Beautiful movement sculpts a beautiful body...

Published: Tue, 04/11/17

Hi

...AND it stays!'

Gray Cook
All of us will watch some athletics, gymnastics or sports at some point this year I'm sure.

Of course each of the athletes trains hard and trains often, so is somewhat expected to have a pretty amazing physique.

However, as Gray Cook states above, it is movement that creates this physique, not necessarily rep after rep in the gym.

Isolating muscles to train in sections decreases the motor control, balance. mobility and stability our body can develop to move as a whole

We are one unit so we need to move as one!

Watch children play and they aren't focusing on getting tight 'abs', a firm butt or reduce the belly fat.

They are trying to reach that branch to climb on, chase Daddy across a field or roll down a hill.

Natural movement is somewhat lacking in our fitness 'regime ' and we need to bring it back

Exercises that use compound (multi-joint) movements (squat, deadlift, pull ups and lunges) are a step in the right direction, although we need a couple more additions to maybe add in that beautiful movement.

Of course skill set, injury history and strength play high in these, however having a look at the following exercises can be a level up in your physical development:

  • Loaded Carry/ Farmers Walk: Grab two huge dumbells/ Kettlebells/ anything heavy and walk as far as you can with them. keep upright, grip strong (for as long as you can) and shoulders back. When you have gone as far as you can.
  • Kettlebell/ Turkish Get Ups: Check out the below video. The Get Up is one the finest movements there is, and takes your entire body through all the main movements a child learns as they develop up to walking. This is the foundation of a strong body and it is surprising how supple and alive you feel after mastering this!
All of us watched the Olympics in Rio at some point this summer I'm sure.

Of course each of the athletes trains hard and trains often, so is somewhat expected to have a pretty amazing physique.

However, as Gray Cook states above, it is movement that creates this physique, not necessarily rep after rep in the gym.

Isolating muscles to train in sections decreases the motor control, balance. mobility and stability our body can develop to move as a whole

We are one unit so we need to move as one!

Watch children play and they aren't focusing on getting tight 'abs', a firm butt or reduce the belly fat.

They are trying to reach that branch to climb on, chase Daddy across a field or roll down a hill.

Natural movement is somewhat lacking in our fitness 'regime ' and we need to bring it back

Exercises that use compound (multi-joint) movements (squat, deadlift, pull ups and lunges) are a step in the right direction, although we need a couple more additions to maybe add in that beautiful movement.

Of course skill set, injury history and strength play high in these, however having a look at the following exercises can be a level up in your physical development:

  • Loaded Carry/ Farmers Walk: Grab two huge dumbells/ Kettlebells/ anything heavy and walk as far as you can with them. keep upright, grip strong (for as long as you can) and shoulders back. When you have gone as far as you can.
  • Kettlebell/ Turkish Get Ups: Check out the below video. The Get Up is one the finest movements there is, and takes your entire body through all the main movements a child learns as they develop up to walking. This is the foundation of a strong body and it is surprising how supple and alive you feel after mastering this!
  • Rolling: Some of the most fun my boot camp 'victims' have had is when we try rolling. The movement itself  fires up all the main torso muscles and it is also a very good way to fine imbalances across the body. Lie on your back and roll over, again and again. Try without using limbs as well to really feel like a baby does!
  • Climbing/ Hanging: Gripping something above and holding on for as long as possible bearing as much weight as you can is an incredible way to build strength and mobility in the shoulders and also de-load the spine and all the muscles behind. We have evolved from primates so our body EXPECTS to hang out on things.
  • Crawling: Time spent moving amount on all fours reconnects us with our all our main movers across the torso.
  • Kettlebell swings: Aside from jumping and Olympic lifting this is the main way to add power development to your work outs. Done correctly this burns energy and accesses energy systems throughout your entire body. This 12 min video is a worthwhile watch. Build up into this and get instruction if unsure.
  • Jump Rope/ Skipping:  I am terrible at this and its on my list to practice. If you can do this do it often. The impact on each 'skip' builds strength and reactive torsion in each foot. There is a reason boxers do this. As with the swing above the crossover into athletic ability starts here. Now...where did I hurl that rope in frustration last time I tried this?!
  • Walking: I see some of the best improvements in body composition, stress reduction and overall wellbeing when people just walk more. A t10 to 30 minute walk at some point every day is all it takes for some serious improvements in health, gives a real time to unplug and counteracts that 'desk time'.

Approaching 'fitness' and 'health' as a whole body effort is where we used to aim our training and it is where we need to head back to.

Partitioning our efforts across mobility, strength, power and cardio vascular  work is a necessary way to ensure we cover the basics in our busy lives.

However, could we bring in a bit of extra movements to bridge the gap and make those bodies even more beautiful?

 
James Chandler
Personal Trainer
07870 262741
www.eatwellandworkout.com


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