six degrees of freedom

If you're an airplane pilot, you're familiar with the six degrees of freedom for movement of the airplane. If you're not an airplane pilot, this is still important for you to know because you are the pilot of your body, and you're probably not moving in all the six degrees of freedom.

The Six Degrees of Freedom (DofF) consists of:

Translation type of Movements

1. moving up and down or vertical movement (heaving)
2. moving left & right or horizontal movement (swaying)
3. moving forward & backward (surging)

Rotational movements

1. tilting forward and backward or curling and arching  (pitching)
2. tilting left and right or twisting on the horizontal axis (yawing)
3. tilting side to side or twisting on a vertical axis (rolling)

Scott Sonnon's Circular Strength Training was designed to have the body move in all six degrees of freedom and combinations thereof. The idea is that if you don't move on all six DofF, you can't effectively absorb or generate force. Holistic strength and mobility involves moving effectively in all six DofF. We do, afterall, live in a three dimensional world. Why are so many of us training as though the world were two dimensional?

In play bodies, we use substantially less resistance for rotational movements. Too much resistance places sheering forces on the intervertebral discs, which may cause the discs to bulge or herniate.

We document and share a catalog of movements. This blog and the videos are for entertainment purposes only. Please seek guidance from a certified instructor to be sure you move with proper biomechanics and safety.




The Six Degrees of Freedom by StillnessGym

Drawing by Horia Ionescu, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons