The Lost Art of Spontaneous Movement

The weekly challenge at CTS this week is 100 push ups as quickly as possible so last night a bunch of us dropped down and proved our worth. Everyone at CTS does push ups (sometimes much to their dismay), and eventually everyone learns to love them (or at least that’s what I tell myself). After all, a proper push up is a great movement which synchronizes core stability, shoulder mobility, scapular stability, and overall badass-ness.  Yep, I love them. You can read more about that love story here if you haven’t already (shame on you).

Anyways, after completing the push up challenge in an abysmal time I sulked and wondered where my capacity had gone. It took me about 2 minutes longer to complete than it usually would and I was much more exhausted post ordeal. Then I realized, I forgot the art of spontaneous movement.

The art of spontaneous movement simply means being active at any time of the day, any day of the week, anywhere. Most people these days, me included, get into the habit of consolidating all their physical activity into the days they have designated for training. Days off from the gym turn into days off from any exertion at all. This is a great way to destroy your work capacity and make your attempts to get leaner and healthier even more difficult.

The solution? Be spontaneous! Just jump in like that crazy guy from River Monsters.

Do push ups randomly at any time of day. If you walk by a pull up bar of any kind bang out a few reps. Do bodyweight squats while waiting for the bus (or in the privacy of your own home). Run up a hill, skip down the street, and jump up and down. It doesn’t have to be planned into your schedule and it won’t lead to overtraining for those of you terribly afraid of that, the bogeyman man, and other crazy things. It will give you more energy, improve your body composition, and aid your performance in the gym. It’s also fun, let’s not forget that.

Movement in any capacity is a gift. It is your art, don’t let it go to waste.