The Struggles Of Stationary Movements

Ever since I've become an Animal Movement fanatic, I have struggled with regular stationary bodyweight and implement used exercises. Before I had no problem doing Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats, Mountain Climbers, Burpees and sprinting in place but for some reason especially recently; very few exercises actually keep me interested from a stationary standpoint because they're fun to do and I get a lot of joy out of it. Most of the time now, whenever I do certain exercises, I lose interest fast and at times I don't know why. My body responded well before but now it feels like whenever I do them, it feels like I'm in jail and I have too little space.

Don't get me wrong, bodyweight exercises, weights, sandbells, cables and the Slamball are all phenomenal in their own right and are essential to fitness in some form or another but if you have space and you can use it beyond just going up and down or side to side in one spot, why not use it? We all know the cliche' of "Anytime, Anywhere" and it is true but at the same time if you're just in one spot, why aren't you using the space that's really around you?

Very often now whenever I hear the word stationary, I think of being locked in a cell and have nowhere to go. To me it sounds negative and overwhelming sometimes. Yeah you can do many exercises wherever you go but if you stick to exercises in just one spot of space what is really going on there? Maybe because I'm getting older and understanding things more and seeing things from a different perspective but I'am telling you flat out, I feel a lot more free doing things that get me moving around more than 2ft x 2ft form of space. You have to understand, movement is movement regardless but also where is the true freedom in the space you can truly use?

I use to love doing Hindu Squats and Hindu Push-ups on a whim and loved doing different types of burpees or various weights but it just seems like I get more out of using the real amount of space that has unlimited potential. It got me thinking from a wrestling perspective. When I had my two sessions in BJJ, somewhere where I was fighting and getting the best position although I wasn't anywhere near the positions I truly wanted to be in, you don't wrestle in just a single spot. You wrestle standing, on the ground, you move around in space and time to find the best position for an offensive move or defending yourself. The mat is like a planet, there are so many places you can go. Think about that for a second. Do you have a clue what it's like to wrestle and fight somebody in a small confined space? I sure as hell don't. If that happens, it doesn't matter how good you are or how much of an ass kicking you get, if you're so limited, where's the real potential to have some form of an edge?

This is one of the things I truly love and understand about Animal Movements; it's learning how to utilize the space you can truly own and operate without being limited to a single spot. When an animal fights, it uses every resource it has and is aware of to bring the fight to their advantage; wrestling and exercise in general ought to have a similar philosophy, to use every resource of space possible to get the most out of your mind and body. If you have a group of people in a short space and need to train the best way possible that's one thing, it's another to truly be open to the possibility of getting every ounce of space you can use and progress your body's condition to the next level. If the weather is good enough for me, I'll go out and use up every single inch of space I can muster, but if it's too damn hot or too cold, than I stay in but use every inch of space I know of. I have done animal moves in the bedroom, a hotel room, my office and the garage; have thrown implements and walked with them in the space I can use. Being in spot for me now sucks big time and I don't want to waste energy being so limited yet find a way to use every inch of where I'm at.

If you have an idea of what I'm talking about when it comes to being conflicted to one spot, watch the movie Bronson with Tom Hardy, there is a scene where he is locked up to a cell where the length of the cage/cell is only large enough to where standing is almost the only option and if you had to sit, you'd have to be pretty damn flexible. That's what I feel like at times when I do certain exercises, there is a lot more behind me but because I'm in one little spot, it feels no bigger than the room i'm in. In a nutshell, claustrophobic is the word i'm looking for.

Don't limit yourself, use every spare of space around you to get the very maximum of your potential.

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