I started Move U with the idea that I could fix some nagging pains in my body. I didn’t really understand what the program was; I had just seen the wacky Instagram videos and thought that I could handle 15 minutes a day to improve my ability to move.
And while I watched the Getting Started video and other videos that should have helped me figure out what I was doing, I’ll admit I didn’t really understand what I was signing up for when I started. I thought, 15 minutes a day, no problem!
Here are my initial posture photos, taken the day I started the program.
I’ll admit, I didn’t think there was too much to criticize in these photos at first. It seemed normal.
And then I got started doing the work, and it turns out to be more than 15 minutes a day. Not just because I followed the workout manual, and most of those workouts take me more than 15 minutes if I’m going at an appropriately slow pace, but because once I started to learn which muscles did what, I would practice that throughout the day.
I’d catch myself leaning on a counter and I’d plant my feet to pull away from that support. I’d take moments through the day to check whether or not I felt engagement in my extensor spinae to hold my posture. Lately, since I’ve been working on Knee/Foot/Ankle, I’ve spent time massaging my feet and trying to help my toes reclaim the space that decades of poorly fitting shoes took from them.
The funny thing is that after 90 days, I still haven’t addressed the one thing that I thought was going to be my primary focus, which is shoulder pains with overhead pressing movements. And that’s because I took the advice of the program and started with Back & Core. Once I began that program, I started to feel how the changes I made with my back and core were trickling down my body, all the way down to my feet. I knew then that I needed to address my foundation before I moved up to Shoulders & Arms.
Here are the photos after 90 days. I have been wearing the same outfit for every set of pictures because I like to be able to compare the photos without thinking about what different clothes might do to how the photos look.
Having gone through the program for more than 90 days by now, I can see how differently I hold myself now compared to how I used to hold myself. My husband noted that I move with more poise now.
Here are some comparisons to make the changes easier to see. In each set, the original photos are on the right, and the most recent on the left.
Some of the things that stick out most to me are the angles of my feet and legs (all pictures), the position of my head (middle), and the flatness of my back on the squat.
This is the kind of program that gives you back more than you put into it – but you have to put the work in. You will sometimes spend 30 to 50 minutes working through the workouts in the manual, and, if you’re doing it right, you’ll be making adjustments throughout the day when you aren’t doing the movements. The idea is to bring the insights that those movements give you into your everyday motions in your life. It’s almost like the workouts are a retreat where you learn in a quiet space how to move, and then you have to go back to the real world and figure out how to apply what you’ve learned in a noisy world full of your old habits.
So, if you’re looking for an easy fix, this is not the place for you. But if you’re looking for a way to fix your body, and are willing to put in the work, then I look forward to welcoming you to the Move U community.