10 Signs That Show You Are In A Bad State

The following 10 signs show that you are in a bad state or could at least be in a much better state to enjoy life with improved ease of movement.

You are in a bad state if you can’t:

1. dry your toes while standing
2. touch your upper back between your scapula
3. tie your shoe laces without sitting down
4. put your pants or socks on without sitting down
5. see what’s behind you without turning around
6. perform a deep squat or without it hurting
7. bring your arms fully overhead
8. move your scapulae independently or at all
9. look at the ceiling without bending at the hips and turning your head
10. reach behind you without turning

If you can do these things but not without aches, pains, or a lot of effort, you could be in decline. The good news is, no matter what age or state of decline you are, there is always hope. There is a way to regain your mobility, your freedom to move and to wake up without aches or pains. 

But, there is no magic pill, and it will take a lot of time and effort. The great thing is that if you don’t look at it as a chore but as a part of life, as a journey to see what your body is capable of, then you’ll enjoy the journey. Only if you look at it like that will you be able to stick to it. The same applies to weight loss, if you only do it for the looks and not for your health, to feel good, and to be able to move again, you will no doubt fail or rebound.

To dry your toes while standing you need stabilization and strength in one leg and good flexibility in the hip for the other, in particular, flexibility for external hip rotation. Depending on the level of flexibility, you might need to add hip flexion, or even hip and knee and ankle (dorsi)flexion.

To touch your upper back between your scapula or to bring your arms fully overhead you need good shoulder flexibility and mobility. 

To tie your shoe laces without sitting down or to put your pants or socks on without sitting down you need good stability in one leg and good hip and knee flexibility in the other, in particular, flexibility for hip and knee flexion. You also need good ankle flexibility, in particular, ankle dorsiflexion, this is to bring the dorsum of the foot up closer to you for tying the laces.

To see what’s behind you without turning around you need good flexibility in the thoracic and cervical spine, in particular, flexibility for thoracic and cervical rotation. When you look behind you without turning, you are leaving the legs and hips where they are while only moving the thoracic spine and neck through rotation. Remember, the only reason your spine feels like it’s made out of concrete is that you stopped using it as it was intended to be used. With proper progression, you will be able to turn your spine back into a fully functional rotating, flexion, extending, and bending in every direction possible spine.

To perform a deep squat or without it hurting you need good mobility in the ankles, knees, hips, and even the spine. Some people think that squatting is only for young people or that their squatting days are over. Sure, you might not be able to squat what you used to squat, but there is nothing stopping you from starting at the beginning of the squat journey and progressing from there. Most of the time knee pains come down to no strength, lack of flexibility, incorrect form and technique, and not squatting anymore.

To move your scapulae independently or at all, you need good control over your upper, middle, and lower trapezius, rhomboids minor and major, levator scapulae, and serratus anterior. The scapulae of most people feel like it’s glued onto the back of the ribs and that they’re not meant to move at all. A lot of sleep problems can be avoided with good scapula mobility, and the benefits don’t stop there.

To look at the ceiling without bending at the hips and turning your head you need good thoracic and cervical flexibility, in particular, flexibility for thoracic and cervical hyperextension. Whether the word hyperextension is used correctly in this context can be debated. In movement, there is an extension to neutral and then past (hyper). For a long time, the back hyperextensions meant exactly that, extending the thoracic spine past neutral. The other way to describe it is to extend past the neutral position. Either way, these actions combined should allow you to comfortably look at the ceiling through movement in the spine only.

To reach behind you without turning and not using your thoracic spine, you need good shoulder flexibility, in particular, flexibility for shoulder extension.

Each and any of these things can be done in another way, you can turn around, you can sit down, etc., so why even bother, right? You should bother, because it’s not about finding the easiest and minimal effort way of doing things, it’s about using everything you’ve been given to make sure you can keep using it without pains or aches and while looking like it’s effortless. It should be your aim to focus on this till the day you leave this earth.

The more you keep sitting down to put your socks, pants, and other clothing on, the less effort you invest in these tasks. And, the less effort you invest, the more you will lose the ability to do things effortlessly. It all starts with the small things. Make small changes in your lifestyle, continuously keep making small in your lifestyle, and eventually, you’ve made big changes without even noticing it. It’s become a part of your every life.

If you’re ready to regain your flexibility then it’s time to get yourself a copy of No-Excuses Flexibility right here. If you’re ready to take it to the next level or know that you want to end up working on your flexibility with Kettlebells then you should get yourself a copy of CAVEMANROM.

And, if you’re one of the lucky ones that have already been working on their flexibility for the past years then it’s time to work on your stamina with THE PACE MAKER PROTOCOL. If you’re not a fan of hard sweaty work and are more interested in gaining size and strength, then enter PROMETHEUS PHASE II.