'The 4 Knots'
There are "4 knots" which cover the 4 corners of the human body. The shoulders and hips. Also know as the "Lumbo-Pelvic Hip Complex.
Lumbo-Pelvic Hip Complex (LPHC): The anatomical structures of the lumbar (low back), thoracic (upper chest and back), cervical spine, pelvic girdle, and hip joint.
"Optimal muscle performance is determined by the posture of the LPHC during functional activities" ~ National Academy of Sports Medicine
Posture is the name of the game for health and performance. The tighter these knots are... the stronger, healthier, and more powerful your entire body will be.
The moment one of these knots breaks loose -- as a result of movement viruses (I.e., poor posture). If you keep bumping into "shoulder tweaks" and "strains" in your workouts... errr... training.
It's likely you have undetected movement viruses (i.e., muscle imbalances).
Triggering the...
"Cumulative Injury Cycle"
Movement is a behavior.
I have two kids (11 and 7).
When they display "bad" behavior and daddy doesn't "check'em" with some 'Sweet Chin Music'.
(Shawn Michaels fans please stand up!)
... what happens?
It gets worse right?
If I don't bother to correct them until they're teens, it's not gonna turn out well.
... and can lead to a vicious cycle of trauma.
When they display "good" behavior, it's important to reinforce said good behavior. Triggering a positive cycle. The same goes for how we move. If we move poorly and don't correct it (in the right order), the bad behavior gets worse.
This's why stretching for the sake of stretching only reinforces bad movement patterns and does not tighten the 4 knots.
The truth about performance...
Pressing, squatting, and swinging kettlebells on a dysfunctional/cracked foundation... reinforces poor pressing, squatting, and kettlebell swinging patterns.
Leading to more movement viruses and muscle imbalances.
Keeping you trapped in the "Cumulative Injury Cycle."
The answer?
Enter the...
Strength + Power Flow
The sequence...
- GFE
- Quad T-spine (x3) → teacups (x3) → crab switch w/ rocking (x3)
- Frog roll (x3) → Happy baby series (x3) → lower roll (x3)
- 4pt “X-lift” (x3) → Craw to PU (x3) → “Around the clock” (L/R) → 4pt natural crawl (5/5)
- Jump to GU (Side/Side & Forward) (3/3)
- Head roll (L/R) → sweep roll (L/R) → frog roll (L/R) → roof → scorpion → GU → PU → repeat x 2
- OAPU regression (L/R) → cobra (x3) → crow repeat x 2
- Crawl → PU → crawl → GU (L/R) → crawl → stand → repeat x 3
- Reverse GFE
Rounding out your recovery mechanisms for level 1 of strength foundations. This recovery mechanism has been formulated to boost strength, endurance, muscle-building, and solidify the '4 Knots' for total body power.
Practice this 1 day per week for 15-20 minutes between the UBF and LBF. Here's your new recovery schedule:
- Day 1: Kettlebell strength training.
- Day 2: Upper Body Flow.
- Day 3: Kettlebell strength training.
- Day 4: Strength + Power Flow.
- Day 5: Kettlebell strength training.
- Day 6: Lower Body Flow.
- Day 7: Rest or GFE practice.
[BONUS] '4 Knots Recharge'
This use to be part of the Better Man curriculum but... I removed it to keeps this simple for you. As the GFE and flows are pretty much all you need.
With that said... if you're looking for a quick recharge to address the '4 Knots,' this will do the trick. It's perfect before a strength training session. Or to remove "movement viruses" and reverse the damage of sitting.
(Password: 4KnotsRecharge)
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