Becoming a Supple Leopard

1. Prioritize Spinal Mechanics for Optimal Movement

Prioritizing spinal mechanics is the first and most important step in rebuilding and ingraining functional motor patterns, optimizing movement efficiency, maximizing force production, and avoiding injury.

Spinal stability is paramount. The spine acts as the central chassis for force transmission. Maintaining a braced, neutral spine is crucial for efficient movement, maximizing power output, and minimizing the risk of injury. Neglecting spinal mechanics can lead to energy leaks, compromised stability, and increased vulnerability to pain and dysfunction.

Bracing vs. Flexion/Extension. The spine is designed for stability, not isolated flexion or extension. Movement should primarily occur at the hips and shoulders, while the spine remains rigid and protected. Excessive hinging or bending at the spine, especially under load, can create shear forces and increase the risk of disc injuries and other spinal problems.

Conscious Effort. Prioritizing spinal mechanics requires conscious effort and practice. It's not enough to simply "get tight" or "flatten your back." Athletes must learn to actively organize and brace their spine in a neutral position before initiating movement, and maintain that stability throughout the exercise. This involves engaging the core musculature, aligning the ribcage over the pelvis, and centering the head over the shoulders.

2. The One-Joint Rule: Hips and Shoulders as Primary Engines

When you are working from a braced neutral position, flexion and extension should occur only in your hips and shoulders, not in your spine.

Hips and shoulders are designed for movement. The hips and shoulders are ball-and-socket joints built to handle large loads and dynamic movements. They should be the primary drivers of flexion and extension, while the spine remains stable. Initiating movement from the spine, rather than the hips and shoulders, can lead to instability and injury.

Functional movement. Functional exercises prioritize spinal mechanics and initiate movement from the hips and shoulders. These exercises are transferable to real-world activities and promote efficient, injury-free movement patterns. Examples include squats, deadlifts, pushups, and pull-ups.

Load order sequencing. The joint you move first will carry the lion's share of the load. Therefore, it's crucial to load the hips and shoulders first, rather than the knees or spine. For example, in a squat, initiate the movement by sitting back into the hips, rather than driving the knees forward.

3. Torque: The Key to Joint Stability and Force Generation

In order to create safe and stable positions for your joints as well as preserve a braced neutral spinal position, you have to create tension in your hips and shoulders and, by extension, your elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles.

Torque creates tension. Torque, or rotational force, is essential for stabilizing joints and generating power. By creating tension in the hips and shoulders through external and internal rotation, you can enhance joint stability and maximize force production. This principle applies to all joints, from the elbows and knees to the wrists and ankles.

External and internal rotation. Torque is expressed through external rotation (rotating a limb away from the body) and internal rotation (rotating a limb toward the center of the body). The appropriate type of rotation depends on the position of the joint.

Laws of Torque:

• Law #1: If your hips or shoulders are in flexion, create an external rotation force.
• Law #2: If your hips or shoulders are in extension, create an internal rotation force.

Cues for torque. Common strength and conditioning cues, such as "screw your feet into the ground" and "break the bar," are designed to promote torque generation. These cues help athletes create stable positions and maximize force output.

4. Body Archetypes: A Blueprint for Assessing Movement

The functional positions for the hips and shoulders can be categorized into seven basic configurations: four for the shoulders and three for the hips.

Seven archetypes. The functional positions for the hips and shoulders can be categorized into seven basic configurations, or archetypes. These archetypes represent the start and finish positions for most exercise movements and encompass the range of motion needed to be a fully functional human being.

Shoulder Archetypes:

• Overhead
• Press
• Hang
• Front Rack

Hip Archetypes:

• Squat
• Pistol
• Lunge

Assessing movement. The body archetypes provide a blueprint for assessing movement and positional competency. By evaluating an athlete's ability to achieve these archetypal positions, you can identify range of motion restrictions and movement errors.

The Tunnel Concept. The tunnel concept emphasizes the importance of starting a movement in a good position in order to finish in a good position. If you enter the tunnel in a bad position, you're likely to exit in a compromised state.

5. Movement Hierarchy: A Framework for Skill Progression

The movement hierarchy categorizes exercise movements based on stabilization demands and complexity.

Categorizing movements. The movement hierarchy categorizes exercise movements based on stabilization demands and complexity. This framework provides a roadmap for building efficient, transferable movement patterns and progressing from simple to more advanced exercises.

