Mover Magazine | January 2017

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january 2017

EDITOR in chief Mike Ruiz mike@movermag.us

EDITOR’S NOTE

ASSISTANT EDITOR

We’ve experienced exponential growth through the first two issues of Mover Magazine, and we owe it to our readers and our amazing contributors. We hope you’ve been enjoying getting to know movers around the world. Our vision for the magazine has always been to continue to grow the movement community and help spread the message about movement and we are well on our way.

Lisette Ruiz lisette@movermag.us

SALES + ADVERTISING Mike Ruiz media@movermag.us

CONTRIBUTORS Antonio Torres, Ardour, Nick Konow

photography Kenneth Kao (cover photo), Ardour, Selin Hunter, Scott Hanson

MOVER MAGAZINE 8108 SW 20th CT. Davie, FL 33324 (754) 779 -2521 www.movermag.us @movermag /movermagazine

To advertise, have content published or to contribute photography or written content to the magazine, please email us at: media@movermag.us

This magazine is meant to promote and increase awareness of the movement community and is for entertainment purposes only. This should not replace the advice of a health professional. Please consult your doctor before attempting any program, training, movement or exercise.

While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy in the magazine, MOVER Magazine can take no responsibility for errors, or the opinions and facts supplied by authors and advertisers. All opinions expressed by authors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Products and services advertised are also not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

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This issue, we feature our first female mover.

We’re so excited to have Marlo Fisken, an international movement teacher and creator of Flow Movement, take the time to share her deep understanding of movement with us. We hope you’ll be as inspired by her as we are!

We also talk with Antonio Torres about how to approach mobility for injury prevention and mobilization, with Ulrik Ask Fossum, Handstand Coach and member of Team Ardour, and with Nick Konow to discuss the topic of mobility.

Full of inspiration and insight, this issue is the perfect companion to motivate you to start the New Year right.

Keep Moving, Michael + Lisette Ruiz Co-Founders

CONTENTS january 2017 • ISSUE 03

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new year new mindset It’s a new year and a great time to start a new chapter of your life.

How do you ensure you see your resolutions through?

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prehabilitation + Mobilization Movement Coach Antonio Torres shares with us a great approach to mobility and injury prevention.

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marlo fisken We had the privilege to talk with Marlo Fisken, learn about her journey and get insight into her deep understanding of movement.

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Ulrik ask fossum from team ardour In this introduction to Team Ardour, we feature Handstand Coach and handbalancer Ulrik Ask Fossum and his flawless handstand.

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mobility with nick konow We discuss the topic of mobility with Nick Konow, Movement Coach and Mobility Specialist.

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n e w ye ar

new mindset Albert Einstein said it best, “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”

You can’t become a better mover with the same consciousness that has brought you to where you are today. You must elevate your mindset to elevate your results. So for those who are looking to have their best year, here are 3 mindsets that will help you get there.

The Happy Mindset One of the biggest mistakes we tend to believe is that the destination or result of a goal is the only place where happiness is found. Instead, we should view happiness as the vehicle to take us where we want to go. Happiness puts us in the best state of mind to accomplish our goals and allows us to enjoy the journey throughout.

We can cultivate happiness by what we focus on and the activities we choose to partake in.

Therefore, in your movement journey, don’t compare yourself to others. Focus on your unique journey, being grateful for the things you have and only focus on the things you can control. Find the way you absolutely love to move and do it because you want to. Not because you have to in order to get the results you want. If you love what you do, the results will come.

The Simple Mindset Keep everything simple and sustainable. The easier something is, the more likely you will continue doing it. If you’re dreading your training, burning out, feeling overwhelmed, or not finding the time to keep up with your training schedule, take these as signs that you need to simplify your approach.

Try starting with something simple like 15 minutes

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a day or even just 5 minutes a day. The results may not be much from working out 5 minutes a day but more importantly, you are conditioning the mind and forming the habit of creating a time and place for training. This habit will develop a solid foundation you can add to gradually. Simple helps you to be consistent. For many, consistency is the number one contributor to their success.

