Basic Movement Patterns: A Guide

Mastering basic movement patterns is crucial for anyone aiming to enhance their physical fitness and athletic performance while preventing injuries. These patterns form the foundation of all human movement and are integral to performing daily activities and sports efficiently and safely. By focusing on these fundamentals, you can build a solid base supporting more complex movements and exercises, improving health and performance.

This guide covers essential movement patterns foundational to physical fitness: the hip hinge, squat, vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls, rotational movements, and stability through anti-movement exercises.

Although these basic movement patterns don’t represent all of the ways in which our bodies can move, they do represent the basics when it comes to most compound movements in the gym and life.

The Hip Hinge

The hip hinge is a fundamental movement pattern that involves bending at the hips with minimal flexion of the spine, primarily engaging the posterior chain muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

Proper execution of the hip hinge is critical for performing lifts like deadlifts and kettlebell swings correctly and safely.

Key Execution Cues

Maintain a Neutral Spine: Keep your spine straight and aligned throughout the movement to protect your back and engage the correct muscles.

Bend at the Hips: Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back, not bending your knees. This subtle shift emphasizes the right muscle groups. Imagine you’re trying to close a drawer behind you with your butt.

Slight Bend in Knees: Your knees should have a slight bend and shouldn’t be fully locked out or in deep flexion.

Chest Up, Shoulders Back: Ensure your chest stays up, and shoulders are pulled back to avoid rounding your back, which can lead to injury.

Move Hips Backward and Forward: The motion should be horizontal, moving your hips back as if reaching back with your buttocks, then driving them forward to return to standing.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Beginners should start with basic regressions, such as the bodyweight hip hinge, to master the movement pattern without external load. As proficiency improves, progressions can include weighted exercises.

Beginner Movements:

• Resistance Band Hip Hinge Drill: Utilizing a resistance band around the waist, this drill aids beginners in mastering the hip hinge movement.
• Kettlebell Deadlift: This exercise teaches beginners the fundamental mechanics of the deadlift, focusing on all of the cues for proper execution.
• Romanian Deadlift: The most advanced “beginner” movement that will teach you the proper deadlift mechanics starting from the top position.

Intermediate to Advanced Movements:

• Single Leg Romanian Deadlift: This variation challenges balance, emphasizing the need for core and glute engagement.
• Barbell Deadlift: A cornerstone weightlifting exercise that demands proper form and core strength, targeting the entire posterior chain, including the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. Suitable for those looking to increase overall strength.
• Kettlebell Swing: A dynamic movement building both strength and cardiovascular endurance.
• Good Morning: Placing a lot more stress on the low back than the exercises above, good morning involves hinging at the hips with a barbell placed on the shoulders.

Limiting Factors

Although the hip hinge is a relatively simple movement, some people will have problems properly executing it, especially with external load, if they lack flexibility and mobility in these areas:

• Hamstring Flexibility: To get your torso parallel to the floor, you need a certain amount of hamstring flexibility. Incorporate hamstring stretches in your routine to fix this issue.
• Low Back Mobility: Limited mobility in the lower back can prevent maintaining a neutral spine during the movement, which is essential for hip-hinging exercises. Add some low-back mobility movements, such as the cat-dog exercise.

Application in Daily Life and Sports

The hip hinge’s utility extends far beyond the gym; it’s a movement pattern that plays a vital role in daily activities and various sports.

As any coach and physiotherapist can tell you, a lot of cases where people report low-back pain can be attributed to their inability to hinge at the hips properly. A proper hip hinge removes the unnecessary stress on the lower back and puts it on the glutes and hamstrings, which are made for such a task.

Hip extension is a huge part of almost every sport, encompassing jumping, sprinting, and swinging. A hip hinge trains the hip extensors, meaning a powerful hip hinge will transfer to athletic performance.

Incorporating the hip hinge into your training not only boosts your strength and power but also significantly reduces the likelihood of injuries, making it a pivotal element of a well-rounded fitness routine.

The Squat

The squat is often called the king of lower body exercises, and rightfully so. It targets the quads, adductors, glutes, and core muscles, while also challenging the mobility of the ankles, knees, hips, thoracic spine, and shoulders.

It involves a simultaneous hip and knee bend, keeping the chest upright and the back straight to lower the body as if sitting back into a chair.

