Erwan Le Corre, Author at Breaking Muscle

The World Is Yours: Making the Most of Your Movement Environment

Erwan Le Corre — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:30:00 +0000

To the question, “Where should I train natural movement?” the answer is simple: anywhere and everywhere.

It is essential to be able to move and perform in diverse environments and situations with both effectiveness and efficiency. Indeed, can we even talk about real-life physical competency without including a great degree of contextual adaptability?

Me demonstrating an effective balancing split squat on a 2×4 board, carrying a 90lb child.

Environmental, as well as situational, complexity and variety breed such movement adaptability, along with the motor control and physiological adaptations it entails. So it is tempting to think that to be the most effective and beneficial, or even the purest, training must necessarily be done in the open, in uncontrolled environments, especially natural ones.

But the naturalness of the movement patterns is not dependent on the naturalness of the environment where movement is done. Human natural movement patterns done indoors do not differ from the same patterns done outdoors, except for minute adjustments required for environmental adaptability. But this doesn’t mean that training your movements in a controlled environment versus a natural one is exactly the same. They both present different advantages and opportunities. Both have benefits, as well as downsides.

Uncontrolled (Natural) Environments

Uncontrolled environments are found in nature most of the time, but also in urban settings or even indoors. Uncontrolled simply means the environment has not been designed, built, organised, or modified for the specific purpose of a particular training or method.

“Human natural movement patterns done indoors do not differ from the same patterns done outdoors, except for minute adjustments required for environmental adaptability.”

You cannot shrink a rock to make it smaller and lighter or push the walls to reduce the distance between them. You may find one surface that fits the practice of a given technique or a given level of difficulty, but not others. You may find plenty of varied rocks for manipulative skills, but may need to walk several miles to find a surface for balancing. Uncontrolled environments always present us with a “take it or leave it” or “do it or don’t” proposition.

Advantages:

Variety or Environmental Complexity: Natural environments may provide amazing variety in term of height, distance, weight, and angles. Not to mention in term of surfaces – rough, smooth, uneven, angled, bumpy, holey, slippery, rugged, cold, hot – which are essential to high levels of adaptability. The variety of surfaces is the aspect most difficult to recreate indoors.
Environmental Specificity: Not all natural environments provide variety, but this can be used advantageously by forcing you to train and adapt to particular environmental variables and become proficient with them.
Lack of Predictability: Not always knowing what to expect or how reliable the surfaces are, forces you to be mindful, alert, and responsive. With experience, you will know how to place your foot and bodyweight by just looking at your immediate environment. In that sense, the lack of predictability makes you become better at predicting both the environment and how you should move next. That’s adaptability.
Lack of Measurement or Quantification: For progressions and progress, you will rely fully on feel and observation, as natural environments make it hard or even impossible to measure anything in term of distance, height, or weight. You will not get mentally focused on numbers, but fully focused on feel, observation, and even instinct.
Freedom: There are no other rules in nature than the natural laws. As long as you respect the environment and life where you are, you can do anything you want.
Connection With Nature and Health: Remembering that nature is where we all come from and what we are all made of is a powerful experience that can only take place in nature. There are numerous studies showing that nature makes you more relaxed, more centered, and happier, along with other benefits such as breathing pure air, grounding/earthing, and boosting your immune system.

Working with a trainee at a MovNat certification

Downsides:

Lack of Variety or Environmental Complexity: Natural environments can sometimes be mono-dimensional – all flat ground, no trees to climb, nothing to balance on, or nothing heavy to lift. Some skills and techniques may not be able to be practiced.
Lack of Scalability: A lack of variety may also imply a lack of scalability. For instance, there is a vertical surface to climb, but it is too difficult or too easy for your level and therefore not beneficial to progress.
Lack of Predictability: Surfaces may give, slide under your feet, break as you hang, or move as you land without warning. Even surfaces you believe are reliable sometimes are not. Even weather conditions can change surfaces. For example, the rain makes things more slippery.
Lack of Progression: This is the direct result of a lack of variety and scalability, as progressions are only insured, or optionally insured, when both these variables are present.
Lack of Safety: The unpredictability of the environment is a big factor in the increase of risk injury. The lack of scalability can also generate accidents, as you may attempt something too hard due to the lack of a more doable option.
Lack of Measurement or Quantification: Progressions and progress are confined to feel and observation, as it is hard or even impossible to measure or quantify in term of distance, height, or weight.
Lower Training Efficiency: When all the downsides mentioned above are combined, it makes for a less effective practice.

With lack of variety and scalability, you may find yourself spending a significant amount of time scouting the area for elements that fit the skills or techniques you would like to practice or the level of difficulty you require. Even when you know where such elements are, they may be far from each other.

“Uncontrolled environments always present us with a ‘take it or leave it’ or ‘do it or don’t’ proposition.”

If time is a concern – say, you only have one hour available for your practice – this is a real problem. You may have to delay entire aspects of your training for another place and time. In addition, the lack of quantification and measurement may hinder your progress, as you are not sure how to compare the difficulty of your practice from one environment to another, from one session to another.

Overall, this is not conducive to efficient and beneficial practice, and leaves you to random, instinctive training and little-to-no programming. While that training option works, it requires a lot of free time.

Controlled Environments

Controlled environments are custom designed for the specific purpose of scalable, progressive, and safe training thanks to predictable and adjustable environmental variables, all in one place.

“Given that controlled environments are custom made, they should provide anything a practitioner or trainer needs to ensure safe, structured, and efficient practice.”

A controlled environment is always artificial in the sense that you wouldn’t randomly find one in nature, but a controlled environment isn’t necessarily indoors. While they are most often indoors facilities filled with equipment and artificial surfaces made of rubber, plastic, metal, and other synthetic compounds, we (the MovNat team) have often arranged controlled environments in nature, entirely made of natural materials, such as logs of varied length, thickness, and weight; flat and round rocks; and wood bars and boards. (Note: in a natural environment, you cannot, of course, control the weather conditions.)

Advantages:

Predictability
Safety
Scalability
Progressions
Variety
Training efficiency

Given that controlled environments are custom made, they should provide anything a practitioner or trainer needs to ensure safe, structured, and efficient practice.

Downsides:

Lack of Variability in Environmental Complexity: It would be hard to recreate natural, outdoors surfaces such as bark, sand, rock, mud, tall grass, bumps, and holes, as well as weather conditions such as rain, snow, and sun that modify the terrain or how you interact with the terrain while in motion. But the lack of variety is not restricted to the type of surfaces encountered. Sometimes gyms just have minimal equipment. For instance pull up bars where only pull ups can be done, but no actual climbing techniques.
Lack of Environmental Unpredictability: When you always know what to expect, and that you can 100% rely on the surfaces and equipment you use, it is easy to become less attentive or even completely mindless. Lack of attention in a gym may lead to minor injury, but in nature the consequences can be much worse.
Too Much Safety: Knowing there is no risk of injury in attempting a difficult move because there’s a crash pad or a perfectly clear and smooth area restricts your performance to mostly a physical feat. With risk of failure, but no actual consequence other than missing and trying again, mental fortitude is hardly trained. This can even give you a false sense of competence that will not apply to outdoors context where danger is actually present.
Lack of Freedom: Controlled environments are most often confined by walls, not that spacious, and restricted by rules and many “don’ts.” It’s easy to get a feeling of being boxed in since as a matter of fact you are in a box.
Air Pollution: Indoors spaces are usually filled with rubber, plastic, and chemical contaminants, often poorly ventilated, and deprived of natural materials, surfaces, and energies. Breathing bad air while training high intensity is simply not healthy, and not conducive to high levels of energy.

Conclusion

If you are a solo practitioner of Natural Movement, have plenty of time, and don’t like programs, but instead prefer to follow your intuition and be highly adaptable and free, then uncontrolled environments, natural or urban, are the best and should be your first choice. Training indoors can be fun, but even there you will not necessarily see the value of the scalability and progressions available, and will just use it as a “jungle gym.”

Don’t be mistaken, impressive progress can be accomplished by just practicing intuitively, but if you are a total beginner with little knowledge and experience, there is a lot you will need to learn through trial and error before you can move effectively, efficiently, and safely. From a coaching perspective, uncontrolled environments are challenging, especially if you are teaching a group, and even more so if the group is made of individuals of diverse physical levels, with a greater risk of injury.

“If you are a solo practitioner of Natural Movement, have plenty of time, and don’t like programs, but instead prefer to follow your intuition and be highly adaptable and free, then uncontrolled environments, natural or urban, are the best and should be your first choice.”

Uncontrolled environments are fantastic for practitioners who are experienced enough and want to test their skills, as well as improve their adaptability. Lastly, they are great for anyone who just wants to be outside, breath fresh air, look at beauty, connect with nature, and feel free.

Controlled environments are perfect for beginners who are intimidated by the unknown and need to first acquire basic skills and conditioning, as well as experience and self-confidence. They are also perfect for trainers dealing with clients such as beginners, people greatly out of shape, and specialised athletes, as they have on hand levels of safety, scalability, and progression, as well as means to measure and quantify progress and the effectiveness of their programming.

Last but not least, controlled and uncontrolled environments are complementary, the same way structured and random trainings are complementary. You can choose one or the other, as well as blend both, and get the best of both worlds.

Examples for Creating Your Own Controlled Environment

You can design a controlled environment in your backyard, in your garage, in a corner of the woods, or temporarily at the park with props that you bring. All you need to remember is that it requires predictability, variety, scalability, progressions, and (enough) safety.

Here is a list of props you may use:

2×4 wood boards and semi-rounded beams (with a flat side): For balancing, stepping, and jumping and landing variations. Optionally, you can find a way to elevate them off the ground or place them at an inclined or declined angle.
Flat or uneven rocks (with a flat side), pieces of board, rubber plates: For jumping and stepping up, down, or over. Progressions include smaller landing or stepping surfaces or placing them at a greater distance.
String or long sticks placed horizontally or diagonally: For jumping, walking, and crawling over, under, or through.
Small sticks or drawing lines in the dirt or sand: A simple way to create a sense of context and distance, especially for jumping and landing. Distances can be measured with your feet, inch by inch, or even approximately.
Rocks, logs, rubber plates, medicine balls, sandbags, kettlebells, Olympic bars (and anything heavy, for that matter): For all kinds of practical manipulative skills and techniques. If you are in nature and cannot weigh the rocks you are training with, you can certainly still assess their weight by feel and arrange a selection from light to heavy, small to big.
Horizontal bar, metal or wood: Permanently or temporarily attach it at whatever height you want, in the woods, in the park, or in the backyard, and use it for jumping, vaulting, balancing, and, of course, climbing.

And don’t forget, a lot of existing surfaces are often available without doing anything. The ledge of a sidewalk for running in balance or landing on the ball of your feet. The bars of swing sets at the park. The paint marks between two parking places for jumping and landing. Open your eyes to opportunistic training and the world is yours!

Further Reading:

Photos courtesy of MovNat.

The post The World Is Yours: Making the Most of Your Movement Environment appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Understanding and Analyzing Your Movement Environment

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:00:00 +0000

To the question, “Where should I train natural movement?” the answer is simple: anywhere and everywhere.

Me demonstrating an effective balancing split squat on a 2×4 board, carrying a 90lb child.

Uncontrolled (Natural) Environments

Uncontrolled environments are found in nature most of the time, but also in urban settings or even indoors. Uncontrolled simply means the environment has not been designed, built, organized, or modified for the specific purpose of a particular training or method.

“Human natural movement patterns done indoors do not differ from the same patterns done outdoors, except for minute adjustments required for environmental adaptability.”

Advantages:

Variety or Environmental Complexity: Natural environments may provide amazing variety in term of height, distance, weight, and angles. Not to mention in term of surfaces – rough, smooth, uneven, angled, bumpy, holey, slippery, rugged, cold, hot – which are essential to high levels of adaptability. The variety of surfaces is the aspect most difficult to recreate indoors.
Environmental Specificity: Not all natural environments provide variety, but this can be used advantageously by forcing you to train and adapt to particular environmental variables and become proficient with them.
Lack of Predictability: Not always knowing what to expect or how reliable the surfaces are, forces you to be mindful, alert, and responsive. With experience, you will know how to place your foot and bodyweight by just looking at your immediate environment. In that sense, the lack of predictability makes you become better at predicting both the environment and how you should move next. That’s adaptability.
Lack of Measurement or Quantification: For progressions and progress, you will rely fully on feel and observation, as natural environments make it hard or even impossible to measure anything in term of distance, height, or weight. You will not get mentally focused on numbers, but fully focused on feel, observation, and even instinct.
Freedom: There are no other rules in nature than the natural laws. As long as you respect the environment and life where you are, you can do anything you want.
Connection With Nature and Health: Remembering that nature is where we all come from and what we are all made of is a powerful experience that can only take place in nature. There are numerous studies showing that nature makes you more relaxed, more centered, and happier, along with other benefits such as breathing pure air, grounding/earthing, and boosting your immune system.

