Built to Move
The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully
byKelly Starrett, Juliet Starrett
Book Edition Details
Summary
Ever wonder how to keep your body feeling like a finely-tuned machine, no matter your lifestyle? "Built to Move" offers the blueprint. Penned by the trailblazers behind The Ready State, this book distills decades of expertise with elite athletes into an accessible guide for everyone. At its core, it's a symphony of ten assessments paired with ten transformative practices, designed to combat modern life's sedentary pitfalls. From improving your mobility to enriching your mental acuity, it's about equipping you for longevity and vitality. Whether you're scaling mountains or scaling the stairs, these insights promise not just a healthier body, but a more joyful life. Dive in and discover the keys to sustaining a supple, resilient self, now and for decades to come.
Introduction
What if the secret to lifelong vitality isn't hidden in expensive supplements or complicated fitness programs, but rather in the simple movements your body was designed to perform every single day? Across the globe, millions of people wake up feeling stiff, disconnected, and resigned to the belief that physical decline is inevitable. Yet your body possesses an extraordinary blueprint for movement, strength, and resilience that remains dormant, waiting for the right invitation to awaken. The human form is a masterpiece of engineering, capable of remarkable adaptation and renewal at any age. Through understanding and practicing essential movement patterns, you can unlock your body's natural design and experience the vibrant energy that comes from living in harmony with your physical self. This journey isn't about perfection or athletic prowess, but about rediscovering the fundamental habits that allow your body to thrive throughout every decade of life.
Master Your Foundation: Floor Mobility and Breathing Excellence
The ability to sit on the floor and rise without assistance serves as one of the most powerful predictors of longevity and independence, yet this fundamental human capacity has been systematically eroded by modern living. When Brazilian researcher Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo studied over 2,000 adults, he discovered that those who could easily transition between standing and floor positions lived significantly longer than those who struggled with this basic movement pattern. Warren, Juliet's 76-year-old father, embodied this principle during a grueling 16-day rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon. While his companions, mostly in their 40s, marveled at his stamina and agility on the rocky terrain, Warren attributed his capabilities to a lifetime of floor sitting and conscious breathing. Each evening around the campfire, as others struggled to find comfortable positions on the unforgiving ground, Warren moved with the fluid grace of someone decades younger. Warren's secret lay in his daily commitment to spending time on the floor while focusing on deep, expansive breathing that engaged his entire torso. He understood that every breath should create space throughout the ribs, belly, and chest, providing both stability and suppleness to his spine. This combination of floor mobility and breathing awareness had preserved what most adults lose: the fundamental capacity to organize his body in space with confidence and ease. Begin by spending just five minutes daily sitting cross-legged on the floor while watching television or reading, gradually building up to 30 minutes as your body adapts. Practice the sit-and-rise test regularly, using minimal hand support and working toward complete independence. Focus on breathing deeply into your entire torso, allowing each inhale to expand your ribs and belly while maintaining a tall, relaxed posture. Switch between different floor positions as your body guides you, listening to the wisdom of your breath as your constant companion. Remember that this practice isn't about achieving perfect form immediately, but about consistently providing your body with the inputs it needs to remember its natural patterns. Every moment spent in these fundamental positions is an investment in your future mobility and independence.
Unlock Movement Potential: Hip Extension and Walking Power
Hip extension represents the cornerstone of human locomotion, yet modern life has systematically stolen this essential movement from most adults through endless hours of sitting and forward-leaning postures. When your hips cannot extend fully behind your body's midline, every step becomes a compromise that creates compensatory stress throughout your entire kinetic chain. Joe DeFranco witnessed this transformation firsthand while working with an NFL running back recovering from knee surgery. Despite months of traditional rehabilitation, the athlete struggled to regain his explosive speed and power. Joe introduced a simple hip extension mobilization into the player's warmup routine, then had him run a 10-yard sprint. The result was immediate and dramatic: the running back beat his personal record by 0.05 seconds, his stride opening up as his hips rediscovered their natural range of motion. This breakthrough moment revealed the profound connection between hip mobility and athletic performance. The player's body had been compensating for restricted hip extension by altering his gait pattern, creating inefficiencies that rippled through his entire movement system. Once his hips could move freely into extension, his natural power and speed returned almost instantly, demonstrating how quickly the body responds when given the movement it craves. Start with the couch stretch daily, placing one foot on the ground while positioning your opposite shin against a wall or couch back. Hold this position for three minutes per side, focusing on squeezing your glutes while breathing deeply and allowing your hip flexors to lengthen gradually. Practice walking with intention, aiming for 8,000 to 10,000 steps daily while focusing on driving your leg behind you with each stride and keeping your feet pointing straight ahead. Transform your walking from mere transportation into movement medicine by using it as meditation, breathing practice, and social connection. Every step becomes an opportunity to restore hip function and strengthen the posterior chain that powers all human movement.
