Movement Flow

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

Home Workouts! Bodyweight Flow to Challenge Balance, Mobility and Endurance

Motion

Bodyweight training can (and probably should) be the foundation of any home workout.

No matter where you go, what equipment is or isn’t available, bodyweight based exercise is a card that can be ALWAYS be played.

There many ways to design and organize a bodyweight workout.  

Varying the tempo, joint range of motion, training on one leg, changing levels, balancing, transitions between exercises are all ways to keep bodyweight training fresh and effective.

Today’s workout is non-traditional, imagine that. 

If Yoga, locomotion, and calisthenics got together, partied and made a baby, this flow would be the result.

Flow training is like a more dynamic form of Yoga.  

I find myself sharing a lot of slow-tempo movements and flow sequences on YouTube and Instagram.  

Subconsciously, it might be a knee-jerk reaction to counterbalance all of the high-intensity training videos out there.  

Removing momentum from movements can reveal strengths and weaknesses with regard to what positions and motions you own versus what you don’t.  

Here’s the bodyweight flow:

This flow is designed to be mirrored on the right and left side and can be performed as a warm-up or as the workout itself.  Changing legs on the single-leg squat will keep you alternating sides. 

If you choose to use it as a workout, set a timer and keep working for the duration non-stop.  

Aim for 20 minutes.  If you get 20 minutes, go to 25 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.  

You’ll be exhausted (in a positive way) moving like this for long periods, and it might be an eye-opening shift away from high-intensity training.  

Muscles will fatigue and heart rate will elevate, even though you’re moving slow and steady.  

This flow is low-impact on the joints but does require a decent amount of joint mobility. 

Focus on momentum free movement.  

Especially with the modified hip CARs (controlled articular rotations).  Do your best to ONLY articulate the hip joint without changing posture to do so.  Obviously, in the video, I’m moving elsewhere but the goal is to keep the movement at the hip.

CARs are incredible for joint health, especially the hips which are supposed super mobile, but oftentimes aren’t.

Most people lack mobility at key joints like the hip, which forces other joints to try and pick up the slack, but so commonly ends up creating greater issues (aches, pains, injury).  

MyDailyMobility.com is a really good follow along resource to keep up with daily mobility work.  The guys upload new workouts all the time.  Last time I checked they had 5 months’ worth of workouts for customers.

Similar to resistance training (muscle) and cardio (endurance), mobility must be practiced consistently for maintenance and improvement.

Use it or lose it.

[You can see me lose balance returning to the single-leg stance.  I could have reshot the video and uploaded a perfect rep, but I decided to keep the original because this flow will test your balance.]

After the single-leg deadlift (Warrior 3 to the Yoga peeps) descending to the floor gracefully is the next order of business.  While this flow is controlled, learning how to fall is a skill people could really benefit from, especially older folks.  

Lowering down to the floor stress your pushing muscles and core.  You’re basically hitting the brakes on the way down, and stepping on the gas to stand back up.  

Lastly, expect the final move to make you cramp at the hips.  It’s aggressive.  Squat down, lift the hovering leg as high as possible and REACH.  

Find the floor, transition through the middle and get deep into the Cossack squat.  

Flow completed.  

Stand up and start over.  

Movement sequences like this are perfect for a home workout.  

No equipment is needed, it’s just bodyweight, balance, expressing strength and mobility while flowing into and out of various body positions.  

🤔 Want to make this flow harder?  Add a weight vest,slow down the tempo ever more or speed up the tempo and move quicker.  

👉 Make sure to check out more M(EAUX)TION fitness content on Instagram and YouTube.  

Benefits of the Crab Reach Exercise

Motion

The Crab Reach is a great bodyweight exercise with a whole bunch of options of use before, during and after a workout.  

For a simple bodyweight move, this exercise offers a lot of benefits. 

Benefits of the Crab Reach

  • Posterior chain activation and hip extension
  • Active Thoracic Mobility
  • Anterior body stretch (hip flexors, quads, torso)
  • Shoulder stability/endurance emphasis in loaded shoulder
  • Trunk rotation
  • Right and Left Side 
  • Low-impact

Combat Sitting 

The Crab Reach is a great exercise to battle/off-set the negative effect of long duration sitting. 

It’s not “the cure”, the only tool or the “best” tool, but it’s a good one to implement on a regular basis.   

Reversing aches and pains caused by primarily long duration sitting requires dedication, discipline, and volume.  There is no quick fix.  

A quick hip flexor stretch, thoracic mobilization, and glute bridge are not going to cancel out 8+ hours of sitting in the same turtle-like, wound up position.  

Body restoration takes time, effort, consistency and volume.  Lots of repetitions, likely lots of time and an aggressive mindset.  Assuming you’re doing everything right, expect improvements over time.

Most people slump like a turtle while sitting.  Sitting like a slouchy turtle for 8-10 hours per day, 5 days per week isn’t good for our bodies.

We become the positions we use most.  

Fill in Gaps with Movement Training

Strength and conditioning built from traditional resistance training can benefit greatly from practicing multi-planar movements like the crab reach.   

Deadlifts are great.  Chin-ups are great.  Rows, push-ups and rotational core training are all great.

These are fundamental movements to build a strong body.  

But there are movement gaps leftover from each of these exercises.  

Once you’re on the floor crawling, transitioning between locomotion exercises, you find out pretty quick there’s a difference between squatting up and down with lots of weight on the bar and moving gracefully through space.  

It’s humbling. 

Exploring bodyweight oriented movement is a key piece of the fitness puzzle that will improve your movement IQ and create a well-functioning body.  

What’s a well-functioning body?

Strong (proportionate to what a person needs to thrive in daily life), mobile, confident in many different postures/positions/patterns, conditioned, free of aches and pains. 

Ground-based conditioning is a great way to backfill any gaps resistance training is not designed to address.  

Free-flowing, multi-planar fitness. 

Practicing postures and movement patterns less common to daily life. 

Improving strength, mobility and stability in uncommon movements make everyday exercises feel easy. 

Rotation

Looking at the average person’s exercise favorites, it’s usually a shortlist made up of linear resistance training and a sprinkling of cardio. 

Break out of the linear matrix. 

Every repetition of Crab Reach moves the body through a multi-planar, active range of motion.  

Through the range of motion, the body will extend and rotate.  

The twist is visible from the hip flexor, moving diagonally through the mid-section to the loaded shoulder.  

How to Use Crab Reach in Workouts

Ground-based bodyweight movement is extremely versatile.   

Keeping it simple, here are a few different options to integrate the crab reach into daily fitness:

  •  In the warm-up
  •  Filler exercise during a lifting session
  •  As part of a flow sequence

Crab Reach can be practiced in isolation or as a combination. 

I recommend practicing new movements in isolation to increase focus on technique. 

Practicing an exercise in isolation is better to understand the mechanics and demands is best. 

Isolating the exercise will give you the opportunity to focus on the mechanics of the movement and spatial awareness.

Warming Up with the Crab Reach

Movement flow exercises are perfect for pre-workout warm-ups. 

These movements are generally dynamic, full range of motion exercises that require movement into and out unique body positions, angles and tempo.  

Crab reach can serve as a valuable movement prep before exercises like deadlifts or kettlebell swings.

Crab Reach as Part of the Workout


Positioning the Crab Reach as part of a Tri-Set is a great way to isolate and practice the exercise while staying active/productive during a strength training session. 

Here’s an example a simple Tri-Set:

Exercise A) Front Squats

Exercise B) Chin-Ups

Exercise C)  Crab Reach

Crab Reach acts as a non-competing exercise with the front squats and chin-ups. 

Flow Training

Crab Reach can be used to create a simple bodyweight flow.

Start with two exercises separated by a switch to keep it simple.  Here’s an example:

The video above is an example of a simple movement sequence.

For an added challenge, increase the number of exercises in the sequence to 4, 5, 6 and beyond. 

Adding more exercises to create longer flows is great for the mind-body connection. 

The ultimate goal of movement training is improvisation, which is essentially moving without a plan.

Improvisational movement is an idea I plucked from Ido Portal’s movement hierarchy, which looks like this:

Isolation —> Integration —>  Improvisation

Read more about Ido Portal Method here.

Reps/Sets/Time 

In the beginning, keep the reps low.  

6-8 reps per side is a good place to start.

Focus on a slow and controlled tempo through the fullest range of motion you can make happen.

After you are feeling good about the mechanics, increase the volume. 

Don’t be shy about bumping up the reps to 15-20 reps per side.  Setting a timer can be a nice option.  

Not interested in counting reps?  

Set a timer and go.  Alternating right and lefts for 2-5 minute timed sets can free’s you up from having to count reps. 

Summary…

  • Bodyweight ground-based movements are effective for building strength, mobility, endurance, and movement IQ
  • Crab Reach is a versatile exercise that can be performed anywhere and anytime.  
  • Benefits of the Crab Reach include posterior chain activation, anterior body lengthening, thoracic mobility, body awareness in space.
  • The Crab Reach is great to include in warm-ups, during the workout or as flow training.  
  • The Crab Reach is an effective exercise to help mitigate aches/pains from sitting, restore function.

Want to Go Deeper? Check This Out…  

Vahva Fitness has created a fully streamable bodyweight-based movement program called Movement20XX.

The movement curriculum in Movement20XX is progressive, challenging, and scalable for beginners, intermediates and all the way up to people seeking movement mastery.   

Movement training is easily scaled to suit each person’s skill level.

Movement20XX is one of a small number of hand-picked online fitness programs I support.Â