The Movement Mindset™
The Movement Mindset™: What If We Measured Ageing by What We Can Still Do?
For more than three decades, I have worked with people as an osteopath, movement specialist, rehabilitation practitioner, lecturer and coach. Throughout that time, I have seen many different reasons why people seek help with their bodies. Sometimes it is pain. Sometimes it is an injury. Sometimes it is a loss of mobility or strength. Sometimes it is simply the feeling that the body is no longer doing what it used to do.
But there is another theme that has become increasingly important to me.
It is a question that sits behind many of the conversations we have about ageing, health, exercise and physical decline:
What does it really mean to stay physically capable as we get older?
We spend an enormous amount of time talking about ageing. We talk about weight. We talk about appearance. We talk about wrinkles, disease, pain, stiffness and the things we believe we are gradually losing.
But perhaps we are asking the wrong question.
Perhaps instead of continually measuring ageing by what we have lost, we should start measuring it by what we can still do.
That simple change in perspective is at the heart of something new I am developing: The Movement Mindset™.
Its philosophy is straightforward:
Move better. Get stronger. Stay capable.
It is not about trying to become young again. It is about building the movement, strength and confidence required to continue living a physically active and meaningful life as the years pass.
What Can Your Body Still Do?
Imagine that you meet someone who tells you they are 60, 65, 70 or 75.
What is the first thing you might ask them?
Perhaps:
“How old are you?”
Perhaps:
“How much do you weigh?”
Perhaps:
“Do you have any health problems?”
But what if we asked something different?
What can you still do?
Can you get up from the floor?
Can you lift something heavy?
Can you carry your shopping?
Can you climb a flight of stairs?
Can you balance on one leg?
Can you react quickly enough to avoid an obstacle?
Can you get down on the floor and back up again?
Can you walk for an hour?
Can you swim?
Can you cycle?
Can you run?
Can you ski?
Can you play a sport?
Can you travel without worrying about whether your body will cope?
Can you get out into the countryside and walk somewhere unfamiliar?
Can you pick up your grandchildren?
Can you garden?
Can you dance?
Can you get on and off the floor while playing with your children or grandchildren?
And perhaps the most important question of all:
Can you continue doing the things that make life meaningful to you?
These are questions about capability.
And capability is a very different concept from simply being "fit".
Fitness Is Not the Whole Story
Fitness is important. Strength is important. Mobility is important. Cardiovascular capacity is important.
But physical capability brings these qualities together in the context of real life.
You might have reasonable cardiovascular fitness but struggle to get up from the floor.
You might have good flexibility but lack the strength to lift something safely.
You might be strong in the gym but lack the balance and coordination needed for an unexpected movement.
You might be able to walk comfortably on a treadmill but find that a mountain path, ski slope or uneven surface presents a completely different challenge.
Capability asks a broader question:
Can your physical abilities support the life you want to live?
That changes the purpose of exercise.
Instead of exercising simply to burn calories, change your appearance or chase a number on a machine, we can begin to exercise for a much more meaningful reason.
We exercise because we want our bodies to remain useful.
We want them to remain adaptable.
We want to retain the ability to participate.
We want to maintain independence.
We want to continue exploring.
We want to continue playing.
We want to continue challenging ourselves.
We want to remain involved in life.
Age Is Not a Movement Strategy
One phrase has become increasingly important to my thinking:
Age is not a movement strategy.
Age tells us how long we have been alive.
It does not tell us what our bodies are capable of doing today.
Two people can be the same age and have very different levels of strength, mobility, coordination, confidence and physical capacity.
That does not mean that ageing has no influence on the body. It does.
Nor does it mean that everyone can maintain exactly the same physical abilities indefinitely.
It means that age alone does not provide a particularly useful answer to the question:
“What should I be capable of doing?”
Instead, we should look at the individual.
Where are you now?
What can you do?
What would you like to do?
What physical qualities would help you do it?
And what can you realistically work towards?
That is a much more constructive way of thinking about physical ageing.
From Avoiding Decline to Building Capability
A great deal of advice directed towards older adults is framed around avoiding things.
