These are seven movements, as coined by Paul Chek, in which we can break down our activities that we do everyday. There are many variations of these by people, some with a movement or two more and some with less, but are all about the same.
They are the requisite forms of movement that we should be able to do through a full range of motion and complete pain free in order for our movement to be considered normal.
They also should make up the bulk of our workouts when in the gym or outside. The movements include the bend, squat, lunge, push, pull, twist and gait. Let’s dive into each one.
BEND
“Lift with your knees!” There are just too many good quotes out there that I couldn’t resist. Yes, your knees will be involved with a lift, but if you don’t learn to properly use your back when lifting then it certainly will get hurt (i.e. “I bent over the pick up the pencil and my back went out.”).
It wasn’t the weight it is because your form is bad, your back is weak since you only squat and are afraid to bend and that was just the last straw.
The Bend
Again get those feet straight ahead, but now your head will stay in neutral with the rest of the spine as you bend over. Begin your movement by shooting your hips back and only bending the knees to about 20 degrees as this allows for maximum recruitment of the glutes which really should be working here, but are often weak.
You will bend down as far as is comfortable without letting the spine come out of neutral position and then returning to the top. You can now slowly and safely begin to start lifting your child or bag of groceries again properly.
SQUAT
As the saying goes “squatting is bad for your knees.” This will never get old and couldn’t be more wrong.
A quote that I like a lot better from Dan John is that “squatting is not bad for your knees, the way you squat is bad for your knees.” That’s right if you have stood up or sat down in any form today then you have squatted and need to keep reading.
There is of course a proper way to squat to keep your body in optimal alignment. Even this has much debate, but I will give you what I feel is the best way that has worked for me as well as hundreds of my patients and clients.
The Squat
Find a fixed point straight ahead that you can focus on so your head stays in the same position. Make sure that your feet are pointing straight ahead or turned out up to 15 degrees, but make sure each foot is doing the same thing.
As you begin to go down shift your hips back slightly and think about spreading the floor apart with your feet. Go down as far as you feel comfortable with your back staying in a neutral position and return to the top.
LUNGE
Wait a second. Squat maybe, bend okay, but really a lunge? YES! You still lunge down and tie your shoelace, step over things with a long stride and even go up and down stairs and inclines.
Let’s just make sure to learn to do it right.
The Lunge
Take a long step forward with the foot facing straight ahead, bend both knees while going down as far as you feel comfortable and push off the front foot to return to the starting position.
Sounds simple and it is as long as you make sure that your knee is tracking in line with your second toe.
PUSH
This is another biggie whether closing a door, using your arm to roll over in bed or pushing yourself up off the floor.
I still like the good old fashioned push up to practice your push.
The Push
Start in neutral spine position with elbows extended, hands directly under shoulders with fingers straight ahead. Think of screwing your hands into the floor and driving your elbow pits forward. Unlock your elbows and push them toward your hips (not flaring out) going down as far as you feel comfortable and return to top position.
PULL
This can be pulling a door open, reaching out and grabbing something off the counter or even moving a couch across the floor as I just did recently. I like to use bands when teaching the pull hooked onto something stable.
The Pull
A simple row by grabbing two handles is a great place to start. Grab both handles with arms extended. Pull both elbows into your side while squeezing your shoulder blades straight back. Make sure that your shoulders do not tip forward and return to the starting position.
TWIST
The twist pattern is often combined with other patterns as a lot of them are. Here we see it when throwing a ball especially. We are combing a twist, push and lunge all into one for a great movement.
The Twist
Here woodchops and different rotational exercises on the Swiss ball are excellent to train the pattern!
GAIT
This can be many different forms from walking to running to sprinting. Each of us should be able to still run and sprint into late life, but most people stop doing so after their teenage years and lose this ability.
Get out go for a run, play tag, shoot some hoops. Just get out and move!
With all of these movements it can always be beneficial to find a local CHEK Practitioner or highly skilled physical therapist to check your form and write an exercise program for your specific body encompassing all of the Primal Pattern Movements.
Have a Great Day!
Nick Horowski
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