Working with a trainee at a MovNat certification

Downsides:

Lack of Variety or Environmental Complexity: Natural environments can sometimes be mono-dimensional – all flat ground, no trees to climb, nothing to balance on, or nothing heavy to lift. Some skills and techniques may not be able to be practiced.
Lack of Scalability: A lack of variety may also imply a lack of scalability. For instance, there is a vertical surface to climb, but it is too difficult or too easy for your level and therefore not beneficial to progress.
Lack of Predictability: Surfaces may give, slide under your feet, break as you hang, or move as you land without warning. Even surfaces you believe are reliable sometimes are not. Even weather conditions can change surfaces. For example, the rain makes things more slippery.
Lack of Progression: This is the direct result of a lack of variety and scalability, as progressions are only insured, or optionally insured, when both these variables are present.
Lack of Safety: The unpredictability of the environment is a big factor in the increase of risk injury. The lack of scalability can also generate accidents, as you may attempt something too hard due to the lack of a more doable option.
Lack of Measurement or Quantification: Progressions and progress are confined to feel and observation, as it is hard or even impossible to measure or quantify in term of distance, height, or weight.
Lower Training Efficiency: When all the downsides mentioned above are combined, it makes for a less effective practice.

“Uncontrolled environments always present us with a ‘take it or leave it’ or ‘do it or don’t’ proposition.”

Controlled Environments

Controlled environments are custom designed for the specific purpose of scalable, progressive, and safe training thanks to predictable and adjustable environmental variables, all in one place.

“Given that controlled environments are custom made, they should provide anything a practitioner or trainer needs to ensure safe, structured, and efficient practice.”

Advantages:

Predictability
Safety
Scalability
Progressions
Variety
Training efficiency

Given that controlled environments are custom made, they should provide anything a practitioner or trainer needs to ensure safe, structured, and efficient practice.

Downsides:

Lack of Variability in Environmental Complexity: It would be hard to recreate natural, outdoors surfaces such as bark, sand, rock, mud, tall grass, bumps, and holes, as well as weather conditions such as rain, snow, and sun that modify the terrain or how you interact with the terrain while in motion. But the lack of variety is not restricted to the type of surfaces encountered. Sometimes gyms just have minimal equipment. For instance pull up bars where only pull ups can be done, but no actual climbing techniques.
Lack of Environmental Unpredictability: When you always know what to expect, and that you can 100% rely on the surfaces and equipment you use, it is easy to become less attentive or even completely mindless. Lack of attention in a gym may lead to minor injury, but in nature the consequences can be much worse.
Too Much Safety: Knowing there is no risk of injury in attempting a difficult move because there’s a crash pad or a perfectly clear and smooth area restricts your performance to mostly a physical feat. With risk of failure, but no actual consequence other than missing and trying again, mental fortitude is hardly trained. This can even give you a false sense of competence that will not apply to outdoors context where danger is actually present.
Lack of Freedom: Controlled environments are most often confined by walls, not that spacious, and restricted by rules and many “don’ts.” It’s easy to get a feeling of being boxed in since as a matter of fact you are in a box.
Air Pollution: Indoors spaces are usually filled with rubber, plastic, and chemical contaminants, often poorly ventilated, and deprived of natural materials, surfaces, and energies. Breathing bad air while training high intensity is simply not healthy, and not conducive to high levels of energy.

Conclusion

“If you are a solo practitioner of Natural Movement, have plenty of time, and don’t like programs, but instead prefer to follow your intuition and be highly adaptable and free, then uncontrolled environments, natural or urban, are the best and should be your first choice.”

Controlled environments are perfect for beginners who are intimidated by the unknown and need to first acquire basic skills and conditioning, as well as experience and self-confidence. They are also perfect for trainers dealing with clients such as beginners, people greatly out of shape, and specialized athletes, as they have on hand levels of safety, scalability, and progression, as well as means to measure and quantify progress and the effectiveness of their programming.

Examples for Creating Your Own Controlled Environment

Here is a list of props you may use:

2×4 wood boards and semi-rounded beams (with a flat side): For balancing, stepping, and jumping and landing variations. Optionally, you can find a way to elevate them off the ground or place them at an inclined or declined angle.
Flat or uneven rocks (with a flat side), pieces of board, rubber plates: For jumping and stepping up, down, or over. Progressions include smaller landing or stepping surfaces or placing them at a greater distance.
String or long sticks placed horizontally or diagonally: For jumping, walking, and crawling over, under, or through.
Small sticks or drawing lines in the dirt or sand: A simple way to create a sense of context and distance, especially for jumping and landing. Distances can be measured with your feet, inch by inch, or even approximately.
Rocks, logs, rubber plates, medicine balls, sandbags, kettlebells, Olympic bars (and anything heavy, for that matter): For all kinds of practical manipulative skills and techniques. If you are in nature and cannot weigh the rocks you are training with, you can certainly still assess their weight by feel and arrange a selection from light to heavy, small to big.
Horizontal bar, metal or wood: Permanently or temporarily attach it at whatever height you want, in the woods, in the park, or in the backyard, and use it for jumping, vaulting, balancing, and, of course, climbing.

Further Reading:

When Comfort Is Uncomfortable: You Need Natural Movement
Pop Up to the Top Challenge: 4-Week Training Plan
What Happened to Movement for Health?
What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of MovNat.

The post Understanding and Analyzing Your Movement Environment appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 4

Erwan Le Corre — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Natural Movement section of Breaking Muscle, and week three of our first four-week training plan. It is specifically designed to achieve one of the most difficult, yet rewarding physical challenges: climbing on top of a horizontal bar.

Looking for the other weeks of the training plan?

Pop Up to the Top!

We will be employing a technique we at MovNat call the tuck pop up. The tuck pop up not only requires specific motor-skill, but also a great amount of specific strength. If I were to use an approximate ratio, I’d say it takes 20% technique and 80% strength to achieve the movement.

But technique and mindful movement are obviously not the sole elements required for success. Strength is crucial, and without it you won’t manage to get on top. I have designed this plan so you can learn key technical components of the movement, but also so you can progressively develop the specific strength required for this technique.

“If I were to use an approximate ratio, I’d say it takes 20% technique and 80% strength to achieve the movement.”

Week Four Training

Objectives for the final week:

Perform one tuck pop up successfully at the end of the week.

Day 1:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull up x2 x3 explosive with knee tuck
Medium to high forearm pull up x3 x3
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 10lbs

Dead hang hold

Day 2:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull up x2 x3 explosive with knee tuck
Medium-to-high forearm pull up x3 x3
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 10lbs

Day 3:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull up x2 x3 explosive with knee tuck
Medium-to-high forearm pull up x3 x3
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 10lbs

Day 4:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low to high forearm pull up x3 x4 explosive with knee tuck
Medium-to-high forearm pull up x4 x4
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 15-20lbs

Low forearm hang position

Day 5:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull up x3 x4 explosive with knee tuck
Medium-to-high forearm pull up x4 x4
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 15-20lbs

Day 6:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull up x3 x4 explosive with knee tuck
Medium-to-high forearm pull up x4 x4
Weighted low-to-medium forearm pull ups 3x 4x with 15-20lbs

Test day:

Try to successfully perform one tuck pop up from the low forearm hang.

Need More Help?

Not successful yet? Successful, but could get better? Or, in other words, you’re effective but not efficient yet? Watch the tuck pop up tutorial video below and practice your technique to improve your effectiveness and/or efficiency.

If none of these tips help, you may need to work on your strength endurance. You can also find help from a local MovNat affiliate or certified trainer.

Progressions From the Pop Up

Do 5x, 10x, 20x tuck pop ups in a row.
Start from the dead hang, pull up to the medium forearm hang (place forearms on the bar alternatively or simultaneously) then tuck pop up.
Increase your max weighed tuck pop up.
Practice the pop up on a thicker bar (it decreases the range of motion which requires more strength and accuracy).

The post Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Reconnect to the Nature in You, Become Powerful, and Create the Reality You Want

Erwan Le Corre — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:56:13 +0000

Our true nature is to be strong, healthy, happy, and free. We are not designed, nor destined, to be weak, sick, depressed, and confined. Yet, we have domesticated ourselves, and in many ways our behaviors are altered and restricted by social norms and modern conventions. Living in artificial habitats, fed unnatural food, lacking sleep, deprived from movement, the human animal inside of us is suffering physically and emotionally. We’ve become “zoo humans.” How come such a convenient, comfortable modern lifestyle has become so stressful? Despite the advances in medical technology, overall health is declining and indicates that we’re still in a mere state of survival.

We Need a Paradigm Shift

And then, there is you, the health and fitness seekers, and your noble quest for optimal life quality. An overwhelming majority of the population is unhealthy and out of shape, and by contrast, you look like a superhero for applying yourself to attain high levels of health and fitness. This really has not much to do with luck or good genes, but with lifestyle choices and behaviors to which you have chosen to commit.

Health, strength, and athleticism are our universal evolutionary birthright, but only if we choose to develop and maintain them. You can praise yourself for having made that choice, as it carries the potential for societal change. Indeed, imagine that everyone was to follow this path, and commit right now to healthy lifestyle habits, including of course training some form of movement-based exercise every day. Talk about an overnight revolution! Individuals getting healthy and strong, populations and communities thriving. Isn’t this the kind of world you want to live in, the reality you secretly hope to wake up to one day?

Follow Nature’s Plan

Before workouts and fitness, there is something very simple and potent called movement. You are, potentially at least, a powerful, graceful, agile, and resilient human being. Movement is your chance to thrive physically and mentally. Exercising is no less than an attempt to satisfy the needs of your ancient biological human nature. It is, at a subconscious level, about following nature’s plan.

So what do you need to do so you can experience both your inner and outer power and become the self-actualized individual you’re meant to be? Perception is everything, and determines your actions and experience. So let me share with you three essential tips that focus on perception and may guide you towards ways of exercise that help you experience your true nature.

1. Go practical. It’s vital.

Seek practical results first. Before modern fitness there was movement for survival, and our bodies are evolutionarily designed to move and perform in natural, practical ways. Natural movements skills such as running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, lifting, throwing, and so on, were essential for our ancestors to survive in wild environments. Most modern fitness programs have lost sight of this necessity of training the body and mind for practical reasons. Practical movement means functional movement with a tangible, real-world meaning, and outcome.

For example, if your current program already contains some jumping drills, jump not just because it’s a good “plyometric” drill, but because it is a skill that will allow you to clear obstacles along your way. Imagine being in a situation where you are forced to jump and must do it effectively. Imagine the context, the environment where you are, and the situation you are facing. A practical mindset makes every drill you do meaningful, more stimulating, and enjoyable.

When you’re doing pull-ups, remember that a pull-up is no less (and no more) than a segment of a climbing action, and that there is much more to climbing than just pulling your body up the same way all the time. Pulling your body up is practical, but maybe next time you’re at the gym or at the park try to actually climb on top of something and see how it goes. Embrace a situational mindset and approach physical training in a way that resembles how you want to be able to perform in the real life. Think of how powerful you are when you possess a body that can perform effectively and competently, whenever the need arises. It’s not about looking fit; it’s about being fit. So move realistically!

2. Go adaptable. It’s crucial.

Life is all about adaptability. Not surprisingly, adaptability plays a key role in physical competence. Let me give you an example. How many vertical jumps can you do on a two-foot high plyo box? Dozens? Hundreds, maybe? All right, so you can jump. Now can you perform a single standing broad jump starting off a six-inch diameter beam and landing on the same six-inch thick beam 6-8 feet away, at a 3-4 feet elevation? Can you reach it, and if you can, can you stick the landing without falling?

You initially thought you could jump pretty well, and now you may have just realized you can’t jump so well after all, as your jumping ability is not adaptable to variations in environmental demands. That is a problem, because adaptability in movement is the real measure of movement competence.

Try to apply this reasoning to other practical physical actions. Can you run comfortably on flat and smooth pavement, and are you equally comfortable on uneven terrains? Can you climb different types of surfaces? Can you jump over a variety of obstacles? In a nutshell, do you possess not only practical, but also adaptable physical skills? Put yourself to the test, and you will be able to assess the real state of your physical competence.

Last but not least, adaptability requires high levels of mindfulness, and the beauty of it is that there is no way you can be disconnected from your physical action when your must adapt body and mind to the environment. You must immerse yourself in the moment, in the here and in the now, in a thoughtless, wordless state of awareness. In today’s lives where our minds are too often cluttered with too many thoughts, this primal, quasi-meditative mindset is absolutely priceless.

3. Go efficient. It’s magnificent.

You maybe can move effectively, but can you move efficiently, at a great level of performance, and while preserving energy and managing safety? While you want to perform as naturally as possible (i.e. primarily in practical and adaptable ways), you also want to perform as efficiently as possible.

Fitness is the result. Movement is the practice. Make practice mindful and efficient, because you can’t be efficient if you’re not mindful. So, exercise through mindful movement, not mindless exertion. I repeat, strive for movement efficiency over brute exertion. Establish first movement quality, and then increase intensity, volume, or complexity based on this quality movement.

