Human Movement

“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