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If You Can Do These 9 Moves, You Can Handle Almost Anything
Sometimes a reader sends a message that stops you in your tracks.
Lora wasn’t looking for applause. She wasn’t trying to be profound. She just wanted to share something that surprised her, a moment of healing she didn’t expect to find in her garage.
“I’ve always been an emotional eater,” she began.
“Stress hits, and suddenly I’m in front of the pantry like, How did I get here? And why am I holding a box of Cheez-Its? It’s just comforting, you know?”
She wasn’t alone in that feeling. So many of us turn to food for comfort, not because we’re weak, but because it’s familiar. Predictable. Fast. But what Lora did next? That’s what caught me.
She’d been reading these posts since March, working on recognizing her patterns. And one day, in the middle of another hard moment, she tried something different. Instead of heading to the pantry, she headed to the garage. And she picked up a medicine ball.
Not to admire it.
To slam it.
“At the gym, one of my favorite exercises has always been the medicine ball. There’s something oddly satisfying about slamming it down. One day it hit me: why not get one for home?”
And just like that, her garage became her sanctuary. Her release valve. Her reset button.
“So now, when I feel that urge to snack out of stress, I head to the garage and do a few sets with the medicine ball instead. And it’s actually worked. Like, surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that now my whole family jokes about me ‘going to the garage.’”
But the best part wasn’t just her new coping strategy.
It was what happened when her teenage son came home one day, handed her the ball like it was sacred, and said, completely straight-faced:
“Hey Mom… the school’s gonna call you in like 10 minutes. You might wanna go a couple rounds in the garage first.”
That’s it. That’s the transformation.
Not just a shift in behavior—but a shift in identity.
From emotional eater… to emotional mover.
From triggered to trained.
From overwhelmed to self-aware.
“And the pantry stayed closed.”
That’s why this matters.
Because for Lora, that ball wasn’t just equipment, it was empowerment.
And the movement wasn’t just exercise, it was emotional regulation, stress relief, and neural rewiring in one simple act.
That’s what functional movement gives us. It teaches us, in our body, how to respond to life with strength, not just survive it.
So let’s break it down.
What else could your body rehearse for you, if you let it?
There are nine functional movements that prepare you for the hardest parts of life, not just physically, but metabolically, neurologically, emotionally.
Each one is more than a workout.
It’s a story in motion.
And maybe, like Lora, your garage could become the beginning of a new chapter.
Let’s begin.
1. Medicine Ball Slams
Exercise:
Raise a weighted ball overhead and slam it into the ground using your full body. Repeat until something inside you lets go.
Why it works:
Activates fast-twitch muscle fibers that help with balance and quick recovery
Drops cortisol—the stress hormone that fuels cravings and chaos
Boosts BDNF, a brain chemical that supports memory, mood, and focus
Releases tension from your neck, jaw, and shoulders, where stress likes to hide
Translation to life:
Some days, the pressure builds quietly.
You don’t yell. You don’t cry. But your jaw’s tight, your stomach’s in knots, and suddenly you’re standing in the pantry again, not even sure how you got there.
That’s where the ball comes in.
Lora doesn’t reach for a snack anymore. She heads to the garage and slams that ball until her breath comes back. Until her body feels like hers again. Until the emotion moves through her instead of staying stuck inside.
Think of it as better than wine or whining.
Take-home point:
You don’t have to hold it all in. You just need a safe way to let it out.
2. Step-Ups
Exercise:
Step onto a box or bench, one leg at a time, then step back down. Repeat. It looks simple, but it rewires your strength, balance, and brain.
Why it works:
Strengthens legs while training single-leg control (key for preventing falls)
Improves balance, coordination, and awareness of where your body is in space
Fires up your mitochondria, your body’s energy makers, through repeated motion
Translation to life:
You don’t think about standing up from a low chair—until one day your legs hesitate.
You don’t think about hiking a hill—until halfway up, your knees start to shake.
You don’t think about climbing stairs—until you catch yourself gripping the rail, hoping your body can keep up.
Step-ups are a quiet kind of power. They teach your body how to rise—even when it would be easier to sit.
Take-home point:
The strength to keep going starts with practicing how to rise.
3. Farmer’s Carries
Exercise:
Pick up heavy weights in both hands and walk. Keep your chest up, shoulders back, and steps steady. It’s simple—until it’s not.
Why it works:
Builds grip strength, a surprisingly accurate predictor of how long and well you’ll live
Strengthens your core and improves upright posture
Trains the muscles that support your spine and protect against falls or back injury
Translation to life:
You carry more than you think.
A bag of groceries. A suitcase up the stairs. A toddler who’s had enough of the world.
Some days it’s physical. Some days it’s emotional.
Farmer’s carries train your body to stay strong under load, without collapsing or overcompensating.
Every step is a reminder: you’re not fragile.
Take-home point:
When life gets heavy, your strength reminds you—you can handle it.
4. Dead Hangs
Exercise:
Grab a pull-up bar and hang. Let gravity lengthen your spine while your hands do the holding. Breathe. Stay still. Stay steady.
Why it works:
Strengthens shoulder joints and builds overhead stability
Gently decompresses the spine, relieving tension from daily compression
Stimulates grip and fascia, areas often ignored but essential for mobility
Calms the nervous system when paired with slow, steady breathing
Translation to life:
Sometimes, life doesn’t ask you to move—it asks you to hold on.
Not forever. Just long enough for the storm to pass.