Key Execution Cues

Feet Shoulder-Width Apart: Start with your feet set shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed outwards to allow for a comfortable hip descent. You can experiment with the feet width and angle as they vary by individual/

Sit Back and Down: Begin the movement by simultaneously bending your hips and knees. Keep the weight in the middle of your foot.

Keep Your Chest Up: Maintain an upright torso with your chest lifted and core engaged throughout the squat to protect your spine.

Knees in Line with Toes: As you descend, your knees should track in line with your toes, not caving inward or extending past your toes.

Depth According to Mobility: Lower yourself to a depth your mobility allows, ideally with hips below the knees, then drive back up to standing, pressing through your heels.

Knees Past The Toes: If your ankle mobility allows you to do so, let your knees go past the toes without worrying about injury.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Squats can be adapted to suit any fitness level, from beginners to advanced athletes, ensuring progression and challenge as strength and mobility improve.

Beginner Movements:

• TRX-Assisted Squats: Using TRX bands for support, this variation helps maintain balance and form, perfect for those working on stability and depth.
• Air Squats: Focus on form and depth using just your body weight.
• Box Squats: Squatting to a bench or box can help beginners find the correct depth safely.
• Goblet Squats: Holding a kettlebell or dumbbell at chest level, this variation encourages proper posture and depth while engaging the core.
• Safety Bar Squats: The safety bar design allows for an upright position, ideal for those with limited shoulder mobility, emphasizing form and comfort.

Intermediate to Advanced:

• Front Squats: Holding a weight in front of the body challenges the core and upper back, demanding more from these muscle groups. This variation will allow you to keep your torso more upright.
• Back Squats: With the weight on your upper back, this variation allows for heavier lifting, targeting the lower body muscles more intensely.
• Pistol Squats: A challenging bodyweight exercise requiring strength, balance, and flexibility.
• Bulgarian Split Squats: Done with one foot elevated behind you, focusing on the quads and glutes of the front leg.
• Step-Ups: Mimicking the squat movement on a single leg, promoting strength and stability.

Limiting Factors

It is a much more complex exercise than the hip hinge, so having enough mobility in most of your joints is critical to a good squat.

• Ankle Dorsiflexion: Limited ankle dorsiflexion can lead to heels lifting off the ground or an excessive forward lean, compensating for the lack of motion. Improve with wall stretches and foam rolling the calves to allow deeper squats.
• Hip Mobility: This can vary from internal and external hip rotation to adductor and hip flexor flexibility. Add stretches and drills specifically targeting your weakness.
• Thoracic Mobility:  In squats, restricted thoracic mobility can lead to a rounded upper back, compromising stability and squat depth. Foam rolling the upper back, along with doing lat and thoracic spine stretches, will help a lot.

Vertical Push

Vertical pushing movements involve pressing weight overhead or pushing upward against resistance. These exercises primarily target the shoulders (front delts), triceps, and upper part of the chest, playing a crucial role in enhancing upper body strength and stability.

Key Execution Cues

Stable Base: Whether standing or seated, ensure a firm foundation, feet shoulder-width apart if standing.

Core Engagement: Tighten your core and squeeze your glutes throughout the movement to stabilize your spine and support the lift.

Elbows Under the Bar: Start with elbows slightly in front of the bar (or weights), ensuring they do not flare out as you press overhead.

Full Extension: Aim for full arm extension at the top of the lift without arching your back. The head should move slightly forward once the bar passes the forehead to maintain balance and alignment.

Controlled Descent: Lower the weight back to the starting position in a controlled manner, keeping the core engaged.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

To continually challenge and develop your vertical pushing strength, incorporate a variety of exercises and progressively increase the weight or volume as you become more proficient.

Beginner Exercises:

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: A great starting point, allowing for a neutral grip and natural arm movement.
• Half-Kneeling Overhead Press: Performed from a kneeling position, with one knee on the ground and the other foot in front, focusing on core stability and unilateral shoulder strength. You can do it either with a dumbbell, a kettlebell, or with a landmine setup.
• Machine Shoulder Press: Fixed-path machines can help beginners focus on form and muscle engagement without the need to stabilize the weight.

Intermediate to Advanced Exercises:

• Barbell Overhead Press: A fundamental exercise for developing shoulder strength and stability, pressing a barbell upwards from the shoulders to full extension above the head.
• Push Press: Incorporates lower body momentum, allowing for heavier lifts and increased power development.
• Split Jerk: A more complex lift that combines a vertical push with a lunge position, maximizing the amount of weight lifted.