How’s your posture? Do you possess the mobility required for this particular advanced movement? Do you control your breathing? Are you able to relax and selectively use muscular tension where it is needed, when it is needed, and with the amount needed? Can you perform the right movement sequence, with the right timing? Can you properly direct the kinetic energy that you produce, or do you tend to disperse it uselessly? Are you not only powerful, but also graceful?

Efficiency is not just a concept; it can be seen and felt. Efficiency shows, and makes a difference between fitness aficionados and elite athletes. Nurture movement, cultivate efficiency, and become more powerful than you’ve ever been.

Now It’s Time to Empower Yourself

Practical, adaptable, efficient movement. Looks like I have been talking about the original human fitness method indeed. This is not the latest fitness trend, but the timeless expression and perpetuation of universal and natural human movement patterns. This is about movement authenticity. It is about reacquiring the most ancient movement skills set and forming physically and mentally capable human beings, who are strong and useful. Express your true nature and become powerful, because if you can’t empower yourself, who will?

For more from Erwan read his article “An Explanation of Movnat“

and check out his four weeks of free MovNat workouts.

The post Reconnect to the Nature in You, Become Powerful, and Create the Reality You Want appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 3

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Click Here to Join the Challenge and Share With Friends

Looking for the other weeks of the training plan?

Pop Up to the Top!

“If I were to use an approximate ratio, I’d say it takes 20% technique and 80% strength to achieve the movement.”

At the end of these four weeks of training, I will provide you with a tutorial video on key technical aspects of the tuck pop up that will help you practice your efficiency. Ultimately, your competence will be assessed in term of both effectiveness and efficiency.

Week Three Training

Objective for the week:

Perform five perfect low-to-medium forearm pull ups in a row, followed by one low-to-high forearm pull up.

Day 1:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x2 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x3 x3 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

Medium forearm hang knee tuck

Day 2:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x2 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x3 x3 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

Day 3:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x2 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x3 x3 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

See week one for more details and videos on movements

Day 4:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x3 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x4 x5 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

Day 5:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x3 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x4 x5 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

Medium forearm hang switch

Day 6:

Dead hang hold 20s
Low forearm hang side swing 20x (10x on each side)
Single forearm hang switch x20 (10x on each side)
Low-to-high forearm pull-up x3 x4
Medium forearm hang knee tucks x4 x5 explosive
Medium-to-low forearm hang slow negative x1 (10s) x5

Test of the week:

Perform five perfect low-to-medium forearm pull ups in a row, followed by one low-to-high forearm pull up.

The post Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 2

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Natural Movement section of Breaking Muscle, and week two of our first four-week training plan. It is specifically designed to achieve one of the most difficult, yet rewarding physical challenges: climbing on top of a horizontal bar.

Looking for the other weeks of the training plan?

This is not your typical mechanistic muscle-isolation drill or upper-body strength workout done at the gym. It is a complex and adaptable movement that requires specific motor skill, strength, and mindfulness, and it will enable you to achieve a highly practical, real-life physical action.

Pop Up to the Top!

“If I were to use an approximate ratio, I’d say it takes 20% technique and 80% strength to achieve the movement.”

Did you Miss Week One? Click Here!

Week Two Training

Objectives for the week:

Perform two perfect low-to-medium forearm pull ups in a row.

Day 1:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x1 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s) x5 with bent knees

Dead hang hold

Day 2:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x1 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s) x5 with bent knees

Day 3:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x1 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s) x5 with bent knees

See week one for more details and videos on movements

Day 4:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x2 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s or +) x5 with bent knees

Day 5:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x2 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s or +) x5 with bent knees

Side swing hang hold

Day 6:

Dead hang hold 15s
Side swing hang hold replacement 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10s x2
Low forearm hang 10s x2
Low to medium forearm pull-up x2 x5
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (5s or +) x5

Test of the week:

Perform two perfect low-to-medium forearm pull ups in a row.

The post Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Week 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Free 4-Week Training Plan

Erwan Le Corre — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Today I want to introduce you to our first four-week training plan. It is specifically designed to achieve one of the most difficult, yet rewarding physical challenges: climbing on top of a horizontal bar.

Looking for the other weeks of the training plan?

This is not your typical mechanistic muscle-isolation drill or upper-body strength workout done at the gym. It is a complex and adaptable movement that requires specific motor skill, strength, and mindfulness, and it will enable you to achieve a highly practical, real-life physical action.

Read on to learn about the movement and get the complete first week of training.

One bar, one body, one mind, one goal. Useful to the core.

Pop Up to the Top!

We will be employing a technique we at MovNat call the tuck pop up. There are other ways to achieve the same practical result – some easier, such as the sliding swing up, some more difficult, such as the muscle up. But the tuck pop up not only requires specific motor-skill, but also a great amount of specific strength. If I were to use an approximate ratio, I’d say it takes 20% technique and 80% strength to achieve the movement.

LEARN MORE: Why MovNat Benefits Athletes in All Sports

This is a general program that may not fully suit you, depending on your current level, physical ability, or rate of progress. Feel free to adapt the plan to your needs. It may take you longer than four weeks to succeed, or just a few days, maybe even less.

Effectiveness is your ability to successfully get on top of the bar, regardless of efficiency.
Efficiency is your ability to doing it swiftly, smoothly, and safely.

Will you become capable of both? That’s the ultimate goal. Strength and power are essential for an effective pop up, but strength will only take you so far. Technique is essential for an efficient pop up, but technique will only take you so far.

Practical and adaptable physical competence demands a whole set of motor skills, strength, and other physical adaptations, mental qualities, and experience. That’s what Natural Movement is about.

Ready to take up the first Natural Movement challenge? How about filming yourself during some of your workouts or at the end of each week? Send us one single video showing your progression from start to the end, hopefully with a successful test at the end!

Needed for the Challenge

Low wall: For the wall/feet assisted forearm hang, you will need a wall about four to six feet high.
Horizontal bar: To practice the technique and drills you will need a horizontal bar. It can be made of metal or wood, but shouldn’t be too smooth and slippery so you get enough friction. For a beginner, the bar needs to be perfectly horizontal, sturdy, and stable (it shouldn’t bend, shake, or roll). The ideal thickness is four inches in diameter. Don’t use a regular pull-up bar, as it is too thin for a beginner – it will challenge your balance and bruise your forearms.

The bar should be placed at five or six feet high. Too low and your knees will touch the ground, too high and you may have trouble getting in the forearm hang position, plus it will be unsafe to the beginner. If the bar is higher than six feet, make sure you have someone to help you step down safely or there’s a cushy padding underneath you. You may use a box to step up to bar level and get into position, but make sure the box is placed just below the bar, not in front of it.

You may train using a flat surface at the beginning instead of a rounded bar, but bear in mind that in most real-world scenarios you will deal with rounded surfaces. It is easier to transition from a rounded to a flat surface than the other way around.

