In my journey of becoming pain free I discovered that compression was a major cause of my problems.
Years of unchecked compression from strength training, poor posture, gravity, and well, life, had crept into my nervous system, leaving a trail of dehydrated tissue, restriction and pain in its wake.
I discovered how crucial it was to release this compression not only for pain relief, but for physical performance. When the body is compressed it can’t create, receive, or transfer force as well as it should.
And, recovery suffers from poor nerve transference and restricted breathing.
The first steps to relieving this compression is to commit to daily self-myofascial release and breathing drills. This will free up the restricted tissue, promote hydration, and allow the nervous system to relax.
Once you’ve decompressed the system it’s time to recode much of the reason why the compression is there in the first place; the way you move.
You see, the way your body receives force or pressure will dictate how it moves through your body. If you’re moving with compensations or with poor biomechanics, the force will move along the wrong chains or lines in your body.
This will cause more compression, leaving certain muscles overactive and others weak. It can also send the force directly into your joints instead of into your muscles where it can move and dissipate.
A lot of my problem was how I received and transferred force through my feet and up into my hips. Instead of it going along the lateral lines of the legs into the hips and glutes, it traveled up the inner legs directly into my sacrum and low back.
In fact, the lateral edges of my body were so compressed and neurologically shut off from years of traditional weightlifting that the force had no other option then to travel right into my lower back.
Lateral Edges
My first understanding of the importance of training your lateral lines was introduced to my from 54 year old physical specimen, Bill Maeda.
Bill has managed to get himself completely out of pain and maintains the physique of a greek statue by almost exclusively training what he calls the “lateral edges” of his body.
Before we explore exercises for the lateral edges you must first continue to decompress these areas, then gradually wake them up.
The specific muscles we are looking to decompress and develop are the obliques, lats, serratus, and glutes. This area is also sometimes referred to as the oblique slings and the lateral and spiral lines.
Your lateral core is an incredibly powerful source of strength and power that is usually underdeveloped on most people.
This area can create immense rotational power, which is vital for all of athletics, but also for transferring force properly through your body.
Corner Hip Stretch
A great way to further release compression and recode your body to receive and transfer force on the correct chains is ground work.
Neurologically, the ground is where we first developed our movement patterns as babies, and modern life has pulled us further away from the amazing benefits of sitting and moving on the floor.
The Bow and Corner stretches are inspired by the GOATA system and help decompress the lateral lines and start to feel them through the mind-muscle connection.
You should feel a stretch in the outer glute of the bent leg, and a good expansion of the ribs and stretch of the lats on the side of the straight leg.
Commit to doing these every morning in combination with your myofascial release and breathing drills.
Wall Stretch
Once you have felt the lateral lines on the ground you can stand up and try the Wall Stretch inspired by Landmine University.
Coach Kannellis explains how athletic power is created through the “coiling core” in which you create a long side and short side.
The long side would be a completely lengthened lateral chain and the short side would be a maximally shortened or compressed lateral chain. Again, avoiding compression completely is not the goal, but having a decompressed system with the ability to access compression when needed is what we’re after.
On the wall stretch you should feel a deep stretch along the entire lateral aspect of the long side, while experiencing an intense contraction of the short side lat, serratus, and oblique.
Coiling Core
As mentioned, the Coiling Core, is a concept that comes from David Weck and is built on the mechanics of the Spinal Engine Theory. Instead of bracing or restricting the core, optimal movement and performance comes from coiling the core, where there is a twisting and bending of the spine, facilitated by the lateral chains.
The Coiling Core drill is your first look into the athletic power of a free moving, decompressed spine and body.
Learning this position and concept at large will completely change how you understand movement, as well as training for performance, resilience, and longevity.
When you can freely express the rotational ability of your body, with force transferring properly through the fascial chains, you will not only unlock your performance potential but you will dramatically reduce the compression and tension on the system.
In fact, understanding how rotational is the foundation of all movement, be it in sport or life, will make you drastically rethink how you train for both.
In the next article, we’ll explore the most neglected, yet most important aspect of training in most routines; rotation.
Until then, decompress, stretch, and wake up those lateral lines to prepare for the life-changing power of rotational training.
