If you’re reading this, chances are you have been to an OS work shop or are at least somewhat familiar with the concepts that are put forth by Original Strength Inc. If you have made the investment to come to a workshop – awesome! You have a manual that has been revised and perfected over the years to provide you with everything you need to press reset on a daily basis. The manual is a great reference as the amount of information at a work shop can be a lot to remember. If you have not yet attended but have read Tim and Geoff’s book Pressing Reset Reloaded – you also have a great resource at your fingertips. If you are a casual observer who is interested in what OS has to offer and like the blogs and videos that OS puts out – you also have a lot of knowledge of the system.
In its simplicity, OS can seem almost too good to be true – how can these easy resets work so well, in such short order in some cases? How can these resets, which improve performance for world class athletes also help the general population in addition to those in rehab settings? We have seen and read stories of amazing transformations – people who could only walk with the aid of a cane or walker can now crawl with chains. People who were in pain and considering surgery end up canceling the procedure that modern medicine and well-intentioned care givers have said is the only way out of that pain. Could it be that we have a found a panacea – a magic elixir for all things related to movement? In a word – No.
What we have at our fingertips is a system – a blueprint given to every single one of us at birth that is the very foundation for movement and learning and our overall development as human beings. A growing body of evidence supports the links between movement and brain development and cognition. In amazing ways that go way out side the scope of this blog, the brain is nourished by movement and in return, the brain nourishes the body with the information it needs to function optimally given the circumstances that are unique to each of us. And, armed with that understanding is the trap.
“You can not put the same shoe on every foot” - Publilius Syrus
The trap is the misunderstanding of how OS works and as an extension - that all types of physical discomfort can be mitigated by performing resets. Let’s call it what it is….Pain. There is “pain” and then there is “PAIN.” Both are real and can be debilitating to a small or large extent, it depends. In exercise there is going to be some level of exertion that needs to be endured in order to enhance performance. This refers to a well-known principle of training called the overload principle. Simply put – you must continuously work harder in order to achieve results. The body will adapt positively to the stresses placed on it and performance gets better. If the stress doesn’t gradually and logically increase, the body lacks the necessary stimulus for improvement and it well, doesn’t.
One of the consequences of the increase work load can be something called DOMS – or in the training world “Delayed Onset of Muscular Soreness”. DOMS is typically felt 24-72 hours post work out and is the result of muscle damage that occurs as a natural consequence of doing work beyond what is typically done. It is completely normal. This is pain. In time it goes away and everything is back to normal.
“PAIN” is another issue all together. This type of pain occurs when there is an actual injury to a joint, muscle, tendon or ligament. It can be the result of direct trauma, overuse or misuse caused by faulty body mechanics. The later is where OS can play in a role in reducing pain and improving how the body moves. Since OS works primarily on a nervous system level it deals with improving movement via neural pathways. How? – here’s where I say “come to a work shop and find out!” but for the purpose of this piece I’ll plow ahead.
OS works because it honors the original design of the human body and how it was meant to work and move in the first place. Once we restore the normal neural operating procedures of how the body is meant to run, it runs pretty well. It does nothing to address acute disturbances to tissue integrity that come along with training – yes I am talking about muscles soreness post work out and in some cases damage to a joint – muscle – ligament. There is no amount of head nods and belly breathing that can speed up the normal time course of DOMS. Moving around and exercising can help alleviate some of the soreness, but the tissue, in the end has to go thru a normal process of healing and repair.