Exercise & Fitness
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![Juliet Starrett - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B0B6Z9RLRL.jpg)
Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully
Simple and proven physical practices designed to improve the way your body feels-less stiffness! fewer aches and pain!-and boost the overall quality of your life, no matter how you spend your time. From the innovators behind The Ready State and the movement bible Becoming a Supple Leopard.
"The definitive guide for building an all-around healthy and high-performing body and mind." -Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford University & Host of The Huberman Lab Podcast
After decades spent working with pro-athletes, Olympians, and Navy Seals, mobility pioneers Kelly and Juliet Starrett began thinking about the physical well-being of the rest of us. What makes a durable human? How do we continue to feel great and function well as we age? And how do we counteract the effects of technology-dependence, sedentary living, and other modern ways of life on our body's natural need for activity?
The answers lie in an easy-to-use formula for basic mobility maintenance: 10 tests + 10 physical practices = 10 ways to make your body work better
The book offers:
Easy mobilization practices to increase range of motion and avoid injury Intuitive ways to integrate more movement into your daily life and escape sedentary habitsNo-fuss guidelines for improving nutrition and sleep Basic breathing practices to manage stress and painQuick and simple assessments to gauge progress and what needs improvement
It's full of foundational wisdom for everyone from beginners to professional athletes and everyone in between. Built to Move introduces readers to a set of simple principles and practices that are undemanding enough to work into any busy schedule, lead to greater ease of movement, better health, and a happier life doing whatever it is you love to do-and want to continue doing as long as you live. This book is your game plan for the long game.
"The definitive guide for building an all-around healthy and high-performing body and mind." -Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford University & Host of The Huberman Lab Podcast
After decades spent working with pro-athletes, Olympians, and Navy Seals, mobility pioneers Kelly and Juliet Starrett began thinking about the physical well-being of the rest of us. What makes a durable human? How do we continue to feel great and function well as we age? And how do we counteract the effects of technology-dependence, sedentary living, and other modern ways of life on our body's natural need for activity?
The answers lie in an easy-to-use formula for basic mobility maintenance: 10 tests + 10 physical practices = 10 ways to make your body work better
The book offers:
Easy mobilization practices to increase range of motion and avoid injury Intuitive ways to integrate more movement into your daily life and escape sedentary habitsNo-fuss guidelines for improving nutrition and sleep Basic breathing practices to manage stress and painQuick and simple assessments to gauge progress and what needs improvement
It's full of foundational wisdom for everyone from beginners to professional athletes and everyone in between. Built to Move introduces readers to a set of simple principles and practices that are undemanding enough to work into any busy schedule, lead to greater ease of movement, better health, and a happier life doing whatever it is you love to do-and want to continue doing as long as you live. This book is your game plan for the long game.
Editorial Reviews
"Whether you are a professional athlete, a serious weekend warrior, or, like most people, just trying to fit it in, Juliet and Kelly are there every step of the way. The Starretts have created an accessible path for helping us all live a more fulfilled and pain-free life. There is a time and a place for getting obsessed with how much weight one can lift or have fast someone is, but we all need the basics to build our foundations upon true principles spelled out in Built to Move."
-Gabrielle Reece, professional athlete and bestselling author of My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper
"Built to Move is the definitive guide for building an all-around healthy and high-performing body and mind. What makes Built to Move so valuable is not just the extensive real-world experience that went into formulating the protocols it describes, or the rigorous peer-reviewed scientific studies those protocols are based on, but its elegant simplicity. Built to Move makes exactly clear what we all need to do, and when, and how, so that anyone can reach their health goals, regardless of current fitness, income level, or life demands. [This] should be (self-) assigned reading for anyone looking to enhance their mental or physical health and performance."
-Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neuroscience, Stanford University & Host of The Huberman Lab Podcast
"Every time my body asks, 'What did you do to me?' I go to the Starretts for answers. They've opened my eyes to simple and astonishingly effective approaches to back pain, hamstring pulls, and sore Achilles tendons. Now they're offering my personal dream come true - a way to get ahead of the injuries before they happen."
-Christopher McDougall, bestselling author of Born to Run
"Juliet and Kelly Starrett have given you a detailed, accessible road map to help you move through life feeling better, stronger, and more confident than you ever imagined, no matter where you're starting from. There is no body this book will not revolutionize."
-Melissa Urban, cofounder of Whole30
"Built to Move is a must-read for anyone with a body-that is to say, you. The Starretts have written a sweeping yet easy-to-understand and practical guide for anyone who wants to live healthier i...
-Gabrielle Reece, professional athlete and bestselling author of My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper
"Built to Move is the definitive guide for building an all-around healthy and high-performing body and mind. What makes Built to Move so valuable is not just the extensive real-world experience that went into formulating the protocols it describes, or the rigorous peer-reviewed scientific studies those protocols are based on, but its elegant simplicity. Built to Move makes exactly clear what we all need to do, and when, and how, so that anyone can reach their health goals, regardless of current fitness, income level, or life demands. [This] should be (self-) assigned reading for anyone looking to enhance their mental or physical health and performance."
-Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neuroscience, Stanford University & Host of The Huberman Lab Podcast
"Every time my body asks, 'What did you do to me?' I go to the Starretts for answers. They've opened my eyes to simple and astonishingly effective approaches to back pain, hamstring pulls, and sore Achilles tendons. Now they're offering my personal dream come true - a way to get ahead of the injuries before they happen."
-Christopher McDougall, bestselling author of Born to Run
"Juliet and Kelly Starrett have given you a detailed, accessible road map to help you move through life feeling better, stronger, and more confident than you ever imagined, no matter where you're starting from. There is no body this book will not revolutionize."
-Melissa Urban, cofounder of Whole30
"Built to Move is a must-read for anyone with a body-that is to say, you. The Starretts have written a sweeping yet easy-to-understand and practical guide for anyone who wants to live healthier i...
Readers Top Reviews
Elena GBeth Dorse
This book is for everyone. It covers movement, pain, nutrition, breath work, sleep and lays out a simple measurable plan for you to improve every aspect of your health. The content is all presented in a fun accessible way that make its easy to incorporate into your life. Athletes and everyday Joe's can benefit from this book. I highly recommend picking up a copy.
stylinmammaElena
I've already put into practice the things I've learned. This book kept me up reading long after my bedtime! The notion that every one of us, whether an elite athlete or someone just starting their health and wellness journey, benefits from the these practical and easy to understand tools. The concepts are based in science and research, but made totally accessible to understand. Mobility is the key to longevity, and we all deserve to have a pain free life!
stylinmamma
I’ve witnessed the athletic prowess of Kelly and Juliet, they live what they preach and what they preach is life-changing. Built to Move is not only informative but you feel the incredible passion they have for making improved health and function accessible to the masses. No matter where you are in life, into fitness or not, young, old, or anywhere in between, you need this book. Their approach is refreshing and empowering and gives you the tools to improve your health long term without over complicating it. As you read you feel like you are getting a one-on-one session with these experts and they are cheering you on along the way! This is a must read for everyone. Period. - Tennasyn
justin mills
After six months of heads-down work focused on growing my business and overindulging on a fantastic honeymoon in Thailand, I have become a little soft around the midsection. Most of you know that if you do anything for six months, it becomes a habit. When I heard that Kelly and Juliet Starrett were coming out with the Built to Move book & challenge, I knew this was the catalyst to get me back on track. Specifically, I like how the book incorporates mobilization and breathing exercises into movement activities. Something that I mostly ignored in my 20's and is becoming more critical as I approach 40. I am excited to change my path to a happier and healthier tomorrow.
TWAjustin mills
This book is so amazing because it has such a strong simple message- "rewild your body". This is like an owner's manual for the human body- it makes you conscious of all the the bad habits you have in every little thing you do, and it blows up the idea that exercise is something that should be done in little spurts on a fixed schedule. They go through and identify all the ways you can move your body by setting up a better environment that is conducive to movement all day long. It's brilliant and so well presented that you can get started right away as soon as you pick up the book. Refreshing, clear, must have book that replaces all those obsolete "fitness" books out there. Thanks to Kelly and Juliet for fighting the good fight and giving us another big wake-up call like they did with their first book Becoming a Supple Leopard and all the other books they've done since.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Built to Move is our life jacket, handed to you, with instructions on how to prepare your body for whatever comes its way, be it aging, injury, or just the physical aches and pains that can come from living in this chairbound, technology-loving, caffeine-fueled world of ours. With this book as your guide, you'll stop "throwing" your back out when you make the bed. You'll no longer find yourself uncomfortably bent over when you get up from a chair after a long session at your desk. Your shoulders will relax. You'll lose weight and become less susceptible to related diseases like diabetes. Your spine will become more stable, your energy renewed, your mind clear. If you're an athlete or devoted exerciser, you'll be faster, stronger, and less prone to wrecking a shoulder or hamstring. Knee aches will fade. What you'll essentially be doing is building yourself one hell of a durable body. And you'll be doing it in some very unexpected ways.
To see what we mean, take off your shoes. That's right: shoes off. Now follow these instructions:
In an area free of debris, stand with one foot crossed in front of the other. Without holding on to anything (unless you feel very unsteady), bend your knees and lower yourself to the floor until you're sitting in a cross-legged position. Now, from the same cross-legged position, lean forward with your hands outstretched in front of you for balance, and rise off the floor-if possible, without placing your hands or knees on the floor or using anything else for support.
You have now just taken what's called the Sit-and-Rise Test. So, how'd you do? Don't worry if you didn't ace it. There's no public service message on TV telling you that you need to practice getting up and down off the floor. Doctors never mention it. Fitness trainers have other fish to fry. But being able to sit and rise without support is a singular way to tell if you've got a body that's dynamic and able to move in ways that will make you feel alive-and even help you stay alive longer. Same goes for hitting all the other usually overlooked benchmarks you'll encounter in this book.
