find hundreds of exercises that may be great or may be very bad for them on any social media platform. But to be clear, most of the exercises on social media are performed by naturally flexible, ultra fit people. Many times, models are employed to demonstrate an exercise or product.
If we fall into the Recreational category, we should realize that these exercises and programs will most probably not be beneficial to us long term and have a high probability of causing strain, pain and injury.
At 70 y/o, I move and perform better than when I was 40. I realized about 15 years ago there are a few parts of my body that I need to pay attention to daily. So I developed a comprehensive program that I do every day that keeps my body moving freely, dramatically reduces any chance of injury anywhere in my body, and gives me the best chance to play my best.
When I first started the program, my hips were almost totally immobile, which caused me excruciating low back pain and sciatica for many years, and this was the reason I retired as a Navy SEAL. Now, I have the hip mobility of a much younger person and it has been over a decade since I have had any issue with my hips, lower back and sciatica.
Dr. Joe LaCaze, DC, NMT, PES, CCEP, Spinal Biomechanics Instructor