YouTube clips

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Three-part interview with Kit Laughlin

 

Part 1: What's amazing about the Monkey Gym?

Part 2: What if they're not strong?

Part 3: Will I get a bulky body?

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45 minutes in the Monkey Gym

Today we committed the team to making the "RollStretch" DVD. We hope this will be the definitive "fascial fitness" reference—we have been writing about and workshopping on this for years, so it's time we got this recorded and codified. Stay tuned!!

 

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Monkey Gym good times!

Just a little fun thing Paul put together in his quest to shoot a camera well, and edit a clip. I liked it so much, we decided we'd put it up, purely for the amusement value. Enjoy!

 

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Putting on Vibram Five Fingers

How to put the Classics, the Sprints, and the Bikilas on your feet. It looks simple when you see someone who knows how—but there are a few tricks!

The Vibrams are simply the best "shoe" that has ever hit the market, and I have been wearing them for the last six years, ever since I first saw a pair at the Mountain Equipment Co-op in Vancouver. Enjoy!

 

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Another day in the Monkey Gym

A quick glimpse of a recent Tuesday evening training session at the Monkey Gym, Australian National University. We are experimenting with playing, basically—and finding out how we can make adults stronger, more agile, and as efficient as possible. 

Our work emphasises true functional strength: we want to stay as close as possible to the centre of a 'conceptual triangle' whose corners are 'strength', 'aerobic fitness', and 'range of movement', because we have found that in most people, gaining advantage in one of these qualities usually decreases one or both of the others. 

As Ruby Rodd said (in "The Fifth Element", when asked to 'Assume the position'), "I don't want one position; I want all positions!" That's our position.

 

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Standing 3-Point Spinal Alignment Drill

This is Part One of the Spinal Alignment Drill series (the first is done in the standing position, where the movements are the easiest to learn). In this simple exercise, you will learn how to flatten, flex, then extend the lumbar spine, followed by flexion and extension of the thoracic spine. The former uses the "tail tuck" cue; the latter the unique "lift the chest" cue. The last part of this exercise flattens the cervical spine—in all, by flattening the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine, all three curves are flattened.

The net effect of combining the first two cues means that the ribs are moved away from the pubic bone—and rectus abdominis is both lengthened and inhibited in the process. This sets the scene, experientially, for activation of transversus abdominis and the internal obliques. We have found that this sequence is extremely effective in helping people to activate the lower, and deeper, abdominal muscles.

 

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Hands-and-knees 3-Point Spinal Alignment Drill

This is Part Two of the spinal alignment drills, made harder by aligning the spine across the plane of gravity. For most people, lifting the chest (along the floor in this position) is significantly harder than in the standing version, even with no load—so imagine how hard it it to flatten the thoracic spine when it is really loaded, as in a back or front lever off the roman rings.

Make sure that you can feel how to change the shape of the spine in all its parts (lumbar, thoracic, and cervical) before attempting more difficult exercises.

 

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Floor piriformis, with props and/or a partner

An American patient asked me to put up a clip to help him stretch this sometimes troublesome muscle—in his case, referred pains in the outer hip and, thigh and the outside of his calf muscle, on the one side, a classic "piriformis syndrome" pattern.

Please pay close attention to alignment and body placement: like all good exercises, the body will work against you to avoid the effects—in other words, the brain knows how to cheat to avoid pain! Get it right, though, and this is the most effective piriformis stretch of them all (and we have quite a few). A partner can provide assistance to help the position, and to help you stay in it for the desired time.

 

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Glute activation in three steps

"Glute activation in three steps" is an excerpt from a forthcoming DVD entitled Monkey Gym fundamentals: Strength & Flexiility. In my view there is a large amount of misinformation out there on how to get stronger and how to repattern one's muscle sequencing. This clip shows how to progress simple exercises through to advanced versions. The goal is to be able to be able to change the shape of the spine at will - while loaded.

 

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"The Retiree" article, supporting YouTube clips

The clips below are support videos for an article in The Retiree magazine. The article is "Staying agile and pain-free as you age".
(View in high definition.)

 

 

 

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RollStretch

The clips below show a few highlights of the combination muscle/fascia stretching system we call RollStretch. Experiment with this technique (carefully) to see if it's the missing link in your flexibility routine. (View in high definition.)

 

 

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Classes and DVD excerpts

Watch the clips below to get a feel for P&F and S&F classes, and a couple of excerpts from the Stretching & Flexibility Update DVD and the Overcome neck & back pain Update DVD. (View in high definition.)