Is Body Groove the Full-Spectrum Movement Workout for You?

I received an email a while ago from a listener named Victoria who wanted to know what I thought of the online fitness program called Body Groove. It has been a while since I reviewed a gym or workout plan so I jumped at the idea. 

Before I get into my review, I think we need to review what a full-body or full-spectrum workout is and why it is important for all of us. 

Full-spectrum movement

In her book, Move Your DNA, biomechanist Katy Bowman writes:

I propose that movement, like food, is not optional; that ailments you may be experiencing are simply (and complexly) symptoms of movement hunger in response to a movement diet that is dangerously low in terms of quantity and poor in terms of quality—meaning you aren’t getting the full spectrum of movement nutrition necessary for a baseline human function.

What does she mean by that? Well, I take it to mean that even us avid exercisers may be suffering two types of inactivity. 

1. We spend 30-90 minutes doing dedicated exercise time and the rest of the day being sedentary.

2. When we exercise, we use and repeat the same movement patterns with the same body parts. And this, my fit friends, is the issue that I am concerned with today. 

To borrow more from Katy, in episode 21 of her podcast, she says something along the lines of “You know broccoli is a health food! Broccoli is good for you. However, if you were only to eat broccoli, you would be very, very ill.” Makes sense, right? As good as broccoli is for you, you would lack some very key nutrients if that was the only food you ever ate. 

You know the old expression 'move it or lose it?' If you don’t move your body in all directions, you will eventually lose the ability to do so. 

Katy then applies that concept to movement. In the same way that broccoli is lacking some life-sustaining nutrients, if we count on a daily run (for example) to provide us with all the movement nutrients we require to remain a mobile and strong human on this planet, we would fall short. We would, no doubt, get really good at running but at the same time, our squatting, jumping, twisting and lifting abilities would falter. 

You know the old expression “move it or lose it?” Well, this is exactly my point. If you don’t move your body in all directions, you will eventually lose the ability to do so. And this only gets worse with age. 

So,...

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