GO TO A SEMINAR: A Breath of Fresh Air – My Experience at a MovNat Workshop

You can find such “equipment” in parks or playgrounds, in nature, or at MovNat affiliate gyms. If you can’t find a suitable surface, you will have to set one up in your backyard or garage. You can screw it, or tie it up with rope or ratchet straps. If you do it yourself, make sure it is really reliable and won’t slip down unexpectedly.

For the weighted forearm pull up, you may use a weighed vest, a backpack, an iron plate chained to a strength belt, or simply squeeze something heavy between your legs.

To officially register for the challenge, invite your friends, and raise money for your favorite charity, click here and join us!

Tuck Pop Up Warm Up and Progression Drills Videos

Benefits, Technique, and Practice Tips for Each Drill

Dead Hang

This is a great way to stretch and improve mobility of the T-spine and shoulders, as well as feel and release potential tensions. Go for a thin bar if you’re a beginner so you can have a stronger grip. More advanced practitioners should hang on a thicker bar to increase grip strength needed for thicker hanging surfaces.

Vary grips and grip widths in different training sessions.

Side Swing Hangs

A playful movement that will stretch and improve mobility of the T-spine and shoulders, and also demand more grip strength and shoulder stability. Keep your body aligned and swing it linearly sideways by maintaining core stability and avoiding rotational motions from the hips.

Generate the swing motion from the core, not from your arms. As you increase the amplitude and speed of the sideways movement, your body will elevate more and allow you to release one hand for a brief moment. Keep in mind, this happens because of the lower body’s motion, not because you are actively pulling from the upper body.

Wall/Feet Assisted Forearm Hang

Holding this position will help you develop the back and abdominal static strength required for the active forearm hang, without it being as demanding. It is also a great specific warm up.

Forearm Low Hang

Contrary to appearances, this is not a “dead” hang but an active hang. Not as demanding in term of strength as the medium or high forearm hang, it is excellent for shoulder, T-spine, and scapula mobility. For optimum mobility gain, keep the forearms on the bar, not the insides of the arms.

Low Forearm Hang Side Swing

The additional side swing will develop strength in your oblique abdominal muscles, but most importantly it will increase your balance and stability in the low hang position. This is the same side swing motion as in the previous drill, but now from a different position.

Single Forearm Hang Switch

If you can hang from one forearm, hanging from two is a piece of cake, right? An excellent additional drill that does wonders for shoulder mobility and stability. Can you switch smoothly from side to side?

Medium Forearm Hang Bent Knees

An active hang that requires and develops back static strength and stability, as well as some abdominal strength. Shoulders are raised at bar level, aligned with the forearms. While you may make it easier by placing the inside of your arms above the elbows on top of the bar (as opposed to your forearms), this is not a good habit.

You must acquire the strength needed to hold this position on the forearms, so you can effectively perform the forearm pull up and eventually the pop up. The closer to the armpits that you hold the bar, the less range of motion and power you will be able to create during the pull, the less height you will reach, and the less balance you’ll have, as well. Bending your knees at a ninety-degree angle will help you with the knee tuck, which comes soon.

High Forearm Hang Bent Knees

This is the highest position you can hold before the actual pop up, and it requires more strength than lower hangs.

Medium Forearm Hang Knee Tuck

Similar to the medium forearm hang bent knees, but you lower your bent knees all the way down, and swiftly tuck them to chest level without rounding your back and/or challenging the stability of your hang. This drill will give you the strength and stability needed for the tuck during the pop up, which will support the forearm pull.

Medium to Low Forearm Hang Slow Negative

An eccentric drill that helps you develop the strength required to hold the medium forearm hang through a slow resist against gravity. Don’t be discouraged if you are going down quickly, just try to slow yourself as much as possible each time. If you do not yet possess the strength to pull yourself back to the medium forearm hang from the low position, just step back up into the medium hang.

Medium Forearm Hang Bent Knee Swing

This movement will improve the stability of your position in the forearm hang. It is only advised if you have enough strength to hold the medium forearm hang for at least ten seconds with a good forearm position and while keeping shoulders and forearms aligned. Keep your knees bent and drive the swinging motion from the hips. Only increase amplitude and speed of the motion if you can maintain the stability of your position.

Low to Medium Forearm Pull Up

This is where serious strength gains begin. Aim for a straight pull, which means you only pull from the forearms and avoid assisting motions from the lower body (as in a knee tuck or hip swing).

Medium to High Forearm Pull Up

Staying strong at the end range of the forearm pull up motion is crucial. If you lose momentum, gravity will defeat you before you can perform the pop up. Practicing this segment of the movement will give you that strength – and give you confidence that you can maintain your momentum and pull the extra inches needed to get on top.

Low to High Forearm Pull Up

This is the greatest range of motion you will reach before the actual pop up. It demands an explosive pull from the low hang and the maintenance of speed all the way to the high hang. This movement demands and improves power, which is essential to succeeding at the pop up. You can practice it straight (no motion from the lower body) or initiate the pull with a swift knee tuck, which will improve your coordination and efficiency when doing the actual pop up.

Weighted Forearm Pull up

So you can do several forearm pull ups in a row? Great. You can try to do more reps per set, do more explosive reps, or improve strength and power by progressively loading your body and increasing resistance.

Additional Notes

Breathe through the abdomen, not the chest. This is especially challenging, but also rewarding, when your abdominal muscles are strongly contracted. This will be most of the time with the drills above. Make them an opportunity to strengthen your diaphragm and abdominal breathing.
This program has one single objective and will particularly challenge your back and abdominal muscles. You may rest between each drill or set, or transform the session into a “combo” (circuit) by doing different movements at low intensity (standing, kneeling, sitting transitions, balancing movements, slow running, etc.).
If you’ve never done forearm hangs and pull ups before, you might get MovNat tattoos. These are temporary dark spots that look like bruises due to the unusual pressure and stress put on these particular body parts. You will find yourself supporting 100% of your bodyweight on the lower part of your forearms between your wrist and elbows, including holding static positions and sustaining dynamic motions, and that’s new to your body. Bruises are a small price to pay compared to the amount of strength, stability, mobility, and movement skill you will

Week One Training

Objective for the week:

Hold the active forearm hang for 10 seconds.

