Things are not always as they appear. A sprawling mansion could be filled with mold. A glistening luxury car could have a rusting engine. A person who just ran a marathon could have terrible joint pain. Many times the outside and the inside do not match up. In the fitness world this is something known as dyfunctionally fit.
In short, dysfunctionally fit refers to a person who for all intents and purposes appears to be a prime physical specimen. However, they are dysfunctional in some sort of basic way not noticeable to the untrained eye.
At Mind Body Spine it is part of our job to spot those who are dysfunctionally fit and help them correct whatever imbalances they might have. When performing any sort of movement, whether for exercise or daily life, if you have a dysfunction (muscle imbalance, joint weakness, misaligned spine, etc) that precludes you from completing the motion properly your body will recruit other muscles to complete the movement however it can.
A common example of this is if someone is gardening. They are bending, kneeling, and working on cultivating their crops. If they have weak or tight glutes they will have difficulty getting up from the ground. Rather than being stuck on the ground their body will recruit other muscles and joints to get them off the ground. This can lead to knee and low back pain. It is something commonly seen at Mind Body Spine.
There are countless instances of those who appear to be in great shape having serious structural issues. Most likely you have seen someone who has a large chest from being dedicated to the bench press who also has severely rounded shoulders and forward head posture. They are dysfunctionally fit, because they dysfunctionally train. They target specific muscles to the point of overuse. It can be because certain exercises are more ‘fun’ but in terms of most people it simply comes down to a lack of knowledge.
We at Mind Body Spine and Cape Kettlebell pride ourselves in teaching functional training, functional movement. The foundation of our functional training might not be all glitz and glamour, but the movements are taught to give you the best chance to live a pain free life and perform daily activities easier.
Whether you are a bodybuilder with rounded shoulders or a gardener looking to get off the ground correctly, or anything in between, we at Mind Body Spine and Cape Kettlebell are here to get you from dysfunctional to functional. Give us a call, email, or stop by when you’re ready to get started!
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by Christopher Setterlund