Limiting Factors

Vertical pushing requires decent mobility to execute it safely and effectively. Second only to the squat, it requires the most mobility out of all of the basic movement patterns.

• Lat Flexibility: Tight latissimus dorsi muscles can restrict overhead arm extension, which is crucial for vertical pushing exercises. This tightness can limit the ability to fully reach overhead without compensating through the lumbar spine, leading to improper form and potential injury. Stretching exercises like the standing or seated lat stretch, where you reach overhead or to the side to elongate the lat muscles, can improve flexibility.
• Thoracic Mobility: Limited thoracic extension can prevent maintaining a straight, upright torso, leading to excessive lumbar extension. Foam rolling the upper back and performing thoracic extensions over a foam roller can enhance thoracic spine mobility.
• Pec Flexibility: Tight chest muscles, especially the pectoralis minor, can pull the shoulders forward, limiting the ability to elevate the arms for vertical pushes fully. Integrate stretches that target the chest, and you’ll be good to go.

Vertical Pull

The opposite of the vertical push,

Vertical pull exercises are crucial for developing the upper back, improving posture, and achieving muscular balance. They primarily target the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, biceps, and trapezius muscles.

Execution and Form Cues

Grip Variations: Utilize different grips (overhand, underhand, neutral) to engage the muscles from various angles.

Shoulder Engagement: Begin each movement by retracting your shoulder blades to ensure the back muscles are properly activated.

Control and Range: Maintain control throughout the exercise, focusing on moving through the full range of motion for optimal muscle development.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Mastering the pull-ups can take a lot of time for most people, and that’s why it’s important to progress from the beginner exercise.

Beginner Exercises:

• Lat Pulldowns: A foundational exercise that allows you to build strength in the vertical pull while you aren’t yet strong enough for the pull-up.
• Assisted Pull-Ups: Using a resistance band or machine to unload some of your body weight, this exercise helps you progress toward performing a full pull-up.

Intermediate to Advanced Exercises:

• Pull-Ups: A benchmark bodyweight exercise where you pull up until your chin surpasses the bar. This exercise requires significant upper body strength and is highly effective in building a strong back.
• Weighted Pull-Ups: For those who have mastered the standard pull-up, adding weight through a belt or vest can provide an additional challenge and stimulate further muscle growth.

Limiting Factors

• Shoulder Mobility: Adequate shoulder mobility is crucial for performing pull-ups and lat pulldowns effectively. Limited mobility can reduce the range of motion and affect the ability to engage the latissimus dorsi and other back muscles fully.
• Thoracic Spine Mobility: Restricted mobility in the thoracic spine can hinder the ability to extend and rotate the upper back, impacting the efficiency and safety of vertical pulling movements.

Horizontal Push

Horizontal push exercises involve moving weight away from the torso in a horizontal plane, engaging the chest, front head of the shoulders, and triceps. These movements mimic pushing actions encountered in everyday life and various sports, enhancing overall pushing strength and stability.

Execution and Form Cues

Scapula Position: Your scapula position depends on whether or not you’re doing a dip and push-up variation or a bench press. When executing a bench press, keep your shoulders retracted and depressed throughout the movement. On the other hand, allow your scapula to move naturally when doing push-ups or dips.

Stacked Joints: Regarding the bench press, your joints should be stacked. This means that at the bottom of the movement, your wrists are pretty much right above your elbows. At the top position, your wrists, elbows, and shoulders should be in line with the bar when looking from above.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Beginner Exercises:

• Push-Ups: The quintessential bodyweight exercise that can be modified to suit any fitness level. Beginners can start with knee push-ups or incline push-ups to build strength.
• Machine Chest Press: Fixed-path machines provide stability and focus on the chest muscles with minimal need for stabilization, ideal for beginners.

Intermediate to Advanced Exercises:

• Bench Press: A fundamental exercise for upper body strength involving pressing a barbell or dumbbell from a lying position on a bench.
• Dips: Suitable for intermediate to advanced lifters, it involves raising and lowering your body using parallel bars.
• Dumbbell Chest Press: Adds an element of stabilization to the traditional bench press, requiring each arm to work independently, promoting balanced muscle development and working the stabilizing muscles.

Limiting Factors

Thoracic Spine Mobility: The usual suspect- poor T-spine mobility in the thoracic spine will make it impossible for you to get into a proper arch for the bench press, increasing your chances for injury. Foam rolling, flexibility, and mobility drills will be your best bets when trying to improve on this.

