more Floor Time

I had a post a few weeks ago that looked at the idea of standing up from the floor and sitting to the floor as a good test of general functional ability and health.  I also mentioned the ideas of Philip Beach who has a set of moves built around this that he calls erectorcise.

I am convinced of the value of all that stuff ad it was interesting to read Dan John take up the same idea in a piece he published this week.   He calls it groundwork:

Literally, we need to roll around on the ground more. I have one bit of advice for my older clients: watch all the television you want, but you must be on the floor sitting when you do. Try this. You'll find soon that you roll, pivot, twist, change, and flop the whole show. 

It's a cheap workout. 

When I assess most programs, groundwork is usually a few sets of crunches and that's it. Groundwork, tumbling and wrestling can transform a program in a few weeks, but few will adopt this simple strategy.  Something as simple as the rolling portion of the Turkish get-up is a good start and I suggest everyone begin adding more work from the floor.

Or you can always just crawl....