The “game of fitness” has changed, right? Has it, really? Everyone seem to be on board with doing better 'stuff': deadlifts, pull-ups, power cleans, bench press, back squats, front squats, tire flips, farmer’s walks, and maybe even a few of my favorites, snatches. All the folks in the know are doing these “best of” exercises, also known as functional movements. In essence, everyone is doing the same thing, using exactly the same implements and calling it something different.

People have been doing this stuff forever. Just ask Dan John. What is new is a barrage of highly valuable equipment like kettlebells, sandbags, TRX suspension systems, TRX Rip Trainers, Valslides, and more.

I can hear the conspiracy theories already. All those products were just created to make a buck. Bullshit. Anyone who says that has never used these tools in a manner that maximizes their effect and value in their training program. The way most of these tools are often used 100 percent devalues the equipment. Just take a look inside any training box or garage gym and you’ll see what I mean. It will look like somebody threw a hand grenade into a crate of what I call 5.0 equipment. You will see people doing all kinds of crazy and quite honestly dumb things.

Even many high-level fitness coaches have no real clue where these tools fit into a fitness program. They just throw them into their kitchen sink metabolic finisher program, or in other words, just make up 'hard shit to do'. But in order to use them to their optimal value, you have to start with allowing yourself to believe that these tools can get you there, whatever there is for you--stronger, more athletic, faster, leaner, etc. Then, you have to actually use your brain and quit using only the load component of progressive overload as your single scaling model. If you can't beat this addiction, you will never be able to use these tools effectively.
If you haven't yet realized it in your own training, the bilateral body position is great at allowing you to do two things:

1) Steadily increasing loads, sometimes at all cost (also known as stroking your ego)
2) Hiding movement flaws (also known as leading you down the path to getting busted up)

If you continue on the bilateral load-dominant path, I believe that injury is not a matter of if but of when. Now I am not asking you revert to the 1999 version of functional fitness using balance boards and Therabands. That was also the wrong model. Besides not having any load at all, the majority of the movements were from the physical therapy world and were so full of minutia and complexity that they made you feel like a big weenie. The other flaw that what I call functional fitness 1.0 had is that it destabilized body, which is why you could not use any load, because the body is not able to effectively produce ground reaction forces when it is that destabilized.

This is where we take about 5 steps forward, to what I like to call Functional Fitness 5.0, to spin off of Mike Boyle's famous programs. Functional Fitness 5.0 is a beautiful confluence of the right tools and their proper implementation.

It Starts with the Equipment

The primary difference between functional fitness 1.0, or with the “best of the best” barbell exercises, and what I call functional fitness 5.0, starts with the equipment. Load on the body is most evident with kettlebells and sandbags. The load, NOT the body, can be destabilized.

We could argue all day that a barbell or dumbbell is also load on the body, and to some extent that is true; however, load placement is the critical factor to consider. You simply cannot do the majority of the 5.0 movements with a barbell or dumbbell. (While they don't use direct external load, the TRX & TRX Rip trainer both keep load on the body via leverage tension and reactive tension.)

Beyond the V-Taper and The New Old, Old School

Many folks in the know have accepted the anti-forward flexion research from Dr. Stuart McGill, and the importance of spinal bracing that is commonly applied as the plank. However, until now the concepts of producing and resisting both lateral flexion and rotation have been vague and generally unaddressed outside of corrective/prehab/rehab environments. While resisting forward flexion is great, it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to creating real linkage from ground to head.

The epitome is when a client or athlete can use an asymmetrical load, and move with that asymmetrical load through all planes of motion. When we can do this, we’ll have created a truly strong, powerful and most importantly stable individual. Back in the V-Taper Golden Age, the extent of most frontal plane training was likely a few dumbbell side bends.


No Side Bends or Landmine Rotations Here

With functional fitness 1.0, you’d be doing a few bodyweight lateral lunges. Nowadays, it’s probably a couple landline rotations, likely done poorly, leaving you with low back pain.

Before Old School, Old School

If we take a peek back a few decades ago, they had it right. Compare to old-time athletes like Sandow and Hackenschmidt, there are no V-tapers here. These dudes were thick, dense, dynamic and strong.


Arthur Saxon aka bad ass MOFO achieving a 370lb WR Bent Press and a
448lb 2-Hands Anyhow

They did things like staggered squats and bent presses, and their performance and strength showed it. I believe these old-timers had it right. Not only were they strong, but they were developing the highest form of strength—rate coding, or sending faster signals to the muscle and causing it to produce more force. By unknowingly adding just the right amount of complexity to their movements, they had the perfect recipe for real strength.

This is in stark contrast to the linear world that 99.9 percent of today’s exercises and programs live in. They primarily focus on linear sagittal plane movements. Just look at the list at the top of the article. Beyond that, the vast majority of programming is still based on linear periodization. Will you get absolutely strong? Hell yeah. But my question is, what happens when you want, or even more importantly, need movement? We really need only to look to bodybuilders for a picture of 'fluid' strength--forgive the sarcasm.

