What are the 7 Fundamental Movements?

As a ‘Health At Every Size’ personal trainer, my job isn’t to create insane workouts that have no long term benefit to you (apart from making you sweaty and tired).  Once you start to disentangle exercise from looks or aesthetics, you realise it is fundamentally about movement. All of my sessions focus on improving the way you move, building your strength, flexibility and power. Once we switch the focus away from weight loss, we can look at actually improving your quality of life.

My job with every new client is to build long term improvements in their fundamental movement patterns.  These improvements will make day-to-day tasks much easier.  I’m a great believer that we need to get the fundamental movements right before we can start building.  I know it sounds basic but if your performance goal is to do deadlift 100kg then you need to build up to that, these movements are the best place to start.  

All human movements are based on 7 movement patterns, if you can build strength and stability in each of these movements then will start to see improvements in your body strength, power, stamina and overall functionality.  This is called ‘functional fitness’.

Squat

A complex movement akin to sitting down and standing up.  A properly executed squat will keep your knees safe and will help to strengthen your lower body.  The key to a good squat is the set your feet in the way you feel comfortable, some people prefer a narrower stance, some wider.  You should also spread the weight through your whole foot, focus on building confidence in the movement - the depth of your squat will improve over time as you improve your hip and ankle mobility. 

Muscles worked - Glutes, Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Core

Examples -Bodyweight Squat, Goblet Squat, Sumo Squat, Barbell Back Squats, Overhead Squat

Lunge

A unilateral lower body movement which is naturally unstable as one foot is placed further forward than the other.  The move demands good flexibility, stability & balance.  It is the movement that I see the most trouble with, clients who lack confidence in their balance often struggle with the lunge.  I start with simple static lunges with a wall or post nearby on which they can stable themselves.

Muscles worked - Glutes, Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Core

Examples - Static Lunge, Step Ups, Bulgarian Split Squats, Reverse Lunges

Hinge

A move which involves you pushing your bum backwards and leaning your torso towards the floor, while maintaining a neutral spine.  You will do this several times a day without noticing, mostly when you are picking things up off the floor.  I see this performed incorrectly a lot in my local gym, which can often lead to lower back pain. One of my most common coaching cues is to avoid rounding your upper back, keep the back as flat and the spine as neutral as possible.

Muscles worked - Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower Back

Examples - Deadlifts, Sumo Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Kettlebell Swings, Glute Bridge

Pull

Pulling a weight towards your body or bringing your body towards your hands, a vertical or horizontal pull.  Think about pulling heavy shopping bags out the boot.  Pulling movements will help strengthen your back but they will also help with posture and prevent injuries. 

Muscles worked - Back, Biceps, Shoulders

Examples - Pull Ups, Bent Over Row, Lat Pull Downs

Push

Pushing a weight away from your body or moving your body away from an object, a vertical or horizontal push.  Pushing yourself up off the floor is a good example of this.  All pushes require a strong shoulder. If you lack confidence in your shoulder, go easy with the weights as you get started and focus on the range of movement and nail your form.

Muscles worked - Chest, Triceps, Shoulders

Examples - Incline Push Ups, Full Push Ups, Dumbbell Shoulder Presses, Bench Press

Gait / Carry

Gait or carry is the essential movement of walking.  It comprises a few different movements - lunging, rotating and pulling.  This can be a bilateral or unilateral movement, we often carry things on one side of our body, children for example!  Keeping our body stable while carrying on one side of our body is an essential movement.

Muscles worked - Several muscles groups worked

Examples - Farmer’s Carries, Single Sided Farmer’s Carries, Overhead Carries, Jogging, Walking.

Rotation / Anti-Rotation

The only movement on this list that involves twisting through the torso. It is extremely important as it is essential to daily movement - every time we change direction or reach and twist to get something from a high shelf.  It is important to also build strength in anti-rotation, being able to stay strong and stable through our core.

Muscles worked - Core, Obliques

Examples - Pallof Presses, Russian Twists, Wood Chops, Plank Pull Throughs

A solid workout program will cover all these movement patterns and have you moving in every direction.  Try your own workout this week following these ideas this week. I have created a perfect beginners workout for you to try…

Warm Up - full body warm up, ensure you warm up any areas that feel tired or stiff.

Do 3 sets of each exercise, do 8 - 12 repetitions of each exercise.

3 x 8 - 12 x Bodyweight Squats

3 x 8 - 12 x Static Lunges

3 x 8 - 12 x Kettlebell Deadlifts

3 x 8 - 12 x Barbell Bent Over Row

3 x 8 - 12 x Incline Push Ups

3 x 20 metre Farmer’s Carries

3 x 8 - 12 x Russian Twists

Cool Down - full body cool down, ensure you stretch all areas lightly.