Built to Move, by Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett (Knopf, 336 pages)
CrossFit devotees are no doubt familiar with Kelly and Juliet Starrett. Not being one, I was not, and there was nothing in their new book’s title that seems particularly inspiring. In fact, the only thing the book had going for it, I thought, was an endorsement by popular Stanford University podcaster Andrew Huberman.
I was wrong.
The Starretts, co-founders of CrossFit, have written an unusual fitness book in that they address both long-time, hard-core exercisers and the passionate sedentary, those who proudly display 0.0 stickers on the back of their cars in defiance of the 26.2s. They’re not interested in getting you to run a marathon or even 5K. They’re more interested in getting you to be able to get up off the floor for the next couple of decades — literally.
The “sit and rise” test was the subject of research published in 2014. That study showed that the ability to easily drop into a cross-legged position on the floor, and get up again (if possible not using your hands), is reflective of a person’s physical well- being and can be predictive of mortality.
Intuitively, that makes sense. The more limber a person is, the better their health, right? But the Starretts don’t see sitting and rising as simply a measure of wellness and mobility, but a way to achieve it. The average toddler falls down (and gets back up) 17 times an hour, whereas aging adults do all they can to not visit the floor. In fact, we should be getting on the floor, and getting back up, as long as we’re able.
“Sitting on the floor, if you do it regularly, is one of the things that can help you become more proficient at getting down on the floor, and then getting back up again, without using any support,” they write, adding, “Our bodies are built to sit in ground-based positions.”
The Starretts recommend that we spend a total of 30 cumulative minutes a day sitting in various positions on the floor; doing so helps to “rewild” our hip joints and correct the musculoskeletal problems people develop when they sit in chairs (or cars) most of the day.
It is this kind of advice that makes Built to Move a nice surprise and a departure from the typical wellness book that repackages the same old advice. While upending the conventional wisdom, the Starretts argue that anyone, at any age and in any condition, can incorporate a handful of easy practices and see improvements in their condition. But first, they want to destroy the notion that if we exercise aerobically four or five times a week then we’re in some optimal physical condition.
Think you’re OK because you exercise and stretch? The Starretts say that stretching doesn’t work, nor does even yoga, when it comes to improving and preserving range of motion. “In most circumstances, passively pulling on a muscle doesn’t really achieve much, and it certainly doesn’t improve range of motion.” Stretching just releases tension from our muscles. They recommend movements called “mobilizations” that also target ligaments and joints.
Think you’re OK because you run for 45 minutes four times a week? Nope. You need to be walking for a half hour, too, because walking “rewilds” the feet and works the muscles, tendons and ligaments in ways that running doesn’t.
While showing how the typical modern lifestyle works against the ways our bodies are meant to move, the authors point out the myriad conveniences that might make life easier now but might make it harder for us in old age — like a car’s backup camera. (“Give it a rest sometime and turn around to look behind you when you back up.”)
Then of course, there’s nutrition, not as it relates to our weight, but how it affects our ability to heal from injury. Poor nutrition contributes to inflammation and can slow recovery from injury or illness. They don’t care what sort of eating plan you follow as long as it’s high in protein and contains about 800 grams of fruits and vegetables per day.
Finally, as someone currently dealing with chronic pain from an arm injury, I especially appreciated the Starretts’ section titled “What to do when you hurt.” Apparently a lot of other people will appreciate this, too. When Kelly Starrett speaks to audiences, he often asks people to raise their hands if they’re currently in pain, and about 95 percent of the crowd raises a hand.
“Pain,” the Starretts write, “is a request for change.” But interestingly, they add, that pain “doesn’t always mean that you’re injured or that a tissue is damaged; in fact, most times it doesn’t.” While of course pain caused by obvious injuries (i.e., a twisted ankle or broken arm) requires medical treatment, “most of the musculoskeletal pain people experience these days — sore knees, achy lower backs, throbbing shoulders — is not injury, but rather a reflection of our modern lifestyle,” things that can be corrected with the practices shown in the book, the Starretts say.
Their message is hopeful. “One thing you should know about your body is that it’s not as fragile as you think. You are a pretty bombproof organism, easily designed to last a hundred years. That doesn’t mean your body should hurt.” It just means that you’ve got to address the pain in ways beyond taking fistfuls of ibuprofen; “Follow the breadcrumbs and try to figure it out.”
As for the sit-and-rise test, here’s how it’s done: “Cross one foot in front of the other and sit down on the floor into a cross-legged position without holding onto anything. … Now, from the same cross-legged position, rise up off the floor, if possible, without placing your hands or knees on the floor or using anything for support.”
How’d you do? If you still can’t even figure out how to get down on the floor, let alone get up without holding on for dear life, this book’s for you. And no, I’m not telling you how I did on that test. B+
