The 6 Absolutely Essential Workout Movements
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Updated July 14, 2014.
If you’ve been working out for a while you may find yourself gravitating to the same sorts of workouts, routines and exercises month after month. Even if you consciously add frequent crosstraining, you may still find yourself performing the same movement patterns over and over. These repeated patterns can result in imbalances throughout the body and lead to some very strong muscles and some weaker muscles.
Common examples include the person who goes to the gym every day and uses the stair machine, or joins a daily spin class, or only does upper body strength training. Such exclusivity, while somewhat effective for getting enough exercise is less effective for functional, holistic health of the body and the way it’s designed to move.
The human body is designed to move and mobility has taken a nose dive in the past few decades as our lives are becoming much more automated and sedentary. Hours of sitting is reducing the quality of our health in very real ways and spending 30 minutes sweating it out on the stair machine is only a bandaid on the real problem.
To get the most out of your exercise routine, it’s helpful to consider the core movement patterns that the human body is capable of and work them into your workouts. Try to think about the body as an interconnected system, and avoid focusing exclusively on one movement pattern and ignoring others entirely. Yes, some movements are more likely to make up the foundation of the workout routine—squatting and lunging movements, for example, are a fundamental pattern for most human activity—but other movements should be incorporated as well in order to provide a well-rounded, balanced, and healthy system.
During your next workout, consider evaluating your routine in terms of various movement patterns rather than just exercises. Take a look at the following core movement patterns and see how you can add some or all of them into your exercise routine at least once, if not twice, each week.
Squatting movements are the cornerstone of all human movement. It is essentially described as bending your knees to lower your body while keeping both feet on the ground. Sitting and standing back up again is the common example of the squat movement in action. With age, humans tend to squat less often, and when we do, it’s often shallow and aided by our arms. To maintain range of motion, independence and strength, we could practice squatting more often and through a wider range of motion. Squatting with resistance or with jumps is another method of ensuring strength and power for other activities. Incorporate the squat exercise into your workout regularly.
Sample Exercises:
The lunge movement is similar to a squat, however performed by stepping forward with one leg and then squatting down. This dynamic exercise allows you to move in a variety of directions. Stepping up or over something, bending down to pick something up or tie a shoe, for example, both occur with a lunge. The lunge movement is another essential one to add to your exercise routine. Add resistance to the move by holding dumbbells or even an overhead weight to the move.
Sample Exercises:
Pushing movements often happen without us even noticing. Opening or closing doors, pushing in your chair, putting something on a shelf, and throwing are all typical push movements. You can generally push something away from your body using your hands and arms in a variety of motions, but the most common are a front motion and an overhead motion. These moves require both strength and flexibility in the chest and shoulders. Consider adding a variety of exercises that focus on pushing movements.
Sample Exercises:
Pulling motions are the opposition of pushing in that you will move an object closer to your body (or your body closer to an object). Picking something up, moving your chair closer to the table, closing the car door after you get in, climbing a ladder, doing a pull up are all pulling motions in action. This motion generally relies on strong backs and biceps. Similar to the pushing motion, you can pull in a variety of directions, but the most common exercises focus on pulling towards your chest and pulling down from above.
Sample Exercises:
Rotation movements are often overlooked in standard gym exercises. Very few pieces of equipment allow a safe and effective twisting move, so it's important to add some basic rotation to your exercise routine. Add both seated and standing rotation to improve your core strength and torso flexibility.
Sample Exercises:
Walking and running are the primary ways humans move forward. These movement patterns are generally referred to as gait, and we easily adjust our gait to fit the terrain we are navigating. Our stride length, balance and cadence varies to compensate for hills, steps, uneven ground, sand and other obstacles. By training our gait in a variety of conditions, we can improve and hone our proprioception, flexibility and range of motion. Agility drills and sprint drills are a great way to exercise our whole body movement.
Sample Exercises:
Updated July 14, 2014.
If you’ve been working out for a while you may find yourself gravitating to the same sorts of workouts, routines and exercises month after month. Even if you consciously add frequent crosstraining, you may still find yourself performing the same movement patterns over and over. These repeated patterns can result in imbalances throughout the body and lead to some very strong muscles and some weaker muscles.
Common examples include the person who goes to the gym every day and uses the stair machine, or joins a daily spin class, or only does upper body strength training. Such exclusivity, while somewhat effective for getting enough exercise is less effective for functional, holistic health of the body and the way it’s designed to move.
The human body is designed to move and mobility has taken a nose dive in the past few decades as our lives are becoming much more automated and sedentary. Hours of sitting is reducing the quality of our health in very real ways and spending 30 minutes sweating it out on the stair machine is only a bandaid on the real problem.
To get the most out of your exercise routine, it’s helpful to consider the core movement patterns that the human body is capable of and work them into your workouts. Try to think about the body as an interconnected system, and avoid focusing exclusively on one movement pattern and ignoring others entirely. Yes, some movements are more likely to make up the foundation of the workout routine—squatting and lunging movements, for example, are a fundamental pattern for most human activity—but other movements should be incorporated as well in order to provide a well-rounded, balanced, and healthy system.
During your next workout, consider evaluating your routine in terms of various movement patterns rather than just exercises. Take a look at the following core movement patterns and see how you can add some or all of them into your exercise routine at least once, if not twice, each week.
1. Squatting
Squatting movements are the cornerstone of all human movement. It is essentially described as bending your knees to lower your body while keeping both feet on the ground. Sitting and standing back up again is the common example of the squat movement in action. With age, humans tend to squat less often, and when we do, it’s often shallow and aided by our arms. To maintain range of motion, independence and strength, we could practice squatting more often and through a wider range of motion. Squatting with resistance or with jumps is another method of ensuring strength and power for other activities. Incorporate the squat exercise into your workout regularly.
Sample Exercises:
2. Lunging
The lunge movement is similar to a squat, however performed by stepping forward with one leg and then squatting down. This dynamic exercise allows you to move in a variety of directions. Stepping up or over something, bending down to pick something up or tie a shoe, for example, both occur with a lunge. The lunge movement is another essential one to add to your exercise routine. Add resistance to the move by holding dumbbells or even an overhead weight to the move.
Sample Exercises:
3. Pushing
Pushing movements often happen without us even noticing. Opening or closing doors, pushing in your chair, putting something on a shelf, and throwing are all typical push movements. You can generally push something away from your body using your hands and arms in a variety of motions, but the most common are a front motion and an overhead motion. These moves require both strength and flexibility in the chest and shoulders. Consider adding a variety of exercises that focus on pushing movements.
Sample Exercises:
4. Pulling
Pulling motions are the opposition of pushing in that you will move an object closer to your body (or your body closer to an object). Picking something up, moving your chair closer to the table, closing the car door after you get in, climbing a ladder, doing a pull up are all pulling motions in action. This motion generally relies on strong backs and biceps. Similar to the pushing motion, you can pull in a variety of directions, but the most common exercises focus on pulling towards your chest and pulling down from above.
Sample Exercises:
5. Rotation
Rotation movements are often overlooked in standard gym exercises. Very few pieces of equipment allow a safe and effective twisting move, so it's important to add some basic rotation to your exercise routine. Add both seated and standing rotation to improve your core strength and torso flexibility.
Sample Exercises:
6. Gait
Walking and running are the primary ways humans move forward. These movement patterns are generally referred to as gait, and we easily adjust our gait to fit the terrain we are navigating. Our stride length, balance and cadence varies to compensate for hills, steps, uneven ground, sand and other obstacles. By training our gait in a variety of conditions, we can improve and hone our proprioception, flexibility and range of motion. Agility drills and sprint drills are a great way to exercise our whole body movement.
Sample Exercises:
