Health & Longevity: Why is Movement/Mobility/Even Stretching ignored?

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Sean,

You must be new to the internet. Allow me to explain how discussions on the internet work:

I present an opinion. You disagree with my opinion, and use a condescending tone to express your disagreement. I disagree with your disagreement, but focus mostly on calling you names, insulting your intelligence, and using logical fallacies in an attempt to prove my opinion. You call me names in return, tell me how dumb I am, and use your own logical fallacies in a half-assed attempt at proving your original opinion. I call you a dumbass. You call me a fucking idiot and tell me how you wasted your time. We both leave the thread. A day later both of us are angrily typing on the internet again.

Admittedly, this thread is a really bad example of that. The OP admitted he was wrong, and thanked the participants for the discussion. Obviously, he is also new to the internet.

This is one of the best posts on the Internet since Gore invented it.

[slhuckstead]

Just two cents that the bar squats / light squats that constitute our typical warmup are the best stretching I've ever done. I'm not an expert in supple leopardry or anything, but I pretty much do bar squats to warm up for any workout now. I mean for me it hits my arms and shoulders, sets my back, loosens and stretches my hips, stretches my hams and calves, I don't get what else I would need. I guess if I some specific problem like my neck I'd focus on that, but I'm just an average 36 year old who wakes up stiff.

Curious about the use of 'longetivity', not sure stretching is going to add time to your life.

There's a testosterone joke in there just waiting to be addressed...

[hamburgerfan]

When I first began training as a novice, I experienced an increase in flexibility without doing any stretching. I have not found this effect to continue past the novice stage. These days, the level of training required to get stronger leaves me stiff and tight enough that I need to stretch consistently in order to maintain the flexibility to lift pain free with correct form.

[Tim K]

You know who else had an opinion?

Hitler?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Finally.

[Barry Charles]

This is one of the best posts on the Internet since Gore invented it.

No it isn't. What did you go to college for? To get stupid?

[jordansisson]

sorry to bring this up again but I think the argument got to mobility orientated rather than movement orientated. the OP touched on Ido Portal who has some incredible feats of strength and movement and often makes the argument of 'what are we training for?' and this to me is something I find myself asking a lot. I fully get the argument of general movements are most applicable to other movements i.e. squats, deads, press etc but if I am just your average guy, not competing in any sport - what am I training for? to get strong? well, if that's the case - strong for what? This then seems to open up the relative vs. absolute strength debate, what's the point of being strong if you can't move your own body is something that does resonate with me.

I guess what I am trying to get at is two things: how do we then utilise this strength in a broader sense of movement, but I'd also love to get some of the guys opinions on here on what are we training for if we aren't part of a sport?

[Mark Rippetoe]

First, "orientated" is not a word in the English language. Second:

if I am just your average guy, not competing in any sport - what am I training for? to get strong? well, if that's the case - strong for what? This then seems to open up the relative vs. absolute strength debate, what's the point of being strong if you can't move your own body is something that does resonate with me.

This makes absolutely no sense. Take another stab at it.

[Matthew_888]

I guess what I am trying to get at is two things: how do we then utilise this strength in a broader sense of movement, but I'd also love to get some of the guys opinions on here on what are we training for if we aren't part of a sport?

Besides all the hormonal, physiological and mechanical benefits a stronger body has over a weaker body (discussed at length in various articles), Starting Strength does a great job at learning the lifter a good deal of science and engineering.
i.e. not only it learns you how to think, it also acts as preventive medicine.
For less than 100$.
It's so ridiculous, I am actually laughing.

[Jayson Ball]

What's the point of being strong if you can't move your own body is something that does resonate with me.

I guess what I am trying to get at is two things: how do we then utilise this strength in a broader sense of movement, but I'd also love to get some of the guys opinions on here on what are we training for if we aren't part of a sport?

Get enough mobility and movement skill for whatever you want to do with your life. Do you want to do capoeira? You'll need to get mobile enough to do those skills. Do you want to play badminton? Get mobile enough to do that. Salsa dancing? Rock climbing? Press Handstands? This question can be answered in as many ways as there are physical human interests. What interests you may not be the same as what interests me, but no matter what, we all benefit from a strength base which allows us do the things you want to do better.

Starting Strength is a novice progression. It's not a huge chunk of your life. Once you're an intermediate, you can push barbell strength as your thing, or branch out into handstands and rings and dancing or whatever it is that you want to do while keeping your lifts respectable.

As for Ido, I've done almost all the skills on his old blogspot routines, (which I completed twice), and attended his movement X seminar. It's really interesting and fun stuff (if you're into twisting yourself and going upside down on your hands etc), but Ido is trying to see what kinds of movement his body is capable of to an extreme level. He has said that he trains and practices something like 6 hours a day and he thinks it's not optimal for his health/longevity. He gets beat up from pursuing it so obsessively. But that's what he wants to do, so he does it.

Find what you want to do, then do it. Do you need more mobility to do so? Then get it. It's not any more complex than that. You don't need a grand theory of Optimal Human Movement For Life Best Lived. Just pursue your interests but don't forget to get strong first. It makes everything easier.