The Champ is Here!!

In the midst of Conor McGregor’s win over Jose Aldo, there was also another champ named that night and his name is MOVEMENT. And after a long a waited shot to break through all the traditional and political barriers that the Mix Martial Arts world is presumed to be build upon, Movement is finally receiving the recognition it deserve and I think it is here to stay. 

Essentially, movement is everything we are and everything we do on a daily basis. From waking up in morning and getting out of bed, bending down to pick up the newspaper, squatting down to tie your shoes, this all requires movement. The mere action of these daily activities might sound simple but the beauty lies in what occurs inside the body to make it all possible. Our nervous system receives information from outside the body in order to understand where it is in time and space. After it confirms it is safe by sending a signal back to the nervous system, the brain or spinal cord sends a signal to the muscles allowing you to execute the movement or movements that you wish to do. But bear with me, this is just a simple explanation as to what really happens, and also be mindful that this all happens in milliseconds. 

This very process occurs in any sport, whether it’s traditional or combat. After years of constant repetition of the core skills of multiple disciplines found in mixed martial arts, movements within these practices become second nature, which then are supplemented by a strength and condition program. And that has become the “common” training regiment of a MMA fighter or any athlete for that matter…. well until recently.  But make no mistake, McGregor is not the first MMA to tie in some type of movement practice into their regiment, he joins the list that contains George St. Perrier who did gymnastics to prepare for his fights, and Carlos Condit who practiced MovNat to return to the UFC after his ACL repair.

Now you are probably asking yourself, “Johnny, what exactly is movement and how can I benefit from introducing movement into my routine?”

Well my friends, those are some great questions and I will try my best to explain and guide you to a conclusive answer. Practices such as MovNat, Ido Portal’s Movement Culture, and Animal Flow just to name a few, all follow similar principles with variant progressions and regressions to certain movements, such as rolling, crawling, levitating, bending, stretching, pulling, and pushing the whole body while in motion as a synchronized controlled unit. Movement allows your body to link together all these highly diverse and unique disciplines that make a MMA fighter or athlete successful. In time you will find that a simple roundhouse kick, punch combination or takedown will become more than just a collection of attacks. It will open up a whole new world of opportunities that you have been missing and that’s all due to movement efficiency and adaptability. In a stage of highly unstable and unpredictable variables, how effectively you adept to your opponent’s attacks will determine the outcome of the fight. 

At FLO we use Animal Flow, created by Mike Fitch, as our key movement practice. The program combines quadruped and ground based movement with elements from various bodyweight-training disciplines to create a fun, challenging workout emphasizing multi-planar, fluid movement.  Animal Flow can be utilized as a stand-alone workout and can be integrated into existing fitness routines by utilizing various components for dynamic warm-ups, interval training, circuit training, and skills building. Some of the benefits that a fighter/athlete can obtain from the practice include increased mobility, flexibility, stability, power, endurance, skill and neuromuscular communication. Easily tailored to individuals of all fitness levels, Animal Flow is an incredibly versatile workout that makes a great addition to any athlete’s fitness regimen.

If you are curious to try and learn more about Animal Flow, email us at www.flofitness@gmail.com or johnny.flofitness@gmail.com

As always folks, move well, move strong, and move often. See you all next time.

-Johnny Rodriguez, ATC, LAT, CFSC