There were five moves that I had never done before and they were causing havoc across my body. I am talking about that new workout routine I jumped into, 22 Minute Hard Corps.  As a Fort Collins chiropractor, I am no stranger to taking care of myself and working out or working hard, but this was different.  I wanted to take a break from running and really work on the whole body.  So when I came across a new workout from the legendary Tony Horton (of P90X & BeachBody fame) I was intrigued.  I was mostly intrigued because I knew someone in the test group, it was 22-minute workouts (life is busy my friends), and they were doing it boot camp style with actual military vets.  But what pushed me into trying it was the functional fitness aspect. My philosophy on most things health revolves around that word, “FUNCTION.” So when we talk about functional fitness it means to work out in a way that will enable you to function better in most everyday routines and hobbies and have an overall improved movement economy rather that just having big pipes because you can curl 50 pounds 20 times.

 

But then Tony did something that had me jumping for joy at the end of a rather intense workout halfway through the 8-week program. He did the greatest most hardcore non-exercise for your spine!  This is my thing! As a chiropractor Fort Collins trusts, this is the one thing that I show all clients when it comes to being responsible and taking personal care of your spine and here was Tony Horton advocating for it as well. It’s called the Cat/Camel or for you Yogis out there the Cat/Cow. They are both the same, just called different things. It is the only non-stretch and non-exercise I know of that will mobilize your entire spine.

I say non-stretch and exercise because from my perspective this is not an activity you do for strength or flexibility, rather it is pure motion.  Motion is essential to your health.  Everything in your body is continually in motion from the very electrons orbiting in atoms to blood in your arteries and nerve impulses from your brain.  When you lack motion, you are lacking health. [ttshare]When you are lacking proper motion, your health suffers significantly.[/ttshare]

Why is all of this important?

This is incredibly important to understand because the movement is life. When things aren’t moving right, there is a problem. Every movement you do on a daily basis originates in your spine. From turning your head to walking to brushing your teeth, they all start with motion in your spine to activate the rest of your body to carry out the job. So it is obvious that if you don’t have proper movement in your spine or some of your vertebra are stuck in an improper position there is no way you will efficiently move the way you are supposed to leading to problems and pain. There is no way that you will get full nerve supply from that spinal region either. This is where chiropractic and taking really good care of your spine shines.  In my blog post, The Most Crucial Health Exam Your Forgot to Consider I show how chiropractic will help restore the function to the spine and nerve system so your body is most useful to you and you can derive maximum benefit from all of your other healthy endeavors and hobbies. And while it is no substitute for correcting your spine from issues that may currently be there necessitating an evaluation from a chiropractor, those Cat/Camels are great activities to do every day for spine health.

For more information you can contact Dr. Jeremy Overholt, the chiropractor Fort Collins trusts at 970-300-2166.