If you were expecting some crazy fitness trends that involve standing on your head while sunbathing naked, you're in for a surprise. This article delves into four essential human movements that are often overlooked in modern workout routines. Incorporating these basic movements into your exercise regimen can help improve your overall stability, posture, and strengthen your entire body. So, let's explore why walking, crawling, hanging, and loaded carries crucial exercises that you should add to your fitness routine.
So, why are these movements so important? Well, they fall into a category of special movements that humans are specifically designed to perform. Sometimes these are referred to as functional, primal, or something else, but regardless of the marketing around them, the benefits remain the same.
Walking:
Humans are designed to be expert walkers, and we probably spent much of our early history doing just that. In his book Born to Walk, author James Earls poetically states, "Our bodies have been shaped by millions of years of evolution, perfecting us for the simple, yet powerful act of walking." Walking is an affordable form of exercise and transportation. It can be adapted to fit the needs of almost anyone, and while it is an effective way to burn calories, recent research also suggests it might be equally beneficial for mental health.
Ways to incorporate walking:
Add a sunrise walk to your morning routine or, if you're not a morning person, a sunset walk. Not only will this give you a chance to walk, but it may even improve your sleep if you do it outside and not on a treadmill.
You can also incorporate walking backward, which can be great for your knees and ankles.
If walking isn't enough of a challenge for you, try incorporating a rucksack. Just remember to start with an easily achievable weight and gradually increase your load over time.
You could also incorporate hills or stairs into your walk to make it more challenging, and whenever possible, try walking on varied terrain, which might be a challenge if you live in the city.
I cannot stress enough how beneficial walking can be, so grab your earbuds and get going
Crawling:
Crawling is another fundamental human movement that is often neglected in our modern fitness routines. However, this primal exercise offers numerous benefits for this reason crawling has become fashionable in certain fitness circles, but it still doesn't get the attention it deserves. As one of the first movement methods humans developed, crawling requires incredible stability and mobility throughout all major joints while under load.
You can incorporate a few minutes of crawling at the beginning or end of your workout or use it as a standalone exercise. Alternatively, you could take crawling breaks throughout the day if you don't mind being a bit unconventional.
Ways to crawl:
Baby crawls are perhaps the easiest. These are done just like a baby would – on hands and knees, with the head kept up.
Leopard crawls are more challenging than baby crawls. In this variation, you must keep your knees off the ground.
Bear crawls involve lifting your buttocks into the air, which requires less core stability but puts more load on your shoulders.
These are just a few examples of the numerous crawling patterns you can try. It's worth noting that the above patterns can be performed in any direction, providing you with plenty of variety. Many people resist trying crawling exercises because they seem odd, but the truth is that crawling is tremendously beneficial.
Hanging:
Hanging is an essential movement that helps improve grip strength, shoulder mobility, and overall upper body health. Hanging encourages shoulder stability, which is crucial because the shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the body, if not the most. The best part about hanging is that it enforces stability from a position of mobility with arms overhead.
You can incorporate hanging exercises into your workout or use them as standalone exercises. Installing a pull-up bar in a doorway you use regularly throughout the day can be a great way to remind yourself to spend more time hanging out.
Ways to hang:
Passive hangs involve simply hanging from a pull-up bar or other sturdy overhead structure with your arms fully extended and your feet off the ground. This helps decompress the spine and stretch the shoulders, chest, and upper back muscles.
Active hangs involve engaging your shoulder muscles by pulling your shoulder blades down and back while hanging. This helps develop shoulder stability and control.
Incorporate different grips to challenge your hand and forearm strength.
Work on using different finger combinations to improve grip strength and dexterity.
Play with knee and leg positions while hanging to challenge the core more.
Incorporating hanging exercises can significantly improve grip strength, shoulder stability, and may even alleviate low back pain. So Spend more time hanging out at home or the gym.
Loaded Carriers:
Loaded carriers are a fundamental human movement that offers numerous health and fitness benefits. This functional exercise strengthens the entire body, improves posture, and enhances overall stability. Performing loaded carriers in various ways can help target different muscle groups and add variety to your exercise routine. More importantly, loaded carriers are an exercise that almost all of us need to do at some point.
Here are some ways to perform loaded carriers:
Farmer's carries involve holding weights such as kettlebells or dumbbells in each hand while walking for a set distance or time. This exercise strengthens the grip, forearm, and shoulder muscles while engaging the core and lower body.
Overhead carries require holding a weight overhead with one or both arms while walking. This exercise demands shoulder stability, core strength, and balance.
Front-loaded carries involve holding a weight, such as a sandbag or medicine ball, close to your chest while walking. This exercise targets the core and upper body muscles while promoting proper posture.
Backpack or rucksack carries involve wearing a weighted backpack while walking or hiking. This exercise can be easily incorporated into daily activities, such as walking to work or going for a hike.
Remember, these are just to get you started. You can use almost anything for load and experiment with unilateral or uneven carries. You can also make it more challenging by adjusting your speed or even walking backward. Incorporating loaded carriers into your fitness routine can lead to increased strength and stability, making everyday tasks easier and more efficient.
These are undoubtedly key exercises that you should be incorporating regularly into your workouts. You could even consider building an entire program around just these four activities, and it wouldn't be the worst idea.
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