Frictional Muscle Control
Improve Strength and Proprioception Through Friction
Pushing your hands (or feet) against the floor against friction is one way of deliberately activating muscles. Using friction, you can create stability and/or work at increasing strength.
To use friction it helps that your hands and feet don't slide. Body weight helps in this regard. But one of the nice things about friction is that so long as you have enough friction, it's easy to gradually ramp up the amount of effort you use against the floor.
Friction allows you to apply strength with awareness and control.
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Integration And Awareness
While frictional muscle control is focused on making you stronger with the intelligent use of muscle control, it's also focused on making your more body aware.
This isn't true for all of the exercises, but there is a greater tendency for friction to unify the whole body, or a large portion of it, via muscular tension.
- This tension is part of what makes it easier to use your muscles since they have a stable base of foundation from which to work.
- This same tension also helps you to get a feel for your body, provided you pay attention to it.
Getting Over the Obvious Disadvantage of Friction
One disadvantage of frictional muscle control is that it requires two points of contact with the earth.
(Another disadvantage is that it's hard to use friction on a slippery surface.)
Pressing exercises are also included to get around the need for two points of contact. These actions, like using friction, help to activate muscles, but the stability generated by using pushing action tends to be joint focused.
For example, where friction might be used so that the outer thighs of both legs work against each other to create stability, pressure could be used to stabilize the hip joint so that the muscles of the hip joint work against each other to stabilize the joint directly.
One advantage of pressurized stabilization, because it stabilizes the joints between your center of gravity and your foundation, is that they it make balancing easier.
Another advantage of pressure actions is that they can be used whether you have one or two points of contact with the earth.
Strengthening Exercises for the Arms and Legs
Frictional muscle control includes friction and pressure exercises that work on the legs and the arms and in some cases the part that is in-between.
These exercises can be used to improve stability, body awareness and strength. They can also be used to become more aware of how your foundation interacts with the earth.
If you want a non-weightlifting approach to strength training, frictional muscle control can help.
- You'll improve body awareness and body control while lying prone.
- You'll learn how to use a self-bracing mechanism to make lifting your body easier.
- And you'll learn how to progressively lift your body while improving coordination and your ability to sense pressure.
Videos and/or PDF
The Frictional Muscle Control program is available as a set of videos (downloadable or streamable) or as a PDF.
The postures and exercises are structured as a routine, but also as a set of lessons to teach you frictional and pressurized muscle control.
Follow Along or Watch and then Do
The videos are structured so that you can follow along. Because the instructions for each exercise are short, simple and easy to remember, you could also watch a portion of the video and then try the exercises without the video.
Likewise using the pdf. You can read up on an exercise, try it out, check what you have done, and then move on to the next exercise.
Slow and Smooth (the Advantage of the Videos)
One advantage of the videos, that is hard to get from the PDF, unless you have the relevant experience, is moving slowly and smoothly.
In the videos, all exercises are demonstrated with a slow and smooth technique ideally making it easy to follow and easier to try to duplicate.
The video is in three parts:
- a 15 minute warm up (that can be shortened once you remove all the explanation)
- The second part, standing exercises, is divided into two videos,
the first 30 minutes (again, it contains explanations so that actual exercise time once you've learned them is shorter),
the second is 20 minutes.
- The final part, teaching two methods frictional methods for doing chaturanga dandasana, is 30 minutes long.
All You Need
(If you aren't very flexible)
There are some standing forward bends included in the main section and these are demoed with props to show how you can do them if you are less flexible. The only props you require, if your flexibility is limited, are either yoga blocks or a sturdy chair.
Short and Memorable Instruction Sets
Instruction sets for each exercise set are short and simple so that you can also watch a section of video and then do the exercises yourself without the video.
I'd suggest this method so that you can own each of the techniques so that you can work towards doing these exercises without the videos, and so that you can then began to explore variations of these movements, and so that you can try these actions, or variations of them in other poses or exercises, even ones not included in this video.
The pdf includes pictures plus clear and simple instruction sets for each exercise.
You can buy the PDF and videos individually or as a package.
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(PDF only/Video only/Both)
Once you've ordered, you'll be able to download or stream the videos on any of your devices. If ordering the PDF, you'll be able to download it.
The video titles are numbered to indicate viewing order. The videos themselves also contain written tips/title cards before each section.
If you have any problems use the contact form to get in touch with me.
While the final focus in this program is on chaturanga dandasana, the techniques focused on in this program are applicable in a variety of poses. More importantly, you'll get a better feel for your body.
30 Day Guarantee
That being said, if you find the exercises or instruction not suitable for you (or it's just not quite what you hoped for or expected) this program comes with a 30 Day money back guarantee.
Also, if you have questions about any of the exercises, or need some help modifying, use this form to contact me.
Published: 2017 06 10
