'Sitting down is destroying us'

Movement coach Roger Frampton believes in a world where all chairs are removed from schools.

He’s on a mission to reverse engineer the things we’ve all been doing wrong so we can bring back our child-like flexibility before it disappears forever.

As you’ll hear Roger explain in #HealthHackers Ep 7 sitting down for long periods of time is ruining us. It tightens our hamstrings, closes the front of our hips and causes us to hunch over.

That’s why Roger avoids sitting on chairs and encourages us to move like toddlers.

Have you ever noticed how a child squats down to pick things up but adults bend over? When we were young, we moved how our bodies were designed to; before we were socialised into following certain behaviours.

In his book ‘The Flexible Body’, Roger outlines his Frampton Method of exercises and stretches to help you transform your body into a fully mobile and supple machine.

The protocol isn’t a quick fix - he’s honest about the time it takes to undo years of damage stemming from our poor movements but rest assured, Roger is adamant your body can and will adapt.

His motivation to is clear. He told me that two-thirds of 75-year-olds suffer from chronic disease and he refuses to be the person who did not take care of his body right now.

And it’s never too late to stretch - in fact, one of Roger’s inspirations is Johanna Quaas - the world’s oldest gymnast.

If you feel inspired to begin a stretching routine or start doing gymnastic-based moves but feel like you’re not getting flexible fast enough, Roger suggests you “keep trying, but don’t feel pain”. Use common sense and stop when it’s too uncomfortable.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Roger: “You are designed to move well for the rest of your life. As soon as you give up movement, you give up on life.”