Recently, Clifton Harski came to my facility, Impact Performance Training & Jiu-jitsu to teach a MovNat workshop. This is one of those workshops that I was incredibly excited for. My friend Mike Richeson (photographer, videographer and all around smart dude) first mentioned Movnat to me well over a year ago. It went in one of my cauliflower ears and out the other. Honestly, being in the fitness industry, I always get asked “have you heard of this” or “have you heard of that”, and usually brush most things off as a gimmick. I was wrong and I should have paid more attention to what Mike was saying. Then I had posted a picture on Facebook of me do a log get up in the woods while we were camping. Some one on the Facebook thread mentioned MovNat, Erwan and now my long lost brother, Clifton. This mentioning drove me to the MovNat website where I read and watched videos that simply resonated with my philosophy about movement to my very core. As I read, watched and listened, I thought to myself “These guys friggin’ get it!”
‘Honestly, being in the fitness industry, I always get asked “have you heard of this” or “have you heard of that”, and usually brush most things off as a gimmick.’
Back to the workshop…. If you have seen the MovNat videos, you may think that it’s simply “working out” outside. That’s wrong. It’s much more than that. First, the environment can be anywhere; indoors or outdoors. And with the rain so heavy in the Northwest (especially in January), Clifton was able to beautifully demonstrate that to the participants. He successfully coached the MovNat philosophy both in the gym and outside (Yes we braved the weather. We are Oregonians and being cold and wet doesn’t scare us!). What I look for in a coach, is not only their ability to teach, but their ability to progress and regress tasks according to the individuals current capabilities. Clifton did this with great professionalism and attention to detail and that is the SINGLE most important quality of a coach.
‘I really believe MovNat is something far more important than people realize.’
I really believe MovNat is something far more important than people realize. We are drenching ourselves in artificial air, artificial light, artificial foods while strapping ourselves to chairs, couches and at best, going to a gym to sit in a machine to produce artificial movement. What’s worse is we are force feeding our children this non-sense and literally destroying the very idea of what it means to be a human. Watch the video but more importantly watch all of the smiles in the video and do yourself a favor….. go to a MovNat workshop.
Erwan Le Correwill be presenting at PaleoFXAncestral Momentum – Theory to Practice Symposium, March 14-17, in Austin, Texas.
The goal of the conference is to foster collaboration among fitness professionals, healthcare professionals, nutritionists, research scientists and laypersons who approach their respective practices from an evolutionary perspective.
Erwan will present the goal-specific programming using the MovNat physical education and training methodology for average individuals to competitive athletes.
The Presentation
The presentation will provide guidelines and suggestions for using MovNat methodology and programming to develop these common fitness training and physical conditioning goals: cardiovascular endurance; muscular strength; muscular endurance; and mobility and flexibility.
Erwan will explore the belief that, despite the plethora of technological advances and modern-day conveniences, the basic and fundamental needs of the human genome remain relatively unchanged from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Proponents of the evolutionary-based approach to physical fitness contend that the best mode(s) of exercise are those skills that are practical and relevant to one’s day-to day-life.
This theory supports systems, such as MovNat, which focus on the development of real-world movement competency and conditioning for optimal health and fitness.
MovNat, by its very nature, is a system of individually scalable activities, exercises, and techniques.
This scalable nature means that the practice of MovNat serves as a practical and highly functional, progressive conditioning program that allows for individual adaptations in terms of intensity and complexity.
With near-limitless options for creating training combinations (combos), MovNat proves to be an ideal program for the development of a goal- and/or sport-specific conditioning regimen.
Want to learn more? Join Erwan at the Conference. We look forward to seeing you there.
Drawing on evolutionary logic, scientific research, and his own personal experiences, blogger Richard Nikoley of Free the Animal presents a complete guide to losing weight and fat the natural way.
After many frustrating years of trying to lose weight by adhering to mainstream nutritional guidelines, Richard made a radical decision to throw the rules out. Instead of eating whole grains and lean meat, he ate what his body had always craved: animal fat, and lots of it—and the extra weight started falling away.
In Free The Animal: How To Lose Weight & Fat On The Paleo Diet, Richard shares his tips for eating, fasting, and exercising as wild humans did for millenia. Find out how to embrace your primal cravings for nutritionally dense animal fats and fiber-rich plant sources. Learn to stop listening to the “experts” and start tuning in to your body’s natural signals. Richard’s approach to the Paleo lifestyle will help you lose fat, gain muscle, and unleash the energy of the animal inside you.
Things You’ll Learn:
6 key Paleo life changes
How our ancestors lived, and how modern humans have evolved in unhealthy ways
What is meant by “inner animal”—the animal inside all of us—especially as it relates to food
Information on CSAs and other resources for grassfed meat and eggs
Why cardio exercise is the wrong approach to weight loss
A guide to eating, exercising, and fasting the Paleo way
It’s currently available in PDF, Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. A print version is on its way and the Kindle version is beginning to come available on the international Amazon sites.
