Chapter 16: Sequence and Timing - The Practice of Natural Movement

“All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this.”

 

—Miyamoto Musashi

 

Sequence and timing are tightly intertwined with breathing, position, and tension and relaxation. What is movement other than a sequence of positions and muscular tension that follow a particular timing, or in other words, a movement pattern? Coordination is nothing else but the ability to orderly recruit and activate motor units to perform a particular pattern. Note the importance of “particular.”

We tend to see coordination as a general quality that, regardless of being innate or trained, is the answer to any movement challenge you might encounter. If you have acquired a good sense of coordination through a particular physical activity it will to some degree facilitate the acquisition of new movement patterns, but it will not spare you the time and energy required to learn to perform them efficiently. Are you as well coordinated as a karate black belt? Great. If you decide to learn judo techniques, you become a white belt again. You may or may not learn faster than someone who has zero experience in any martial art, but you still have to learn the new patterns, even if they are called “techniques.” Coordination, while being a general quality, also demands lots of specificity to be efficient at particular movement tasks. The SAID principle strikes again! (See Chapter 7, “Adaptable,” for a definition of the SAID principle.)

Sequence and timing are an extraordinarily important part of every movement pattern or technique. Sequence is the particular order that each body part follows as it works with other body parts to form a compound or complete movement. Timing concerns the optimal moment each part of the sequence starts and ends, its duration, and its speed.

In most cases, improper timing is what messes up movement execution. It is because of improper timing that sequence is altered (or even completely ruined), and the altered sequence disturbs your position, which can leave you confused and sometimes causes you to lose balance, waste time and energy, repeat the movement, and, in worst cases, sustain injury. The same way incorrect positions can ruin efficiency and even render the outcome of a whole movement ineffective even if the sequence and timing were properly followed, improper sequence and timing wreak havoc with even the best positional control.

Let’s say you want to jump forward as far as possible from a standing position (the Power Jump), and you aren’t able to swing your arms forward, which makes the normal sequence incomplete. Your jump might be effective, but it won’t be efficient because of the missing segment of the sequence (swinging your arms forward). It will feel very “unnatural,” and, most importantly, you will not be able to jump as far as you should. Likewise, if you do swing your arms forward but you do it too late—say you swing them just after takeoff—the sequence is complete, but its timing is off, and the result will be the same as if you had not swung your arms at all. Clearly you cannot dissociate position from sequence and timing (the same way you cannot dissociate sequence and timing from tension and relaxation).

Impeccable sequence and timing can make the difference between achieving an effective and efficient movement and failing an attempt. It makes the movement work, and it also makes it feel “natural.” When the movement is cyclical, as running or swimming are, we may talk about rhythm, which is a good word that expresses smooth, repetitive sequence and timing. A movement such as the Foot-Hand Crawl can be done using the exact same particular back, leg, and arm positions, but their position relative to each other may actually follow distinct pattern variations in sequence and timing. Indeed, you can do the Foot-Hand Crawl by using an ipsilateral pattern—which means the arm and leg on the same side of the body move at the same time—or a contralateral one—where the arm and leg on opposite sides of the body move at the same time. To those who aren’t paying attention or are the non-initiated, the two patterns look the same, and if you cannot differentiate those patterns when you do the Foot-Hand Crawl, then you have no option but to crawl the way you can without knowing if it’s the most contextually efficient.

NOTE

 

The body has a natural tendency to “cross-educate,” which means that acquired motor control in one limb or both limbs on one side of the body supports the acquisition of the same motor control on the opposite limb(s).

 

Also, sequence and timing may have to do with the synchronicity of breathing with movement and when an inhale, an exhale, or a brief breath-hold should take place; for instance, the timing of breathing in a heavy lift sequence is crucial. Last, the production of force or momentum, small or large, and the tension required must also take place at a particular timing of a sequence.

Force Summation

 

In any given movement or technique, more than one muscle plays a part. The relative contribution of each muscle to the net force exerted by a muscle group is called force sharing.

Force summation is the inverse perspective—the overall sum of force or momentum produced by the contribution all body parts or motor units—for example, the total amount of force produced at the moment an object is released when it is thrown. Although the notion of force summation is generally employed for throwing or kicking something, I believe it is worth applying it to any movement; there is also a force summation at the moment we take off for a jump.

