RMVT Outcomes
1. Positions >> Build your range.
2. Performance >> Have great control and dexterity through that range.
3. Power >> Produce more force in key positions and in balance.
4. Physique >> Every performance has an optimal body composition.
5. Perspective >> Bring meaning to everything you do.
The goal of RealMVMT training is to explore human potential and learn to auto-regulate human physiology.
We are developing systems and philosophies for better training, living, and thinking.
Collectively we can do great things.
Developing PERFORMANCE
How To Practice
The strongest tendency is just to go for it and keep going for it.
That's ok initially and enthusiasm is sacred.
We don't want to lose the enthusiasm in regimentation.
At the same time, we want to progress to fuel the fire of enthusiasm towards mastery.
These are some of the ways to bring focus to practice
Ladders - start at a level that is very comfortable and consistent. Increase the challenge with each drill up to the point where the drill cannot be completed with control. Return to the bottom of the ladder and climb again. eg. If I'm beginning as a 2+1 ball juggler to get to 4 ball I could go 1 cycle (LRL), 2 cycles, (LRL, LRL), 3 cycles
Attempts For Accumulated Repetitions / Time - often walking past the juggling balls I'll say, ok 100 throws of 5-ball. Ideally, I'll get 100 in one attempt but that has only happened twice so far. So it's not a good daily target going in cold. If I can get 100 throws in 5 attempts without the balls hitting the floor that's great for my current level. Either way hitting a rep target of 20, 50, 100, and 500 is a good way to keep practice focused and quantified. Sometimes it's good just to play but most practice should have an objective and feedback.
Target Touches - target touches are about hitting the target for a desired number of reps. This makes them less than target reps invalid. You don't want your target to be your best ever unless you're right at the beginning of your journey and improving rapidly. An example could be 3 kick-ups in a row to kiss the wall. If it takes you 10 attempts that's ok.
Spatial Awareness
Handstands
Overcome discomfort. Stay there. Get comfortable.
Spacial awareness.
Impossible without massive persistence.
Shoulder health and stability.
Wrist and forearm strength.
Beginner Handstands.
1. Learn to hold the finishing position > create tension with the abs and glutes on, tailbone tucked.
2. Learn to arrive at that position.
3. Learn to hold other positions that are easier than the finishing position
Handstand session - Position focus.
2 minutes of wrist preparation.
A1. 1-3 wall walks
Keep control. Only go as close to the wall as you can while maintaining control of your body. The best regressions for this are either feet up onto a box or find the right distance about a meter from the wall with your hands so that you can get the feet up and down off the wall without moving the hands. As you feel more confident and gain strength you can start to move your hands.
A2. Mobility drill eg. Crossbench pullover or lower body mobility.
B1. Nose To wall holds
Ideally, we get close enough that the nose can touch the wall. Look at the floor through your eyebrows as you will when you do free-standing handstands. The toes should be the only thing touching the wall. Squeeze the feet together and create tension through the whole body while keeping your breathing and mind calm and relaxed. The progression here is to be lighter on the wall until you gain the ability to gently drift off the wall. NOTE: if you're kicking on and off the wall you're not at this stage yet. Be lighter and lighter on the wall until you're not on the wall.
B2. Mobility / Skill drill eg. Crossbench pullover or lower body mobility.
C1. Crow Pose - 10 seconds
C2. Skill
C3. Shoulder Stand (feet on the wall if needed)
C4. Standing Straddle x10 reps + 5 second hold
Session 2
B1. Scissor entry kick-ups 10 sets of 5 reps
C1. L-sit to tuck planche
C3. Eccentric tuck handstands
Tumbling & Trampoline
Cartwheels, forward rolls, backward rolls, somersaults, and twists. This is a deep rabbit hole. Getting started here and having a foundation for falling and being aware of where you are in space is a good way to build on handstands and a great foundation for all complex sports.
Juggling
Juggling > Hands
If you can't juggle you're missing something.
Nobody who can juggle wishes they couldn't
Nobody who can juggle wishes they never learned.
There is a natural tendency in the body to save energy. To only do what is required to survive. No more. When we listen to this instinct in the 21st century we create the modern performance crisis. It's not ok. This is not the world we should be creating. This is not the world my children, grandchildren, and children seven generations from now deserve.
