Move Well First: A New Path for Coaching Fitness
Mass information in the fitness industry is a beautiful thing; It allows trainers and the general population to learn at high speed. But mass information can also lead to mass confusion. Figuring out how to train yourself and others can be a rollercoaster ride — and not always a fun one.
Luckily, the intentions behind this industry babble are usually genuine. Coaches want to help clients get results, and the general public just wants to feel better. Amid the confusion, however, there is a growing need for the fitness industry to develop a common language that both professionals and consumers can understand. And that common language should focus on helping society move better and more often over the long term.
Changing the language of the industry may feel like an impossible task, but two principles are undeniable:
- Put motion quality first.
- Help people move more.
Regardless of your goals (muscular hypertrophy, strength, power, etc.), these two factors are critical for the industry to move in the right direction. A movement-based approach to training has magical potential and must begin in children's physical education classes. The lack of a proprioceptively enriched exercise lifestyle for children is a major societal concern.
However, it's never too late to restore what Gray Cook calls "movement competency." Here is Gray's definition of finding movement competence:
We test this with motion screening. If the screening reveals pain or dysfunction in the form of limitations or asymmetries, there is a movement competence problem. Alternatively, there's a basic motion problem – choose your term, but make it point. Adequate competence indicates an acceptable basic movement quality.
Achieving movement competency becomes difficult when we focus our fitness programs solely on looking better. I'm a bodybuilder at heart and have been working to build bigger muscles and look better since I was 15 years old. Fast forward almost 20 years and I have found that my pursuit of aesthetics has resulted in flawed movement patterns. I'm now forced to work on improving my movement skills instead of working on looking good.
That doesn't mean I can never train for aesthetics, but I must earn the right to make that the sole focus of my training. Muscle building becomes more and more important with increasing age, but you can still have a high level of movement competence at any fitness level. Building muscle and getting stronger should be your main goal once you start moving well.
A catalyst for change
This was my catalyst for developing a movement-based approach to hypertrophy training. In the past, bodybuilders might do light static stretching, five minutes on a cardio machine, and a few warm-up sets before jumping into a 25-set chest and triceps workout. Young lifters without a lot of miles on their bodies can get away with this method for a while, though Ultimately, this approach can lead to asymmetry, injury, pain, and frustratingly slow progress.
You don't have to be in your fifties to have a high age of education. As Dan John says, "It's not the years, it's the miles." I've been training hard for almost 20 years, taking a week off here and there, but not often. The miles are deep in this young body.
If you're going to be a long-term weightlifter, endless sets of eight to 15 reps per body part may not be what your body needs. So what should a person aiming for a bodybuilding-like physique do instead of the typical splits? Rethink and master basic human movements and execute them with realistic sets, reps, and loads. If you first focus on moving better, you'll be surprised at how quickly your body can often lift heavy objects again.
A collaborative design
Like any other trainer or strength coach, my philosophy has evolved over the years. Today I follow philosophies of various proven methods.
Functional Movement Systems (FMS) is a useful approach to understanding movement baselines and exercise modifications. Most people would benefit from an FMS screening. Along with a detailed medical history of intake, FMS provides a solid basis for program design. For the beginner or veteran, the basics are the beginning and the end.
Any strength and muscle hypertrophy program should include a variation of the following movements depending on the individual's goal. This list is largely inspired by the legendary Dan John:
- To press: Push-ups, bench press, overhead press
- Draw: Dumbbell rows, reverse rows, pull-ups, pull-ups
- squatting: Cup squat, front squat, back squat, single leg squat
- Hinge: Deadlift, kettlebell swing, single leg deadlift, Olympic lift
- Loaded transport: Farmer stretcher, suitcase stretcher, overhead stretcher, sandbag stretcher
- Basis: swaying, rolling, crawling, crawling, Turkish getups
- Core/Rotation/Anti-rotation: Ab wheel rollouts, cable press outs, chops, lifts
The new age bodybuilding template
Below is a basic hypertrophy template, which consists of lifting 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Breaking up your strength and conditioning into four to six week phases keeps your body fresh and resilient and improves overall physical readiness. This length of time seems to be the sweet spot since most people have what I call "exercise ADD."
Program components:
- corrective
- movement preparation
- lift weights
- finishers
1. Corrections
Correctives are based on FMS and health history. For example, a perfect score for an active straight leg is 3/3, 0 for pain. Your goal should be to achieve symmetry (a score of 2/2 or 3/3). If your score is 2/1, The following corrective exercises will use core and motor control to improve alternating hip flexion and extension.
- Alligator Breathing: Lie down in a comfortable position for 2-3 minutes. I prefer to feel the abdominal wall on my stomach. Breathe in and out through your nose. Focus on drawing air deep into your stomach. It can be helpful to imagine drawing air down into your feet.
- Assisted lowering of the legs: 10 repetitions per leg
- Cook hip lift: Each side lasts 5 x 10 seconds
2. Movement preparation
Before you start exercising, spend 5-10 minutes on the following movement preparations:
- kettlebell handle bars: 5 on each side
- Half kneeling kettlebell halos: 10 repetitions
- Cup squat with curious knees: 5 repetitions
- lunge matrix: 6 repetitions
- plank to down dog: 10 repetitions (not in the video)
- customs Service Worm: 10 reps (not in the video)
- Leap rope: 2-5 minutes (not in the video)
3. Lifting weights
Below are the rep counts for the three days of training. Organize your week so that you don't lift two days in a row.
- Monday or Tuesday): 5×5
- Wednesday or Thursday): 8×3
- Friday or Saturday): 3 x 8-12
The following exercise options are based on the basic movement patterns:
- To press: One-arm kettlebell press, one-arm bench press, push-ups
- Draw: Reverse rows, pull-ups
- squatting: Goblet squat, single leg squat, front squat
- Hinge: Deadlift, single leg deadlift, kettlebell swing
- Loaded transport: Peasant walk, carrying suitcases
- groundwork: Turkish get up, crawl and roll
- Core (rotation/anti-rotation): McGill Big 3, rollouts, anti-rotation press-outs
4. Finishers
Choose one conditioning finisher per session:
- Airbike Sprints: 6-8 rounds of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off
- Concept 2 rowing machine: 1,000 meters
- Ski Erg Sprints: 3 rounds of 1 minute, rest 2 minutes between sprints
- Push/pull slide: 5 x 50 meters
- battle ropes: 8 x 20 reps for 2 arm strokes. Rest 30 seconds between sets.
cooling down
Proper rest will give your body a better foundation to build muscle in the long run. Before you leave the gym after your workout, perform this cool-down routine:
- Alligator breathing: 2 minutes
- Head nod: 10 reps up and down and 10 reps side to side
- Bird Dogs: 10 reps/side
- Rock backs: 20 reps
- Egg rolls: 20 reps
- Rising and descending from the floor: 5-10 repetitions
- Baby crawling, Spiderman crawling: 30-40 meters each
The change is here
I will always be a meathead at heart. I love bodybuilding and am amazed at how much weight powerlifters can lift. But the "Pedal to the Metal" workouts eventually take their toll.
If we continue to steer the general public toward endless sets of body part split workouts, people who aren't ready, and may never be ready, to impose Olympic lifting, and making the most of the squat, deadlift, and bench press, the transport may never come. Instead, let's focus on keeping people moving.