Day 1:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 10 swing (5x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 4sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (3-5sec) x5 with bent knees

Day 2:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 10 swing (5x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 5sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 x5 with bent knees

Day 3:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 10 swing (5x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 6sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (3-5sec) x5 with bent knees

Day 4:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 10sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 7sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (3-5sec) x5 with bent knees

Day 5:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 8sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 5sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (3-5sec) x5 with bent knees

Day 6:

Dead hang hold 10sec
Side swing hang 20 swing (10x each side)
Wall/feet assisted forearm hang 9sec x4
Low forearm hang 10sec x4
Medium forearm hang bent knees 5sec x4
Low to medium forearm pull up x1 x5 as high as you can
Medium to low forearm hang slow negative x1 (3-5sec) x5 with bent knees

Test of the week:

Hold the medium forearm hang bent knees for 10 seconds or longer.

For Week Two Training, Click Here

Photos courtesy of Erwan Le Corre from his book “The Practice Of Natural Movement.”

The post Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Free 4-Week Training Plan appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 4

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Erwan Le Corre is the founder of MovNat, an innovative physical fitness approach that is grounded in ancient physical fitness practices and a broader understanding of human movement and health. Get a taste of what Erwan’s philosophy is all about with these exclusive workouts.

Click here to read more about Erwan’s unique approach to physical fitness.

To learn more about Erwan, read our feature interview:

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 1 – The Roots of MovNat

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 2 – Freedom of Movement and Mind

Week Four: Four Days of MovNat Sessions from Erwan Le Corre

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

(Weight of Rock: 70 lbs.)

Day 4

Today’s final workout involves a get up (transition from a ground to a standing position) movement that is particularly challenging to most people, even when unloaded. Indeed, the transition from a figure four sitting position to a medium half-kneeling stance requires great mobility and stability in the hips and knees. I strongly recommend to warm up and perform the move without carrying any weight at first. When you feel ready to start carrying something while performing the movement, use a rather light weight.

This movement is a simple, yet challenging way to get up from a sitting stance. However, it is incompatible with both high intensity and volume. It isn’t the type of movement you would attempt with a heavy load, as it would be extremely stressful, particularly for your knee joints. Do not perform this movement an insane amount of times in a row, even without holding any weight.

If this particular movement is too difficult for you to perform easily without weight, obviously you will not want to load it. If it so challenging that you can’t perform it at all, you want to replace it by a more doable option. You could substitute any of the movements we’ve covered in the last three weeks, or any other movement you like.

Again, this 4-week program was a general program emphasizing mobility gains and the applicability of strength through natural movements performed in a way that resemble everyday life. The best approach is always to adapt training to your own needs, weaknesses, or goals and to customize your program. This is a central component of the MovNat system.

I hope you guys who did it enjoyed it and have already noticed substantial benefits. I also hope it gave you a taste of how varied, practical, and adaptive the MovNat fitness system can be. Remember that MovNat training also involves the skills of running, jumping, crawling, climbing, throwing, catching, as well as aquatic and combative skills. If you want to learn more don’t hesitate to pay us a visit at the MovNat website, and many thanks again to the Breaking Muscle team for inviting me to share these workouts.

The post Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 3

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Click here to read more about Erwan’s unique approach to physical fitness.

To learn more about Erwan, read our feature interview:

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 1 – The Roots of MovNat

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 2 – Freedom of Movement and Mind

Week Three: Four Days of MovNat Sessions from Erwan Le Corre

Day 1

All moves are loaded. See videos below for demonstrations.

Stepping Over x 8
Stepping Under x 8
Lateral Figure Four Seated to Tall Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 8
Deep Knee Bend x 8
Deep Knee Bend Stances x 8 (Hold as long as you can.)
Split Squat (Alternate sides) x 8
Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 8
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 8

Stepping Over:

Stepping Under:

Lateral Figure Four Seated to Tall Split Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend:

Deep Knee Bend Stances:

Split Squat:

Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend to Tall Half-Kneeling:

Day 2

All moves are loaded. See videos below for demonstrations.

Stepping Over x 12
Stepping Under x 12
Lateral Figure Four Seating to Tall Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 12
Deep Knee Bend x 12
Deep Knee Bend Stances x 12 (Hold for 10 seconds)
Deep Squat x 12
Deep Squat to Medium Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 12
Deep Squat to Tall Kneeling x 12

Deep Squat (add weight for this week’s workout):

Deep Squat to Medium Half-Kneeling:

Deep Squat to Tall Kneeling:

Day 3

All moves are loaded. See videos below for demonstrations.

Deep Squat x 16
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 6 (Hold the tall stance for 10 seconds)
Deep Squat to Deep Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 16
Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling x 16
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling (Alternate side) x 16
Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 16

Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend:

Deep Squat to Deep Half-kneeling:

Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling:

Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling:

Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse:

Day 4

All moves are loaded. See videos below for demonstrations.

Deep Squat x 20
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 8 (Hold the tall stance for 10 seconds)
Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling x 20
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 20
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 20
Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 20

Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling:

Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling:

Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse:

The post Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 2

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Click here to read more about Erwan’s unique approach to physical fitness.

To learn more about Erwan, read our feature interview:

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 1 – The Roots of MovNat

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 2 – Freedom of Movement and Mind

Week Two: Four Days of MovNat Sessions from Erwan Le Corre

This week you are being introduced to “context-adaptive” locomotive drills, i.e. unloaded movements that must adapt to environmental demands. Some moves are similar to those of the first week and others are new and more challenging. Expect more reps right off the bat as the first week of practice should have loosened up your joints a little.

At first, train with simple and safe props as indicated. You are free to increase complexity and challenge as long as it is not detrimental to movement quality (or your own safety). For instance, instead of using a 2×4, you may use a rounded metal bar. Ultimately, movements may have to adapt to real-world parameters that can be significantly more demanding, but if you’re a beginner don’t be a jackass and don’t underestimate the challenge of a simple 2×4 board.

Props:

A hurdle, dowel, or broom stick. You’ll place this between 2 chairs (2 buckets, 2 boxes, 2 piles of books, whatever). You could also attach a piece of string between 2 chairs (or 2 trees, 2 neighbors – you get the point).
An 8 to 12 foot 2×4 board. Costs less than five bucks if you don’t have one or can’t borrow one somewhere. Or anything that looks like a long, narrow surface like that, that is stable, and that you can keep at ground level so you keep the training safe.
A yoga mat. Only if you haven’t mentally toughened up yet. Don’t you know strength is also and primarily in the mind?

Day 1

(See video demonstrations below)

Stepping Over Hurdle x 10: Perform dynamically, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform dynamically, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 10: Switch sides
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 6: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Hold the tall stance 10 seconds each time.
Deep Squat x 20
Slow Split Squat x 10: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Switch sides.
Dynamic Split Squat x 10: As above.

