PRIMAL INSTINCTS

Since there are seven days in a week, seven notes in a musical scale, seven colours in the rainbow, seven seas, seven continents and seven wonders of the world, it's probably more than coincidence that your body is only capable of seven movements.

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Every physical task you perform is one, or a combination of these basic patterns, referred to as the primal movements. These are:

1. Push: away from the body, eg chest press

2. Pull: owards the body, eg seated row

3. Squat: both legs or single leg, eg sumo squat

4. Lunge: various directions, eg lateral lunge

5. Hinge: bending at the hip, eg deadlift

6. Rotate: twisting the torso, eg woodchop

7. Gait: locomotion, e.g. crawl, walk, run

It can be argued that man’s very existence is due to the ability to proficiently execute these movements. For example, the primitive hunter would chase (7) an animal then throw his spear (1, 4 and 6). He would then squat down (3) to grab the legs and drag (2) it back to his habitat where he would bend (5) over the fire to cook it. This is a crude example but if you consider everyday activities such as bringing groceries in from the car and picking up young children then picture elite sportsmen playing rugby, throwing a discus or fighting it out in the cage, then clearly the model is still valid today.

By combining all seven movements into a single session, then, you'll have the ultimate total body workout, ensuring aesthetic, functional and balanced results. Try this on your next trip to the gym: