Cossack Squat

20 Minute Movement Flow Warm Up

Motion

Here is a 20 minute movement flow that I used as a warm up, before more aggressive resistance training.

Movement flow training has become a big part of my workout regimen. I enjoy moving from one exercise to the next without a plan. I find that it challenges my mind and body to communicate at a level that isolated resistance training simply doesn’t.

Movement Flow Breakdown

I begin the movement flow in the 90/90 position working forward leans on each side.

The 90/90 position is a staple base position for a lot of my mobility work. The angles are difficult, and the exercises can be easily scaled based on my progress.

Forward leans, heel clicks and other movements out of this position have proven to be brutally effective for hip flexibility.

Half way through my 90/90 sequence, I spend a few minutes working in the bear position. I’m squeezing essentially squeezing my legs inward against the resistance of my arms, followed reverse the motion outward.

Just after this, comes the most torturous exercise known to man: straddle hip circles. 🤮

Few other exercises make me cringe like straddle hip circles. Great drill, lots of pain.

After a quick change of the music, assisted sissy squats (using a dowel) make their appearance, followed by prone swimmers, an awesome drill for shoulder conditioning. I’ve filmed prone swimmers as part of a larger movement flow, but never in isolation. I’ll have to do that soon.

Sissy squats make a lot of people nervous, but holding onto the dowel makes this exercise much more palatable.

Using the dowel as a guide, lowering your knees down to the floor becomes more manageable due to the added stability and slight decrease in load.

Next in the flow came Cossack squats.

Cossack squats have been a staple movement for me for a number of years.

I’ve experienced consistent progress with this movement, and seen my mobility increase pretty significantly from practicing Cossack squats on a regular basis.

Animal Flow’s Crab Reach has played in both my warm ups and as a filler exercise during strength training for quite some time. It’s one of those exercises that delivers a ton of value and can help to unwind a body that sits for prolonged periods of time.

Hip extension + spinal rotation/extension + active stretch through the quads/hip flexors/anterior body = AWESOME.

Crab Reach is fantastic to incorporate into flow sequences.

This 2 exercise flow sequence is a prime example:

Of course, I’m crawling. Always crawling. Forward, backward, lateral, and with plenty of transition work in between each variation.

Around the 1:45min/sec mark, I inject a little bit of creativity with a few ground based patterns.

I don’t have names for these movements, but I really value the slow tempo, focus on range of motion, control and overall difficulty.

In the last few seconds of this 20 minute flow, I shift my focus to a few natural movement exercises.

Inline lunges are best performed using a 2×4 piece of wood, but you can mimic the inline challenge using your imagination.

Wide stance, stable base of support movements might be preferred, but as we all know, are not always realistic in real world scenarios.

Sometimes you’ve got to demonstrate strength and balance all in one shot.

Movement Flow| Cossack Squats, Kick Throughs and Static Beast

Motion, Movement Flow

Flow training challenges movement capacity and ownership and are a great addition to any workout.

Organizing 2-5 different movements into a sequence gives you a chance to focus on smooth transitions, soft ground contacts and stability throughout the effort.

Flow sequences can be up-tempo, or slow and controlled.

Slow and controlled flow training can be humbling for any fitness level, beginner to advanced.

Today’s movement flow includes Cossack Squats, Kick Throughs and Static Beast. Each exercise is great in it’s own right.

The Cossack Squat is a unique squat variation. It’s a strength and hip mobility builder.

How to Perform this Flow

Lower your butt to the floor using a Cossack Squat.

What’s a Cossack Squat?

Bottoming out on the Cossack Squat (whatever depth that may be) find the floor with the same side hand.

Raise the extended leg, pulling it underneath your body as you turn into static beast.

Hold Static Beast for 5 seconds. Stay tight.

Release out of Static Beast, reversing the flow.

Slide the hovering leg through and out the other side where you’ll REACH and point the toes.

Extend the foot out as far as possible re the free arm pulls back in the opposite direction.

This picture should give context to the technique.

The Kick Through will be felt in the quads, hip flexors, core, up and out the opposite side shoulder.

Pulling back with the arm should resemble the draw of a bow, where the hand stops behind the ear.

Freeze the Kick Through posture and hold. This will be tough.

Re-initiate the Cossack Squat, sliding through the middle and repeating the sequence.

Quiet and Smooth Transitions

In a flow sequence, working toward quiet ground contacts and smooth transitions between exercises is the name of the game.

Quiet interactions with the floor is a good indicator of control over the movements.

With practice, ground contacts become softer as your body adapts to the demands of the movements.

Transitions are present in every day life.

We’re constantly moving from one posture, position or activity to the next.

One minute you’re lifting a heavy, awkward shaped object. The next minute you’re crawling underneath a table to play with your kids.

Static and dynamic movements show up every single day, and the in-between transitions are often overlooked.

Flow workouts are great for improving movement capacity.

conditioning the body to navigate various transitional moments, and move with greater confidence.

Where does Flow Training Fit in a Workout?

Using movement flows in pre-workout warm-ups is a great way to prime the body (and mind) before more aggressive training.

You can practice a flow for 4-5 minutes before lifting weights or performing cardio.

Flow + Resistance Training

Combining tried and true resistance training with movement flow is an effective way to maximize productivity in the gym.

1a) Chin-Up

1b) Squat

1c) Flow Sequence (give this one a try)

Perform the exercises from top to bottom for a target number of sets.

This structure leverages non-competing exercises. Using non-competing exercises, you can move from one exercise to the next relatively quickly because different muscle groups are used for each movement. Chin-ups are an upper body effort, while squats are a lower body effort. The flow might challenge the upper and lower body, but not at an intensity that would take away from the chin-up or squat.

Non-competing exercises organized into a tri-set allows for shorter rest periods, keeping the workout moving along.

People get fixated on lifting weights, adding weight to the bar, numbers, etc.

Put these people on the floor and ask them to execute the flow sequence shared today, and they look like stiff robots.

Flow work is a perfect addition to a resistance training program.

It gives you a chance to put those gains into practice with free flowing bodyweight movements.

Flow Sequences in Circuits

Mixing and matching flow sequences with resistance exercises, ballistic movements like kettlebell swings and a little core work is a great way to create a total body movement session.

1a) Kettlebell Swings x10

2a) Kettlebell Overhead Press x5 each arm

3a) Kettlebell Bent Over Row x8 each arm

4a) Hollow Body Rocks (core)

5a) Flow Sequence

Work through 1a-5a, rest for 45-60 seconds after the flow sequence. Perform 3-5 rounds.

Total body workout in less than 20 minutes.

Circuit training like this is are great for fat loss and performance.

Integration = Best Fitness and Health Results

It’s not any ONE thing that catapults health, performance and aesthetics.

You’ve got to pay a attention to all of the moving parts that contribute equally to a pain-free, athletic, lean and muscular body.

What are those moving parts?

  • Mobility Training
  • Resistance Exercise
  • Cardio
  • Ground-Based Movement (flow, etc)
  • NEAT (non-exercise activity, like walking)

Most people would be extremely happy with their results by organizing a workout regimen to include a steady mix of:

By including each element, you’re improving joint function and tissue health, performance, building strength and useful lean muscle, movement capacity in unique positions, and overall health.

Your body will have the look you want, free of ache and pains, and the movement performance.

If you’re ready to take your workouts to the next level with quality movement training, this is the program