Is being quick necessary for a healthy pain-free body? Frankly? Yes.
We have 3 different types of muscle fibers and 2 of them (Type II & Type IIa) only respond to swift movement.
If you only move slowly you will only be stimulating 1/3 of your muscle tissues.
Our muscles are a mixture of slow-twitch (Type I) and fast-twitch fibers (Type II & Type IIa). While some muscle groups tend to be fast-twitch dominant or slow-twitch dominant the majority are a mixture of these 3 fiber types. If you only move slowly you will only be able to move slowly.
The body adapts to any given demand.
The SAID Principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands) states that the body functions in order to complete a task or meet any imposed demand through gradual adaptation. Basically, the best way to gain physical quality is to practice it, it is the only way, really. If there is no stimulus, there is no adaptation.
How do you get strong? By repeatedly doing things that make you stronger. How do you become more mobile? By repeatedly doing things that increase mobility.
How do you become more flexible? Practice.
This isn’t about body-building it’s about building longevity.
So you can live your best life for a long time to come.
If you stop moving quickly, if you stop bouncing or stop dancing, one day you won’t be able to. Our bodies lose qualities like springiness, plasticity, and the ability to intake force because we stop doing these things. We become predictable movers and our bodies no longer adapt to the unexpected.
I want you to imagine a rubber band. You stretch it out tight, leave it under tension day and night. Eventually, that rubber band is going to lose tension and start to lose its springy, bouncy qualities.
Think of your tendons, ligaments, fascia, and connective tissue like a system of rubber bands that limit/permit ranges of movement that your body feels prepared for.
Your connective tissue is a tensioning system that keeps your bones and joints where they need to be. These tissues aren’t as moist or stretchy as muscle and they respond to a totally different stimulus than the muscles do.
This is where ballistic stretching, yin yoga, and Cranialsacral work focus.
Like rubber bands, your connective tissue can stretch to its limit and return to shape quickly but leave them stretched out too long and they will start to become brittle. It will lose its spring. Effecting posture, hormone balance, and energy levels.
Certain tissues in your body will respond best to quicker movements.
When we stop moving quickly, stop bouncing, playing, and exploring we lose the ability to. You can get those qualities back through investing in yourself again. The first place to focus is by getting your qualities back. Strength, speed, lightness, bounce, bend and stretch. These qualities are what make you the best mover on the planet.
Speed is necessary if you want to take care of the whole you and not just some of you. Even bouncy or swinging motions are necessary to maintain or youthfulness.
Vary your movements and vary your speed.
Play Forever.
– Justin