Dead hangs teach your body, and your brain, what that feels like.
You learn to breathe through the strain.
To stay grounded when you’re off the ground.
To trust that you can hang in there without falling apart.
Take-home point:
When life leaves you dangling, strength is learning to hold on without panic.
5. Crawling Patterns (Bear Crawls, Quadruped Crawls)
Exercise:
Move on all fours—hands and feet working together in a smooth, coordinated crawl. It looks like child’s play, but it’s a masterclass in brain-body connection.
Why it works:
Strengthens the deep core and stabilizes your hips and shoulders
Improves cross-body coordination, integrating left and right sides of the brain
Reinforces fundamental movement patterns often lost in adulthood
Translation to life:
We don’t crawl anymore, but we should.
Crawling rebuilds the wiring between your brain and your body, the same wiring that helps you walk steadily, react quickly, and stay upright when life trips you up.
It also prepares you for real moments: chasing after a toddler, reaching under a couch, getting up from the floor after a fall.
You’re not just crawling. You’re reprogramming balance, control, and confidence.
Take-home point:
To move forward with ease, sometimes you have to go back to the basics.
6. Sit-to-Stands (Box Squats, Chair Squats)
Exercise:
Lower yourself to a chair, then stand back up—no hands, no momentum, just muscle and control. Repeat.
Why it works:
Strengthens legs and hips while preserving joint health
Reinforces safe, natural movement patterns used every day
Trains the exact motion needed to stay mobile and independent
Translation to life:
It seems small—until the day you struggle to get off the couch, out of the car, or up from bed.
Sit-to-stands aren’t just about strength. They’re about staying free.
Every rep says, “I can get up on my own.”
Take-home point:
Independence isn’t lost overnight. It slips away one ignored muscle at a time, until you train to keep it.
7. Carries with Uneven Loads (Suitcase Carry, Kettlebell Carry)
Exercise:
Pick up weight in one hand and walk without leaning. Keep your spine tall, your core tight, and your steps controlled.
Why it works:
Strengthens the obliques and deep stabilizing core muscles
Improves posture and hip alignment
Trains your body to stay steady when life throws you off balance
Translation to life:
You don’t always get to carry weight evenly. A suitcase in one hand. A grocery bag in the other. A kid on your hip.
These carries train you to stay upright when everything’s pulling you sideways.
Because that’s real life, unbalanced, unpredictable, and rarely symmetrical.
Take-home point:
Stability isn’t about everything being equal, it’s about staying centered when it’s not.
8. Turkish Get-Ups
Exercise:
Start flat on your back, holding a weight above you. Then rise to standing—step by step—without dropping it or losing control.
Why it works:
Builds total-body coordination across hips, core, shoulders, and breath
Trains joint stability and spatial awareness
Prepares your body to recover from a fall safely and confidently
Translation to life:
Most people avoid the floor as they age, not because it’s far down, but because they’re not sure they can get back up.
Turkish get-ups change that.
They teach your body how to rise from the ground, gracefully, deliberately, and without panic.
You’re not just building strength.
You’re practicing how to recover.
Take-home point:
Falling isn’t the only problem. Staying down is too. Train for the comeback.
9. Battle Ropes or Rope Waves
Exercise:
Grip a heavy rope in each hand and create wave-like motions, fast, forceful, and rhythmic. The challenge isn’t starting; it’s staying controlled under fatigue.
Why it works:
Elevates heart rate fast, building cardiovascular endurance
Trains your arms, shoulders, and core to generate and sustain power
Sharpens coordination, grip, and nervous system response under stress
Translation to life:
Ever had to carry something heavy across the yard, then open a stubborn door while balancing a bag, answering a call, and calming a toddler? That’s rope waves in real life.
They teach your body how to stay strong and coordinated under pressure, whether you're pulling a garden hose, handling luggage, or reacting quickly to catch something mid-fall.
You build power that lasts longer than a single push, you build staying power.
Take-home point:
When life demands strength, speed, and focus all at once, this is the movement that trains you to keep going without losing your grip.
What You Just Read Wasn’t About Exercise
It was about keeping your independence.
It was about taking ownership of your body before someone else has to.
It was about proving to yourself—over and over—that you’re not done yet.
These nine movements aren’t fancy. They don’t look impressive on social media.
But they change lives—because they change what you’re capable of doing every single day.
Getting off the floor.
Carrying groceries without pain.
Holding your balance in a crowded subway.
Catching yourself before a fall.
That’s the stuff that matters. That’s the stuff that keeps you free.
You don’t need to overhaul your life. You need to start moving with intention.
One rep at a time. One decision at a time.
Pick one of these movements. Practice it. Master it.
Let your body remember what it was built for.
Because aging isn’t the enemy.
Inactivity is.
You’re not fragile. You’re not broken. And you’re never too far gone.
You are one movement away from changing how you move through the world.
And you’re ready.
Ready to Put This Into Practice?
You just learned the 9 movements that can change how you move through the world.
But knowing isn’t the same as doing.
That’s why I created a powerful worksheet to help you apply this, complete with beginner-to-advanced progressions and a weekly tracker to build strength, stability, and real-life readiness.
This guide isn’t for the gym crowd.
It’s for you—the one who wants to stay independent, resilient, and strong enough to live life on your own terms.
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Because your health isn't built in a burst of motivation.
It's built in the quiet moments where you choose to move, one rep, one habit, one week at a time.
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