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The MOST Misunderstood Movement Pattern

sandbag exercise equipment

What really separates functional fitness from bodybuilding is the focus on movement patterns. This confuses people sometimes because they believe that it means we aren’t training muscles. Such a concern is unwarranted because in fact, we are training way MORE muscles, the difference is that we aren’t focusing on any one singular muscle. That is because that isn’t how our body is designed to function and teaching the body to work well in foundational movement patterns helps us move better, perform better, be more injury resilient, and gives an athletic looking body (just look at martial artists, wrestlers, and gymnasts who have used such strategies for centuries literally).

functional strength

Even though more and more people like to share posters and banners with the above movement patterns listed, they often still do with muscles in mind. The squats are done to work more quads, the hip hinges for more glutes, and so forth. That really misses the point because yes, we are training those muscles, but so many more muscles at the same time. Not only are we training the muscles, but how the muscles interact with one another which is what makes a movement pattern so important and different than training with muscles in mind.

What we are really talking about is motor control and that isn’t something that is discussed in any fitness magazine or muscle building book, but it IS essential in how we perform and the strength we can achieve in our training. As renowned physical therapist, Gray Cook says, “movement patterns are the synergy of the body’s software (nervous system) with the hardware (the joints, muscles, ligaments, etc.).”

It is understanding such concepts that bring us to realizing that of all the movement patterns, gait/locomotion is probably the MOST important and is the most complex of the seven. Yet, it is the most misunderstood as we often get told “just do carries”, or “just do crawling”. While in some cases those can be helpful, the truth is that training the movement pattern of gait is far more extensive than that and doing those exercises with the wrong person or the wrong time can cause more problems than be solutions.

That is why I have physical therapist, Jessica Bento, here to discuss what to consider with gait training, how to do it smarter, and the benefits you can achieve. You can watch the video (or listen to the audio) below and check out some examples below the video about the exercises that make us truly train this movement pattern the correct way!

Don’t miss saving 25% all throughout DVRT like Jessica Bento’s DVRT Rx Gait Course, our  Masterclasses, and more HERE. When you invest in any of our Ultimate Sandbags/Water Bags you will not only save 25% but get our 12-week Jump Start program for FREE! Just use code “summer25” HERE

Listen to the audio HERE