The Imperfect Mindset The biggest contributor to procrastination is the “All Or Nothing” attitude. We witness this when we indulge in a cheat meal and think, “Well, I blew my diet so might as well indulge this whole weekend and just pick things back up on Monday!” When we do this, we are basically saying if we can’t do it all, we will rather do nothing until we can get it perfect. This would be like an NBA basketball team trying to win a championship and after losing one game thinking, “Well, we blew the season so we’ll just try again next year!” You can lose several games in a season and still win a championship.

The same goes for your goals. You can miss a workout and still get in the best shape of your life or blow your diet one day and still achieve your weight loss goals.

Instead of all or nothing, think small or something.

Getting something done is better than nothing and doing something small is more likely than trying to do it all. If you miss a workout, don’t beat yourself up for it. Just acknowledge that it’s ok to not be perfect and recommit to your intentions. Don’t turn a little hiccup into a full-blown reason to give up.

Any effort towards your goal, even if it’s imperfect, will get you closer than doing nothing.

By adopting these mindsets, you’re not just settling with a New Year’s resolution but a way of life.

Photograph by ardour •

@ardourofficial

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PREHABILITATION + MOBILIZATION M o b i l i t y

a n d

i n j u r y

p r e v e n t i o n

by Antonio Torres

I was not a person that was gifted with good mobility, not too long ago I could not even sit on the ground with my feet straight out in front of me. Experimenting with a variety of mobility methods and tools I found out what worked well for me and what did not. I then translated that to my students, slowly finding out what works best for the general population.

For a mover, we gain no benefit in having flexibility (the range of motion without the strength). We want to move through positions not sit in them. So in this regard, passive stretching (sitting in a stretch for time without muscular contraction) is not an optimal method for people wanting to gain usable range of motion. Instead we need to develop strength in the end ranges of our joints so that when we experience these ranges, and you will be whether you want to or not, it is unlocked for you. We do not want to trick our bodies into becoming more mobile, we want to work with our body’s systems to create our mobility.

photography by Selin Hunter •

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@selinhunter

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we want to work with our body’s systems to create our mobility.

Stretching for the mover must be both loaded (by external weight or body weight) and must be progressive (increase in weight, range, time, complexity, etc.). This type of stretching is much more like strength training than it is like stretching. You will use sets, reps, isometric holds and it will not be relaxing. If you train your mobility in this way, it is then available to you without a warm up.

This is particularly useful for injury prevention. When you walk outside on your way to your car, do you warm

up every time beforehand? What if you step off a curb and land on the side of your ankle, slip on ice and land in nearly a split position, or slip and end in an extended spinal position?

For someone that has used passive stretching as their main source of flexibility, this will most likely cause an injury. However, for the person that developed strength in the end ranges of motion, they will likely walk away unharmed. The nervous system will open up this range of accessibility at all times of the day, in all conditions.

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Stretching for the mover must be both loaded and progressive.

This type of stretching can be applied anywhere on the body from the neck all the way to the toes. This can be used as a warm up before your session, mobility work during or after your session and for rehabilitation or prehabilitation. For example, before I will do my sets of squats, I will do a loaded stretch for a valgus force on my knee, a type of force you do not want to happen during your back squats. This work serves as both a

warm up and some prehabilitation for my knees, preventing the injury before it even happens. The thing is at some point, with or without your consent, it will happen. Your body will experience these “improper” positions at one point or another, so we must prepare our bodies for these circumstances. There are many other examples out there, it takes research, experimentation and work but the benefits are extraordinary. “

Antonio Torres Movement Coach Facebook: /torresjr.antonio Instagram: @torresjr.antonio YouTube: /user/ALTtraining

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marlo fisken Creator of Flow MovementÂŽ Marlo Fisken has been teaching movement full time for the last 15 years. Her journey began in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as a young dancer hungry to work in the fitness industry. After attaining notoriety as a pole dance innovator, she decided to combine the worlds of creative movement, functional mobility, and dance into something that works for all levels of ability. After 10 years of NYC hustle, and a few years of international nomad-ing, she now lives in Boulder, Colorado, and invests in her movement and apparel brand, Flow Movement.

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Photograph by Kenneth Kao •

@poleninjaphotography

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Tell us about your journey with movement.

I’ve identified as a dancer my whole life. I was always hyper-creative, stylistically versatile, and a leader; I started officially teaching at 15, but years before that, as soon as I was old enough to grab kids from the neighborhood, I was creating full-length costumed shows. I was very lucky to have an extensive dance education in high school which introduced me to a wealth of dance and mind-body movement styles.