Juggling reaffirms our ability to grow and change without a massive physical "buy-in" or cost. Huge progression is possible proving to people that they can learn, grow and change. The patterns of movement and thoughts we have wired into our brains are ours to shape as we wish.
3 Ball Juggling
1. Start with 1 ball. Make figure 8's throwing from the middle of the body to the opposite hand.
2. Then throw 2 balls, one after the other up in the air, and catch in the opposite hand. If it's tricky to 3. execute the throws or the catches take either the throws or the catches (to just catch you'll need a partner to throw).
3. When you can throw L R and catch R L and do the opposite 5 times in a row you're ready for 3 balls.
4. Take the third ball in the Left hand. L R L stop. This is a 1 throw progression on what you just did.
LRLR Ladder up until you can juggle smoothly for 5 minutes.
- Film yourself and do most of your practice executing patterns you would like to keep. Work at a level where execution quality is high 90% of the time. This means the movements will be relatively uniform, more order than chaos. Chaos doesn't progress orderly.
- For some people, this is a 1-2 hour journey. For others 20-50 hours. Your background in movement and ability to follow instructions will impact your journey time. Regardless you will succeed if you make that decision.
From your basic 3 ball pattern, there are many 2 and 3 ball variations worth building.
Try:
1. Mills mess
2. 2-ball snake
3. 3 ball flash with a clap
4. Floor/wall bouncing juggling
Progressing to 4 balls.
The gap between 3 ball and 4 ball is like the gap between reading your first 20-word children's book to reading your first Children's novel. It doesn't happen overnight but it's essentially the same thing with more speed and complexity.
1. 2 in 1
Get your 2 ball in the Left and Right hand smooth. Most people skip this step and are setting themselves up for frustration and a much longer journey to 4-ball than if they have the patience and humility to start with 2 balls.
Work towards 30 seconds throwing from the midline of the body and catching laterally. Throwing front to back is more instinctive for most people but again makes the transition to 4-ball longer.
2. 2 + 1 - 3 throws only.
Now that you have your non-dominant hand well connected to the brain and working almost automatically you can add in the third ball. This drill is much more difficult than the 3-ball cascade and most other 3-ball drills. Again this will be L R L rhythm like how you started your 3 ball journey but this time you will throw all balls up to return to the same hand. Work to maintain the lateral pattern and order :)
3. 2 + 1 - Continuous!
You're in the game now! This is very similar in difficulty to 4 ball juggling. Get it smooth on the dominant and non-dominant side and you're ready to build your 4 balls.
4. 4 ball - 4 throws.
Just 4 throws at first. Even if you don't catch them that's ok but look where they fall. Don't try to go too fast, focus on accuracy. When you're ready start catching them.
5. 4 ball ladders.
When you can get 4 start getting 6 then 8 then 10... keep going back to 4 to keep order.
Foot Juggling
Balance. Control. Speed. Agility.
A lot of great athletes played soccer. It stresses balance and body control in a different way from other sports.
Without that foundation of balance, we can't get to the same heights.
A tennis ball, rubber ball, or footbag can be used for this.
1. Kick Back To The Hand
Drop the ball/footbag to the foot, and catch the ball back in the same hand as the foot. Also, work on the opposite hand to foot.
2. Same Foot Kicks
Work using the ladder/targets/accumulation system to progress single foot skills.
3. Alternating Foot Kicks
Use L /R / L / R sequence. This transitioning gait is very different from single-foot drills.
4. Body Juggling
Connecting up whole-body coordination is part of auto-regulating physiology. You will never regret reconnecting to the gift of the physical body.
L foot, R foot, L knee, R knee.
L foot, R foot, L knee, R knee, L shoulder, R shoulder.
Maradona 7 - L foot, R foot, L knee, R knee, L shoulder, R shoulder, Head
Real 11 - L foot, R foot, L knee, R knee, the L elbow pit, the R elbow pit, L fist, R fist, L shoulder, R shoulder, Head.
Gait > Skipping, hopping, running, jumping, dancing.
The patterns of running and jumping are massively influenced by strength and mobility. They also depend on motor patterns and balance. High-speed running is more of a skill than acceleration.
