In performance, everyone wants to talk about output, strength, power, and speed. But output only matters if the system producing it can handle the load.
When the body breaks down, it can be due to a number or reasons, but alot of times it’s because something stopped moving the way it was designed to.
Adaptation, true adaptation, starts with understanding what needs to be stable, and what needs to be mobile.
This understanding is the foundation of every program I have written in my career and to come out of Bergman Performance.
The Joint-by-Joint Blueprint
Mike Boyle and Gray Cook outlined one of the simplest and smartest ways to look at the human body. This being that each joint has a primary role, and the joints above and below usually have the opposite.
When looking at the human body starting from the feet, all the way up to the neck, we can see it as follows.
Feet = Stability
Ankle = Mobility
Knee = Stability
Hip = Mobility
Lumbar Spine = Stability
Thoracic Spine = Mobility
Scapula = Stability
Shoulder = Mobility
Cervical Spine = Stability
If a joint can’t perform it’s primary function, the next one up or down the chain will try to compensate. That’s when pain, tightness, and instability arise, with poor performance and increased risk of injury as the result.
“The body is a system of alternating joints that demand opposite functions. Ignore that, and the system will adapt — but not in your favor.”
Adaptation in the Real World
Your body is always adapting.
The question is whether those adaptations are positive or negative.
Sit too long, and your hips adapt to being in flexion and the muscles around the joint shorten and tighten. This most commonly causes lower back pain with the lumbar spine compensating for mobility.
Never challenge your spine through rotation, and your thoracic mobility disappears.
Stiff ankles and weak feet, commonly the result of poor footwear, will lead to instability and pain in your knees.
Lack of strength in the muscles around your scapula will lead to instability, will result in lack of mobility around your shoulder.
The body doesn’t discriminate between positive and negative stress, it adapts to both. Our job is to direct that adaptation in a positive way so each of our joints maintain optimal mobility and stability under load while also mitigating the negative stimulus we face in our day to day lives.
Your Body Doesn’t Judge.
The body doesn’t judge your habits; it simply adjusts to them.
That’s why adaptation is both your greatest strength and your biggest liability.
In my experience with a multitude of different types of athletes, developing an eye to watch how the body moves itself under load, fatigue, or stress. is real feedback. If a joint moves too much, it’s compensating for lack of mobility from somewhere else. If it locks down, something above or below isn’t moving through its intended full range.
Training each joint through different mobility and resistance training for their primary function should be the foundation of any program, regardless of the goal.
Adaptation isn’t a one-time fix; it’s a constant conversation between what you ask for and what your body gives back. The best athletes and the best coaches learn to interpret that language and adjust before pain or dysfunction forces the issue.
Pay attention to the story your movement tells.
Every movement pattern is feedback, and that feedback is your blueprint for better adaptation through the appropriate stimulus.
Adapting the Right Way
The body becomes what it repeats. Spend hours sitting, and it learns to stay still. Move without intent, and it memorizes dysfunction.
But when you train with balance and awareness, it adapts toward strength, resilience, and longevity.
Get the right areas mobile, the right areas stable, and the system starts performing like it was designed to.
The Takeaway
Adaptation is the body’s language.
Every ache, restriction, and imbalance is feedback.
Your job as an athlete or just a human who moves is to listen and respond.
When the joints function the way they are intended, when the body adapts the right way, it doesn’t just perform better, it lasts longer.
Adapt smarter. Move better.
Til next time,
– Cory Bergman
Founder, Bergman Performance
CSCS | Human Performance Coach
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