CHANGING PLANES FOR BETTER GAINS

ARE YOU STRANDED ON THE WORKOUT RUNWAY, FAR FROM YOUR PREFERRED FITNESS DESTINATION? THESE EIGHT PLANE-CHANGING MOVES ARE YOUR QUICK TICKET TO RESULTS.

- Michael Berg

THERE SEEMS TO BE A DISCONNECT BETWEEN REAL LIFE AND EXERCISE.

“We do not live in a one-dimensional world,” says Samantha Parker, MS, CPT, 500-hour RYT, author of Yoga for Chronic Pain … WTF? (Neoteric Movement Systems, June 2018). “We’re constantly twisting and turning, whether it’s to pick up children, put luggage in an overhead bin or move through a crowd of people.”

Indeed, our bodies are constantly moving in multiple directions — otherwise known as the three “planes” of motion — and can flip between them effortlessly. However, when it comes to exercise, movement patterns have strayed far from the natural, and people tend to execute 10 tidy reps of an exercise squarely in one single plane — for example, biceps curls, squats, crunches or lateral raises — which doesn’t really prep you for tennis or housecleaning or the zombie apocalypse.

To be ready for anything life — and exercise — throws your way, expand your workout dimensions with these eight exercises. A simple change in angle, direction or focus can instantly alter your plane of movement and create an entirely new and challenging exercise. Add them to your routine and see how these plane changers can be game changers!

THE PLANE TRUTH

Use a sheet of paper to help you envision the three planes of motion as they relate to the human body.

SAGITTAL PLANE