When you hear the words ‘primal movement’ you can be forgiven for conjuring up images of Neanderthal man strutting around with slumped shoulders after a hard day of hunter gathering. If however we can pull ourselves away from the Fred Flintstone figure and really think about how our primitive ancestors will have looked, naturally, we can begin to see how basic primal movements can be successfully incorporated into our workout routines to achieve optimum results.
Neanderthal man had one aim, and one aim only; to survive, and he did this relying on good, natural and organic food, but to get this food he had to go hunting, he had to have phenomenal strength and an outstanding level of endurance. Without having a gym to work out in, these people developed their capabilities by the simple act of needing to survive, they would’ve walked for miles in the hunt for food, sprinting to catch their prey, cutting through undergrowth, building shelter, lifting logs, not begrudgingly renewing their gym memberships or dashing to the car to get out of the rain.
As a concept, primal movement doesn’t just relate back to the first people who crawled the Earth, it also encapsulates our very own primal movements; the movements we made as a child discovering the world around us, the movements we naturally develop to aid our inquisitive nature. Exploring the environment with primal movement helped us gain control of our bodies and grow in strength, develop mobility, and cultivate our sense of balance.
Other aspects of primal based movement are best described as animal movement. Take a primate for example; swinging fluidly from branch to branch, leaping over obstacles and galloping seamlessly on hand and foot in a way to cover as much distance as possible. These creatures have outstanding levels of body awareness and coordination and although energy expenditure is possibly at its highest, the aim is movement efficiency, not muscle fatigue.
A good exercise routine is all about movement, however a great exercise routine is all about engaging the entire body to perform at it’s optimum capabilities while reaping some serious health benefits.
Taking us right back to the basics, primal movement proficiently develops core strength and promotes a natural progression of increased mobility and bodyweight movement. This fundamental stream of exercises provide an all encompassing workout in a short space of time and deliver visible results that tone the body, improve posture, and give any one a key workout, regardless of how fit you are.
Without the use of weights or gym machinery, primal movements focus on using only your own bodyweight as resistance, and nothing more. Basic in every sense of the word, primal movement training places focus on getting the entire body engaged rather than singularly picking out one muscle group, and that’s what makes Primal Movement an intoxicating and invigorating drill that everyone, no matter how old, young, beginner or expert level fitness fanatic, can adopt seamlessly into their exercise routine on a regular basis.
To help bring this concept to life a little better, follow this link to see a few movement variations I have been working on.