Dance led me to the fitness industry. I began teaching group fitness the day I turned 18. At the time, I looked at it as personal accountability; “If I work in fitness, then I will stay fit”. I also thought I would someday have a day job (that never happened). I started attending fitness conventions right away, and tried everything. But, I realized that there was something very wrong with the “fitness” industry. I found myself in a world that was supposed to be about enhancing movement abilities, and creating balance, but instead, I saw droves of “fitness” crazed people who couldn’t raise their arms, separate their toes, or isolate their pelvis. I realized that sadly, few cared about truly moving well. The industry was based on pushing shallow motivations and mis-information. When I realized that many people would rather hunch over machines than deeply connect to a movement practice, I wanted to find a way to change that.

What does movement mean to you?

I feel lucky to have been guided by my desire to move more, and move well, my entire life. I

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constantly sought information that enhanced my understanding of the body’s capacity.

In college, I discovered, and later majored in anthropology. When I took my first class; I couldn’t believe that the study of humanity was an optional class — it seemed like the most important class I’d ever taken. Though not a “movement” class, I was fascinated by what makes us human.

In many un-industrialized cultures of the past and present, dance is not a specialization, or an artistic pursuit. Ritualized movement represents life itself; the practice is healing, essential, spiritual and grounding. This is movement for me. Rather than my body being my shell, it is the the very thing that allows me to fully experience aliveness.

What was the moment in your life when everything changed?

In 2011, I competed in and won the Aerial Pole International Competition, in Bern, Switzerland.

I’d been pole dancing for a few years, but I was finally at a level where I could fully express motion, innovation and emotion, while precariously spinning in the air. At that time (and still, really), many people condemned moving around a pole, for any reason, to be salacious. I’ve been told I shifted many’s viewpoint.

My life changed because the critique I received in the dance world (that I was “too flowy”), became the very thing that made me stand out in the world of pole. I gained visibility, and my traveling/teaching career took off.

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What are some of your personal accolades?

I’ve been a dancer and model in TV shows, commercials, music videos, magazines, award shows and films as a dancer. I worked for/in: the movie Rock of Ages, Nike, L’oreal, MTV, VH1, Pharell Williams, Fabolous, Diddy, SoBe, 30 rock, Law & Order, Shape, Fitness, and I was the face of a Vitamin Shoppe campaign. These things make up the meat of my resume, but I am always most honored when recognized for my creativity and philosophy, and especially, when credited for changing the way people view movement.

What is the coolest thing you’ve been a part of as a result of your success with movement?

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To date, I’ve taught in 43 countries, on six continents (Antarctica doesn’t have much of a market). I was invited to theses places by people who were eager to learn from me. As a result, I have a network of friends all over the world. I think this is the most remarkable.

You know, I read Tim Ferris’s The Four-Hour Workweek last year, and realized that I already lived the life that many people are seeking.

My passion sprouted this vibrant, adventurous entrepreneurial career. Now, I do teach way more than four hours, but I am deeply compelled to teach. I hunger for it; it enlivens me. So it sure doesn’t feel like work. It feels like purpose.

How many times do you train a week?

This is tricky to answer. For the past four years, I’ve travelled internationally 8-10 months a year.

This means I switch time zones, climates and situations constantly. On the road, a consistent movement practice is limited to recovery walks, “gait dates” I call them, and self-maintenance practices. Travel is taxing, and I’ve learned that you can’t jump off a plane then teach hard or train hard without consequence.

However, if I’m home, which will be more this year, it’s every day, often more than once a day.

Luckily, Boulder Movement Collective, who you featured recently, is right down the street from me so I spend a lot of time there. I love it.

But really, I constantly seek opportunities to explore and mobilize. Training is about reinforcing patterns, and that should not be limited to lengthy, dedicated, goal-oriented movement sessions. After becoming pretty obsessed with the work of Katy Bowman, I realized how the distribution of our training is unnatural, as is “training” itself. That’s not to say it’s bad, nearly nothing about modern life is “natural”, but this concept is vital to our understanding of injuries and outcomes.

I strongly recommend following her work to everyone. So, I do bits and pieces of work throughout the day, and walk and hike whenever possible.

What is your biggest focus with your training?

Connections. I focus inwards to find connections within my body. I seek interesting connections between positions that challenge my strength and range. Then, I connect my movement to the layers of music. This process invigorates me.

What area do you find to be your biggest struggle and how do you overcome it?

Things that combine explosion with fear like parkour and tumbling. I’m good with fast and explosive, but when the risks associated with miscalculating go up, I need help. So, I work with coaches that really understand progression.

What area is often overlooked but very crucial to a movement practice?

PLAY. Play is often discarded because it isn’t about achievement - it doesn’t fit in with aesthetic motivations, and requires disposing of self-judgement. There are no real winners in creative play. Fitness culture is founded on results and competition, not process, and as a result there is a lack of engagement. Freedom of movement sounds (to many) like some hippy concept that isn’t necessary. I believe it is. Play involves focus, and stimulates new movement patterns without anyone “teaching” you how.

Play is also the way for you to perform all the skills you’ve developed, spontaneously.

Above all, we lack movement activities that make us laugh. In every class I give, I include exercises that are simply intended to make people laugh. If your movement practice creates a negative outlook, or causes you to become caught up in your accomplishment (or lack of it), notice that. Play may be hugely beneficial.

How important is your mindset and what is your mindset towards your movement practice?

I think your mindset defines your movement practice. Luckily, movement can positively shift a mindset very quickly. So even if you begin in a cranky place, movement has the power to wash that away.

I structure my entire life, all of it, around my desire to move. But I only persist if it’s making me happy or I know I’ll be in a better place after. I suppose that’s my mindset.

Let’s talk Flow Movement®.

You’ve built this amazing brand, tell us what it’s all about?

Flow Movement® is the umbrella term for all of my projects; an apparel line, and several movement focuses — Floor Flow®, Flowbility® and Pole Flow®.

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I design and manufacture functional, and often fun, clothes that encourage free movement for men and women. Many items can easily transition from office wear to movement wear.

None look like typical gym-wear.

Floor Flow is all about floorwork. Because the floor is where you first began to explore movement, it’s the perfect place to develop the foundations of coordination, strength and mobility. In Floor Flow you’ll perform fluid rolling and weight shifting patterns. You’ll learn to use your feet functionally and articulate your trunk. Because so much of your body is in contact with the floor during floorwork, there’s an enhanced proprioceptive element.

Additionally, people are more comfortable moving creatively while being close to something. In this case, it’s the floor.

Flowbility has elements of floor flow, but includes more standing and balance work.

I would define it as some mix of across-thefloor yoga, QM, and floorwork. Though the dance world has been very misguided about

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what qualifies as healthy mobility, there is a knowledge of opposition, flow, and presence that dancers have — which is missing from most functional mobility work. Flowbility applies dance based thought to mobility and corrective exercise. But it’s not a dance class. It is a movement class, influenced by music, that challenges your range, control and expression.

A major concept in my programs is the understanding that the way you interact with the floor determines how you move — it shapes power output and how far you can fold.

Both Floor Flow and Flowbility are very safe but have immense possibilities for acrobatic progression.

Pole Flow is obviously pole dance-related.

How did you get it started? What sparked the idea?

When my focus was still mainly pole, I realized my vision was evolving into something way beyond apparatus, and beyond me. I didn’t

want to just teach people to move like me, or do my tricks — I wanted to provide insight as to how the mind of a balanced, highly able, highly aware, creative mover works.

Of course, one of the steps is to learn specific movements, but that’s not the end goal.

Soon after I started branding myself this way, I dove into the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the father of the concept of phsychological Flow. As I read, I realized that lack of deep engagement is a huge problem in our fitness culture. The obsession with looks, tricks, and social media likes is reflective of the larger social issue — quick gratification.

In order to prioritize movement, and construct your life around the desire to move, you need to learn how to become completely immersed.

You need to move because you value the process, not because of what it ‘gets’ you.

You find this level of engagement and commitment in the yoga world, but I believe

you need to really move: to jump, roll, climb and invert, to spin, to be still, to travel through space, to get up, down, over, and under, to respond to music, and interact with the people and space around you — without the confines of a mat. This is what I set-out to do.

Also, I saw that the word ‘flow’ gets tossed around in the movement world to describe elements that are stuck together. Much of this “flowing” when examined by dance standards, is missing a lot. And i don’t mean ballet aesthetic. Being in Flow is having total body purpose, it’s a state of mind. I knew I had something to offer.

What is your goal with Flow Movement?

I’m extremely passionate about cultivating awareness. I believe heightened movement awareness guides you to make better choices in all areas of life and moving in a fluid manner is an important aspect of cultivating it. Little moments of impact or sticking tell us where we don’t have control. But, I encourage my

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students to have a huge range of movement dynamics, from stillness to chaos. You can be in flow, while being somewhat out of control. I actually love, and strive for this place, where even you don’t know where your body is going, you’re just following impulse. You have to be totally immersed and self-trusting — it takes a huge amount of practice to find this place.

Much of my in-person instruction revolves around coaching people to focus in on the experience of moving, so that self-limiting dialogue is hushed — and movement can flow. I aim to guide others away from their inhibitions.

For example, waving your spine in public should not be embarrassing. Movement doesn’t get much more primal than pelvic isolations and spinal waves — it’s kinda where we all came from. In my opinion, having a healthy pelvis is more important than just looking jacked (and for the record, you can have both). Yet, society has oversexualized movements that are integral to our health, and as a result, people don’t do them. In fact, the more culturally accepted it is to address our bio-chemical and mechanical need to move, the more people will start to do it.

Part of our collective health issue stems from the fact that so few patterns are

deemed ‘normal’ by society. Normal is sitting (in chairs), standing (with both feet under your trunk), walking (in immobilizing shoes) and running (if you’re clearly working out) — that’s a problem. I hope frequent ‘flow-ers’ will be trend-setters in this way.

In a sense, I share the roots of dance with the world. The word dance intimidates many, and the way dance is instructed is often very exclusive. So, I am passing off knowledge from a long lineage of dance instruction to benefit all humans. I want to normalize frequent, free movement.

What would Floor Flow/Flowbility do for someone’s life?

First, it will cause you to never ever look at a floor the same, and you’ll probably save a lot of money on furniture when you realize that it’s in direct competition with your ability to roll on the floor (really). You’ll be able to play with children, without toys; you’ll have beneficial skills that you can easily share with others.

Most people that begin Floor Flow or Flowbility become very aware of the large amounts of excess tension they hold onto, and how that tension makes simple weight transfers challenging. But, unlike a ‘stretching’ program, the movements challenge the hyper-mobile to use control,

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while the less-mobile discover more range.

These physical shifts come with increased confidence.

The line I use to describe these programs is, “The floor is your apparatus™” I think it’s empowering to be able to walk into an open space, with no mats and have a large movement vocabulary to pull from.

Movement dependency (feeling like you don’t know what to do with your body unless someone tells you) is a big problem. We all have body intelligence; we just need to learn to listen. I believe I’m creating something that encourages you to listen and experiment.

How does someone get started with Flow Movement?

I encourage self-practice: Put on a song that inspires you to take deep breaths. Then get lost in a simple movement pattern to that song. It can be something very basic like cat/cow, (when you’re on all fours, rounding and arching your back).

Just do a simple movement, for one whole song. Do it with the song, slow at first, then explore varying speeds and move your focus to different parts of your spine, moving into sticky/stiff places. Eventually, the basic movement will start to become something else. This is the beginning of Flow.

Then, take a look at some of my video content for further inspiration. On my site, there are a number of free videos, and a few

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labeled as ones to begin with. Visit www. flowmovement.net

What advice would you give someone who is just starting out?

I’m proud of you for making the decision to start moving. I can say with assurance that you’ve made the right decision. Rather than isolating all your movement to “sessions”, seek ways to incorporate a variety of movement into your entire day.

I say this because your performance while training is a reflection of what you do outside of training. Your practice is woven into the other parts of your life, whether you are thinking about it or not. If you’ve been consistent, and you feel like you’re not growing, pay attention to how you’re holding yourself (your movement, or lack of movement, and posture) the rest of the time. Observe what nourishes you, and your patterns of rest. Your entire lifestyle will affect what happens when you train.

What areas should one focus on to be a better mover?

Breath. Breath is quite undervalued considering it keeps you alive. You take about 20,000 breaths per day — this involves muscle contraction, almost always involuntary, but it can be trained and consciously altered. Like walking with a duck foot or valgus knee, when we are stuck in a bad breath pattern it can really mess us up.

The way you breathe has consequences.

You’ve probably heard that physical tension and mental tension are interlaced; you can’t have one without the other. But if you change the way you breathe, you can change the way you think, and what your body’s capable of. Breath strongly influences ROM, strength, mental focus, and creativity.

I know working on your breath sounds remedial when all you want to do is handstands, but your ‘life foundations’ deserve to be paid attention to first. I like to say, “Breathe first, then move”.

What is your philosophy for life?

I believe the only things worth pursuing, or holding onto, are those that truly excite me or encourage growth.

Leave us with a final thought.

If you care about someone, share Mover Mag with them and help this community grow!

Marlo Fisken IG: @marloaathlete and @flowmovement FB: /marlofiskenathlete and /flowmovementbymarlofisken Website: flowmovement.net

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ulrik ask fossum team ardour At Ardour we’re passionate about moving better. With a focus on comfort, range of motion and our signature understated design, we create clothing that is tested by movers and designed for you.

To move better is to live better and to that end we have partnered with movers and educators from a range of disciplines to help spread our message. From gymnasts and freerunners in Europe, to dancers and educators in the US and Germany, our team not only excel in their chosen fields but also embody our ethos.

We’re excited to have Ulrik Ask Fossum as a member of Team Ardour.

It’s a privilege to be working with someone who is so passionate and driven and we’re thrilled to have him on the team.

www.ardour.life

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Photography by ardour •

@ardourofficial

Name: Ulrik Ask Fossum Title: Handstand coach, personal trainer, and amateur handbalancer From: Oslo, Norway Born: Skien, Norway Height: 190cm Weight: 89kg IG: ulrikonhands FB: /ulrikaskfossum Favorite move: One arm and straight line handstand Power move: One arm hanging Years moving: About 4 years sniffing on it. 3 years deeper down.

Training frequency: About 20 hours a week (7 sessions per week) Training duration: About 2-4 hours per session Training split: Monday: mobility lower body + compression and core work (rest day from handstands) Tuesday: OAHS skill on ground + canes + conditioning + flag work Wednesday: OAHS skill on ground + press and planche work + hypertrophy training Thursday: OAHS skill on ground (low volume) + mobility lower body + compression and core work Friday: OAHS skill on ground + canes + conditioning + flag work Saturday: OAHS skill on ground + press and planche work Sunday: OAHS skill on ground + press and planche work + hypertrophy training (I toss in some one arm hanging/pulling and some playing on the rings when I feel like it. I also do mobility work and stretching between sets of handstands every day, but on rest/easy days I do more and go harder.)

Movement philosophy: I aim to execute movement with elegance. I am a perfectionist and specialize in handstands.

Handstands is priority number one for me.

Everything else I do in regards to training and moving is to get better at handstands, or because I think it’s fun in itself. www.movermag.us

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How did you get started with movement?

Why did you get involved with Ardour?

In my adult life, I’ve been looking for something that I wanted to be good at. I started with marathons because of the intense challenge of the mind.

During training for my last marathon in early 2013, I found clips of Hannibal For King on YouTube and it got me very fascinated. I did some more research and found Gymnastic Bodies, Gold Medal Bodies, Ido Portal and Yuval Ayalon. It fascinated me and I started to play around with it. I got more and more obsessed by handstands and the way Yuval moves. His physique and detailed, perfect movement appealed to me. I took a stand: I wanted to become as good at handstands as I could be. About one year later, I met my coach Mikael Kristiansen, Norway’s greatest handbalancer. We had a friend in common and trained together. That was when my handstand training got systematic, focused and took off.

I was lucky to get the opportunity to become involved with Ardour. They contacted me via instagram and said they were making a brand for movement type of training and asked if I wanted to join the team. This was very exciting for me. It was another way of sharing my passion for handstands to more people. Of course, the clothes are really great too. The fit and style suits me very well. I believe the hard working guys from Ardour are doing a great job at spreading the word and love for movement around the world.

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What is your experience and background?

From age 0-17 I was overweight, and from age 17-21, I did normal strength training and marathon running. From age 21 to 22 I was messing around and discovering bodyweight training and

movement. I got educated in personal training at AFPT and started working as a PT. From 22, I went down the rabbit hole of handbalancing and movement.

You’ve achieved an amazing level of skills, how did you get to the level your at and what did it take?

It took a dedicated choice in the direction I wanted to evolve in. In the beginning, it was a lot of drills and work.

After a certain point, it turned out to be so enjoyable in itself that I didn’t consider it as hard work. I sincerely enjoy the time spend doing this. It’s not hard and I don’t need motivation to do it. I will be doing it for a really long time.

When your training gets to that point that you want to do whatever it takes to evolve, it is very easy to do the boring drills as well. My greatest challenge has always been resisting doing too much and going too hard.

You have a rock solid physique, which I’m sure many would love to achieve.

In regards to your training, do you focus on aesthetics or is it a by product of your training?

It’s both. I have always had an easy time building muscle so I had a good muscular foundation from the start.

Now I do some hypertrophy work, mostly pulling to balance out all the pushing in handstands. I do love to feel like I am in good shape and keep the fat percentage on the lower end. It also helps not to have too much dead weight. I get a lot of training volume from handbalance work. I think a perfect executed handstand with an aesthetic looking body is beautiful.

I know you love handstands, what is it that you love about it and how does it make you feel?

It’s become an obsession for me. It’s a good obsession to have. It has given me a long term direction to focus on.

Before that I did random things like skydiving, marathon running and training for aesthetics. In handstands, I have one direction to work towards, to evolve in and explore. It is extremely demanding mentally and physically. I tend to get bored with stuff that doesn’t spark my emotions. This does. I get happy, mad, frustrated, excited and focused. I need

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something that challenges me like that. It’s some kind of rush. It’s so exciting! And the longer I do it, the more exciting it gets. To be honest I think about handstands every minute of the day.

You’re handstand is flawless, how did you get it there?

By loving it, geeking out on it, perfecting it and doing it a lot. Of course, I am lucky with my shoulders. They have very good flexibility, so I am capable of a creating a good looking line. It has taken a lot of time in handstands to get the control I have today.

Being a handstand coach, what are the 30

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areas you assess in your clients to see what they need to work on?

First I do a screening to see what level they’re at regarding shoulder mobility, wrist mobility and awareness of their body in a handstand. We start by doing drills for the straight line. Then finding balance in the straight line and working on different entrances into the handstand. In my opinion, many people are too eager to find balance that their attempts get very random as well as their form and progression.

Where do you usually start with your clients to begin their handstand journey?

By explaining that becoming good at handstands

will demand about 10 times more effort than the client believes. Yes seriously. And the frustration is very real. If they are still in, it’s time to go to work.

Most people don’t view handstands as “a thing”.

They view it as a party trick they want to have down. This mentality is something I try to change.

If someone wanted to get their handstand to your level, what are all the components they should focus on?

Shoulder mobility is a very important factor.

Also wrist mobility. Most of the relevant mobility and conditioning you will get comes from doing different handstand drills and stretching. When you are getting more advanced, splits, forward folds and compression will come in handy.

From there, get a lot of time in handstands.

Be very critical of your own work and form.

A one arm handstand is not a matter of luck. After mastering the normal straight line handstand, the next step is moving the legs around: tucks, splits, diamonds, pikes, presses, and sidebends. This will give you the motor control to handle over and under balancing.

The absolute most important factor is to love it. When you love it you will do it more often, do it better and spend the time to read, learn and understand the process.

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I spent a lot of time fooling around randomly without knowing what to do or how to do it. I have clients who have gotten better results in 3 months than I got in the first 1-2 years of my journey.

My greatest strength was the focus and willingness to spend ridiculous amounts of time and work to evolve, without brakes. Spend an equal amount of time and focus and chances are you will surpass my level. But that’s okay. I know you don’t have the time or focus to do it, so I am safe for now ;) What advice would you give to those who want to improve how they move in their bodies?

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First decide how you want to move. Is it specific skills/moves that you want to learn or something more general?

Which direction do you want to move in or what goals do you want to achieve?

From there, research it and play around with it. Get a feeling for it. Is this something you really want to become good at? If yes, get an overview of where you currently are and what limitations you need to address and improve. Find people already doing it and learn from them. You can save a lot of time that way. Do it often. Decide what quality you want to have as your standard. Stick to it and learn to love everything about it.

