Movement starts at birth
Primary movements are your friends for life.
Primary movements are the foundational movements on which all your daily and sports gestures are based.
The journey to becoming a movement maestro starts at birth! Between the ages of 0 and 3, little ones aren't just mastering peek-a-boo and giggling at silly faces. They're unconsciously building the foundation for a lifetime of healthy movement through a fascinating three-stage process of mastering primary movements.
Stage 1: Building the Blocks (Constitutive Stage)
Think of this stage as laying the groundwork. Here, babies are all about developing the core strength, coordination, and balance they'll need to conquer movement milestones. This is where they master control of their head, neck, and trunk, paving the way for those adorable (and sometimes wobbly) first rolls, sits, and crawls.
Stage 2: Putting it All Together (Transitional Stage)
Now that the basic building blocks are in place, things get exciting! This stage is where babies start to combine the movements they've learned in stage 1. Imagine watching your little one graduate from crawling to those first tentative steps, attempting to climb furniture with newfound confidence, or maybe even trying a daring jump (supervised, of course!). It's also during this stage that hand-eye coordination takes a leap forward, allowing them to pick up those tiny objects that seem so irresistible.
Stage 3: Refining the Craft (Functional Stage)
By this stage, our little mover is a pro! Their primary movements become smooth, efficient, and graceful. They can navigate their world with ease, using their newfound skills to perform everyday tasks like getting dressed, tackling lunchtime like a champ, and playing with boundless energy.
While those early years are crucial for establishing healthy movement patterns, the good news is, it doesn't stop there! Just like those determined babies mastering their skills, we can all reap the incredible benefits of regular movement throughout our lives. From increased energy levels and a happier mood to a body less susceptible to pain and injuries, staying active is a recipe for overall well-being.
In the absence of an accident, or handicap, movements will become fully effective and efficient around the age of three and follow a slow decline due to repetitive sitting positions (which often coincides with the start of school).
What is an Efficient Movement?
An efficient movement is one that accomplishes the desired task or motion with the minimum amount of energy expenditure and effort. It involves coordinating the various joints and muscles in a harmonious way to produce a smooth, fluid motion without wasted energy or unnecessary tension. The key characteristics of efficient movement include:
Proper body alignment and posture that allows the body's center of mass to move smoothly and with minimal resistance. This reduces braking forces and wasted energy.
Using only the muscles necessary for the movement, without excessive co-contractions or tension in uninvolved muscles. Extraneous muscle tension wastes energy.
Smooth coordination between joints, with the stronger core muscles doing most of the work while the limbs guide the motion. This allows energy to be transferred efficiently.
Maintaining momentum and flow, without abrupt starts/stops that require extra force to overcome inertia. Fluid motions are more energy efficient.
Optimal stride length/cadence for activities like running to minimize braking forces and maximize propulsion.
The benefits of efficient movement include improved performance, reduced fatigue and injury risk, and conservation of energy for other tasks. Efficiency turns basic movement aptitudes into skilled, high-level abilities by eliminating wasted effort.
The Enemy of Healthy Movements
This one comes as no surprise, we are made to function upright, with our feet on the ground, and our pelvis free to move.
As adults, our modern lifestyles often involve a lot of sitting, which can lead to something called "compensations." These are unconscious patterns that can cause pain and limit our movement potential.
When sitting, especially for long hours, your brain will adapt its programs and some of your muscles will retract so you feel comfortable enough with an immobile pelvis...
But what happens when you stand up again?
Your program will not properly switch back to its original function and will start using the wrong parts of your body in the wrong situations.
This is what we call a compensation.
Compensations are unconscious.
Compensations make place for pain and injuries.
Compensations do not disappear with sport (they worsen).
Stress, fear, anxiety... Your emotions also have a strong impact on both your brain and your body, also leading to compensations.
Neomove: Your Movement Coach for Life
The least we can do, if we want to maintain healthy movement, is to limit the amount of time we spend sitting. We should get up and move around every 20-30 minutes and also make sure to do regular exercise, even just basic walking!
The neomove app is designed to help you combat your compensations by reawakening underused muscles, retraining your movement patterns, and restoring proper function to your joints. No need for grueling workouts - Neomove focuses on practicing the right movements for both your body and brain, empowering you to move with confidence and ease throughout your life's journey:
Reactivating muscular contraction
Reprogramming your movements
Giving back the right function to your articulations
Get moving with Neomove!