Ever wonder how to move better and live pain free? Sign up for the first Workout Workshop at Urban Wellness Clinic as we break down all the details of the hinge and how to kettle bell swing: Workout Workshop: Swing Baby Swing.

The Essential 7 Moves: Being Human 101

What we do all day is what we are training our bodies to be really good at. So if you sit 14 hours a day, your body makes you a word-class sitting champion. If you run, bike, or kick-box as your primary form of exercise, your body responds to the hours of repetition. When you choose a specific fitness path, you tend to get crooked, stuck, or stiff. Our bodies are built for variability, and as we become older, we start to believe those aches and pains are part of “growing old.” But I say: don’t buy it.

Pain is not a given. It’s a sign of imbalance.

The Essential 7 are functional movements we believe will solve this imbalance and that everyone should be able to do as a high-functioning human being in this earth. These workout moves have carry-over into everyday life. They are moves that can start with bodyweight and progress to loaded exercises with weight. The Essential 7 remind us that, no matter what, we need to able to vary how we move our bodies, and we shouldn’t compromise form to get fit. We do that enough sitting at our desk, day in and day out.

Mastery of each of the Essential 7 takes practice and patience, but you will start to move through your daily life with less pain, and stay healthy as you catapult towards fitness.

Squat: For when you drop your keys or need to pick up after your dog.

Push: Crucial when encountering a heavy door, putting luggage in the overhead compartment, or getting up from a fall.

Carry: We tote things around everywhere we go: backpacks, briefcases, computer bags, babies, you name it. And our loads are crazily unbalanced, more often than not.

Pull: You need to get that luggage from the trunk, or pull that child from harm’s way.

Anti-rotate: Lots of force goes through our bodies as we walk, run, climb, or otherwise move. Our arms and ribs are meant to swing as we move; yet we lock them down with cell phones, bags, and poor breathing habits. Cultivating an ability to absorb these rotational forces helps lessen their impact.

Hinge: There comes a time when you need to pick up a box, or help move that sofa into the U-Haul.

Lunge: Stairs, one, two, or three at a time.

Now that you’ve said to yourself, “Hey, I do some of those activities in life,” let’s get cracking and break these down in person. The best way to learn is from someone else’s mastery of movement through their own mistakes. Matt is that master, working on the progressions and regressions of these movements daily. That’s why I love training with him.

Sign up for the first Workout Workshop at Urban Wellness Clinic as we break down all the details of the hinge and how to kettle bell swing: Workout Workshop: Swing Baby Swing.