Have you ever learned something as an adult and think, “How did I not know that?”
Have you ever learned something as an adult and think, “How did I not know that?”Learning about the “normal force” was one of those moments for me.
The “normal force.” is the up force that counteracts gravity. If it didn’t exist, you’d be a pancake.
We talk about gravity a lot—Isaac Newton and those apples. But why don’t we marvel at how he got out of bed that morning? That’s the normal force. Without it, Mr. Newton would also be a pancake.
Since we mostly think about gravity pushing down, without the opposite “up” of the normal force, we spend a lot of time fighting gravity. Maybe you’ve thought about “pushing away” from the floor. This activity may feel right because it feels like work and you believe it makes you stronger. This pushing down actually creates more wear and tear on our joints. Rather than making us stronger, it uses more energy than necessary.
The normal force is just as important when doing resistance training or other vigorous activity. Allowing the weights to drag you down makes you more prone to injury. There is a better way to do challenging, powerful work. Using the normal force doesn’t make it less challenging or beneficial. But it does reduce wear and tear and chance of injury.
Movement is much more efficient and coordinated when we learn to use our normal force (coming away from the floor) rather than “fighting” gravity by pushing and working harder.
We are all born with this ability. Athletes cultivate it. And I help my clients access it in their every day lives.
Read to the bottom for simple and interesting practice to sense “coming away from the floor” rather than pushing into the floor to move. (ps, you still have to use the floor, it’s just a different muscular approach)
Here are two great examples of people who use their normal force beautifully. You’ll notice that Usain Bolt barely touches the ground—He’s not pushing down into the ground, he’s moving away from it with tremendous power. The Irish step dancer also gets a gold medal in my book.
Usain Bolt never yields to gravity, always coming up and away from the ground
Irish Step Dancer says YES to her up
Try this—Next time you go for a walk, think about moving away from the ground as your foot touches the ground rather than allowing yourself to sink and push.You may catch a glimmer of more lightness and ease.
If you’re curious, I’ll be teaching this principle in “Sit to Stand,” class on September 24.