Don't fall.
Don't hurt yourself.
Don't lift too much.
Don't run too far.
Don't move too quickly.
Don't do this because you're getting older.
Some caution is sensible. Understanding your individual circumstances and respecting genuine limitations is important.
But there is another side to the conversation.
What if we asked:
What should I build?
Build strength.
Build balance.
Build mobility.
Build coordination.
Build cardiovascular capacity.
Build confidence.
Build movement skills.
Build resilience.
Build the ability to respond to physical challenges.
Build the capacity to participate.
This is a fundamental change in mindset.
Instead of seeing exercise primarily as something we do to prevent ourselves from getting worse, we can see it as something we do to develop our physical capabilities.
That is one of the ideas behind The Movement Mindset™.
Mobility, Strength and Capability
The Movement Mindset™ is built around three simple words:
Mobility
Mobility is more than simply being flexible.
It is about having the movement options required to perform the tasks that matter to you.
Can you squat?
Can you reach?
Can you rotate?
Can you step?
Can you get down?
Can you get back up?
Can you move through the ranges required by your activities?
Movement gives us options.
And the more appropriate movement options we maintain, the more physical choices we have available to us.
Strength
Strength becomes increasingly important when we think about capability.
We need strength to lift.
We need strength to carry.
We need strength to climb.
We need strength to push and pull.
We need strength to get up from a chair or the floor.
We need strength to participate in sport.
We need strength simply to deal with the physical demands of everyday life.
Strength is not exclusively about bodybuilding or how much weight you can lift in a gym.
Strength is about having enough physical capacity for the demands placed upon you.
The question is therefore not necessarily:
“How strong am I compared with someone else?”
It may be:
“Am I strong enough for the life I want to live?”
That is a much more personal and meaningful measure.
Capability
Mobility and strength are important, but they ultimately have a purpose.
They allow us to do things.
That is where capability comes in.
Capability is the ability to take what you have developed and use it in real life.
You may develop strength in the gym.
But can you use it to lift your suitcase?
You may improve mobility.
But can you use that mobility to get down on the floor and play with your grandchildren?
You may improve balance.
But can you confidently negotiate an uneven path?
You may develop cardiovascular fitness.
But can you use it to cycle through the countryside or swim in open water?
The purpose of physical development is not simply to accumulate physical qualities.
It is to use them.
The Body Should Support the Life You Want
This is perhaps the most important principle behind The Movement Mindset™.
Exercise should not exist in isolation from life.
Your body is not simply something to be measured, photographed or displayed.
It is the physical means through which you experience the world.
You use it to walk through a new city.
You use it to climb a mountain.
You use it to swim in the sea.
You use it to cycle along a country lane.
You use it to carry your bags through an airport.
You use it to play with your children.
You use it to garden.
You use it to dance.
You use it to compete.
You use it to explore.
You use it to hug someone.
You use it to live.
That is why capability matters.
What Happens When We Change the Question?
Consider the difference between these two questions:
“How do I stop myself getting old?”
and:
“How do I remain capable as I get older?”
The first question is ultimately impossible to answer because nobody can stop ageing.
The second question is much more useful.
It invites action.
You can work on your mobility.
You can develop strength.
You can improve your balance.
You can train your cardiovascular system.
You can practise coordination.
You can develop movement skills.
You can build confidence.
You can learn how to manage setbacks.
You can gradually expose yourself to physical challenges.
You can continue participating.
You can keep learning what your body is capable of doing.
This is not about denying age.
It is about refusing to allow age to become the sole definition of physical possibility.
The Importance of Confidence
There is also a psychological dimension to capability.
Physical capability is not simply about what the body can theoretically do.
It is also about what we are prepared to attempt.
A person may possess sufficient physical ability to perform a movement but avoid it because they have lost confidence.
Perhaps they have previously experienced pain.
Perhaps they have suffered an injury.
Perhaps someone has told them that a particular activity is inappropriate for their age.
Perhaps they have gradually stopped doing things and consequently become less confident about doing them.
This is where mindset becomes important.