When you want to generate movement, you immediately think of contracting your prime movers—those large muscle groups that are responsible for producing most of the strength or power you need, such as pushing on your legs or pulling with your arms. Inefficient movers tend to exclusively rely on the smaller body segments, such as their arms, without considering that the rest of the body could participate to increase performance and make movement more economical. Think of a novice trying to throw hard by only extending the arm. Now think of an expert thrower who uses the whole body, starting with the feet, legs, hips, torso, and finally the arm, wrist, and even fingers. The pattern follows a particular and complex positional sequence and timing.

Involving more motor units whenever possible (and, of course, whenever necessary) in what is sometimes called compound movement is the bread and butter of Natural Movement. This strategy contributes to a greater overall performance if the force output is maximal, or to the reduction of overall energy cost for a given physical action compared to involving fewer body segments.

On top of involving powerful “engines” of the body such as the legs and the hips rather than peripheral limbs only, body-weight shifting and body-weight transfer are two essential strategies for increased force summation that can improve the performance of a number of movements by involving more body segments in the contribution to the overall effort and performance. In short, the two methods allow the generation of additional momentum “from scratch and on the spot.”

Body-Weight Shifting

Body-weight shifting happens in one of two ways:

• When the distribution of the body weight on the existing points of support changes, which increases or decreases the load on the point(s) of support

• When a point of support is removed and the center of gravity moves outside of vertical alignment with the base of support

Body-Weight Shifting Without Change of Support

When body-weight shifting takes place from one point of support to another very swiftly and with enough amplitude, it generates additional momentum that increases velocity; it also can increase ground force reaction, which helps produce more force. The faster the change of distribution of body weight and with the more amplitude (wider range of motion), the more momentum is generated; it is the way body-weight shifting for the sake of efficiency must be understood.

Imagine you’re in a Split Standing position and must throw a rock. Compare how far you can throw (without using hip rotation) when you start with most of your body weight on the front foot with how far you throw when you start by leaning back with most of your body weight on the back foot and then swiftly shift all your body weight to the front foot a brief moment before you extend your arm. The second option clearly makes your projectile go significantly farther because you’re not relying solely on your arm to generate force. You’re adding momentum to your whole body by swiftly shifting your body weight from the back of your body to the front. This additional sequence must take place with the right timing, which is just before you produce force with the upper body (pectoral, shoulder, and triceps muscles). The greater and more explosive the shift of body weight, the more additional power is generated.

The same principle could be used from the same Split Standing position as you jump forward. In this case, the forward shifting of the body weight from the back foot to the front foot not only generates momentum before force is produced by the front leg, but it also helps by “loading” it and increasing ground force reaction, which enables you to land farther than if you don’t employ body-weight shifting. It is not just the force produced by the back leg to shift the body weight that is responsible for all the additional momentum; the pull of gravity, which is a free energy, also plays a part. Indeed, even if the base of support remains unchanged, gravity accelerates the center of gravity the moment it goes beyond the center of the base of support (although not as much as if it was to move completely outside of it, which is also an option available to add momentum). Through practice, you will discover a number of movements for which you will be able to use this principle.

Body-Weight Shifting with Change of Support

Swiftly removing a point of support and shifting the center and line of gravity both outside the base of support could be an intentional move for the purpose of changing direction and location, which is locomotion, in the most efficient way possible—quickly and economically. The swifter and further you displace your line of gravity and center of gravity outside your base of support, the more acceleration and momentum is generated in the direction where the center of gravity is going. The acceleration and momentum aren’t generated by producing great amounts of force; it’s generated by the motive (a force that produces mechanical motion) and free energy, which is the pull of gravity. While your center of gravity is falling outside your base of support, you are “off” balance yet your balance is not off; you’re dynamically changing support through a controlled change of center of gravity, which is the essence of locomotion. You use this principle when you change direction while running but also in numerous other movements.

Body-Weight Transfer

Body-weight transfer happens when nonsupporting body parts or segments—and consequently their weight—is swiftly put to motion, which generates segmental momentum that is transferred to whole-body momentum. Think, for instance, of swinging your arms forward before you jump. That’s body-weight transfer. The difference between body-weight transfer and body-weight shifting is that in body-weight transfer the momentum is created through a part of the body that isn’t supporting any body weight. If you’re standing, you can body-weight shift from one foot to the other and body-weight transfer with your arms or upper body. If you’re standing on a single leg, then the free leg could contribute to additional momentum as well. If you’re hanging by your hands, you can body-weight shift from one hand to the other and body-weight transfer through your legs or lower body.

