“First
and foremost, the body is one piece. You are not a collection of parts“, Dan
John
All my
life my approach to sports has been very simple. Swimming, horseback riding,
volleyball, and dancing courses – I have tried out a lot, but have never taken anything
seriously. I had no interested in lifting weights or getting stronger. Sports meant exclusively fun for me. That changed, when I started with Shinergy, because during the
two and a half years of training there I eventually realized that there is more
to sports than just sweating and gaining muscles. The concept of Athletics at Shinergy made me understand how important it
is to train the functional fitness. One of the first and most important things
I learned was that you have to train movements, not isolated muscles.
Therefore, let’s start exactly at that point.
If we take
a look on how our body moves in the normal course of life, we can break it down
to 5 different movement patterns: Push, Pull, Hinge, Squat and Loaded
Carries – the Human Movements. Why? If you think about it, the
answer is pretty obvious: almost every day women and men carry their bags or
groceries from one place to another. We have to pick up heavy stuff and put it
somewhere else. That is not all. Even if we analyse movements without weight we
can connect them to the Human Movements. People push things they don't
like away. On the contrary, we pull anything we like towards us (for example
food). Therefore, the most natural movements are exactly the mentioned 5 Human
Movements. If we go further than we can add rotation and anti-rotation too,
but today we shall focus on the former ones.
So let's start with the first movement pattern:
push. Try practicing it with the push-up. There are many ways to make it easier,
or harder; if you can't do a push up on the floor than try to elevate your push
up position. Do them with the hands on a box, chair, couch, bed, or windowsill
– be creative. The goal is obvious: systematically get lower and finally manage
to do push-ups on the floor. If that's no problem anymore, the fun part can
begin: increase your feet to a box and do your repetitions there. Try them with
one foot up in the air. Alternatively, even with only one arm. Find the
exercise most suiting for you and always pay close attention to the technique.
The next movement pattern is pull. The
most obvious exercise here is the Pull Up. Again, find your own level; there is
no shame in not being able to do even one. Hit the gym and you will find tons
of exercises to do: rows, inverted rows, bend over rows, renegade rows and so
on. If you want to improve your pull-ups, start with inverted rows and
eccentric pull-ups. Work on your grip too and you will be on your way to your
first repetition. If you want to do rows at home, help yourself with a table.
There are also sling trainers available for home training.
Let's take
a look at the loaded carries.
Carrying stuff is an essential human activity. Almost all day we carry
something around, so I can’t stress the importance of this exercise enough.
There are plenty of ways for training loaded carries. Try farmer’s walks with
two dumbbells or kettlebells, suitcase carries with the weight only on one
side. If you are familiar with kettlebells, you can try bottom up carries too,
an excellent way to improve your wrist stabilisation. Most importantly focus on
the technique. Your spine should always be neutral. Don't lean forward or
sideward, that ruins your spinal disks. Keep in mind, that your shoulders
should be on the same level, don’t let the weight pull one of your shoulders
down.
The next movement patterns are very complex. I
am talking about hinge and squat. Both would take more than one
article to explain, so I will only tell you some basics. As for training hinge,
there is no better exercise than the deadlift. The first step of mastering both of these
exercises is by getting familiar with the technique. Don’t overestimate
yourself! As Pavel said in Simple and
Sinister: “The body will always sacrifice quality for quantity”. If you are
a beginner with no experience first improve your technique and then start
loading. It is important to ask for the help of more experienced persons,
someone should watch and check on you from time to time. If you don’t have much
squatting experience start with the goblet
squat. It’s the simplest way to start and you will get a hold of it very
quickly.
As for
loading and periodization, there are thousands of articles, videos,
recommendations and advices on the internet. I am also sure that there are many
capable trainers out there. The most important thing for you is that you trust
a trainer who pays attention to your health and sets your goals improving and
not destroying it. If you are looking for more information on periodization, I
recommend you to have a look at this post.
There are many ways of training the Human Movements. Our bodies are
entirely different from each other. Therefore, it is important to understand
that it is okay to have different needs and exercises than someone else. Don't
be over ambitious, accept the limits your body is giving you. An average person
will need a different intensity in training than an athlete. An elderly person
will start at a different point than a twenty-year-old young adult. On the
other hand, be aware of the fact that there is also a great variety of
individual goals. Depending on those goals, you should place your focus in your
training. If a mother suffers from back-pain because she has to pick up and
carry her child all day, she should focus on lifting and carrying during her
training. If you need to prepare for a Martial Arts championship, your game
plan will look different. Overall, it is important for everyone to train the Human Movements in order to avoid pain
and prevent from injuries.
“Be the
master of your Body, not it’s guest”, Pavel
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