How to Create Your Own Natural Movement Training Program

About thirty years ago, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my career – I tried to create a “one-size-fits-all” natural movement program for my gym. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ Spent weeks crafting this elaborate system with progressions, rep schemes, and fancy names for everything. Handed it out to fifteen clients, expecting amazing results.

Three weeks later, half of them had quit, and the other half were complaining that the workouts felt forced and unnatural. https://www.rushwalter.com/what-is-holistic-strength-training-guide-to-mind-body-fitness-in-2025/ Talk about missing the point entirely.

That failure taught me the most important lesson about creating natural movement programs: they need to be as individual as the person doing them. Cookie-cutter approaches don’t work because everyone’s starting point, lifestyle, and movement preferences are different.

The real breakthrough came when I started helping people design their own programs instead of imposing my ideas on them. Turns out, when people have input in creating their movement practice, they actually stick with it. Who would’ve thought?

Creating your own natural movement program starts with honest self-assessment, not some fantasy version of who you think you should be. https://www.rushwalter.com/how-to-assess-your-functional-fitness-level-a-comprehensive-guide/ I learned this the hard way with a client who insisted he wanted to focus on climbing patterns because they looked cool on Instagram. Problem was, he couldn’t hold a plank for thirty seconds and had never climbed anything taller than a stepladder.

We backed way up and started with crawling patterns and basic squatting. Six months later, he was crushing those climbing movements he’d originally wanted, but more importantly, he felt confident in his body for the first time in years. https://www.rushwalter.com/the-psychology-of-functional-movement-mental-benefits-beyond-physical-gains/

The assessment phase needs to cover four main areas: current movement capacity, time availability, space constraints, and personal preferences. Don’t skip this step or you’ll end up creating a program that looks good on paper but falls apart in real life.

For movement capacity, start ridiculously simple. Can you squat down and stand up without using your hands? How long can you hold a bear crawl position? Can you walk up stairs without getting winded? These basics tell you way more about your starting point than any complicated movement screen.

I always have people test their squat depth first. Sit in a deep squat – heels flat, knees wide, back straight – and see how long you can stay there comfortably. If it’s less than thirty seconds, squatting patterns need to be a foundation piece of your program. If you can hang out in a squat for several minutes, you’re ready for more dynamic squatting variations.

Time availability is where most people lie to themselves. They’ll claim they have an hour daily for movement practice, then wonder why they can’t stick to their program after the first busy week. Be brutally honest about your schedule, then design around that reality instead of some ideal scenario.

I’ve seen people make incredible progress with fifteen-minute daily sessions, but fail miserably with hour-long workouts they could only manage twice a week. Consistency beats intensity every single time, especially with natural movement training.

Space constraints matter more than you’d think. Don’t design a program full of broad jumping and crawling patterns if you’re working out in a tiny apartment. I learned this from a client who lived in a studio apartment but wanted to incorporate animal movements into her routine.

We got creative with vertical space and stationary movements. Wall sits, wall walks, in-place marching with high knees, and modified crawling patterns that worked within her eight-by-ten-foot living room. We added a few resistance options and she stuck with it for over two years because the program actually fit her life.

Personal preferences are huge and often overlooked. https://www.rushwalter.com/primal-movement-reconnecting-with-natural-human-motion/ Some people love ground-based movements like rolling and crawling. Others prefer standing patterns like squatting and carrying. There’s no right or wrong here – work with your natural inclinations, not against them.

The program structure I’ve found works best follows what I call the “foundation-bridge-challenge” approach. Foundation movements are the basics you do consistently to maintain and improve fundamental patterns. Bridge movements connect those basics into flowing sequences. Challenge movements push your boundaries and keep things interesting.

Foundation movements should make up about 70% of your program, especially in the beginning. These are your squats, crawls, carries, and basic locomotive patterns. You’ll do some version of these almost every session because they’re building the movement vocabulary everything else depends on.

For most people, I recommend picking 3-4 foundation movements and rotating through them daily. Monday might be squat-focused, Tuesday emphasizes crawling patterns, Wednesday is carrying day, and Thursday brings it all together in simple combinations.

The key is spending enough time with each pattern to actually improve, not just go through the motions. If you’re working on bear crawls, don’t just knock out ten steps and move on. Spend five to ten minutes exploring the position, trying different speeds, directions, and variations.

Bridge movements are where the magic happens – connecting individual patterns into smooth, flowing sequences. This is where natural movement training starts feeling less like exercise and more like play. Simple flows like squat-to-bear-crawl-to-stand, or carry-walk-carry create rhythm and continuity.

Start with two-movement combinations before progressing to longer sequences. Master the transitions between movements because that’s where most people get stuck. The goal is smooth, controlled movement from one pattern to the next without awkward pauses or position adjustments.

Challenge movements keep you progressing and prevent boredom, but they shouldn’t dominate your program. These might be single-leg squats, advanced crawling patterns, or complex movement flows. Think of them as the seasoning, not the main course.

I usually program one challenge movement per week, spending just 5-10 minutes exploring it after completing the foundation work. Some weeks you’ll nail it, other weeks you’ll struggle, and that’s perfectly normal. The goal is gradual improvement over months, not immediate mastery.

Progression planning is where most people either move too fast or not at all. Natural movement progression isn’t linear like adding weight to a barbell. It’s more about expanding your movement vocabulary and improving quality simultaneously.

For squatting, progression might look like: bodyweight squats to deep squat holds to single-leg squats to jumping squats to weighted carries in the squat position. Each phase could take several weeks or months depending on your starting point and consistency.

With crawling patterns, you might start with stationary bear crawl holds, progress to forward crawling, then add backward and lateral crawling, then elevate feet or hands, then crawl up inclines. Again, timeline depends on the individual.

The biggest mistake I see people make is trying to progress too quickly because they get bored with “simple” movements. But mastery of basics is what allows for safe, confident progression to advanced patterns. Rush this process and you’ll either get injured or develop compensatory movement patterns that limit your long-term progress.

Program periodization for natural movement is different from traditional strength training. Instead of planned deload weeks, I encourage intuitive adjustment based on how you’re feeling and moving. Some days your body wants to crawl around and explore ground patterns. Other days, standing and carrying movements feel better.

Building this body awareness is actually one of the main goals of natural movement training. Learning to listen to your movement needs and adjust accordingly is a skill that transfers to everything else you do.

Recovery integration happens naturally when you’re moving the way your body was designed to move, but you still need to be smart about volume and intensity. If you’re sore or tired, focus on gentle, restorative movements rather than pushing through challenging patterns.

Documentation doesn’t need to be complicated, but tracking something helps maintain motivation and identify patterns. I have people note which movements they practiced, how long they spent, and how they felt during and after. Simple stuff, but it reveals trends over time.

Environmental variety keeps things interesting and challenges your movement adaptability. Take your practice outside when possible. Moving on uneven surfaces, up hills, or around obstacles adds complexity that indoor training can’t replicate.

The most successful programs I’ve seen are the ones people modify and personalize over time. Start with a basic structure, but don’t be afraid to adjust based on what you discover about your body and preferences. Your program should evolve as you do.

Remember, the best natural movement program is the one you’ll actually do consistently. Start simple, be patient with progress, and trust that your body knows how to move if you give it the opportunity. Once we adapt our bodies to the new natural movements we often add resistance to increase our health benefits. Contact us to learn more about Rush Fitness Tools for holistic functional fitness.