Stepping Over Hurdle:

Stepping Under Hurdle:

Lateral Figure Four Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend:

Deep Squat:

Slow/Dynamic Split Squat:

Day 2

Stepping Over Hurdle x 10: Perform dynamically, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform dynamically, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 12
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 8: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Hold the tall stance 10 seconds each time.
Deep Squat to Tall Kneeling x 15
Dynamic Deep Knee Bend x 10: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Start standing and get back to a standing position.
Slow and Controlled Deep Knee Bend Stances x 10: Perform while balancing. Start standing, lower your body slowly, and hold the deep stance for 10 seconds.

Deep Squat to Tall Kneeling:

Dynamic Deep Knee Bend:

Slow and Controlled Deep Knee Bend Stances:

Day 3

Stepping Over Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure 4 Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 14: Switch sides.
Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling x 20
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling x 20: Switch sides.
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 10: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Hold the tall stance 10 seconds each time.

Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend:

Day 4

Stepping Over Hurdle x 10 : Perform slowly, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 16: Switch sides.
Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling x 20
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling x 20: Switch sides.
Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling x 10: Switch sides.
Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 12: Perform while balancing on a narrow surface.

Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling:

Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling:

Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling:

Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse:

The post Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 1

Erwan Le Corre — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Click here to read more about Erwan’s unique approach to physical fitness.

To learn more about Erwan, read our feature interview:

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 1 – The Roots of MovNat

Featured Coach: Erwan Le Corre, Part 2 – Freedom of Movement and Mind

Week One: Four Days of MovNat Sessions from Erwan Le Corre

Week one is all about “context-free” locomotive drills, i.e. unloaded movements. Such movements do not need to adapt to complex environmental demands and can be performed on any flat surface, indoors or outdoors, anywhere. The drills will be pretty similar each day this week. You will, however, progressively perform more repetitions so you become a bit more comfortable with them everyday. Practice not just the physical side but also mindfulness by focusing on quality movement patterns, including joint stability, a tall posture, and balance, as well as a strong, yet slow and relaxed abdominal breathing.

Practice each drill separately so you become familiar with those movements from a proprioceptive standpoint. You may follow the specific number of reps indicated, or you may solely focus on sensations instead and practice as long as the movement feels beneficial to you.

Props:
None, except a yoga mat if you want to alleviate the discomfort of your knees and ankles supporting your bodyweight. Practice on a soft surface, grass, or sand if you can’t stand hard surfaces. Anyway, who said it was easy? Suck it up!

Day 1

Stepping Over x 4: Perform dynamically, avoid counterbalancing with the upper body. Switch sides.
Stepping Under x 4: Perform dynamically, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting Reverse x 4
Assisted Squat x 8: Hold at the bottom and bounce softly a few times before standing up.
Split Squat x 4: Keep front knee stable, switch sides.
Deep Knee Bend x 4: Maintain a tall posture.
Deep Knee Bend Stances x 4: Hold stance for about 10 seconds each time. Maintain a tall posture and stable ankles and knees.
Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 4
Deep Knee Bend to Tall Half-kneeling x 4: Switch sides.

Stepping Over:

Stepping Under:

Lateral Figure Four Sitting Reverse:

Assisted Squat:

Split Squat:

Deep Knee Bend Stance:

Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend to Tall Half Kneeling:

Day 2

Dynamic Stepping Over x 8: Perform dynamically, avoid counterbalancing with the upper body. Switch sides.
Dynamic Stepping Under x 8: Perform dynamically, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting Reverse x 8
Assisted Squat x 16: Hold at the bottom and bounce softly a few times before standing up.
Split Squat x 8: Keep front knee stable, switch sides.
Deep Knee Bend x 8: Maintain a tall posture.
Deep Knee Bend Stances x 8: Hold stance for about 10 seconds each time. Maintain a tall posture and stable ankles and knees.
Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 8
Deep Knee Bend to Medium Half-kneeling x 8: Switch sides.

Dynamic Stepping Over:

Dynamic Stepping Under:

Deep Knee Bend to Medium Half Kneeling:

Day 3

Slow and Controlled Stepping Over (alternate sides) x 10
Slow and Controlled Stepping Under (alternate sides) x 10
Lateral Figure 4 Sitting Reverse x 10
Assisted Squat x 20
Split Squat (alternate side) x 10
Deep Knee Bend x 10
Deep Knee Bend Stances x 8 (hold for 20 seconds)
Deep Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 10
Deep Knee Bend to Deep Half-kneeling (alternate side) x 10
Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse (alternate side) x 10

Deep Kneeling to Tall Kneeling:

Deep Knee Bend to Deep Half Kneeling:

Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse:

Day 4

Stepping Over x 10: Perform in a slow and controlled manner. Switch sides.
Stepping Under x 10: Perform in a slow and controlled manner. Switch sides.
Lateral Figure Four Sitting Reverse x 12
Assisted Squat x 30: Hold at the bottom and bounce softly a few times before standing up.
Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 12
Deep Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 12: Shift bodyweight backward as your knees go to the ground.
Deep Knee Bend to Deep Half-Kneeling x 12: Switch sides.

The post Strength & Conditioning – A 4-Week MovNat Primer with Erwan Le Corre: Week 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength & Conditioning: Erwan Le Corre – Advanced Combo Workout 5

Erwan Le Corre — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 09:00:00 +0000

EDITOR’S NOTE: Erwan Le Corre is the founder of MovNat, an innovative physical fitness approach that is grounded in ancient practices and a broader understanding of human movement and health. Get a taste of what Erwan’s philosophy is about with these exclusive workout combos. Click here to read more about Erwan’s unique approach to fitness.

Hi there, health and fitness lovers. The videos we are presenting to you over this three-week period aim to show examples of MovNat natural movement fitness training at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

The goal of MovNat is to develop physical competence for practical performance in the real world. Our system addresses the symbiotic development of natural movement skills and general conditioning. For this reason, we are providing basic guidance on how to properly perform each movement in the videos so you can optimize your experience if you decide to try these combos at home.

While we hope this video series will inspire you to exercise in natural ways, please bear in mind that the videos do not constitute a specific program to follow. If you do replicate these combos, feel free to adapt them to your environment and customize them to your needs.

Train safely and without taking any unnecessary risk, especially if you are new to this kind of physical training. Practice mindfully, and try to improve your movements each time. Conditioning will follow over time.

Advanced Combo Workout 5:

This third and final series of five videos is for advanced MovNatters. The videos display at high level of difficulty, with techniques and drills performed at a high level of volume, intensity, and complexity. At the advanced level some of movements involved could be dangerous if you are not prepared. Do not try to replicate these combos unless you are highly skilled, conditioned, and experienced. Enjoy, and empower yourself!

The post Strength & Conditioning: Erwan Le Corre – Advanced Combo Workout 5 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.