Range of Motion: Why You Need to Use It or Lose It

My guest on this episode is a Certified Massage Practitioner (CMP), Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES). His name is Shane Dowd, and he's the CEO and founder of GotROM.com. Shane is truly passionate about (or maybe even obsessed with) keeping your body moving at its best. 

Eleven years ago Shane was told that his hips were so messed up they needed surgery. The X-rays and MRIs confirmed it. He was told "You're screwed, son. Get the surgery before it gets worse." He didn't listen ... and he's glad he didn't! Now, he believes almost anything is possible when you upgrade your passion to an obsession. And Shane's obsessed with helping people who are injured (or simply getting older) get and stay fit.

It all started with deep squats

A few months ago, I was getting frustrated with my deep squat. (That's the kind of squat where you can just chill out with your butt right down near the ground and your heels planted firmly beneath you.) I have been working on and off for years to make my squat more comfortable. And after some initial success, I plateaued.

So, when I heard about Shane's website, I signed up for his 45-day program to Master Deep Squats.

I was so impressed with his approach and my results that I knew I had to have Shane on the podcast so we could nerd out about Range Of Motion (that's the ROM in gotROM.com). If you're able, I encourage you to listen to the audio using the audio player at the top of the page or by checking out the episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. But if you prefer to read, here's a transcript of our conversation that's been lightly edited for clarity.

Interview with Shane Dowd

Brock

So, Shane, what the heck is ROM or R.O.M and why is it important?

Shane:

Basically, in plain English, it's the Range Of Motion of the joints of your body or your body as a whole. You need range of motion to do anything in life. If you're going to bend down to pick something up, you need a certain amount of hamstring flexibility or hip range of motion. If you're going to climb up something or use your arms, you need a certain amount of range of motion.

Even if you're not an athlete, daily life requires some degree of flexibility or range of motion.

Every sport has...

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