Implementing a Movement Based Program

One reason I love training athletes is the entirety of the training. When training athletes, there is more to it than putting as much weight as possible on the bar. I am passionate about making sure my programs have as few holes as possible, making it as complete as it can be. Yes, when training athletes getting stronger is obviously an enormous goal, but along with that an effective program should cover many different facets of training.

One of those “holes” that I take pride in covering is restoring natural human movement to my athletes. Yes, as a high school strength and conditioning coach I work specifically with high school athletes by restoring natural human movement patterns, which should be a part of every athletes program no matter their age or skill level. You may ask “If these movements come natural then why must we train them?” The answer is a simple, “If you don’t use it you lose it.”

Even great athletes find most of the natural movements surprisingly difficult at first because they likely haven’t done it in years. Exercises that they are more accustomed to, such as bench pressing and box squatting, will no doubt make them strong as hell, and if that is their sole purpose then great. However, athletes are in the weight room as a way to help them reach their full potential as an athlete on the field, court, etc. Getting strong in lifts like the bench press or box squat is certainly important but those are simply a means to an end and not their sole purpose.

Why is restoring these movement patterns important?

Think of the natural movement patterns in terms of nutrition. Without having any formal education or background in nutrition, most people generally know what is good to eat and what isn’t. I would hope most people can look at an apple and a doughnut and choose which one is better for them. Moving naturally is good “nutrition” for the human body. After all, it is natural for a reason. By restoring movement patterns that should come natural to us we can ensure that the foundation we are building on is as safe and efficient as it can be.

Natural movement creates a healthy foundation for athletes and is important because not everything athletes do is naturally healthy for their bodies. There is nothing natural about running into another human being for three hours a night on a football field or throwing thousands of baseballs on a baseball diamond. These movements are a lot like the doughnuts. They are fun to do but not too healthy for our bodies going forward. An athlete’s life being the way that it is with the doughnuts being necessary we need to make sure we are countering those doughnuts as much as possible by taking in as many apples as possible. Moving naturally would be the apple in this scenario.  

This is where my job as strength and conditioning coach comes in. I include as many natural movements or “apples” in my programming as possible. The idea is to use these natural movements to create a solid foundation on which the athletes can build upon with strength training and other forms of sports performance. Otherwise, if we jump straight into strength training and speed and agility work, along with other aspects of training without building a solid foundation of movement we are simply adding to the problem and bringing more “doughnuts” to the table.

How do I implement a movement based program?

• Implement natural human movements into the program.
  • Crawling
  • Hanging
  • Rolling
• Full range or it simply does not count. For example, when we perform pull-ups they are full hang strict pull ups, when we squat we always go full depth.
• Perform conventional exercises on an unstable surface (I.e. gymnastic rings)
  • Push-ups
  • Inverted rows
  • Pull-ups
• Include all the planes of movement each workout.
  • Horizontal Press/Vertical Pull
• Implement unilateral (one side at a time) exercises for every bilateral (both sides at time) exercise we do.

Injuries are bound to happen in sports, its part of the game. What I can say though through my three years as a strength coach at the high school level and a couple more at the collegiate level is that by restoring natural movement patterns I have not only seen a decrease in soft tissue, non-contact injuries, and overuse injuries, but I have also seen improvement in the ways my athletes move in the weight room. Who would have thought that by improving an athlete’s body weight squat and goblet squat their back squat would improve? I just had to throw some sarcasm in their somewhere didn’t I?

Here is a list of natural human movement patterns and examples of how we do them in my program no matter what sport I am training.

Crawling

• Bear crawl forwards
• Bear crawl backwards
• Crab crawl forwards
• Crab crawl backwards

Benefits:

• Shoulder stability (Compression)
• Hip mobility
• Coordination
• Movement of synovial fluid

Hanging

• Dead hangs
• Knees to elbows (On rings)
• Flips (On rings)

Benefits:

• Grip strength
• Shoulder strength
• Decompression of axial skeleton
• Upper body stretch

Rolling

• Shoulder rolls
• Front rolls
• Hollow throws

Benefits:

• Body awareness
• Mobility
• Learning how to fall

Carrying

• See article on carrying Weighted Carries (The Secret Weapon)

Press/Push

• Vertical Presses

  • Barbell strict press
  • Barbell push press
  • Kettlebell press (unilateral)

  Horizontal Presses

  • Bench press
  • Sled push
  • Push-ups (conventional or rings)

Pull

• Vertical Pulls

  • Pull-ups/Chin-ups
  • Rope climbs

• Horizontal Pulls

  • Inverted rows (bar or rings)
  • Single arm inverted rows (unilateral)
  • Sled pulls

Squat

(All Full Depth)

• Goblet Squat
• Back Squat
• Font Squat
• Zercher
• Pistol Squat (unilateral)

Hinge

• Barbell deadlifts
• Barbell RDL’s
• Kettlebell Swings
• One leg RDL’s (unilateral)