My family and I spent 5 days in Nebo, West Virginia attending a workshop called MovNat. Prior to going, my friends and family would ask me where we were going this year on our family vacation. When I told them, they were like “you are going where, and doing what?” They thought we had lost our minds and for good reason I guess. I was a little over 5 months pregnant, and we had two daughters to consider, Jessica 16 and Kayla 13, of which would typically have chosen a different type of vacation full of stimulating mindless activities and heavy electronic devices like most teenagers.
I will be the first to admit we give our daughters these types of vacations too, but always look for opportunities to stimulate their minds and bodies as well. This experience did that and much more for us all.
The Cook Family
As a family we very often do adventurous things, some of which I love and others of which I wish we had chosen something different. This experience was one of those experiences I will cherish for a lifetime. Not only because I saw the confidence level in both my kids skyrocket over the short period of time we were there, but also because it put into perspective the natural beauty and pleasures we have sitting right in front of our faces each day that we don’t take the time to see, appreciate, or educate ourselves with.
It helped me to realize that sometimes we just need to let go and become a kid again. To explore what we have, to play with no agenda in place, to notice what’s around us and not just what’s directly in front of us. To appreciate and respect the earth and allow it to teach and train us naturally as our ancestors were taught years ago. When I really think about it, they lived simply with few material things. They had to discover, explore to become knowledgeable enough to adapt, thrive, and survive, and they did it beautifully, something in this day and time we cannot even fathom, much less do!!
Danielle Cook in action, with perfect balance
As I said before my kids gained a certain level of confidence that I hadn’t seen prior to this experience, even being involved in school sports. They learned many skills that will last them a lifetime, and lots of unforgettable knowledge that they can share and duplicate with their friends.
I too probably gained a little more confidence because being pregnant you typically limit life opportunities and miss out on opportunities for play and exercise. Even though I appreciate a good hard workout I had plenty of less strenuous activity that really quenched my thirst for natural movement and exercise.
We had a terrific group that really encouraged, shared their warmth with our kids, made them feel a part of every event and activity we did, and for that I am grateful. We also had three wonderful instructors (Erwan, Vic, and Cliff) who were just spectacular, and so kind to us all. They made all the events simple, yet fun, and scalable to anybody willing to be there and participate in the activities laid out for the week.
Since MovNat I would like to think our family has learned to relax and play together easier than ever before. Maybe that is the good Lord’s way of getting us ready for our new addition.
Danielle Cook
Authors note:
I’m a fitness trainer, a certified Kettlebell trainer, and a metabolic specialist. Food and exercise is what I program for a living. Every meal, activity, and opportunity for rest was well planned and seemed to meet the needs of everyone in the group, and that is an awesome accomplishment. Thanks again!!
What is the best way to exercise? How do you become fit? What is the most effective method for optimal physical development? Nowadays, there are hundreds, if not thousands of fitness concepts offered, all promising to get you in shape in no time, often presenting themselves as “revolutionary” or being the outcome of “cutting-edge science”. The fitness industry is providing such a plethora and variety of offers that it has become quite confusing for the average person in search of an exercise solution. Body-building, “functional fitness”, cardio- training, Bootcamp, Pilates, yoga, Tae Bo, Zumba, P90X, Insanity or others. Which one to choose?
Now I have a very simple, yet powerfully thought-provoking question for you:
What is the best fitness regimen for a tiger (or a tigress)?
Does the question make you smile? Does it sound irrelevant or stupid? And, most importantly, what’s the answer? How would you train a wild tiger so it can be fit? Would you train it by doing weight lifting and cardio training on the side? Could you imagine a tiger running on a treadmill while checking its pulse rate, without cracking up? Or could it be that it doesn’t need to exercise at all, being genetically, i.e. naturally fit?
Here’s the right answer: in order to become and stay optimally fit, a tiger needs to move the way tigers move in their natural biome. It is that simple. Tigers will move naturally when they’re free to live the natural life every tiger should live; as will all other wild animals.
Throughout their entire life and without discontinuity, wild animals will move the way nature and evolution intends them to, simply because in nature, moving naturally and staying fit is essentially a matter of survival. If you can’t move, you’re inexorably condemned to an imminent death. Every newborn animal will start developing his or her species-specific movement aptitudes very early for this very reason.
Bird doing a "wing muscles workout"?
Dolphin "functional fitness" exercise?
Squirrel burning calories through agility drills?
Snake engaging the "core"?