A significant amount of additional kinetic energy can be produced during body-weight transfer, which results in a decrease in the amount of raw muscular strength you need to achieve a given level of performance or an increase in the level of performance you would otherwise achieve without it.

I did basic tests and rudimentary measurement to compare the Power Jump (which you might know by the name “broad jump”) as I used various arm movements. The table shows the results of my tests.

 

No arm movement	89 inches
Forward Arm Swing starting with arms on hips’ sides	97 inches
Forward Arm Swing starting with arms pulled behind the body	104 inches
Backward-Forward Arm Swing starting with arms extended to the front of the body, swiftly pulled to the back, then followed by a Forward Arm Swing, increasing the stretch reflex	111 inches

 

So, although these rudimentary tests and measurements show that muscular power in the prime movers represents roughly 80 percent and the most important part of the maximum distance I can reach with a Power Jump, additional momentum through body-weight transfer through the arms represents 20 percent of the distance. That’s really significant. Now, another significant thing is that the typical partial arm swing (swinging with arms bent and starting at the hips) represents only a fraction of the overall additional distance that can be gained with really efficient body-weight transfer, a mere 9 to 10 percent extra distance compared to the no-arm distance. With a more efficient use of the arms, I got 25 percent more distance. This means that while body-weight transfer adds to efficiency for a Power Jump, efficient body-weight transfer adds even more—sometimes significantly more.

So which variables make body-weight transfer efficient?

• Weight: This is an aspect you have little control over, but because momentum is generated by both mass and acceleration, if the body parts you accelerate are larger and heavier, but you can move them swiftly, you generate more segmental momentum.

• Velocity: The faster you can accelerate a body segment, the more segmental momentum or speed you give to it and the more whole-body momentum you achieve.

• Amplitude: Longer segments (for instance arms extended instead of half bent) and greater range of motion (arms swinging from the back of the body to the front, and even from the front to the back and then again to the front) enables greater acceleration and therefore greater momentum.

• Timing: The generation of momentum must precede the production of force by the prime movers (obviously not after, but also not at the same time). Although it is commonly assumed that all movement starts with the prime movers (the larger, heavier, stronger muscles) and then ends with the smaller, lighter, less strong muscles to “refine” the movement to give it its efficiency and accuracy, when using the body-weight transfer strategy the exact opposite is true. If you were to move your arms after extending your legs and hips, they would add no momentum to your movement.

• Direction (“vector”): Whether momentum is produced thanks to linear or angular (rotational) motion or a combination of both, it must be impeccably directed toward where the movement goes. For instance, if you’re jumping horizontally, your arms shouldn’t swing at a greater angle than 45 degrees, but if you’re jumping upward they should swing all the way up.

If the application of some or all of the listed variables is not adequate, it will be counterproductive to efficiency, and timing is paramount.

The Sit-Up is a good example of a combination of the use of body-weight shifting and body-weight transfer.

 

1 Lie down on the ground and perform a Sit-Up. Most people don’t think of using anything but their abdominal muscles to achieve the movement, thinking “crunch” (a conventional fitness drill to strengthen the abdominal muscles) and exclusively relying on the prime movers to battle against gravity. Sitting up that way is shifting your body weight from one point of support to the other, but it is slow and strenuous. By making the same movement much swifter and constantly accelerating until you’re in the sit position, transferring body weight from the back to the rear already feels much easier. That’s “body-weight shifting.”

2 Bring your arms behind your head and lift your legs up. You can even lift your rear off the ground. Swiftly swing your arms forward and bring your legs down: Voilà, you’ve achieved a Sit-Up so quickly and effortlessly that you could even transition to a Squat! That’s “body-weight transfer,” and it’s a much more efficient and natural sit-up movement than only using your abdominal muscles. If you want to move efficiently, you’d be a fool not to use all your limbs! This is not “cheating”; it’s moving naturally with ease and efficiency.

If you aim at strengthening your abdominal muscles specifically, you certainly can do “regular” Sit-Ups instead of natural, efficient ones. Just keep this in mind: The whole-body Sit-Up strengthens the abdominals, too, but it does so while ingraining the most efficient movement pattern. There are many natural movements that will strengthen your abdominals in the most effective, balanced, natural way possible without you having to make it a grueling chore.