Movement Foundations (the building blocks of all things)

No matter the athletic skill the same core movement foundations exist.

Squat Lunge Hinge Push Pull Brace Rotate

These form the building blocks for everything from

• cartwheel entries → lunge + push

• swinging around on monkey bars → hinge, pull + rotation + brace

• landing from a boulder problem / surfing → squat

• forward rolls → brace + push

• a rugby tackle / wrestling → push

you get the picture…they’re everywhere!

The way I think of it is much like building a house. You want a solid foundation before adding walls, a roof and everything in between. The same applies to movement.

When the foundations are strong you have something reliable to build as you layer on skill complexity and advance through the levels.

But if you begin building all of these layers on a weaker foundation, things will fall apart quite quickly.

Movement foundations are not something you do just the once they support every movement skill. And yes working on squatting and lunging may not be as exciting as a new movement skill but they are important because they are what let you do the fun skills!

You can learn all sorts of skills but if the strong foundations aren’t there you may find yourself plateauing and that can mean going back to basics. Which is far more frustrating when you’ve build multiple floors on your foundation!

Movement Foundations → Fundamental skills

These foundations or movement patterns then play a supporting role for every movement fundamental or skill like

• running

• jumping

• throwing, kicking etc

Which are the basis of all sporting and play skills. Over time your sporting interests may change, the environment or equipment may change. But these foundations remain the same.

Strong movement foundations are far harder to knock down and much easier to build upon no what sport you choose.

So if you are unsure of where to begin, I would always start there.