The smart body games

I first heard the term "smart body" in college when I was reading some article about MMA training. There are other names for this - stuff like "kinesthetic awareness," "well coordinated," or just plain and simple "athletic." But I always liked "smart body" since it sets up a great little comparison. Just like all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, a smart body is always strong, but a strong body isn't necessarily smart.

In my opinion, the hallmark of a smart body is well developed and - here's the key - efficient movement skills.

Read that last line again, because there's an interesting implication embedded in it. People with smart bodies are efficient, which means they look for ways to do LESS work to accomplish a task. Our modern fitness industry revolves around ways to get you to do MORE work. If you've been sedentary and are looking to get back into shape, then you absolutely need to do more work. But at a certain point, a paradigm shift needs to happen. You need to stop moving around because you have to burn X number of calories and start moving around because you love it. This means finding an activity you can love (probably not the treadmill) and you want to do for as long as possible. Efficient movement lets you play longer and harder.

So how to build a smarter body? Practice skill-based movements, the more the merrier. The fancy term we sometimes use is "complexity bias." Basically, the more complex the skill-set, the more benefit you get. A sprinter has a smarter body than a jogger, a running back has a smarter body than a sprinter, etc. You don't have to go high-intensity - Tai Chi and dancing will make your body incredibly smart. Just ask Pai Mei:

I saw Sean do this once. No, really.

Something I've noticed is that people with smart bodies are incredibly adaptable - they learn new things quickly. I think this is why most people who excel at Crossfit have had prior training in a skill-heavy discipline and why I always have an easy time of teaching non-parkour skills to traceurs.

"Okay," I hear you say, "I'm sold. Smart bodies FTW... now what?"  I have a few little games you can play in your house that require almost no equipment. Let's call them the Smart Body Games:

1. Stand up and sit down:  From a standing position, sit down on the floor. Then return to standing. Don't use your arms/hands and maintain good posture the whole time. For added challenge, add in rotations as you ascend/descend. Now try to do it with one leg and one arm. Play with different combinations of limbs.

2. "My arms!": Lie down on your back and pretend your arms are paralyzed. Maneuver yourself around the house using only your legs. Go around corners, try to get up onto couches/chairs, you can even try going down stairs (go feet first... trust me) Feel free to roll onto your stomach at any point, just don't use your arms to do so!

3. "My legs!": Same as above, but now your legs are paralyzed.

4. "Never say die!": Same as above, but now you've only got 1 limb. Good luck :)

5. "Do a barrel roll!": Travel only via rolling. This could be a PK style shoulder roll, back roll, baby style roll, anything you want. This one is especially fun to do with spouses/siblings/roommates/etc. Watch your head.

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Sets, reps, etc. aren't important. Remember, you're trying to make this as easy as possible - efficiency is king! I'm sure we all have versions of these types of games and I'd love to hear some of yours - comment away!