The reason we hit you with the Sit-and-Rise Test so soon (we'll revisit it in full starting on page 30) is because we wanted to get you thinking about what being able to get up and down off the floor represents: mobility. "Mobility" is a kind of wonky term that refers to something quite beautiful: the harmonious convergence of all the elements that allow you to move freely and effortlessly through space and life. Everything is in sync-your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, nerves, brain, and the vasculature that runs through the body. The program in this book-and our life's work-addresses this whole network of movement components. Harnessing its power will help you achieve agility, ease, and quickness of step while vanquishing restriction, rigidity, and pain.
And, contrary to what you might expect, achieving good mobility doesn't call for exercise. No cardio. No strength training. Instead, it's a series of simple activities that enhance your capacity for free and easy movement, and in doing so also improve all the systems in your body (digestive, circulatory, immune, lymphatic) that are impacted by putting yourself in motion. You use your body's infrastructure, so you don't lose your body's infrastructure. Mobility also primes the body for exercise, if that's what you want to do. But more important, it primes the body for life.
The premise of Built to Move is simple: 10 tests + 10 physical practices = 10 ways to make your body work better. It introduces elements of well-being that most people have never heard of before, weaving them into a plan that everyone can accomplish in one form or another. Like the Sit-and-Rise activity you just did, the tests are markers of what we call Vital Signs, indicators of how well you move, how much you move, or how well some of your other lifestyle activities support movement. You're about to find out things like whether you can raise your arms overhead without restriction, if you can balance on one leg, how high (or low) your daily micronutrient intake is, and how many hours of sleep you're getting per night. These aren't things that are traditionally known as Vital Signs, but we'd argue that it's just as important to gather information on these aspects of health as it is to chart your pulse, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. These Vital Signs provide clues to why you may have aches, pains, and fatigue; they foretell whether you'll be able to recover well from illness or injury; and they serve as a harbinger of how active you'll be as you age.
To see what we mean, take off your shoes. That's right: shoes off. Now follow these instructions:
In an area free of debris, stand with one foot crossed in front of the other. Without holding on to anything (unless you feel very unsteady), bend your knees and lower yourself to the floor until you're sitting in a cross-legged position. Now, from the same cross-legged position, lean forward with your hands outstretched in front of you for balance, and rise off the floor-if possible, without placing your hands or knees on the floor or using anything else for support.
You have now just taken what's called the Sit-and-Rise Test. So, how'd you do? Don't worry if you didn't ace it. There's no public service message on TV telling you that you need to practice getting up and down off the floor. Doctors never mention it. Fitness trainers have other fish to fry. But being able to sit and rise without support is a singular way to tell if you've got a body that's dynamic and able to move in ways that will make you feel alive-and even help you stay alive longer. Same goes for hitting all the other usually overlooked benchmarks you'll encounter in this book.
The reason we hit you with the Sit-and-Rise Test so soon (we'll revisit it in full starting on page 30) is because we wanted to get you thinking about what being able to get up and down off the floor represents: mobility. "Mobility" is a kind of wonky term that refers to something quite beautiful: the harmonious convergence of all the elements that allow you to move freely and effortlessly through space and life. Everything is in sync-your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, nerves, brain, and the vasculature that runs through the body. The program in this book-and our life's work-addresses this whole network of movement components. Harnessing its power will help you achieve agility, ease, and quickness of step while vanquishing restriction, rigidity, and pain.
And, contrary to what you might expect, achieving good mobility doesn't call for exercise. No cardio. No strength training. Instead, it's a series of simple activities that enhance your capacity for free and easy movement, and in doing so also improve all the systems in your body (digestive, circulatory, immune, lymphatic) that are impacted by putting yourself in motion. You use your body's infrastructure, so you don't lose your body's infrastructure. Mobility also primes the body for exercise, if that's what you want to do. But more important, it primes the body for life.
The premise of Built to Move is simple: 10 tests + 10 physical practices = 10 ways to make your body work better. It introduces elements of well-being that most people have never heard of before, weaving them into a plan that everyone can accomplish in one form or another. Like the Sit-and-Rise activity you just did, the tests are markers of what we call Vital Signs, indicators of how well you move, how much you move, or how well some of your other lifestyle activities support movement. You're about to find out things like whether you can raise your arms overhead without restriction, if you can balance on one leg, how high (or low) your daily micronutrient intake is, and how many hours of sleep you're getting per night. These aren't things that are traditionally known as Vital Signs, but we'd argue that it's just as important to gather information on these aspects of health as it is to chart your pulse, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. These Vital Signs provide clues to why you may have aches, pains, and fatigue; they foretell whether you'll be able to recover well from illness or injury; and they serve as a harbinger of how active you'll be as you age.
