Fitness First Steps: Ze Plane, Ze Plane

Sensing that you have all missed the C-Suite Athlete I want  to apologize for not posting since last week. The international headquarters of 3Sigma Wellness are located in Orlando, FL, which, as you know, was directly in the path of Hurricane Irma. Anticipating mass mayhem and catastrophe, we decamped for Atlanta, only to return to a house with no power and worse yet - NO INTERNET.

The place where we stayed in Atlanta during the storm is on a golf course and has an unabated view of the tee box on a short par three. It was sort of like watching an aquarium: I went into a trance.

What I noticed right away was that golf swings come in all shapes and sizes, but older golfers seem to evolve toward the short backswing/short follow-through that looks like there is a brick tied to the end of the club. The  adage about the old guy hitting short but right down the middle of the fairway is likely true, but I'm sure you would trade in some of that accuracy for distance if you're constantly hitting a 5-wood or long iron on the second shot of every par four . The reason it's straight is because of muscle memory and ingrained neurological pathways.  The reason it's short is not because of a lack of strength, it's because a golf swing is actually a movement pattern that is made up of several small, multidirectional movements, and failure to maximize the efficiency of those movements creates a loss of torque, which is why you're hitting from the ladies' tees. The same is true of your forehand in tennis or your softball swing. Brutal. 

So as we begin to build a fitness plan, let's start with the basics. You know, the stuff you don't see in "fitness" magazines or in YouTube videos. I'm going to start with movement. Yeah, I'm going to get THAT basic.

Your body moves in three basic planes: sagittal (front-to-back); frontal (side-to-side); and transverse (twisting). Most of the time in our normal lives we are moving in the sagittal plane. Think of walking, sitting down, getting up, etc. It's all basically in a straight line. So what do we not want to do? We don't want to move in the frontal and - God forbid - the transverse planes. Accordingly, this is where most C-Suite Athletes need to focus. My personal belief is that you should train in all three planes of movement as often as possible, and preferably in a way that integrates all three planes at once.

So what are some integrated, multi-plane movements?

1. Heavy bag training. Think of a traditional 1-2-3 (jab, straight, hook) or front, side and round kicks.
2. Kettlebell training.Renegade Rows   and Turkish get-ups Turkish Get Up
3. Rotational Medicine Ball. There are many, many videos, but you'll get an idea of what's possible from this one Med Ball Workout

Stay tuned for the next episode.  It's going to be about "the core". You'll love it!