Do You Know What the 7 Primal Movements Are?

We are always talking about eating Primal like, but do you train Primal like? Technology, research, exercise prescription and doctor advancement has come a long way in the last 20 years but we still have an alarming rate of orthopedic injuries still occurring. Do you screen your clients to the 7 Primal Movements or do you just screen them for movements that you are going to use?

The concept of the “Primal Movement Patterns” was developed by Paul Chek, who while developing his exercise philosophy, identified 7 specific groups of movements. These movements mimic the actions done in ancient times.Chek’s philosophy moves away from the conventional approach to exercise and focuses on stimulating the body, and the mind in an environment similar to nature.

1-Squatting: Involves bending at the knees and the hips, while keeping the back straight, and lifting a weight from the ground or pushing a weight that is placed on the back or chest. Imagine your primal ancestors squatting down and lifting a heavy rock to dig for grubs, or using the legs and hips to lift a heavy log up onto a primal structure. Exercise examples: Barbell or Dumbbell Squat, Squat to Press.

2-Bending involves flexing and extending at the waist, preferably in a standing position. Often this type of movement would have been combined with a squatting, lifting, or rotating motion, such as hoisting a heavy rock out of a field. Exercise examples: Medicine Ball Overhead or Side Throw, Deadlifts.

3-Lunging: Involves stepping forward with just one leg, and bending that leg down. This motion would have been used for either traversing terrain (i.e., carrying hunted game over a log), or stepping into a throw (such as hoisting a spear). Exercise examples: Walking Lunge, Barbell or Dumbbell Weighted Lunge, Medicine Ball Lunge with Twist.

4-Pushing: Involves using the arms, chest, and shoulders to force a weight out and away or up from the body, an action that might have been used, for example, when herding animals, pushing a plow, or hoisting a weight overhead. Exercise examples: Standing Cable Press, Push-up, and Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press.

5-Pulling: Involves using the arms, chest, and shoulders, as well as the legs, to drag or pull a weight towards the body. This type of motion would have been used to pull heavy game animals, row a watercraft, pull a bow, or quickly pull onto a tree branch for safety. Exercise examples: Standing High, Mid, and Low Cable Rows, Pull-ups.

6-Twisting: Involves turning and rotating with the torso to apply a force, and would have usually been combined with most of the other primal movement patterns for actions such as pulling, pushing, or lunging. For instance, a twist combine with a lunge and push would comprise a throwing motion, such as hoisting an object like a spear or heavy rock. Exercise examples: Medicine Ball Throws, Cable Torso Twists, Medicine Ball Woodchops.

7-Gait: Involves moving over terrain, whether walking, jogging, or sprinting. This action would often have been interspersed with other movement patterns, such as walking to track a wild animal, sprinting to hunt it down, then twisting, lunging, and pushing to throw or thrust a weapon. Exercise examples: Sprint to Medicine Ball Throw, Dumbbell Lift and Press to Power Skip.

So next time you screen a client or get a new client see what their Primal Movement is like and you might see more chinks in their armor than a regular baseline assessment might show.