Horizontal Pull

These movements are pivotal for counteracting the forward shoulder posture developed from prolonged sitting and complementing the pushing exercises mentioned above.

They are done in the same plane as horizontal pushes, the difference being you’re pulling yourself toward a stationary implement or pulling some weight toward you.

Execution and Form Cues

• Scapular Retraction: Begin each pull by retracting (squeezing) your shoulder blades together, focusing on moving the weight with your back muscles rather than just your arms.
• Elbow Path: Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle to your body and pull them back as far as possible to fully engage the back muscles.
• Controlled Tempo: Maintain a controlled pace to maximize the stretch, especially on the eccentric (lowering) phase.
• Neutral Spine: Ensure your back remains straight and neutral throughout the exercise to prevent injury and ensure proper form.
• Wrist Bend: Don’t flex your wrists to get some “extra range of motion.” Keep the wrists in a neutral position.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Beginners Exercises:

• TRX Row & Inverted Row: These bodyweight movements allow for easy progression and intensity adjustment. In order to make the exercise easier, just put your torso in a more vertical position.
• Seated Cable Row: Provides a stable environment to focus on proper scapular retraction and elbow path, ideal for learning the basics of horizontal pulling.
• Machine Row: Similar to the seated cable row, it provides a stable environment to focus on proper form.

Intermediate to Advanced Exercises:

• Single Arm Dumbbell Row: This variation is fantastic for core stability and back strength. It is done with one hand placed on a bench, with the same side leg either on the bench or with both feet on the ground.
• Bent-Over Rows: Performed with a barbell or dumbbell, this exercise requires significant stability from the core and strength from the entire back.
• Pendlay Row: Performed from a dead-stop position on the floor, the pendlay row is an excellent exercise for building power.

Trunk Rotation

Rotational and diagonal movements are essential for a comprehensive fitness regimen, targeting the abs, obliques, glutes, erectors, etc. These movements mirror many every day and sports-specific activities, providing the dynamic strength and flexibility needed for efficient performance.

By strengthening the muscles involved in rotation and lateral movements, you can reduce the risk of injuries caused by sudden, unprepared movements in daily life or sports.

Execution and Form Cues

• Start With Controlled Movement: Ensure movements are controlled and deliberate to maximize engagement and minimize the risk of injury. As you progress, you can add throws and other more dynamic movements.
• Alignment and Posture: Maintain a strong, stable posture throughout each exercise, avoiding excessive arching or rounding of the back. Your ribs should be stacked

right above your hips.

• Breathing: Probably the most important cue, proper breathing is imperative in order to activate the diaphragm and obliques fully.

Progressions, Regressions, and Variations

Beginners Exercises:

Russian Twists: Sitting on the ground with knees bent, twist the torso from side to side, optionally holding a weight for added resistance.

Standing Cable Rotations: Using a cable machine, rotate your torso while keeping your hips square, focusing on engaging the core.

For Advanced:

• Rotational Medicine Ball Throws: Incorporating a dynamic element, these involve rotating and throwing a medicine ball against a wall or to a partner, engaging the core, and developing power.
• Woodchoppers: With cables or a medicine ball, mimic a chopping motion diagonally across the body, engaging the core, shoulders, and hips.

Limiting Factors

Thoracic Spine Mobility: Like with most movement patterns, adequate thoracic mobility is important. Besides the usual thoracic extension, rotational movements will force us to have good thoracic rotation. Lacking in this field will put you at a risk of developing lower back pain.

Mobility drills like the “open book” and “quadruped thoracic rotation” are great ways to improve in this area.

Anti-Movement Patterns

Anti-movement exercises are designed to prevent motion in a particular direction, challenging the core and stabilizing muscles to maintain a specific posture or position. These patterns are essential for building a strong, resilient core that supports all other physical activities.

Anti-Rotation

Anti-rotation exercises involve resisting rotational forces and stabilizing the spine and core against twisting movements.

Key Exercises:

• Pallof Press: Stand perpendicular to a cable machine or resistance band, press the handle or band straight out from the chest, and resist the pull to rotate, focusing on keeping your torso square.

 Breathe out while pressing the band or handle in front.

• Plank Reaches: In a plank position, lift one arm off the ground while maintaining hip and shoulder alignment, resisting the urge to rotate or shift.

Anti-Flexion

These exercises focus on resisting spinal flexion and strengthening the spinal erectors to support the spine.

