Functional movement patterns are a combination of basic movements that humans innately explore in childhood, including rolling, crawling, pushing up, bending, lunging, squatting, and walking.
As children, we move well for the most part, but then our preferred activities, excessive sitting, and injuries cause imbalances in our mobility and stability. Our bodies then create compensations in order to complete given tasks.
In order to gain authentic strength and condition our bodies without any compensations, our fundamental movements must be clean and free of dysfunction.
Today, we tend to exercise in order to look good and lose weight. However, these should be added benefits, not the only reasons to exercise. We should train our bodies to keep moving well.
Our brains will remember what and how we practice particular movements. So it is important to practice the right way. We should get back to basics first and then add fitness on top. You would not build your house on a faulty foundation.
Here are some of my favorite functional exercises to incorporate into training to keep you moving well—not only in the gym, but also in life.
These exercises can also be used to assess movement. You may need to regress or progress the patterns depending on where you are in regard to movement. Above all, make sure you are not training poor movement patterns as you work out because this can increase your potential for injury. Get assessed by a professional first!
Bear Crawls
This exercise is good for resetting patterns as it accesses neurological pathways that the brain created when learning to crawl and walk. This is an opportunity to create a more stable core and change poor habits.
1. Begin on your hands and knees with hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips.