Young human being moving naturally even in unnatural environments
The young “human animal” possesses the exact same drive to move. He wants to move naturally all the time, even in artificial, man-made environments. Call them “hyperactive” or “ADD” as much as you want, but kids know what’s important and priority, and moving is important and priority to them. It is a “built-in” program, a fundamental part of their genetic agenda, just like in any other young animal. Can you expect children to become healthy and fit if you deprive them of their evolutionary birthright to natural motion? Should you wait until they are in their teenage years to expose them to “real” fitness and give them video games to play in the meantime? Lastly, why should such an evolutionarily natural movement activity be reserved to and practiced by only children?
More questions:
If wild animals can become extremely fit this natural way, why on Earth should it be any different for humans? Because they’re animals and we’re not? Because we are smart and they’re not? Because we are more advanced and evolved today? Or…
Because we know better?
There are fundamental questions that need to be addressed in my opinion: can we reinvent ourselves? And, if yes, to what extent? Can we discard our “true nature”, i.e. our universal, biological nature, which includes our human species-specific movement aptitudes?
While humans today are being presented with thousands of alternatives to keep in shape, how many of them are relevant to our own essential human species-specific movement needs and potential?
Serious fitness?
I believe, and can actually observe, that an overwhelming majority of the modern fitness industry has completely lost sight of our original physical aptitudes. It provides methods that are significantly divorced from our original movement modes. The muscle isolation approach does not work. The body does not work in isolation, but through and thanks to movement.
There is more to building a body that just growing muscles. And there is more to building a being that just building their body. Lastly, people get bored! Why would you stick to doing anything that doesn’t feel natural to you? Isn’t there a way we can physically and optimally develop ourselves, while staying faithful to our evolutionarily natural heritage?
You see, in our modern world, all fitness regimens are accessory and optional. It is up to each and every individual to decide if they want to exercise or not, and how. Even walking has already become an option. But like it or not, moving naturally still is, and always will be a biological necessity. When you are not respecting the needs of your true biological nature, you become a “zoo-human” and the price to pay is physical, mental, and even spiritual suffering.
So isn’t it high time for a healthy and meaningful paradigm shift in the way society and the fitness industry approaches fitness? In the way you are personally approaching exercising? Aren’t you thirsty for authentic human movement?
Erwan Le Corre
Founder of MovNat and Master Instructor
How natural is your fitness regimen? Is it movement based? Are you moving in the ways human animals move? Share your thoughts with us!
In my next entry, I will discuss what it means to a human to move naturally. Stay tuned!
When I left the 5-day West Virginia MovNat Reawakening workshop, I wondered how I would practice the the skills that had been ‘reawakened’ in me when I returned to the gym with my fitness coach back in Ohio.
The MovNat leadership team and peers had given me some ideas that week … but I still needed [...]
Lately I’ve been thinking back to several years ago, when I decided to fully dedicate my time and energies, indeed my whole self, to what would become known as “MovNat.” I remember the almost obsessive dedication to create (or, rather, re-create) both a concept of fitness and a method for physical education, both [...]
We are happy to announce our 2012 Summer 5 Day workshop schedule. These workshops give participants the unique opportunity to reconnect with their true nature in the beautiful woods of WV. Participants will enjoy camping, learn lots of new movement techniques, become a part of the MovNat “tribe“, and most of all have fun.
To all of our NSCA-certified followers, the NSCA recertification deadline of December 31, 2011 is quickly approaching. Do you have your required number of continuing education units (CEUs) yet? Remember, our one-day MovNat Fundamentals workshops are approved by the NSCA Continuing Education Provider Program as 0.6 CEUs, and at the holiday workshop price of only [...]
Tired but happy. I think that’s how we all felt after attending the London MovNat workshop last weekend. It was a great day.
The workshop was an excellent introduction to all that is MovNat – loads of great ideas and techniques, with lots to go away and practice. I was glad to have [...]
Frank Forencich's Exuberant Animal
Recently, Clifton Harski came to my facility, Impact Performance Training & Jiu-jitsu to teach a MovNat workshop. This is one of those workshops that I was incredibly excited for. My friend Mike Richeson (photographer, videographer and all around smart dude) first mentioned Movnat to me well over a year ago. It went in one of my cauliflower ears and out the other. Honestly, being in the fitness industry, I always get asked “have you heard of this” or “have you heard of that”, and usually brush most things off as a gimmick. I was wrong and I should have paid more attention to what Mike was saying. Then I had posted a picture on Facebook of me do a log get up in the woods while we were camping. Some one on the Facebook thread mentioned MovNat, Erwan and now my long lost brother, Clifton. This mentioning drove me to the MovNat website where I read and watched videos that simply resonated with my philosophy about movement to my very core. As I read, watched and listened, I thought to myself “These guys friggin’ get it!”
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