Movement Based Training

The number of exercise options available today can be dizzying. There are programs specific to just about all sub-categories of fitness though the top honors have to go to weight loss. How many “extreme” infomercial based programs being hocked by ripped trainers promising near instant success are out there? I’ve lost count. If you are just starting out where do you begin? Should you focus on strength, cardio, flexibility, stability? Yes, you should.

Movement Based Training

When it comes to getting in shape a movement based program will boil this insane amount of information down to a simple, functional base. At its most simple one should have a pushing exercise, a pulling exercise, a core exercise, and a lower body exercise. I generally add a total body exercise to this list, but for the absolute novice the first four may be plenty. If you take every exercise you’ve ever done, seen, or read about and look at the movement, ask yourself are you pushing something away from your body, pulling something toward your body, stabilizing/moving your core, or working the lower extremities? That’s all you really need to know, if it doesn’t fit into one of these categories then don’t worry so much about it. Accessory exercises (curls, triceps, etc.) can be added in later though they aren’t necessary. I also favor adding total body exercises to make workouts more challenging when applicable.

Total Body Exercises

To progress a movement based program total body, functional exercises are where it’s at. Farmer carries, sled work, battle ropes and such are fantastic ways to beef up a movement-based circuit. 

Battle ropes are a great total body exercise that add a big cardiovascular component to a strength program.

Farmer Carry - another great total body option that can be done with just about any heavy object.

Prowler sleds are an easy way to make a workout hard.  
Picture courtesy of Rise Above Performance Training.

You can splice in a couple of total body exercises between your movements to take a four-exercise circuit to a six-exercise circuit. For example, between a pull and lower body exercise you could add a battle rope station. After the lower body exercise perform a farmers carry before going to your pull exercise. You can also book end your workout with these sorts of exercises to make a challenging eight-station circuit. Here are a couple of possibilities:

4 station – push, lower body, pull, core

6 station – push, battle rope, lower body, farmer carry, pull, core

8 station – box jump, push, battle rope, lower body, farmer carry, pull, core, mountain climber

Other Considerations

Simplifying exercise into basic movements is a good start, but we also need to consider planes of motion to prevent burn out of certain movement patterns. 

Planes of motion - Sagittal = forward and backward, Frontal = side to side, Transverse = rotary

When selecting an exercise consider what plane of motion it is dominant in and vary this movement from exercise to exercise as well as workout to workout. For example, pushing and pulling can be done both sagittally (horizontal) and frontally (vertical). This type of variety applies to most exercises; lateral squats vs. traditional squats, rows vs. pull-ups, chest press vs. shoulder press, plank vs. pallof press and so on.

Recap

To recap, focus on basic movements when designing a workout; push, lower body, pull, core. When this becomes too easy start adding total body exercises to these basic four. After the number of exercises is right look at the planes of motion you’re working in. are there too many sagittal plane movements? This is real common so vary it up as much as possible while still using the four basic movement patterns.

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

Any good exercise/strength program should include unilateral work, plain and simple. Single leg/arm work is important to even out imbalances and provide stability in planes of motion other than the sagittal plane. This provides huge benefits as far as functional movement and athleticism are concerned. For this post I’m going to take a look at the rear foot elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat).

Rear foot elevated split squat (with bilateral dumbbell loading) sometimes called the Bulgarian split squat. Note the upright torso and near 90 degree knee and ankle position.

This exercise gained a lot of popularity, and criticism, after Mike Boyle proclaimed them his primary squat variety. While I would never say that traditional back and front squats are no longer necessary, I do agree that split squats are an excellent exercise that provides benefits bilateral squats don’t. Additionally, it has been my observation that people master split squats relatively quickly and often do so with better form than bilateral squats.

Advantages

As mentioned above, split squats provide loading that targets one leg at a time so each limb is responsible for an equal amount of work, which can help alleviate imbalances left to right. Secondly, because the athlete is basically standing on one leg a host of other muscles must come into play to aid in balance. Single leg work places greater demand on the lateral sub-system (abductors, adductors, and quadratus lumborum), which is responsible for eliminating hip drop when we walk or stand on one foot. The result of this will be better single leg stability and balance.

The lateral subsystem is responsible for keeping the pelvis level while weight is on one leg. Considering that about 80% of our gait pattern is single leg supported this is important.

Loading

There are many ways to progress this exercise, though, for beginners it can be a progression in itself. I will often move beginners from body weight bilateral squats to body weight rear foot elevated split squats in lieu of external loading. For progression one can begin by holding a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells in each hand while performing this exercise. 

Rear foot elevated split squat (with bilateral kettlebell loading). If  this exercise isn't part of your routine, it should be.