Three categories of movement:

• Category 1: Basic movements with low speed demands and full ranges of motion (e.g., squat, deadlift, pushup)
• Category 2: Movements that add a speed element between the beginning and end of the movement (e.g., jumping and landing, kettlebell swing)
• Category 3: Movements that combine multiple archetypes and require rapid changes in direction (e.g., burpee, clean, snatch)

Scaling movements. The movement hierarchy provides a framework for modifying and customizing exercises based on skill, fitness level, and mobility. This ensures that athletes are challenged appropriately and can progress safely and effectively.

6. Mobility: A Systematic Approach to Address Restrictions

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to correcting range of motion restrictions, addressing tight muscles, and treating achy joints.

Beyond stretching. Correcting range of motion restrictions requires a systematic approach that goes beyond simple stretching. This involves combining techniques and addressing positional and movement-related problems, soft tissue stiffness, and joint restrictions.

Mobility systems:

• Joint mechanics: Addressing joint capsule restrictions and restoring proper joint movement
• Sliding surface dysfunction: Releasing adhesions and improving the glide between tissues
• Muscle dynamics: Lengthening short and tight muscles and improving muscle contraction

Routine maintenance. Performing basic, routine maintenance on your body is essential for preventing injuries and maintaining optimal movement. This involves spending 10 to 15 minutes a day working on your mobility.

7. The Gym as a Human Performance Laboratory

The modern gym should be considered a human performance laboratory.

Testing ground. The gym should be viewed as a laboratory for testing and improving human movement. Your goal should be to exceed any strength, speed, or metabolic demand that you might need in life, sport, or combat.

Diagnostic tool. The gym is also a place to identify and correct positional inefficiencies, poor mechanical tendencies, and compensatory movement patterns. By consistently challenging your body with full-range functional movements, you can expose weaknesses and limitations.

Universal language. The modern strength and conditioning environment has created a formal, universal language of human movement. By understanding the principles that govern full-range exercises, you can apply them to the activities and positions of life, sports, dance, combat, and play.

8. Lifestyle Factors: The Foundation of Movement Quality

You cannot make basic lifestyle errors and expect your body to be able to absorb the consequences when you are working in a performance-biased paradigm.

Lifestyle impact. Lifestyle factors, such as hydration, nutrition, sleep, and stress, have a direct impact on movement quality. Neglecting these factors can compromise tissue health and athletic performance.

Common adaptation errors:

• No warm-up or cool-down
• Sleep deprivation
• Dehydration
• Poor nutrition
• Prolonged sitting
• Stress

Preventable disease. Most musculoskeletal dysfunction is preventable disease. By addressing lifestyle factors and moving correctly, you can reduce stress on your system and minimize the number of cycles you burn through.

9. Pathology and Catastrophic Injury vs. Preventable Dysfunction

Most of the typical musculoskeletal dysfunction that people deal with is really just preventable disease.

Four categories of dysfunction:

• Pathology (serious medical conditions)
• Catastrophic injury (accidents)
• Overtension (missing range of motion)
• Open-circuit faults (moving in a bad position)

Preventable dysfunction. The vast majority of movement dysfunction falls into the categories of overtension and open-circuit faults, which are preventable through proper training, mobility work, and lifestyle choices.

Overtension and open-circuit faults. Overtension refers to missing normal ranges of motion due to tight tissues, while open-circuit faults involve moving in unstable positions that leak power and increase injury risk. Addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that considers both mobility and motor control.

10. The Bracing Sequence: A Step-by-Step Guide to Spinal Stability

The bracing sequence is the bedrock from which all safe, dynamic, and high-volume athletic movement is generated.

A blueprint for stability. The bracing sequence is a step-by-step template for organizing and stabilizing the spine in a neutral position. This sequence should be practiced and mastered to ensure safe and effective movement in all situations.

The bracing sequence:

1. Position your feet directly under your hips and parallel to each other.
2. Set your pelvis in a neutral position by squeezing your butt.
3. Lock your pelvis and ribcage in place by using your abdominals.
4. Balance your ribcage over your pelvis and tighten your belly.
5. Draw the heads of your arm bones back, spreading your collarbones wide as you externally rotate your shoulders.
6. Center your head over your shoulders, focusing your gaze straight ahead.

The Two-Hand Rule. The two-hand rule is a simple and effective method for highlighting spinal positioning. By placing one hand on your sternum and the other on your pubic bone, you can quickly identify deviations from a neutral spinal position.

Last updated: March 8, 2025