2. The Movement Elimination Protocol: Sometimes the Best Thing You Can Do Is Stop

When people want to improve their movement, their instinct is usually to add something.

Another exercise.

Another stretch.

Another mobility drill.

Another class.

Another training session.

But sometimes the most useful intervention is removing something.

This is the idea behind the Movement Elimination Protocol.

Why eliminate movement?

If you're trying to change your biomechanics, you need to be able to observe what is actually influencing them.

If you're simultaneously participating in multiple activities that expose your body to different movement strategies, it becomes difficult to identify which variables are helping and which are working against your goals.

For example, someone may be trying to develop better integrated movement through FP training while also spending several hours per week cycling, doing long-duration cardio, practising passive stretching, surfing or (insert some other habitual movement activity).

The issue isn't necessarily that these activities are universally "bad."

The question is whether they are appropriate for the individual and the outcome they're currently trying to achieve.

Sometimes removing an activity temporarily gives you a much clearer picture.

That being said, any movement you do is either going to wire in the same imbalances you already have, or work to correct those imbalances and create more efficient movement.

Think of it as an experiment

The Movement Elimination Protocol isn't about permanently banning every activity you enjoy.

It's about controlling variables.

Imagine you're trying to work out why a particular movement pattern isn't improving.

You continue your FP training.

You improve your daily movement.

But you also continue performing several activities that repeatedly reinforce a different mechanical strategy or wire in your already pre-programed dysfunctions.

How do you know what is producing the outcome?

You don't.

So you remove some variables.

You focus on the fundamentals.

Then you observe.

This is essentially an experiment.

Remove → observe → adapt.

Activities that may need to be removed

These can be divided into two categories, those that we strongly recommend you remove and those that may only be needed to be removed for a period of time. Depending on the individual, this can include:

• Yoga or passive stretching (recommend removing)
• Long-duration steady-state cardio (recommend removing)
• Cycling (recommend removing)
• Surfing
• Other repetitive activities that may reinforce movement strategies you're trying to change e.g. (tennis, golf, BJJ, field sports etc)

Again, context matters.

We're not saying everyone who plays golf or surfs needs to stop.

The question is:

Is this activity contributing to the outcome I'm trying to create?

That's a much more useful question than asking whether an activity is simply "good" or "bad."

Why passive stretching/yoga is a useful example

Passive Stretching, isolated mobility work and yoga may seem reasonable if you’re lacking range of motion or feel ‘tight’. The issue with these modalities is that they are usually passive - meaning they don't involve a contraction mechanism to drive a length in another area and usually just rely on gravity and ‘relaxing’ into a position. This creates a mechanical disconnect from you’re nervous system. When you move there is never really an area that ‘relaxes’. One side of you’re body is contracting while the other side eccentrically lengthens. There are specific ratios, timing and rhythm that need to occur in particular sequence to get the body moving in a way that will be sustainable

Another thing to consider is the thinking behind these modalities. If someone continually feels tight, the automatic response is often to stretch.

But what if the tension is an adaptation to how that person is organising their body?

In that case, repeatedly pulling on the tissues may not address the reason the tension exists.

Instead of simply asking:

"How can I make this muscle longer?"

we can ask:

"Why is this area producing so much tension in the first place?"

That's a fundamentally different approach.

Elimination creates clarity

When you remove unnecessary variables, you can start seeing cause and effect more clearly.

You may discover that a particular activity wasn't helping.

You may discover that your movement improves.

Or you may discover that the activity wasn't the problem at all.

Either way, you've learned something.

That's the point.

Try this

Look at everything you currently do physically outside the gym.

Make a list.

Then ask:

Which activities are clearly supporting the movement qualities I'm trying to develop?

And:

Which activities might be working against them?

If you're unsure, bring the list into your next FP session and discuss it with your practitioner.

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