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nick konow g r a c e

i n

m o v e m e n t

We talk with Movement Coach and Mobility Specialist Nick Konow to discuss the topic of mobility.

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photography by Scott hanson • www.movermag.us

@onekidhanginout

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I always hated sports. Team sports specifically.

I didn’t like the pressure that accompanied being held accountable to a team. This pressure shut me down, and so any ability I might have had to express certain skills, or at the very least learn to cultivate them, wasn’t there. So, as a child, I just didn’t move very much. At a certain point, girls became important and so I did a lot of push-ups and a lot of crunches. I dabbled in Tae-bo, I frequented gyms, kept to my routine and I still kept movement mostly to a minimum.

What got you into movement and how long have you had a movement practice?

In college, we had a visiting professor in my theatre department who introduced me to something very new: physical training for actors.

Until that point my concept of actor training was making funny sounds, funny faces and trying to loosen my jaw. I’d shake out my body, trying to relieve myself of all my self-conscious habits, while never really feeling like I understand what all this flailing and shaking was all about.

This professor, on the other hand, asked us to harness that tension, not cast it off. What accompanied the work was greater power, certainly, and with that power, more dynamic in our performance. But, what it really yielded, was a much richer relationship to my sense of control, internally and expressively. It took me 15 years, and being introduced to FRC [Functional Range Conditioning] to finally be reminded of the purpose of control, in my personal practice and in what I hope to instill in my students. It’s transformed my practice entirely.

Describe your weekly training?

I train 6 days a week, generally. Not everyday is intense, but everyday has lots of movement in it, spread out throughout the day. I do three different sets of CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations), every single day. These are exactly what the name says they are, and serve as a daily check in with my joints. What’s working?

What’s restricted? What’s lacking the ability 36

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to disassociate? For my training, I utilize principles of FRC primarily. My sets of CARs help me to assess what needs to be worked on. This work becomes my strength, mobility, and flexibility all wrapped in one. From there, I practice the skills I want to. I’m mostly interested in inversions, locomotion work, basic gymnastic skills, and for lack of a less ambiguous word, dance.

Someone new to movement might hear the word mobility and flexibility. What are the differences?

As I understand it and as I practice it, flexibility is those long and shortened positions we can push ourselves (or be pushed) into. Mobility is the long and shortened ranges we can actively push ourselves into, and the myriad of ranges we can load and stabilize and express power from.

How do we incorporate both of them into our training?

The easiest recommendation I can make is to take an FRC Seminar, or get yourself connected with an FRC Mobility Specialist. This is a method that I have found most effective in application, and being that it is a principled approach, it does not act to deny the usefulness of other training methods. I’m a huge fan of GMB’s Focused Flexibility. I feel it pairs quite nicely with FRC and stands as a great system on its own.

How important is mobility in a movement practice?

Mobility training ensures a focused control of all ranges you’re interested in training (hopefully, a great deal of them.) Acquiring that control brings about greater awareness and

a more nuanced expression. Increased tissue resiliency resulting in less cause of injury from overuse are pretty nifty perks as well.

How do we increase our overall mobility?

Start with CARs. Slowly, as slow as you can control, circle each and every joint of your body individually. How did it go? This is where you begin. Do this everyday. Do this throughout the day. Never stop. Witness your life’s transformation.

Shoulders and hips seem to be an issue for many. What advice do you have to open up those areas?

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ability to express and perform so much. Because of this, both are quite prone to injury if a participant doesn’t have command of the ranges he/she is trying to express. Giving people the right exercise to address this issue is even more difficult without a proper assessment of that individual’s specific issues. It’s just not responsible on my behalf. That said, do your CARs every single day, and you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish on your own.

What has been the number one contributor to your mobility?

Taking an FRC course. Sorry, I’m going to keep saying that. I wish it was court mandated.

What is the most important thing you’ve come to understand about mobility?

Understanding that the lines we draw between mobility, strength and flexibility, do not serve us. There is nothing better to me than a focused and sustainable approach that you are 100 percent in love with, without compromise. A proper mobility curriculum and thinking process only serves to nourish this, not distract from it. It does not happen before or after a workout. It’s kind of always happening. That’s what makes it so fucking beautiful.

Nick Konow Movement Coach IG - @graceinmvmnt graceinmvmnt.com

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