Movement Programming – Making Sense Of Exercise Selection

Written by: Andrew Schwartz, PT, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

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As humans, we have the propensity to make things complicated. This tendency is part of what makes us great thinkers, feelers, inventors, and doers, but also often has us overwhelmed by complexity. As a result, we often seek out simplicity, delegation, automaticity, or workarounds. The latter usually requires compensatory strategies which are not as effective or safe as the authentic form. Delegation and automaticity can be great tools, but in some cases do not allow for personalized methods. That leaves us with simplicity. Without delving into the various connotations associated with the term, the simplicity intended here could be interchanged with basic, fundamental, or foundational.

1. Embrace simplicity in your exercise

Movement is one area of life that I think most people should embrace simplicity or foundational concepts. It's something that may not, and likely will not, be individualized with delegation or automaticity. Finding a workaround for essential movements is a sure way to develop incomplete mechanics and therefore inefficiencies in your performance. These can then compound into issues with incidences of pain and dysfunction and even injuries. If you have a hard time trusting me at my word, read on and consider if these foundations are part of your life. If not and you struggle to perform at a level you desire, whatever that is for you, I would encourage you to make a concerted effort to implement the following concepts. Then, experience for yourself whether doing so makes a difference for you. If you still, after a trial period, find it difficult to believe these are important, reach out using my contact information below and we can figure out what it is you need to move forward.

2. Foundations are key in exercise

Of all the ways the human body can move, there are seven positions that make up the foundation of human movement. These seven positions can be viewed as the beginning and end of functional, compound movements. The first four covered here involve the upper body and primarily the shoulders. The next three involve the lower body and primarily the hips.

3. Overhead

The overhead position is an expression of the shoulder flexion range while the shoulder is externally rotated. An easy way to conceptualize this is to lay on your back and reach your hands straight out in front of you, then over your head, with elbows straight, palms facing each other, and thumbs towards the ground. The overhead position is the start position of movements such as a pull-up and the finish position of movements such as the overhead press. These two movements also exemplify an important concept of each position: the push-pull paradigm (also called the approximation-distraction paradigm). You can push into overhead or pull out of it. The same applies to all the other foundational positions.

4. Front Rack

The front rack position also involves flexion and external rotation but is specifically an expression of shoulder external rotation capacity while held in a mid-range flexed position. Replicating this position can also be performed while laying on your back and then reaching your hands straight out in front of you. Next, bend your elbows fully and point your fingers behind you. The front rack position is the start position of movements like the overhead press and the push-up (a version with the elbow straight) and the finish position of movements such as the Olympic clean. These movements also demonstrate that each position has what is called a long-lever (elbow straight) and short-lever (elbow bent) version. Some positions tend to be more frequently used in their short lever form while others in their long lever form and some equally use both.

5. Hang

The hang position, which gets its name from movement training of the Olympic lifts, is an expression of the internal rotation of the shoulder while in a mid-range abducted position. To get a feel for this position, lay on your back with your arms straight out to your sides. Keeping the backs of your shoulders in contact with the ground, bend your elbows to 90 degrees and rotate your shoulder forward by reaching your palms to the ground beside your ribcage. It's important to keep the back of the shoulders in contact with the ground for a host of reasons but suffice it to say you're not in the position if your shoulders shift forward. The hang position is the beginning of the turn-over of the Olympic snatch and the end of the turn-over of the bar muscle-up, a gymnastic move that involves pulling your body up to and over a fixed bar.

6. Press

The press position is an expression of shoulder extension while the shoulder is internally rotated. The way you can assess this position is by laying face-down on the ground with most of your weight on your chest and light pressure on your forehead. With your hands in tight fists and directly under your elbows, lift your knuckles off the ground while keeping the shoulders from shifting forward (similar to the previous hang position). The press position is performed at the bottom of a push-up, the back portion of a row, and the end of the backswing of the arms in running.

7. Completeness

Having established the four upper body foundational positions and an understanding of the push-pull paradigm and short and long lever forms for each, the next step is to determine if you regularly perform these positions in your movement practice. If not, is it possible that the absence or lack of some of these positions and movements from your exercise selection could be contributing to your struggles with performance, function, or even pain?

It may seem like this discussion on simplicity has turned out to be quite complex. The reality is this foundation I propose can be covered with seven upper-body exercises. Including some type of overhead pressing, pull-up, push-up, row, clean, snatch, and muscle-up will have you set for the basics. Anything beyond these, be it different versions of or accessories to these movements, will be built on a solid foundation that does best when regularly maintained.

So here is my recommendation: find yourself a coach (in-person or virtual) and work through integrating and practicing some version of each of these upper body exercises. If you are struggling to perform a position or movement due to range of motion deficits, reach out and we can assess and develop a plan of action for you. If you are wondering how to ensure you have a similar foundation for your lower body, then check back on this site soon and look for part two detailing how to do just that.

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Andrew Schwartz, PT, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Andrew is a movement specialist and an enthusiast of all things human performance. His passion for helping people become the best version of themselves is fueled by his personal journey with sleep, nutrition, performance. He has worked with people of various levels of capacity and strives to learn and apply something new each day.