Volume II: Building on the Basics

How 3-D Workout, vol. II, builds on the Basics of vol. I

The overall and ultimate purpose of 3-D WORKOUT™ is to improve the way you move your body as a whole. Everyone benefits whether by improving musculoskeletal patterns and posture, to working with coordination and balance. ‘Make sure your body is moving well before you load it‘ is really the idea behind 3-D WORKOUT™. Rather than trying to target an individual muscle or focusing on lifting heavy weights, 3-D WORKOUT™ focuses on moving and coordinating your whole body in all three dimensions in space. By moving well, the client prevents and eliminates injuries. The result is improved movement patterns, better spatial awareness and a reliable body that can balance and coordinate itself with improved posture.

The two levels of 3-D WORKOUT sequences complement each other and should be used in alternation or in combination. Level I is not “better than” Level II even though the greater complexity of the latter is appealing to some. However, attempting the standing Level II sequences without the weight shift and level change skills established in Level I, will mean the student is unwittingly missing crucial material on which successful Level II exercises and all bipedal function depends. That said, the essence of 3-D Body Integration never changes; most people can adequately learn to roll around on the floor. The 3-D Stretching sequences contribute to enhanced range of motion and over-all flexibility. 3-D Resistance Training builds on the mover’s weight shift and level change skills to support additional strength and coordination of whole-body movement.

With 3-D WORKOUT practice your client learns to activate and mobilize the fascial matrix for elasticity and resilience while moving through the kinesphere on two feet. He/she strives to shift weight and change levels effortlessly and efficiently. Support from the lower body, frees the upper body for its full range of movement and access to space. Clients also learn to take support from the breath, space and the surface so that their movement is less strained and more integrated. The process of systematically using the body in space makes 3-D WORKOUT unique in fitness systems. Daily and sport activities are enhanced because the motoric template in the CNS has been expanded and refined. The totality of the workout, used regularly, makes everything we do easier, lighter, more efficient and safer.

A client of mine hurt her back quite badly, to the point where she could not comfortably transition to and from the floor. Using a few of the Chair-based variations of the 3-D Workout, I was able to teach her movement sequences which allowed her to regain her feelings of mobility without pain.

3-D Workout stories from instructors

“I use 3-D Workout constantly with my senior clients – classes and individuals. It is exhilarating for client and teacher to experience the positive progression of both movement skills and ease of weight shift and to witness the joy these exercises bring.”

“I taught side sweep to my 90+ year old client and her face was a picture to see as she swept her arms out wide and down in the final movement – she LOVED it!”

“My most rewarding client is S. She is a quiet, taciturn woman who in the many years I’ve known her, rarely had I seen her smile. I was actually quite surprised at her interest, but she’s never missed a class. She began with many physical issues, mostly from weight and lack of movement. A year later, she has improved her range of movement and is always proud to tell me how her life is better – “I know 3-D has made me survive snow shoveling pain free!” Most importantly, she smiles now. Her attitude is so positive and I think this once a week hour of her time for self-improvement has given her both a new confidence and a community she feels comfortable with. Working with her and seeing the positive changes has been equally rewarding for me.”

“I did 3-D with my daughter-in-law’s mother and she felt such a change in her body and felt great. I could see it also. We only did a few exercises. She was much more relaxed and open including her face. She lives in Montreal. I hope she will order your DVDs.”

“I don’t know who said ‘a little bit of something is worth more than a lot of nothing‘;  I often use this when coaching someone to get active. I would add, it’s not the amount of movement but the type of movement that works to quietly organize the body and keep us feeling well. The benefit your client got is from variety of movement—the key to well-being—that 3-D systematically offers.