The Key to Longevity: A Joint-Focused Approach

It’s not all about muscle when we train! A couple of weeks ago we discussed that we are really training the brain when we are trying to get stronger. Today we will discuss why the joints matter when it means staying strong forever. 

What is a joint? 

Joints are simply the meeting points of two or more bones. The elbow is the joint where the forearm (ulna and radius bones) meet the upper arm bone (humerus). However, around that meeting point of bone are all of the tissues that hold it together: Tendons and ligaments, cartilage, bursae, synovial fluid and membranes. These tissues do two things: 1) Hold the joint together, and 2) transfer force from one end of the joint to the other. When a joint is weak at best it is not transferring force well and at worst is being actively destroyed during movement. A muscle is meant to transfer force from one joint to another, so if the joint on either side of the muscle is weak that force instead stops at the joint instead of going to the next muscle that can handle it.  We are often injured because the muscle is stronger than the joint that it is connected to, or the joint is taking more force than it needs to because it does not have the adequate capacity for force. 

It is a perspective shift, not a change in methodology: 

Classically, most “commercial” gym training is focused on training the muscles - big bulky machines that prevent certain joints from moving and allowing others to move, effectively isolating a particular muscle group. While this can be helpful, the hyper-focus on a muscle means we are less focused on the joints on both ends of that muscle. If you start to think about strength training with respect to those joints instead, then you will inevitably train the muscles between them! We want both to be strong, not just the muscle.

Metaphor time: Imagine that the body is the state of Virginia, an intricate combination of cities and highways, whereas the brain is the bureaucracy and backend logistics of those cities. If the brain is trained well, the state runs more efficiently. In this metaphor, the cities are our joints which are ‘nodes’ of all communication, and the muscles are the highways and roads that move between cities and townships. Now what happens if we focus all resources on having really solid highways and roads, but ignore the infrastructure of the cities? Those cities (joints) will slowly deteriorate, costing the state extra resources to maintain over time, and a beautiful highway between two broken cities is just a beautiful highway, nothing more. If, instead, we make sure each city is healthy, the highways and interconnections between those cities can thrive. More transport trucks, more commuting, growing cities, healthy highways with no traffic (imagine that). 

The metaphor is getting away from me. So, then:

How do we train joints? 

Method Strong coaches are taught a system of joint mobility and strength training called “Functional Range Conditioning” that takes advantage of the neuromuscular adaptations required of a joint to be healthy. The system teaches us to find and strengthen the joint range of motion you have, expand the joint range of motion and capacity for loading, and then maximize control in all ranges of motion. We utilize different tools for these, but the most common tool you will find applied in the gym is a “Progressive or Regressive Angular Isometric Loading”, aka PAILs and RAILs. In short, these are isometric exercises that we perform at the maximum range of your joint range of motion to incentivize an increased range of motion (ROM) and acquisition of strength at that new motion. Stretching is great, we need to do more of it on average, but being able to touch your toes and not pick up a heavy bag of groceries without hurting your back is a problem. 

Not only do we apply this joint conditioning system, we also program in strength exercises that involve the joints that need to be healthiest: Spine, Hip Complex, and Shoulder Complex. Deadlifts, squats, pressing, pulling, carrying, crawling - all of this is trained in slowly increasing ranges of motion over time to explore, expand, and strengthen each joint and all of the muscles in between. It’s all part of the cycle of strength. An example of this with respect to squatting:

Heavy squatting means stronger hip musculature and spine musculature, stronger hip muscles pull harder on bone and keep your bone density higher. Having healthy hip and spine joints means that we can continue to squat heavier, further reinforcing this whole process. The best part is that we can USE squatting to get healthier hips and spine in conjunction with our directed functional range conditioning. Isometric and eccentric repetitions, controlled ranges of motion, and dedicated progressive overload over months are how we ensure a joint is healthy enough to handle the high forces of heavy strength and power work. 

Considerations for Programming

Programming for this is often individualized. We use movement screens and history of movement to understand what your body needs the most. An example is overhead mobility - often a point of weakness. Attaining overhead mobility means we need the scapula (shoulder blades), thoracic spine, and shoulder joints to be very healthy. You will often see exercises like the following in your programming to address these items: 

• Shoulder Flexion (overhead) PAIL/RAIL with a foam roller - starting at low isometric tension and increasing over time

• Banded, weighted, or TRX Y-Raises 

• PVC or Banded Shoulder Passthroughs

• Scapular Controlled Articular Rotations

• Scapular pushups/pullups

• Thoracic spine mobilization via foam roller

• Thoracic spine position strengthening via barbell or kettlebell front rack loading

If we can successfully get your joints healthy, mobile, and strong, then the movement pattern of the overhead press can subsequently be loaded in perpetuity. The best part? Continuing to load that position will maintain your range of motion, allowing for longevity.  

Programming for your particular joint considerations is something we are constantly working on - we focus on the big picture but we know that the details matter. Feel free to ask me or your coach what you can do at home to help achieve healthy joints and maintain your strength forever!