Learn to Love the Basics
As a strength and conditioning coach, I am all about building a solid foundation. I want my athletes in sport and athletes in life to be really good at the simple things - the squat, hinge, press, pull, lunge, carry etc. These movements are foundational movements because they utilize major muscle groups in the body as well as key joints - this is essential for longevity in life and athletic performance in sport. It is important to master the basic movement patterns before progressing to fancier movements. By fancier, I mean more complex, multi-joint movements that take strength, stability and focus like a BB Power Clean as an example.
I feel like nowadays on social media, it can be filled with over-complicated and not entirely practical movements. Don't get me wrong, it’s important to challenge your body in new ways and there can be a time and place for different things, that said it’s important to have a solid foundation of the basics before you try to progress to something more advanced. Do the simple things (squat, hinge, press, pull, carry), do them well (safely, effectively, sound technique), and do them often (consistency) - you’ll probably see me write this and say this a lot.
Building a solid foundation of strength in your training not only allows you to perform daily movements efficiently, but it will allow you to gradually progress and excel in other areas of your training and life. Whether you are an athlete looking for rotational power on the field, or you're a 9-5er wanting to move up and down the stairs without knee pain, sound technique through full ranges of motion, progressive overload and patience is what you'll need to focus on.
Here is a little breakdown of some of the foundational movements I use with athletes and clients and why it's important.
THE SQUAT
Muscles Used: Glutes, Quads, Core
Importance: Foundational strength through the lower body assisting with stability around the knees, ankle mobility and core strength.
Progressions: Prisoner Squat (bodyweight), Goblet Squat (DB at chest), DB Squat (DB's on either side), BB Squat (front or back).
THE HINGE
Muscles Used: Glutes, Hamstrings, Erectors
Importance: Movement around the hip joint (ball and socket joint), strength through the posterior chain which is a common weak point for individuals (we all tend to be quite quad-dominant), and strength through the low back.
Progressions: Glute Bridge (+ variations), DB RDL, BB RDL, Trapbar Deadlift, BB Deadlift
THE PRESS
Muscles Used: Overhead Press - Deltoids, Triceps | Chest Press - Pec Major, Delts, Triceps (aka chest and the front of the shoulders)
Importance: Building strength around the shoulder joint is crucial to preventing injury and building strength through the anterior body is important for any sort of pushing movement (O-Line protecting their QB or pushing open a heavy door).
Progressions: Overhead Press - Landmine Press, BB Overhead Press, DB SA Overhead Press | Chest Press - Incline Push-ups, Push-ups, DB Chest Press, BB Bench Press
THE PULL
Muscles Used: Back - Traps, Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Erectors, Posterior Delts
Importance: Strengthening the posterior chain (the back of the body) is critical for posture, back health, and balancing the body.
Progressions: Standing RB Row, Seated Cable Row, DB Supported SA Row, BB Bent Over Row
THE ROTATION
Muscles Used: The Core - Erectors, Rectus Abdominus, Internal/ External Obliques
Importance: Another important one for rotational power (needed for many sports), as well as core stability and posture which is crucial as you age (say NO to low back pain!)
Progressions: Standing Trunk Rotations, RB External Rotations, Kneeling Rope Rotations, RB Explosive Rotation
BONUS
HIP ACTION + TRIPLE EXTENSION
Muscles Used: Glutes, Hamstrings, Internal Muscles of the Hip
Importance: Think - KB Swing, DB or BB Hang Clean, DB SA Snatch, Broad Jump, etc. This is a huge one for developing explosive power through the body. Being able to explosively load and explode through the hips is super important for many athletes but also important for those that want to progressively overload and challenge the body. Once you've establish a strong base from the movements above, that's when you can really start to use that strength and add the speed component. Triple Extension is when the ankle, knee and hip extend powerfully simultaneously to generate force.
STRENGTH + SPEED = POWER
Variations: Glute Bridge (+ variations), Low Cable Pull Through, KB Swings, BB Hang High Pull, BB Hang Clean
NOTE: In order to produce and generate power effectively you need to be strong and fast - that means you need to put the time in to build up strength before introducing speed as a factor!
OH! And I didn't even get a chance to talk about my love for unilateral (single arm/ leg) movements and their very important place in your training regime, but I'll have to save that one for another time ...
Okay okay, that was a lot of info but hopefully this will be reference point and reminder of some of the basics! If you already include these movements in a controlled and resisted way in your training now, that's great! If you don't, maybe you could try incorporating them and see if it translates to different styles of training you enjoy, or everyday life.
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions you have and if you're looking to change up your program - I can help with that too! Feel free to contact me by hitting the button below.