Building our base of movement patterns will help us to use the force production ability we build in the gym. Without force production, we're only looking for fractional improvements in motor skills.
Building POSITIONS
One of the areas that are least understood and developed in professional sport is mobility. There are still elite, top-of-the-game coaches saying that "stretching makes you slow" and that if you didn't get Flexi as a kid you're never going to get there.
There are 2 things that are lacking here:
1. Knowledge
2. Experience
I was a long way from splits and pancakes when I first came into high-level mobility training 6-7 years ago. I've made big gains and seen hundreds of other coaches and athletes do the same.
Now I see it more similar to adding strength to a squat or bench only the gains come a little faster.
The sooner you forget dividing mobility from strength and recognize some exercises are better for developing "Range of Strength" than others, the sooner you will have the world of mobility open to you.
The 4 Levels of Mobility Are:
1. Active antagonist
> think like L-sit where the abs and rectus femoris will cramp fighting against gravity and the tension of the hamstrings and lower back.
2. Full Range Strength
> the key distinction here is the functional anatomy. If you want to increase range in muscles that cross 2 joints you're going to need to maximize the range at both of those joints. This means that just because the knee joint is extended doesn't mean the hamstrings are on stretch (think standing), you're going to have to flex the hip like in a Jefferson curl or Romanian deadlift to get a stretch. Obvious when we're talking hamstrings but most people haven't considered it when they think about biceps and triceps.
3. End Range Strength
> It takes time to change in the physical world. Pausing in the end positions increases the stress and therefore rate of change but also a risk of injury for the muscle / muscle-tendon junction being stretched. We can decrease the risk of injury and hang out for long periods of time in the end range positions by decreasing the load!
4. Ballistic End Range
> Instinctively when the load isn't enough people will bounce in the end positions. Strong athletes will do this more and strong tight athletes will look for extra leverage and bouncing to get some gains.
The Rules Of Mobility
1. Make it to the next session. Take your time this is a marathon.
2. If it's not working it's not working. You should see and feel gains within the set if it's working. Most traditional stretching and a lot of Yoga / ROM WOD don't give this feedback. Why keep doing what isn't working expecting it to work?
Position Assessment
1. Overhead Split Squat
2. Standing Pike
3. Overhead Squat
4. Active Shoulder Extension
5. Straddle Good Morning
6. Kneeling active backbend
Positions Goals
1. Front split - flat and active
2. Lateral Split - flat and active
3. Pancake - chest, and belly on the floor
4. German Hang - To dislocate
5. Back Bridge - Straight legs with vertical shoulders
6. Pike - chest on thighs
7. OH Squat - Hands together hold
POWER Up
Strength is the mother quality for mobility, power, hypertrophy, etc.
We don't just want slow strength. We want to be able to jump, throw, and sprint. These are the athletic movements that exemplify youth.
No Strength = No Life
Sarcopenia and myopenia are 2 of the best markers for risk of death.
If it's worth doing, do it every day.
Customizing your program:
Tempo
Eccentric Speed
Go slow (5-10 second eccentrics) if you're only good at going fast.
This builds your eccentric surplus and increases your rate of strength gains. 5-10 second eccentrics put the emphasis on size and strength.
Eccentrics create relative rest because less motor units are needed to lower the weight than to lift. This means you can often get a similar number of 5/0/X/0 reps as you can with 1/0/X/0 where there is less relative rest. Same reps but much greater time under tension and the hormonal signaling that comes from slow eccentrics makes them a key tool for development.
Pauses
Stop at the place you feel weakest or at the bottom if you're tight and lacking range of motion.
Concentric Speed
If you're broken, go slow, you will get a massive pump. The healing is in the pump > heat and meat are the 2 best healers. Heat from within is number 1. Go fast on the way up if you're healthy and it's a strength lift. Control (1-2 second concentric) on the way up if you're working a smaller muscle group for size gains.
Strength Curve
Concentric Vs Eccentric Overload
It's important to train inner, outer, and middle range of movements to maximize performance, muscle and joint health.