Key Exercises:

• Deadlifts: While primarily known as a hip hinge movement, deadlifts also require the core to resist flexion under load.
• Farmer’s Walk: Carrying heavy weights by your sides, this exercise challenges the entire core to maintain an upright posture, resisting the downward pull that could lead to spinal flexion.

Anti-Extension

Anti-extension exercises work on preventing the spine from arching excessively, targeting the core’s ability to maintain a neutral spine under extension forces.

Key Exercises:

• Dead Bug: Lying on your back, extend opposite arm and leg while keeping the lower back pressed into the ground, resisting extension. Breathe out while lowering the arm and leg.
• Hollow Hold: From a lying position, lift arms and legs off the ground, press the lower back into the floor, and hold a “hollow” body position.
• Plank: The classic plank exercise requires you to maintain a straight line from head to heels, resisting the downward pull of gravity.
• Ab Wheel Rollouts: Starting in a kneeling position, use an ab wheel to roll forward, extending your body while keeping your back straight and resisting the pull towards spinal flexion.

Anti-Lateral Flexion

These exercises strengthen the muscles that resist side bending of the spine, which is crucial for lateral stability.

Key Exercises:

• Side Plank: Lying on one side, lift your body off the ground, supported by one arm and the side of one foot, and hold, resisting the pull towards the floor.
• Suitcase Carry: Walk while holding a weight in one hand, keeping your shoulders level and resisting the tendency to lean towards the weighted side.

Implementing The Movements Into Your Program

We will outline a 3-day and 4-day sample workout program incorporating the movements we discussed so far. These programs are designed for general fitness enthusiasts and should be adjusted according to individual fitness levels and goals.

Each workout session should begin with a dynamic warm-up to prepare the body for exercise and end with a cool-down, including stretching to aid recovery. Adjust the weight to match your current fitness level, ensuring that each set is challenging but can be completed properly. Progressively increase the difficulty by adding weight, repetitions, or improving the execution quality as you advance.

3-Day Split Full Body Workout Program

This program is designed to work the entire body each session, incorporating all the fundamental movement patterns across the week.

Day 1: Lower Body Focus

Squat Movement: Goblet Squat – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Hip Hinge Movement: Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Horizontal Push: Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Horizontal Pull: TRX Row – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Anti-Rotation: Pallof Press – 3 sets x 10-12 reps per side

Day 2: Upper Body Focus

Vertical Push: Overhead Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Vertical Pull: Lat Pulldown – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Hip Hinge Movement: Kettlebell Swing- 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Squat Movement: Step-Ups – 3 sets x 10 reps per leg

Rotation: Russian Twists – 3 sets x 15-20 reps

Day 3: Combined Focus

Squat Movement: Safety Bar Squat – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Horizontal Push: Push-Ups – 3 sets x 10-15 reps

Hip Hinge Movement: Single Leg Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets x 8-10 reps per leg

Horizontal Pull: Inverted Rows – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Anti-Rotation: Dead Bug – 3 sets x 10-12 reps per side

4-Day Split Upper/Lower Workout Program

This program alternates between upper body and lower body workouts, allowing for more focused training and recovery time for each muscle group.

Day 1: Upper Body (Push Focus)

Horizontal Push: Bench Press – 4 sets x 6-8 reps

Vertical Push: Dumbbell Overhead Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Horizontal Pull: Inverted Rows – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Horizontal Push: Push-ups – 3 sets of x 10-15

Anti-Rotation: Plank Shoulder Taps – 3 sets x 10 reps per side

Day 2: Lower Body (Squat Focus)

Squat Movement: Back Squat – 4 sets x 6-8 reps

Hip Hinge Movement: Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets x 8-10 reps per leg

Squat Accessory: Walking Lunges – 3 sets x 12-15 reps per leg

Anti-Lateral Flexion: Side Plank – 3 sets x 30 seconds per side

Day 3: Upper Body (Pull Focus)

Vertical Pull: Pull-Ups – 4 sets x 6-8 reps

Horizontal Pull: Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets x 8-10 reps per arm

Horizontal Push: Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Rotation: Cable Woodchops – 3 sets x 10-12 reps per side

Day 4: Lower Body (Hip Hinge Focus)

Hip Hinge Movement: Romanian Deadlift – 4 sets x 6-8 reps

Squat Movement: Bulgarian Split Squats – 3 sets x 8-10 reps per leg

Hip Hinge Accessory: Glute Bridges – 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Anti-Extension: Ab Rolls – 3 x 8-10 reps