The Movement Mindset™ is therefore not simply a collection of exercises.
It is a way of thinking about physical participation.
It asks:
What can I do?
What do I want to be able to do?
What do I need to develop to get there?
How can I progress appropriately?
These questions shift attention towards possibility and action.
Capability Has No Single Definition
One of the things I find particularly interesting about capability is that it is individual.
For one person, capability might mean running a marathon.
For another, it might mean walking comfortably around a city on holiday.
For another, it might mean returning to tennis.
For someone else, it might mean being able to get down onto the floor and back up again.
Someone might want to ski at 70.
Someone else might want to cycle across Europe.
Another person might simply want to remain independent and active at home.
There is no universal definition of a successful body.
Your capability should be connected to your life.
That is why The Movement Mindset™ is not about comparing yourself with an idealised image of youth or athletic performance.
It is about asking:
What does physical capability mean to me?
A Different Way to Think About Ageing
Perhaps we should stop viewing ageing as a simple downward graph.
Perhaps we should think of it as a continuing process of adaptation.
Some things may become more difficult.
Some things may need to be approached differently.
Recovery may require greater attention.
Training may need to become more intelligent.
Previous injuries may influence what we do.
Individual circumstances matter.
But none of this means that the answer should automatically be inactivity.
The question becomes:
How do I train intelligently for the body and life I have now?
That is a very different philosophy from attempting to recreate the body you had at 20.
You are not trying to turn back the clock.
You are building the best physical capability available to you now.
The Movement Mindset™
This is why I am starting something new.
The Movement Mindset™ brings together many of the principles that have shaped my professional life.
My experience as an osteopath has taught me to look carefully at movement, function and the individual.
My work in rehabilitation has taught me that returning to activity is about more than simply waiting for symptoms to disappear.
My experience as a coach has taught me the importance of progression, adaptation and purposeful training.
My work as a lecturer has reinforced the importance of understanding principles rather than simply following one-size-fits-all instructions.
My involvement in sport has given me a personal appreciation of what it means to continue developing physical capability over the course of a lifetime.
The Movement Mindset™ brings those ideas together.
At its heart are three words:
Mobility. Strength. Capability.
Mobility gives us movement options.
Strength gives us physical capacity.
Capability allows us to use those qualities in the real world.
Together they help create something much more important than fitness alone.
They help us remain physically engaged with life.
So, What Can Your Body Still Do?
I would encourage you to ask yourself that question.
Not with judgement.
Not as a test you have to pass.
Simply as an honest starting point.
What can you do today?
What have you stopped doing?
What would you like to do again?
What would you like to learn?
What physical challenges would you like to take on?
What activities would you like to continue for another ten, twenty or thirty years?
And what physical qualities might you need to develop to make that possible?
Perhaps the answers will surprise you.
Perhaps they will lead you towards greater strength.
Perhaps towards better mobility.
Perhaps towards improved balance or cardiovascular fitness.
Perhaps towards rehabilitation.
Perhaps towards a completely new physical challenge.
But whatever the answer, it begins with a different question.
Not:
“How old am I?”
But:
“What do I want my body to be capable of doing?”
Welcome to The Movement Mindset™
For more than three decades, I have worked with people trying to understand their bodies, recover from problems, improve movement and perform at their best.
I now want to bring those experiences together around a simple idea.
We should not measure ageing only by what we lose.
We should also measure it by what we can continue to do.
Can we move?
Can we lift?
Can we balance?
Can we react?
Can we participate?
Can we explore?
Can we play?
Can we challenge ourselves?
Can we continue doing the things that make our lives meaningful?
We cannot stop the passing of time.
But we can pay attention to how we use the time we have.
And that means looking at movement differently.
It means seeing strength as something worth developing.
It means treating physical capability as something worth protecting and building.
It means recognising that the body is not simply an object that gets older.
It is the body through which we experience our lives.
The Movement Mindset™ is not about trying to become young again.
It is about building the movement, strength and confidence required to remain capable throughout life.
Move better. Get stronger. Stay capable.
Welcome to The Movement Mindset™.
