Twelve Metaphors to Help You Understand Taubman Technique on a Body Level
Stiff Leg Dead Lift
Consider the stiff leg deadlift exercise, used by some to strengthen and tone the hamstrings. The celebrity photo illustrates the form necessary to optimize its effects.
In a video that teaches this exercise, the celebrity instructor, Jillian Michaels, issues an array of commands for optimizing its effects. “Form is KEY!” she intones, meaning key to achieving the result of stronger and shapelier hamstrings. In a stern drill sergeant's bark, she continues, “Don't release your shoulder blades either. I know this is ‘killer buns and thighs’ [the name of the video] but I still need proper form. Chest is up, eyes are forward! Bend at the waist! Keep a soft knee!"
I can assure you that this exercise is a whole lot less painful to the hamstrings if you ignore her instructions.
The message behind the metaphor: often what remote muscles are doing (or not doing) has a great influence on the outcome of physical effort. What your upper back and shoulders do, if not coordinated with the muscles closer to the keyboard, can wreak havoc on your playing in addition to causing discomfort and even injury.