If I said Primal Flow to you, what image would immediately pop to mind? The slow swaggered walk of a leopard? A primitive man running around with a spear to hunt food? Or a toddler following their primal urge to take their first steps? These images would not be far off the mark! Primal Flow is an exercise method that takes us back to the basics and focuses on 7 key movements.

So, is Primal Flow another fitness craze that will come and go before your body has had time to adapt to the training? No! The name may change, the popularity might go up and down but at the end of the day Primal Flow is nothing more than sensible training. The ultimate goal of resistance training is to improve the quality of movement by increasing strength and stability. Our individual goals might include moving a heavier weight or moving an object faster or even to increase stability to prevent injuries. These different goals can all be met by using the training structure provided by Primal Flow.

What are the Primal Flow Movements?

Primal flow breaks all movements that we can perform down into 7 movement patterns. These movement patterns are not only the basis of all human movement, but they are also the movements that we instinctively start learning as an infant. I would bet that 2 year olds could still get into a lower squat position and hold it for longer than most of us. So, what are these 7 important movements? When you read the list, you will probably be underwhelmed -

• Squat

• Lunge

• Push

• Pull

• Bend

• Core

• Gait

Now, you are thinking that that is simple enough and that you are probably doing most of those already so what is the big deal? And to me that is the big deal….that there is no big deal. Instead of splitting your training to chest days or back days you just select an exercise from each of the 7 movement categories.

By doing it like this you will not only make sure that you are doing a full body workout in one session, but you will also strengthen your body in a way that every day movement will improve. If you want to lift a box up to a shelf you would use a combination of a squat motion and push motion. If you need to perform a single leg movement such as walking up steps, then the lunge movement patterns will help you with single leg strength and stability.

Most important of all, if you want to improve your golf you will need most of these 7 motions to drive the ball further and more accurately as well as the gait to have the aerobic fitness to walk around the full 18 holes.

As you can see these 7 movement patterns will all combine to give you the Functional strength that you need without getting caught up in distractions of other exercises that have minimal impact on your movement.

We also need to mention the flow part of Primal Flow. Flow refers to the seamless progression from one exercise to the next. Ideally the change from one exercise to another should be as fluid as possible with as little rest as possible. This requires focusing on the exercise as well as your breathing.

The benefits include -

• increased muscle endurance and cardiovascular requirement due to less rest

• an increase in flexibility of joints as you move from one exercise to another

• connecting more with your inner self as you concentrate on all aspects of movement from the muscles to controlling your breathing.

An example would be to progress from a push up to a deadlift. Once you have finished your push ups, keep your hands on the floor and walk your feet towards your hands and get as close as possible. From there you can straighten your back to get a neutral spine and start performing a deadlift.

Applying Primal Flow to Your Training

So how do you apply Primal Flow to your training? Once again it is very simple and doesn’t require much fitness knowledge.

Step One

Pick one exercise for each of the 7 movement patterns listed below.

Step Two - Organise

Start with the most complicated exercises first and progress to the least complicated exercises. By most complicated I mean the exercises that are the most difficult and use the greatest number of joints and muscles. This is generally the squats and lunges.

Due to the complexity and number of muscles involved in these exercises you generate more fatigue. If you had to do these exercises at the end when you are already fatigued, you are likely to not get the most out of the exercise and loose exercise form. The least complicated exercises are generally the core and gait movements.

Step Three - Adapt to the Training

Don’t try to be a hero on the first day. Your body is an amazing machine and will adapt to the loads you place on it...but only if you give it time to adapt to the loads. Start with light weights and do one to two sets and as you get stronger increase the weights and add on more sets.

Step Four - Don't Forget Your Gait

This is the easy part to forget and for some people probably the least exciting. But remember its place in the program. The goal is to improve movement. If you are not training to be a marathon runner don’t feel like you must spend the entire session hammering away at the treadmill.

Include some walking to light jogging at the end of the session. This will not only help as a warm down but completes the Primal Flow by helping develop your cardiovascular system.

Squat

Benefits - Improves movements that require bending and straightening of the legs.

Examples - Box squat, goblet squat, barbell back squat.

Lunge

Benefits - Single leg strength and stability.

Examples - Walking lunge, step ups, Bulgarian split squats.

Push

Benefits - Improves horizontal or vertical pushing motions.

Examples - Push ups, bench press, tricep dips.

Pull

Benefits - Improves horizontal or vertical pulling motions.

Examples - Seated row, bent over row, pull downs.

Bend

Benefits - Hip hinge motion that strengthens posterior chain.

Examples - Deadlift, single leg Romanian deadlift, good mornings, kettlebell swings.

Core

Benefits - Stronger core to connect all movement together.

Examples - Plank, side plank, ab rollout.

Gait

Benefits - Improved cardiovascular function.

Examples - Running, Walking

The latest fitness craze or not, Primal Flow will always have a place in the fitness world. It provides a simple structure for making sure that any movement that you need to perform you will be able to with increased strength. Primal Flow does have its origin in yoga, but it certainly does not need to be boxed as exclusively a yoga technique and your training can benefit from this simple approach.

Written by guest author Brendan McBirnie.

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Tags: ; Exercise Type > Strength