Optimize Your Structure: Shoulders, Nutrition and Recovery
Your shoulders and neck form an intricate partnership that reflects how you inhabit your body throughout each day, and when this relationship becomes compromised through forward head posture and rounded shoulders, the effects cascade through your entire system. The modern epidemic of shoulder dysfunction stems largely from our environment of screens, steering wheels, and sustained forward postures that gradually reshape our bodies. Juliet's remarkable recovery from double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery demonstrated the power of combining movement, nutrition, and recovery principles. Within 48 hours of her final operation, she was walking and riding a stationary bike hands-free. By six weeks post-surgery, she could raise her arms fully overhead and perform pull-ups, a recovery that astonished her medical team and defied conventional expectations. Juliet's approach centered on three fundamental pillars: consistent movement within safe ranges, optimal protein intake to support tissue repair, and 800 grams of fruits and vegetables daily to provide the micronutrients essential for healing. She understood that her body's recovery depended not on avoiding movement, but on providing the right inputs for regeneration while gently exploring her available range of motion each day. Practice the wall hang daily by placing your palms against a wall and allowing your shoulders to open while breathing deeply for ten breaths. Focus on external rotation of your arms, imagining you're trying to show your elbow pits to the sky to counter the internal rotation that dominates modern posture. Fuel your recovery with 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily, emphasizing complete proteins that provide all essential amino acids for tissue repair. Simultaneously consume 800 grams of colorful fruits and vegetables daily, understanding that these foods provide the building blocks for every tissue in your body. Your nutrition and movement are not separate entities but interconnected systems that support your body's remarkable capacity for adaptation and renewal.
Perfect Your Balance: Squatting and Sleep Mastery
The deep squat represents one of humanity's most fundamental positions, simultaneously challenging your hip flexion, knee mobility, and ankle dorsiflexion while providing a restorative shape that nourishes your spine and nervous system. This position has become foreign to most adults in Western culture, yet it remains essential for optimal joint health and functional movement. Research comparing elderly populations in China and the United States revealed a striking difference in hip arthritis rates, with Chinese adults experiencing 80 to 90 percent less hip degeneration than their American counterparts. The researchers attributed this dramatic difference largely to the Chinese population's continued use of squatting in daily life, which kept their hip joints mobile and cartilage healthy through regular compression and decompression cycles. This cultural practice demonstrated the profound connection between daily movement patterns and long-term joint health. The Chinese participants hadn't been following exercise programs or visiting physical therapists; they had simply maintained natural human positions throughout their lives. Their bodies remained capable because they continued to ask their joints to perform their intended functions, creating a positive cycle of mobility and strength. Begin with sit-to-stand exercises using a chair, gradually lowering the height of your target over time as your strength and mobility improve. Start with one repetition daily and add one each day until you reach twenty, then progress to a lower surface. Focus on keeping your feet straight and your weight balanced between your heels and the balls of your feet while maintaining control throughout the movement. Prioritize sleep as the foundation that makes all movement possible, aiming for eight hours of quality rest nightly. Create a consistent bedtime routine and optimize your sleep environment, recognizing that rest is not laziness but the ultimate performance enhancer that allows your body to repair tissues and consolidate motor learning.
Summary
The path to lifelong vitality isn't found in complex exercise programs or expensive equipment, but in the simple recognition that your body is designed to move with grace and power throughout your entire life. As the research consistently demonstrates, you are built to move, and this truth becomes your guiding principle for every choice you make about how you spend your days. Every moment spent sitting on the floor, every breath taken with full awareness, every step walked with intention becomes an investment in your future self and a celebration of your body's extraordinary capacity for adaptation and renewal. Start today by choosing one practice that resonates with you, whether it's spending five minutes on the floor, taking a mindful walk, or simply focusing on breathing deeply into your entire torso, trusting that small consistent actions compound into profound transformations over time.
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By Kelly Starrett
