Over the past 5 or so years, I have been running Movement workshops for sports coaches and p.e. teachers. The participants have enjoyed learning how to teach movement and basic gymnastics that they can then share with their players and pupils.
Players who are stronger, more agile and more adaptable can pick up their sport’s technical skills a lot more easily than those who are weak, uncoordinated and over-drilled.
I have put together three tutorials that consolidate the workshops that I have run in person and they are now available online. The introduction video is here:
Introduction video
You can purchase the membership here. It only costs £30 for 2 hours and forty minutes of content.
These tutorials will allow you and your players to develop their bodies and minds in a safe, progressive, imaginative and fun way.
Humans have evolved through adaptation to moving in their environments. My goal is to help people learn to enjoy movement and make it part of their physical and mental selves.
Hanging around in the park
Physical activity is often reduced to a number: “10,000 steps”, “walk a mile a day,” or ’100 reps’. By focussing on the number you eliminate joy, discovery and variety. That is a quick way to put people off.
Here is my Movement Manifesto that will hopefully encourage people of all ages to take part in and explore movement.
3 Mantras:
· Move well, move often.
· Variety is the spice of exercise.
· Monotony ages you, novelty invigorates you.
Locomotion: moving!
Rhythmical, continuous movements such as cycling, walking, running, swimming, skipping rope and rowing are essential for heart health and overall well being. They form the foundation of aerobic (with oxygen) fitness and the continuous, cyclical, rhythmical action is also good for mental health and stress relief.
Other activities such as gardening, climbing and dancing are useful too but are more intermittent by their nature.
Better than a treadmill.
Talking of nature, doing these activities outdoors, in natural environments has proven health benefits compared to doing the same exercises indoors. Walking in parks, fields, woods and hills is different from walking on a treadmill watching t.v.
Resistance Training: Overcoming Gravity
We need resistance training to improve our bone and muscle strength. Gravity is continuously working upon us and our posture suffers. We also need strength to perform activities of daily living such as shopping, laundry and picking up children.
Resistance training includes bodyweight exercises (jumping, climbing, hanging) and the use of external resistance (dumbbells, sand disks, medicine balls, Indian clubs, barbells and kettlebells).
The use of chairs and benches to perform sitting and lying down exercises is not recommended. unless you are injured. because they restrict movement. Train your whole body: from fingernails to toenails.
The heavier the load, the less variety you can incorporate into your training. A balance of simple exercises with heavier loads and expansive exercises with lighter loads is good.
Move like a child
Children learn to move by rolling and crawling. They love to hang from things and explore the environment. Every day is a learning day and they are delighted with every new skill.
Moving like a child will help connect your mind and body: you will be playful in attitude and purposeful when you learn new skills. Getting up and down and moving around the ground helps you coordinate and link all the parts of your body. This strengthens and stretches joints, muscles and fascia (the connective tissue under your skin) that upright activities are less able to do.
Weighted Hula Hooping at 76: can you do this?
Learning new things breaks up your routine and habits. This stimulates the mind and body and forces them to adapt and become more adaptable. Learning is also fun. Try one new exercise or variation every week or work on a new skill until you are competent and then try another.
Change the speed
Move fast, move slow, change your speed. The simpler the exercise, the easier (and safer) it is to move fast or to add some resistance. Sprinting needs to be done fast! Squats are a simple exercise that can be loaded through resistance or volume.
Forward rolls, the downward dog stretch and jumping over obstacles require different speeds but are all finite in the amount you can do.
Have some slow movements that require control and balance and stretch you.
Have some fast movements that require a greater effort and then rest.
No one mode of movement is the answer to everything.
We all have our preferences and it is great to do more of what we like. Including a little bit of everything else will help you maintain a healthy, balanced enjoyment of movement throughout your life.
If you are a runner, lift some weights and try yoga.
If you are a weight lifter, go for a long walk or a swim.
If you are a tennis player, try climbing (you have to use both arms) or learn to do a handstand.
You can still learn to a handstand when you are 50 or older!
Summary
We are all different and so following a single plan is unlikely to succeed. Our modern environments are, for the most part, safe and ordered and we easily adjust. Our movement needs to change to create change within our bodies and minds.
Move
Overcome
Learn
Change
Enjoy
If you wish to learn more then come to one of my movement workshops or email me.
3 new tools for you and your children to use at home
Daisy practising gymnastics outdoors.
Thank you to all our athletes, members, parents and colleagues for showing their support in this pandemic. It is very much appreciated.
We have been working on two new systems quietly in the background for a couple of months that we are now bringing forward to help you stay healthy at home. This post explains how to find them, and also our free to view p.e. classes.
1: Willand P.E. on YouTube
We have also filmed and uploaded our new ‘Willand P.E.’ YouTube playlist in conjunction with Willand primary school, to offer p.e. lessons for their pupils and others. There will be 3 lessons each week:
Lesson 1: Movement
Lesson 2: Physical Fitness
Lesson 3: Skills and Games.
Week 1, lesson 1 of Willand p.e.
James’ good friend and GAIN colleague, Andy Stone, is providing classes for secondary school pupils. These will be more advanced and include physical challenges. (There is no reason why the secondary pupils can’t use the primary school lesson to help develop their fundamental movements too.)
2: ‘The Joy of Movement’ membership.
This is a project that was originally going to launch in May, but we have brought it forward in response to many people asking us for it now.
Have fun learning how to move.
An online group with 2 new exercise classes posted each month for you to do at home. Exploring fun ways to move and link them together. For the busy adult who wants a short burst of activity that is challenging and involves learning. No grind, no counting steps, no showing off on social media. Just have fun learning from the movement framework.
Members get access to the private Facebook group and get the support and help from Head Coach James Marshall.
3: Online classes using TeamUp
Regular club members will be aware that we have transferred ALL our class bookings to TeamUp (All the work was done before the government shut down forced us to delete a load of classes!)
Filming videos in January
We shall shortly be running exclusive classes and tutorials on a live stream. This shall be for members only, but it club membership is only £6 a year, so you can join now.
Thanks
Thanks again to everyone who has supported the club in these difficult times. Our mission is to promote healthy activity and learning. Please share the free material, sign up to the classes and stay healthy.
