Not too many days go by where I’m not in awe of the human body and its physical abilities (although birds can fly and that’s pretty legit!). We are so fortunate to have the bodies we do so understanding its core movement skills and developing them is first priority. The complexity of what we can do and adapt to is remarkable. Humans can climb mountains, swim across lakes, sprint at speeds in excess of 30km, Ski down mountains, and Ollie massive sets of stairs on a skateboard such cool physical achievements. Then there is the simple stuff we take for granted like putting on a backpack, twisting down to pick up something from the ground, carrying groceries to our car or stepping onto a stool to change a light bulb. All of these movement patterns are made up of 7 core movement skills, squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, rotating and gait. In all human movements, some or all of the 7 core movements are executed in some way. 

Let’s get into each of The 7 Core Movements. 

Hinge

The “hinge” movement is a hip dominant movement which occurs when you bend at the waist (keeping your knees slightly bent) and then lift your torso upwards to a standing position. Examples of this movement pattern in fitness include dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, barbell hip thrusts and kettlebell swings. The hinge movement pattern is important for spine health, maintaining proper posture and locomotion. Everyday examples of the hinge movement pattern include picking something off the floor and bending over to tie your shoes.

Gait

The “gait” movement pattern is used for the body’s ability to perform locomotion. It uses a combination of movement patterns (lunging and rotating) for efficient movement. Exercise examples of this include walking, jogging and carrying. The gait movement pattern is important as it allows your body to move from one place to another while protecting your joints. Everyday examples of gait include walking to the bus stop, going for a run and carrying the groceries into the house.

Squat

The “squat” movement pattern enables you to lift yourself from a seated or crouched position up to a standing position. Examples of this pattern in fitness include barbell back squats, dumbbell split squats and for the more advanced movers, single leg squats. The squat promotes longevity by developing strong joints through improving the strength of the hips, knees, ankles and trunk. An everyday example of this includes standing up from a chair or toilet.

Push

A “push” is a movement that forces a load away from you. Exercise examples of this include dumbbell overhead press, barbell bench press or push-ups. The push movement pattern is important as it promotes shoulder health, and improves posture and overall upper body mobility and stability. Everyday examples of the push movement pattern are putting something on a high shelf and lifting yourself off the ground from a face-down position.

Pull

A “pull” is a movement that brings the load closer to you. Examples of this in fitness include bent-over rows, lat pulldowns and pull-ups. Pulling exercises improve posture, spine health and upper body strength. Everyday situations where you would use pulling movement patterns are taking groceries out of the car, opening a door, starting a lawnmower, and pulling the curtain closed.

Rotate

The “rotation” movement pattern is through the twist or rotation of the core. Exercise examples of rotation include Russian twists, cable pallof rotations and plank dumbbell pull-throughs. The rotation movement pattern is important as it allows us to be strong while moving around each and every day. A strong core is essential for maintaining proper posture, protecting the spine and increasing longevity. Everyday examples of rotation include reaching to the side from a seated position, throwing a baseball and reaching for something when it falls under the furniture.

Lunge

The “lunge” movement is a unilateral movement where one leg moves away from the body, shifting your center of gravity, challenging balance and coordination. Lunge exercise examples include walking lunges, dumbbell rear lunges and lateral lunges. The lunge movement pattern is important in strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee and hip joints, efficient locomotion and balance. Everyday examples include walking, moving sideways to get around an object, and reacting to sudden obstacles in front of you.

A good way to think about it is that each of the movements is an umbrella with similar movements falling underneath it, an example would be let’s say the push umbrella, under this we would have, incline press, decline press, overhead pressing, med ball chest toss just to name a few. Knowing these are the foundation of all movements, the 7 core movements should be your first course of action with your students.

Once they master these, programming and exposure to activities will be limitless. 

-Coach Cal

Schedule A Demo To learn more about REPerformance and how to leverage it in your classroom to build individual pathways to success.