This is a natural movement outdoor strength training session that I modified slightly from a recent Men’s Health article which you can read here (I don’t think the workout is posted online, only in the physical magazine article). I had fun going through it, and I can tell you without a doubt that this one will challenge you a LOT. This natural movement session will definitely have your body burning fat, building muscle in places you didn’t know you had them, and conditioning you for natural human movement. I was drenched in sweat when I was done, and feel like I truly accomplished something primal. Give it a try if you’re feeling brave!
Here’s the instructional video…
Natural Movement Outdoor Strength Training Session
Here are the training session specifics as referenced in the video:
Crawl 20 meters, Sprint 50 meters
Crab Walk 20 meters, Sprint 50 meters
10 continuous, running long jumps
10 jumps over a bench or box
Repeat 2-4X, no rest:
Pullups to failure
Shadow boxing for 1 minute – punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and knee strikes
400 meter run – alternating sprinting with trotting
Repeat 5X, no rest:
Squat walk for 10-15 paces
5 second rock bottom squat hold
5 Bodyweight Squats
1 forward leap
Repeat 1-5X, no rest:
Carry something heavy (20-40% of your bodyweight) for about 15 feet
Throw it as far as you can
You can repeat the entire training session circuit 1-5 times depending on your conditioning level. Also, don’t feel locked into doing each exercise exactly as it is demonstrated. Use what you have available, and adjust the exercises as necessary. If you can’t jump over a box that high, then just do some lateral hops. If you can’t do pullups, then do negative reps or band-assisted pullups. Find a way to make it work for your unique situation.
This training session was inspired by Erwan Le Corre, the creator of the MovNat system, but this does not represent the MovNat practice or philosophy. Perhaps, someday, I’ll be qualified to teach MovNat to you, too. For now, that was just me having some fun in my backyard.
If natural movement seems daunting to you, then I would recommend you invest in a program that will help you unbind your movement, restore your range of motion, and help you regain your natural athleticism. The Intu-Flow wellness system is the best program for this purpose.
To your health and success,
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Fitness Professional and Natural Movement Enthusiast
Hey John thanks for the video. So let me get this right you don’t rest at all throughout the entire workout?
Thanks,
Hi Daniel,
that’s the idea – no rest throughout the entire session. If you must rest, that’s perfectly fine. We’re all at a different level. So, rest as needed, but make it a goal to go through the entire session without breaks. Each new activity is a “break” from the last.
Great thanks for the response. That is what i thought i just wanted to verify with you. Man this is a great workout. Are you going to be going to west virginia to train with Erwan?
Daniel
No problem, Daniel. I hope to have a chance to train with Erwan during his trip to the US!
Love to see people out there moving around in nature. On the long jumps I would suggest putting a couple lines on the ground for targeting, a couple sticks works just fine. What your doing is from y perspective a bound, a true long jump requires pulling up both legs do recovery position and extending both down to receive the ground you simple can not clear nearly as much ground other wise.
Hi Rafe,
thanks for your comment, and for the tip!
I checked out your site a couple weeks back, linked from somewhere else I can’t remember – enjoyed the post about your new companion, Jackson. We’ve got another northern breed, an akita who you can see makes a guest appearance from time to time on my site.
Keep moving!
Not taking issue with MovNat, your blog, or your video. One general comment, however: I’ve been under the impression that the Duck Walk (walking with the knees completely flexed) is highly dangerous.
My understanding is that, in that position, the knee joints are no longer supported by both muscle and ligament and are thus prone to injury. (When doing other types of leg exercises, one is told to not let the knee extend past the foot for that very reason.)
Regardless, I’m hooked on the MovNat philosophy and now I seldom work out in a gym, I “play out” instead. It’s fun and seems more practical to me than isolating muscle groups and doing 3 sets of 10.
Hi Phil,
Thanks for your comment. No issue taken :) And I’m glad to hear your out enjoying nature more!
I’m familiar with the notion that trainee’s shouldn’t allow the knee to extend past the toes due to risk of injury. I’ve see this advice offered all the time by personal trainers instructing lunge exercises especially. This is even what I was taught when I became a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
However, I’ve since learned that it’s an incorrect assumption. For some people (most fitness trainee’s, in fact), it would be contraindicated to do exercises that involve extreme knee flexion under load because there are often pre-conditions that would lead to injury (poor mobility, stability, connective tissue strength, etc.). But this isn’t true of all people. Those who have healthy knees would be perfectly fine performing exercises in this fashion, and it would actually help them strengthen the joint capsule and the surrounding connective tissue and muscles.
The knee joint is most structurally strong when the leg is fully locked, knee fully extended. The second strongest position for the knee is fully flexed.
The key is to always work progressively towards all strength goals and movements. I follow a general progression when working with clients:
1) First, one must have the mobility to actually achieve the range of motion without any load on the joint. Open-chain mobility exercises would be the first step (ie standing single-leg, flexed knee circles).
2) Then, one must have the mobility under very slight load, so a closed-chain mobility exercise would be step 2 (ie standing knee circles).
3) Then, we can start adding additional resistance to the entire range of motion, taking extra care to work progressively. This is where exercises like the duck walk come in.
There are no bad exercises, only exercises that have either been misapplied or used in a poor context.