Good morning!

Get to it! You’ve got less than a week! 🗳️ 

(If this email was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive this weekly newsletter, sign up below!)

🛝 Play young to stay young

Close your eyes and flash back to the playground days of your youth. What were all the elementary-age kids doing at recess?

What you’re picturing probably consists of some combination of running, jumping, and throwing. There’s a reason for that!

These are three of the most fundamental human movements that nearly all of us develop after nailing the basics like walking—which is no small feat! (Just small feet. Had to.) 

The years of our childhood are full of these beautifully complex and ever-developing motor patterns. Picture a four-year-old running, jumping, and throwing. None of the movements will be as pretty or smooth as a 10-year-old doing them, which will probably be clunkier than a 17-year-old athlete doing them. 

Run. Jump. Throw. They’re so basic, a toddler can do them. Yet they’re so complex, some of the highest paid individuals in the world do just those for millions a year. Or they run the fastest, jump the longest/highest, and throw the farthest to receive international acclaim and a gold medal around their next.

This goes to show that we can develop these relatively natural skills to supernatural levels. It’s almost as though we’ve unlocked the greatest potential of human anatomy to perform with what we’ve got. I can’t imagine any other movements performed at such a high level of skill that we haven’t already done. I guess we keep inventing weird new exercises, but I don’t think these three can be beat as far as maximizing anatomic potential goes.

Don’t feel like you must be a paid athlete to run, jump, and throw, however. We were built for it. These basic skills kept our ancestors alive for thousands and thousands of years. Everyone needed to have the capacity to do these things. Survival probably depended on it. 

But how many regular adults do you see running, jumping, and throwing on a regular basis today? Running, albeit at a jogging speed, is at least relatively prevalent, but sprinting is rare. Jumping? Less common. Throwing? Rarely, if ever seen. 

Don’t stop believin’ playin’

Why did we stop playing?! This brings us back to one of MTI’s core tenets. Use it or lose it. But you can move it to improve it!

Our daily life nowadays rarely demands that we run anywhere (or from anything), jump over anything, or throw anything. Most of us can get through decades of our lives without doing any of these now. 

When was the last time you ran? When was the last time you jumped? When was the last time you threw? Was it playing tag with your friends down the street? Was it during the rec league softball game? Was it hopping from rock to rock in the river? Did you know it would be the last time?

Here’s the thing: Unless you have truly become disabled, that last time doesn’t have to be the last. And it’s not going to be.

“Okay, so what? I’m a mother of three with a desk job. Why do I need to do any of that?”

Listen, Linda. I hear you. But as we age, we (to no individual fault) tend to confine our lives to a narrower and narrower range of movements and speeds: Lie to sit to stand. Walk. We rarely expand outside of those. But we have so much potential to go beyond them! 

Our bodies are incredible, resilient miracles. They can do so much! When we expand their ranges and speeds of motion, two major benefits ensue:

1. It makes the simple positions and speeds feel much easier. Suddenly you feel less stiff, less back pain from sitting. Your feet can handle a five-mile walk if necessary. You aren’t huffing and puffing on a regular dog walk or flight of stairs.

2. It makes us far more resistant to injury when and if life does demand that we “go there” if running, jumping, or throwing something becomes a necessity for whatever reason. If it’s trained, it won’t cause pain!

Even if you currently couldn’t run to your mailbox, jump over a piece of paper, or throw a dart, you can regain those skills. 

Maybe you were pretty athletic for a while, still jog and workout, but don’t do anything with high speed or power. You can feel that vigor again! You can get that spring back in your step.

It just takes a slow, gradual progression. Just like you didn’t lose it in a week, you won’t fully restore it in a week. Don’t dive headfirst into acting like you’re a high school track and field athlete again just yet. Obviously obtain clearance from a medical professional if necessary. Then find a program that can ease you back into them.

Slowly, steadily, and safely increase your running speed when training. Imagine what it would feel like to be able to not just jog, but sprint, again! Imagine how accomplished you’ll feel when doubling your vertical jump. Imagine your confidence leaping to a rock in the river. Imagine how good it’ll feel to throw a baseball with your kids or grandkids without injuring your shoulder. It’s all not only possible, but probable! 

Many of us complain about the “aches and pains” of aging. In reality, these are not guaranteed, non-negotiable parts of aging. It’s more about disuse than how many years you’ve been around. If you want to feel young, you’ve got to start acting like it. 

Play young to stay young!

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Pick one: run, jump, or throw this week! Just take it easy if it’s been awhile.

Level 2: Engage in a weekly activity that utilizes at least one or two of these. (Basketball, for example, gets at all three!)

Level 3: Regularly incorporate high-speed (for you) running, jumping (called plyometrics in exercise) and throwing into your exercise routine.

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Vote informed!: In case you missed it earlier, vote411.org/ballot allows you to type in your zip code then shows you all the candidates and measures that’ll be on your ballot. It even provides candidate answers and links to their websites and other info!

• CICO: The phrase, “Calories in, Calories out” may have worked for some of you, but it may trigger others. This discussion takes a compassionate approach from multiple sides to discuss the philosophy’s efficacy and the countless nuances around it.

Get out there and vote, America! Non-residents, have fun following along and wish us luck out here! 🇺🇸 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).