We hope you all had fun learning and applying “3D” as it relates to the human body. To quickly review we discussed the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes of movement and demonstrated in words/video how each plane worked. (Did any of you take our 3D quiz for a chance to be entered into a raffle for some fun prizes?) As humans, we were meant and designed to move in all these directions; yet, with many modern conveniences and sedentary occupations, we seem to move less and less. Maximizing multi-planar motion will not only help your movement, flexibility, agility, fitness and strength, but it will also train your proprioceptors to better respond if you trip, slip, reach/lift at an awkward angle, or do a quick direction change when playing a recreational or competitive sport, oftentimes significantly lowering your potential injury risk.
We are connected from head to toe, and there is an intricate communication system that must exist between all muscles so the timing is accurate between individual or groups of muscle for firing, stabilizing, relaxing, or decelerating dynamic activities such as walking and running. Adding regular 3D tweaks to your entire fitness routine keeps the body “tuned up” and ready to handle a variety of different challenges or activities.
Once you get a grasp of these three different planes of motion it gets easier and easier to add simple tweaks to your warm-ups, to your exercises, and to your stretching routines. Not only is multi-planar activity necessary and good for you, but it also feels good and it’s actually a lot of fun so below we have provided you with three complimentary videos that show you:
How to 3D a warm-up:
How to add 3D to your actual walk/run:
How to make your stretching more effective and functional by adding a 3D component:
Give them a try, share them with those you feel may also benefit, and don’t hesitate to post a question or comment below if we can further clarify anything for you. So go ahead and get out for some fun in the sun now that you know how to 3D your walk and your run. Enjoy!
Lori Diamos was a physical therapist at Athletico Physical Therapy at the time of this blog.