Back To The Basics: 7 Primal Movements Workout

7 Primal Movements Workout:

Thank you for joining me for this Friday’s practice. Today we are going to do a seven primal movements workout with three rounds of the primal movements that will get progressively harder as the rounds progress. We will perform our first round of six primal movements using the most simple variation of the movement. The seventh primal movement is variations of gait; walking, jogging and running. I won’t be performing this in the video, but feel free to walk, jog or run after each round! The second round will be more challenging than the first and the third more challenging than the second. If you feel that I have progressed beyond the point that you feel safe, please revert back to the variation from the previous round. If you are able to perform all three rounds of all of the six primal movements that I demonstrate, you’ve done very well!

Round one:

Bend/Extend
The first variation of the bend to extend pattern I will demonstrate is the deadlift. While this isn’t the most extreme example of the bend to extend movement, it is certainly the strongest and most frequently used. A bend to extend motion is hips back.

Squat
The front squat, or goblet squat, is the first squat I am demonstrating. I use a weight in front close to my chest. You may consider learning this exercise without any additional weight at all. It’s okay to get the hang of them with just bodyweight at first.

Lunge
The backward stepping lunge will feel the most natural but it will still challenge your balance and increase your flexibility in your hips. A great exercise for anyone with tight hips or back pain.

Twist
The first round of rotational exercise is called a chi swing, a chi building exercise in Tai Chi. Take it easy and use this round as active rest.

Push
The simple push up is what I am going to use for the first round of our pressing movement. Too challenging you say? Simply perform the incline pushup with your body at an angle and lighten the load. There is a push up variation out there for everyone!

Pull
The bent row is a great way to learn how to pull things properly. People commonly lose the ability to pull with their upper backs as their shoulder blades and all of the muscles around them stop moving in normal range of motion. Using a lighter weight can allow you to feel the shoulder blades moving toward and away from your spine with each rep.

Round two:

Bend/Extend
In the second round. I will demonstrate a more extreme progression of the bend to extend movement; the stiff leg deadlift. This progression will take much more hamstring flexibility. Make sure you keep your back flat, as with all bend/extend movements, it can be especially difficult to do on this exercise.

Squat
The rack squat is a sure fire way to get your quads sore tomorrow! By shifting the weight in your hand to one side and then the other, you will feel your stabilizers and primary movers fire like they haven’t in a very long time!

Lunge
The variation of the lunge for the second round is the lunge to balance. The lunge already demands that you have good balance, now you will come to standing on one leg. Use full range of motion to get the benefit of opening the hip flexor of the back leg, then step up to a balance.

Twist
The alternating T- stand is our next progression of the rotational movement, combined with a prone position, this will fire your core big time.

Push
When it comes to progressing your pushing exercises, instead of adding resistance, change the stability. By using hanging handles, such as gymnast rings or suspension trainers, you can perform an unstable pushup. Because I don’t happen to have that option today, I will use two wobbly kettlebells!

Pull
The alternating row will require you to keep your back flat, brace in your core and make proper use of rotation. You will feel this in your upper and lower back as well as your glutes and hamstrings.

Round Three:

Bend/Extend
The one legged stiff leg deadlift is the final variation of the bend/extend motion. Using balance, flexibility, strength and focus, this one does it all.

Squat
The overhead squat is one of the most challenging of all, requiring excellent flexibility in both your shoulders and your hips. One of my personal favorites, it combines the squat with rotation and the stability of overhead lifting, an excellent choice!

Lunge
As we progress our luge into the final round, lets add another of the seven primal movements to it and perform the lunge and press. This exercise will be far more intense on your core stabilizers at the base of the lunge than it is about the pressing muscles during the overhead lift.

Twist
This variation of rotation is the resistance band rotation, although any kind of sideways resistance will do. Gyms often have pulleys with adjustable resistance levels that are great for this exercise too.

Push
In the final progression of the pressing movement, I will demonstrate both the military press and push press to give you yet another way to add variation to your workout.

Pull
The renegade row is an extremely challenging progression of a pulling exercise, and honestly, if I had a pullup bar, I may have even shown that instead! It is possible that pull ups are easier than renegade rows but that depends on the person doing them. Keep your plank tight as you learn this progression.

As you continue, you will learn how you can combine many of the seven primal movements with themselves and other exercises to change up your workouts. As we did today, we ended up on one leg, in the prone position, and using what could end up being an endless combination of tools. Remember, posture is everything and flexibility is the key to good posture. If you can determine specific factors that are preventing you from being able to move the way you want, then target those areas with stretching, dynamic range of motion drills and myofascial release. The tightness in your muscles will throw off your posture and cause chronic joint pain, it will prevent you from performing to your potential and it will undoubtedly lead to injury. Sports related injuries due to muscle tightness are so common, people assume it’s just a part of the game, or aging. Neither are true.

Thank you for working out with me today, I will be back on Wednesday for a lesson and next Friday for another workout, so practice up!