Concentric overload movements tend to create a "cramp" type feeling. The muscle is challenged in the shortened position. A great example of this is the bent-over barbell tricep kickback or the spider curl. These movements require more reps as they are more about learning a position. They are less structural/anabolic and create less inflammation.
Eccentric overload movements tend to feel like a "stretch." In these movements, there is both an active and a passive pull on the muscles creating more risk of musculotendinous junction damage. These movements are better for strength gains as they create more inflammation and muscle growth. These high tension movements work well for low repetitions.
One of the least understood concepts in strength is the strength curve and the force curve.
Strength curve is where the muscle is stronger or weaker within a given movement.
Force Curve is the leverage required at a given point in the movement.
Inner Range Strength
This is when there is little passive tension on the muscle
Repeat Strength - Impactful Strength Training
4-7 Days a week perform the same 4 movements.
"Calibrate" before each session.
Keep the "Symmetry" work at a minimalist level. Stay fresh. Get daily practice. Do what you couldn't do.
Note: for Dips and Chins to calculate % load you're going to need to use extra weight + body weight. If the calculated load is less than bodyweight either scale the movements back or get the reps done in more sets, cluster style.
The Movements For Phase 1.
Dips - The king of upper body press movements. We want to see full range of motion which is chin to fists like an "arse to grass" squat. Bodyweight is the black belt target here and 40 reps without external load on the 1-second timer.
Chin-Ups - Dead hang on each rep, contact at the top between the hands/ bar and the body. Generally, we encourage arching and using the back muscles to get more retractor strength into the movement.
Overhead Squat - If you don't have it you need it. We can start on a slant board or even with a single dumbbell overhead. Let's progress to 10% above your snatch goal.
Romanian Deadlift (RDL) - Load the hamstrings hard. Keep an arch in the lower back. Get strong! Keep the movement smooth and under control.
Session 1. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 2. 5D5 @60%
Session 3. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 4. 10D1 @80%
Session 5. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 6. 5D5 @65%
Session 7. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 8. 10D1 @85%
Session 9. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 10. 5D5 @70%
Session 11. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 12. 10D1 @90% (if you want to take a new 1RM this session that's fine.)
Session 13. 2x5, one moderate set, one challenging but smooth set.
Session 14. 5D5 @70-75%
FAQ's
What if I don't know my 100% max?
Either use the Wendler calculator to extrapolate based off your load for repetitions.
Can I use other movements?
Yes, the plan is to change the movements every 2-4 weeks. If you follow the RealMVMT Plan.
I'm too tired, what should I do?
You probably deviated from the guidelines with too much assistance work or using too high %. Take the lesson and avoid doing it again. Try sticking to the bare minimum of 2x5 at around 60% for a few days. If that doesn't work take a few days off and restart with more patience.
What does 5D5 10D1 mean?
5 sets of 5 on the minute or 10 sets of 1 on the minute in Dense Strength notation.
What if I'm bored?
This program like any other is not for everyone but it does work very well for those who complete it.
It's too easy, what should I do?
Great, you're coping well and progressing. Stay patient, and enjoy the gains.
Elite PHYSIQUE
Sled Work
Sleds are one of the best ways to build a foundation of movement endurance, tolerance to load, and capillarization of muscles.
Reverse Sled Drags
Great for quads and feet. These help to increase stance leg stiffness at top speed.
Forwards Sled Pushes
Great for feet and legs. These help to increase acceleration.
Side Ways Drags
Carries
Overhead Carries
Kettle Bell / Dead Ball / Yoke / Barbell
Farmers / Suitcase Walks
Kettle Bell / Dumbbell / Farmers Walk Implements
Gait > Skipping, Hopping, Running, Jumping, Dancing.
Machines
Bike, Row, Swim, Ski.
These are great tools for building tolerance to lactate, challenging the mind, and preparing for events that use those modalities.
Don't get too excited about them. Don't invest all your training energy here.
Consider 2 people. 1 does 30 minutes of rowing every day for a year.
The other does 30 minutes of dense strength, mobility, and skill work.
One will be a beast with many new and improved capacities, the other will be a good rower and have a good physique if they have eaten well.
PERSPECTIVE
What does it mean to you?
You experience yourself within your training.
You carry that into everything you do.
People see you.
Your family, your friends...
What do they see...
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