Part of being a good athlete is the ability to create torque along with changing direction, also known as ground reaction force. Think of the footwork or the rifle arm of an elite quarterback, Tiger Woods’ golf swing, Messi kicking a goal, or even the punch and kick of a professional fighter. They are all sprinkled with components of torque and ground reaction forces. We are talking about the grace that Jerry Rice was attempting to use ballet to develop; I can only imagine if he had access to these tools.

How exciting would it be if your training environment more closely mimicked your competitive environment and was effective at enhancing those patterns?

Want to burn some fat? Imagine being able to safely and effectively work in varying planes simultaneously, while turning on nearly every muscle role (prime movers, stabilizers, neutralizers, etc.) all at once. Talk about an effective way to torch calories.

We aren't talking about just changing or moving in different planes of motion. We are talking about moving through planes of motion. This what I call spiral planar. Moving through planes of motion is only part of it, but with the workouts at the bottom of this article will give you the opportunity to have your body in one plane while the implement goes in another and that is where you start to develop the effect of laminate strength at the intersection of load and movement complexity--in other words, load complexity.

We’ll look at three different levels in which you can access 5.0 model, and how they are applied. Each level gets more difficult, and each has three tiers with escalating movement complexity. You'll see this in part by looking at the target of each movement having a primary and secondary. This typically means that the sets will go up and reps will go down as you advance deeper into each level and each tier, to allow you the opportunity focus on movement mastery. However, you will also see some variance away from this, and the reason for this is when you step away from linear incremental load dominance, you need to take into account, at least in this instance, complexity of movement, reduction of load and time under tension.

Level 1 Workout

The Base:

Leg Threading: 2 X 15/15
Target: Hip Extension + Move through sagittal plane to frontal plane

Off-Set Row: 2 X 15/15
Target: Hip Hinge Lower Body + Resisting torso rotation

TRX Cossacks Squat: 2 X 15/15
Target: Squatting pattern + Move directionally across frontal plane

Tier 1
KB See-Saw Press: 3 X 8
Target: Maintain 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Accelerate/decelerate lateral flexion

Stag Squat KB: 3 X 8
Target: Asymmetrical Uni-Lateral Squatting pattern + Resist Torso Lateral Flexion

Tier 2
Rotational Deadlift: 4 x 4/4
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge w/Internal Rotation pattern + Move through frontal plane

KB snatch: 4 x 8/8
Target: Hip Hinge Lower Body + Resisting torso rotation

Video

Level 2 Workout
The Base:

Lateral Bag Drag: 2 x 10/10
Target: Maintain 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Move thru frontal plane

TRX Single Arm Row: 2 x 10/10
Target: Maintain 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Resisting torso rotation

Tactical Lunge: 2 x 10/10
Target: Hip Hinge Lower Body + Resisting torso lateral flexion

Tier 1
Uni-KB Alt Press - stag: 4 x 6
Target: Maintain Uni-Lateral 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Resist torso lateral flexion

Shouldered Squat: 4 x 6/6
Target: (High Point) Asymmetrical Squatting pattern + Resist Torso Lateral Flexion

Tier 2
KB Lat Lunge Hi-pull: 5 x 8/8
Target: Hip Hinge Lower Body + Accelerate Load across frontal plane

Rotation Snatch: 5 x 4/4
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge with Internal Rotation pattern + Move through frontal plane & transverse plane

Video

Level 3 Workout
The Base

Sledge Hammer or Rip: 2 x 15/15
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge w/Internal Rotation pattern + Move through frontal plane & transverse plane

TRX Hip Press to Leg Reach: 2 x 5/5
Target: Uni-Lateral Hip Extension + Resisting torso extension & rotation

TRX Grappler Row: 2 x 10/10
Target: Maintain Lower Body 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Produce torso rotation frontal plane

Tier 1
1/2 Kneeling Press: 4 x 6/6
Target: Maintain (Leverage Disadvantage) Unilateral 'Anchoring/Rooting/Grounding' + Resist torso lateral flexion

Rotational Lunge: 4 x 12/12
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge w/Internal Rotation pattern + Accelerate/Decelerate through frontal plane & transverse plane

Tier 2
Windmill/Bent press: 5 x 3/3
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge with Internal Rotation pattern + Move through transverse plane

Tornado: 5 x 6/6
Target: Asymmetrical Hip Hinge w/Internal Rotation pattern + Accelerate/Decelerate through transverse plane

Video

The tools and types of movement I am talking about won't get you to the status of bloated, roided up bodybuilder or even a powerlifter. What they will do is help you be well-muscled and all-around stronger than the average gym goer. In other words, they will allow you to have your optimal functional physique.

I will leave you with one final thought that I heard almost two years ago, at the Perform Better Summit in Providence, Rhode Island. I heard Dr. McGill say, “Spend less time under the bar and more time doing asymmetrical carries.” Well, with 5.0, I’m offering a chance to take your training beyond asymmetrical carries in a way that you can integrate into all parts of your training. If you pay attention to the details, you will not be disappointed.


References:

Cappozzo A, Felici F, Figura F, Gazzani F Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise [1985, 17(5): 613-620]

Chek, P. (2006). The Outer Unit. Retrieved from http://www.coachr.org/outer.htm.