TOP Essentials
A career-long quest
I’m sure I’ve said it before but I’ve been gait obsessed since I started studying Physical Therapy. It seems pretty likely that if we walk and run well, then our bodies are going to feel good.
I did an online course with Square 1 System and they are equally focused on gait as a reference tool. They secondly focus on moving up and down as a primary human movement. I can also relate to this as my second obsession, started a little later, has been ‘what is happening in a squat’? Particularly a split squat.
I’ve now come to a point where I have a framework that I’m happy with; a model that makes sense to me theoretically but also physically for both of those movement patterns. I can see the positive effects happening when I cue myself differently while I walk or while I test what kind of jump technique gets me higher as measured on the jump mat.
Here are some of the key components of this system:
The tibia must roll in (internally rotate) as you plant your foot down. This is a big leader for pronation and force absorption.
The spiral and lateral lines are myofascial trains of muscles that are critical for stability when you are on one leg.1 The stance leg acts like a kind of stilt underneath the body, maintaining consistent pressure while the hips and torso lift over it.
The forefoot is critical for stability. Without good strength from below, the hip will be weaker or move in a compensatory pattern.
There are lots of little things to say about the foot; most important I think is that you need to be able to hold the inner edge of your foot down (ball of the big toe and inner heel via the ankle muscles) as your body passes over the foot. Secondly, you cannot let the whole foot evert, i.e. lose pressure under the outside edge of the foot.
The soleus (calf) and glute max muscles are the main muscles creating power in the lower body. They need to ‘yield’ before they ‘overcome’2. Everything else is essentially trying to stabilise to help provide something for them to push against.
We need to strike at good angles; too high and stiff and we won’t absorb force well. Too low where we continue to sink and bend as our foot hits the ground, we lose stability and power potential.
Timing is everything: holding anything for too short or too long a time will make things less efficient and possibly over-shorten or over-lengthen tissues which may add up to stress and pain in the end.
TOP Essentials is coming out very soon. Watch this space.
Cal Dietz really emphasises this in his double sling
Bill Hartman’s terms.