10 Science-Backed Benefits of Natural Movement Strength Training
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10 Science-Backed Benefits of Natural Movement Strength Training

Several years ago I began investigating the neurological adaptations that occur when people transition from traditional gym training to natural movement patterns. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ As someone who’d spent decades in conventional strength training and always open to better health, I was the perfect test subject. The results blew my mind. After just eight weeks of replacing…

How Crawling Patterns Transform Your Strength Training
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How Crawling Patterns Transform Your Strength Training

Exercise is a great avenue for individuals with specific physical needs, as well as those who desire to build strength, and endurance. Your choices on the ways to exercise are seemingly endless. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ As you will find out if you don’t know already, like so many worthy endeavors even traditional exercise has more options than…

Bear Crawl Variations for Total Body Strength Training
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Bear Crawl Variations for Total Body Strength Training

When you have been in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and exercise equipment provider for over 30 years you tend to grow bored with what most call traditional exercise routines. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ I’m always looking for proven techniques to enjoy a different form of exercise and the bear crawl is a primary exercise for…

MovNat vs. Traditional Gym Training: Which Builds Better Strength?
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MovNat vs. Traditional Gym Training: Which Builds Better Strength?

Three months into my Holistic strength training or what some now call “MovNat” journey, I made a mistake that perfectly illustrates the complexity of comparing these two training approaches. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ I was feeling cocky about my progress with natural movement patterns, so I challenged my powerlifting buddy Alex to what I thought would be a…

MovNat Training Guide: Natural Movement for Modern Life
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MovNat Training Guide: Natural Movement for Modern Life

I discovered another exercise program called MovNat during one period of my fitness career. Despite training consistently for over twenty years, sometimes I felt like I was getting weaker at the things that actually mattered in daily life. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ I could deadlift impressive numbers but struggled to carry my sleeping five-year-old grandson up a flight…

Walking the Fitness Talk
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Walking the Fitness Talk

You know, there’s nothing that’ll humble you faster in the fitness industry than realizing you’re not practicing what you preach. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ I learned this lesson about fifteen years into my career, and honestly, it’s probably the most important wake-up call I ever got. I was running a pretty successful Atlanta training studio at the time,…

Natural Movement Exercise Progressions: Beginner to Advanced
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Natural Movement Exercise Progressions: Beginner to Advanced

I’ll never forget the first time I attempted what I thought was a “simple” bear crawl in front of some of my family members. I was demonstrating natural movement progressions, feeling pretty confident in my abilities after decades in the fitness industry. https://www.rushwalter.com/natural-movement-strength-training-for-complete-beginners/ What followed was thirty seconds of the most humbling movement experience of…

20 Functional Movement Exercises for Daily Life Strength
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20 Functional Movement Exercises for Daily Life Strength

Earlier I watched my 67-year-old client Patricia carry four grocery bags up two flights of stairs with better form and less effort than her 32-year-old daughter. The difference wasn’t that Patricia was stronger in the traditional sense – she couldn’t outlift her daughter on any gym exercise. The difference was that Patricia had spent two…

Functional Movement vs. Traditional Strength Training: Complete Guide
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Functional Movement vs. Traditional Strength Training: Complete Guide

Several years ago, I had what I now call anther “gym revelation” moment. I was working with Ed, a 42-year-old client who could deadlift 400 pounds, bench press 315, and squat 350 for reps. On paper, he was incredibly strong. In reality, he couldn’t pick up his three-year-old daughter without his back seizing up, and…

Advanced Animal Flow Sequences for Explosive Strength
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Advanced Animal Flow Sequences for Explosive Strength

I thought I knew what explosive power was until I got schooled by a 140-pound dancer named Carlos at a movement workshop several years ago. Here I was, a guy who’d been training strength athletes for decades, watching this lean dancer explode through animal flow transitions with more raw power than most of my powerlifting…