As strength and stability progress one may need to add in a weight vest in addition to dumbbells in each hand. If training for absolute strength one can use a barbell, similar to a back squat, to add a much larger load to this exercise. Other ways to challenge this exercise are to use a TRX for the rear foot, asymmetrical loading, and combo exercises.

By putting the rear foot in a TRX you’ve effectively created a less stable environment mandating more work from the lumbo/pelvic/hip stabilizers.

TRX split squats add another level of instability which requires extra compensation from the lateral sub-system.

Asymmetrical loading can target certain muscles more effectively. For example, by holding weight in the contra-lateral (opposite) hand of the working leg you can target the glutes more specifically. With the weight opposite the working leg the femur wants to internally rotate so the glutes, an external rotator, will be called upon to counter this internal rotation in addition to extending the hip.

Rear foot elevated split squat with contra-lateral loading. This is not the only loading option, the weight can be held with the arm down at the side as well.

Lastly, you can add other exercises to this one for increased intensity. One combo that provides a similar benefit as contra-lateral loading but adds additional demand on the core is the inclusion of a pallof press. For this use a band, coming from the contra-lateral side, and hold it at arms length out in front of the body. This will necessitate additional  anti-rotation from the core musculature in addition to all of the aforementioned benefits of contra-lateral loading. Please note that this iteration, as well as other asymmetrical loading variations, should be used as part of an advanced program. It requires a great deal stability that will likely be too much for beginners.

Rear foot elevated split squat with pallof press. Photo and exercise courtesy of Eric Cressey.

       In closing, the rear foot elevated split squat is a fantastic exercise for overall athletic ability, single leg stability, and a great way to add multi-planar training to your regimen.

Check Your Vision

 

Don't forget why you're training. Unless it's to be a clown then this isn't going to work.

Often when we become dedicated to a sport or hobby we fall into certain groups or cliques over time. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as we don’t lose sight of our goals. The same can be said for trends especially in the fitness world. New workout programs with ever-monumental names conveying their awesomeness surface regularly. This isn’t to say that all of them are worthless, but many are misguided and often too intense for the intended audience. Commonly the more intense a program's name the worse the exercise prescription. Two types of exercises that seem to designate a program as extreme these days are plyometrics and Olympic lifting.

High intensity plyometric exercises, think jump squats and box jumps used for increasing ones explosiveness, are not a weight loss program. They can be part of a program, but I’ve seen trainers, and I use that designation loosely, use plyometrics for the bulk of an hour-long session because they’re hard and burn a lot of calories. While this may be true, we need to stop for a second and look back to the client’s original goal. Was it weight loss, strength, flexibility, conditioning? Now, as a trainer, injury prevention should be the first consideration followed closely by the client’s goals. The liberal use of plyometrics for weight loss is taking a lot of risk with ones health, especially if the goal isn’t to increase their reactive ability or vertical jump. Plyometric exercises are quite taxing on the body generating ground reaction forces, essentially the force being sent back through the joints, between 4 – 11 times ones body weight upon landing. The national academy of sports medicine states that, “plyometric training is one of the more advanced training tools, the athlete needs proper levels of flexibility, core strength, and balance before progressing into plyometric training”⁽¹⁾. So having novice weight loss clients do this continually for an hour is simply reckless and missing the point of their inclusion in the first place.

A similar argument can be made for Olympic lifting. Certain training programs that have gained popularity lately use this type of lifting on a regular basis. This isn’t to say that Olympic lifting is a bad thing, but the athlete must be ready for it. Olympic lifting is one of the most technical forms of weight lifting requiring athletes to have ample flexibility, core stability, and technique. Outside of the actual Olympics these lifts are best used for training explosiveness, meaning nowhere near maximal loading. If they are being performed with near maximal weight or as endurance exercises then the athlete has been led astray. 

Trying to power clean a max weight is not a good idea. If you’re not training for the Olympics then you’re missing the point, if strength is the goal then squat and deadlift. Performing Olympic lifts in a fatigued state is even less advisable; they are not endurance exercises and the risk of injury increases exponentially if they are being used this way.

 Focus on the overarching goal is paramount. If it’s not to become more explosive then why take the extra risk of Olympic lifting? If a non-athlete wants to work on vertical jump or add a bit of intensity to a program then box jumps work fine and keep risk down as long as proper volume is used.

Always keep your goal in mind when selecting exercises or programs. Hindsight is always 20/20 and being injured sucks. Remember WHY you’re doing what you are doing and just because others are doing something doesn’t mean it’s right.

-KO

1.  Clark, M. & Lucett, S. (2010). NASM Essentials of sports performance training. Philadelphia, PA: Lippencott, Williams, & Wilkins.