My experience with movement training
For the past 5 months I've been following a "movement" training programme from a 3rd generation student of Ido Portal.
Programme structure
My weekly programme has looked something like:
- 2 strength days
- 2 handstand and mobility days
- 1 locomotion day
Without listing out the actual programme (but let me know if you're keen to see it), the structure has looked like:
- six exercises, 3 sets, 1-10 reps - following a superset structure with rests inbetween (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).
- a new programme each month
- the first week of every month, I record myself for my trainer to see and my form reviewed
I'm going to share my reflections on the good and the bad of the process - let's go!
The good
- training well selected exercises 5 times per week gets epic results. I've never felt stronger.
- recording and editing myself quickly and without caring what others think is a skill like any other and improves with practice.
- having a variety of goals means that something is always progressing which reduces the frustration around areas that aren't progressing. My strength and locomotion has improved very steadily while my ability to balance a handstand has only slightly improved.
- it's super nice to receive a programme and only have to focus on doing it. I can overthink when it comes to programming so I've gotten a lot of value from not having to think about that aspect.
- small pieces of feedback or the giving of a progression can be just the thing to progress me. It could be something like "I think you can lift more weight here" or "You can pull this movement off, keep trying and next time see if you can focus on doing X" or just encouragement "this is good, yes, very good"
- locomotion is a very cool, mentally challenging and underrated form of exercise. Doing locomotion once per week has been a nice dosage. It's enough to quietly improve without feeling overwhelmed by sucking at it haha. I'm starting to have a few patterns in my repertoire that I can improvise with which has been a cool experience of flow. I also notice the feeling of not just getting a full body workout but improving my body's ability to move in a connected way.
- exercise selection goes a long way - weighted chin ups, ring dips, pistol squats, pike push ups - these have all been exercises I wouldn't have done regularly had a not received a programme with them and now I view them as essentials.
The bad
- the price is high for not a lot of input from the trainer's side as everything is pre-recorded by them.
- training 5 times per week can be lonely.
- my trainer isn't a fan of giving programmes that are less than 5 times per week which isn't sustainable for me in the long run so our relationship will have an end date.
Summary
Overall, although this training approach isn't something I will continue with in the long run, it's been worth it because I'm exposed to new skills and how to programme for myself in the future.