Best 10 Natural Tips for Perfect Fitness

Best 10 Natural Tips for Perfect Fitness

10 (+1) tips to improve your fitness practice through natural movement.

1. Respect your limits

If I had to keep a single piece of advice as a coach, it would be this one.

Respect your limits!

Our ego often pushes us to want to do too much and too fast, which is the doorway to injury, a weakened immune system, and usually later a drop in morale and a loss of motivation.

Give yourself time to progress, be regular, and the results will be soon! It is always possible to find an easier or more complicated variant of each movement so that the Maladroitness is accessible to all.

2. Go beyond your comfort zone

This seems to be the opposite of the first point, yet it is the essential basis for creating progression. We must respect its limits, but still come and tickle them very regularly.

Also, our comfort zone can be physical, mental, emotional, social.

For example, would you dare to practice quadruped in a crowded public place? And in the office? Or you hang on a crowded bus?

Raise a muddy stone, with lots of slugs on it? 

Do a roll in the forest?

Are you running barefoot? And in the middle of nature? And in an urban environment?

Etc.

There is no limit to our physical, psychological and spiritual progress.

3. Go outside! Expose as much as possible to the natural elements!

It is quite possible to practice Natural Movement in, using a range of equipment adapted to this practice . And this indoor practice is ideally suited to the humans of boxes that we have become. 

Good, OK.

It's already a thousand times better than spending your time on a fitness machine. But if you want to progress, you will have to go outside, expose yourself to reality (yes, the one that hurts, that dirty and forges real humans ) because indoor you can adapt your environment to your abilities, fears, desires. But outside it is you who will have to adjust. Moreover, being immersed in nature will boost your health, your morale and your brain.

It's always good to take.

4. Take rest days, but move every day.

OK, if you train hard (high volume, high intensity), you will need rest and even days off. No problem, it will also accelerate your progress. But even on rest days, take the time to move. 

Be careful, these days, keep the intensity low so as not to increase your cortisol (stress hormone).

Some examples :

• A great family walk with a bit of quadruped and carrying a stone.

• The balance on a barrier on the way back from work.

• Hang with your hands and alternate with deep squats.

• Train in slow motion.

• Make Natural Movement snacks (max 10 minutes)

5. Gradually increase the volume, intensity, and complexity

We tend always to follow our habits; moreover, we go smoothly to what is most familiar to us, and which has become easy.

Thus, the endurance athlete is the specialist of the volume of work. The strength athlete is the intensity specialist. And unfortunately, most people avoid complexity (technical, environmental or situational). 

Start increasing the volume, then add intensity and then complexity. And start again and again.

6. Less is more: Minimalism and barefoot training

Often, natural movement rhymes with barefoot training. This is personally the way I chose. Between March and December (I live in Western Switzerland, 900 m above sea level), I train barefoot. Not only, but it also depends on my environment (for example, in urban areas, I use BAREFOOT One or Vibram FiveFingers) and my desire of the moment.

So, stick to your limits, and little by little go to the most minimalist shoes possible. And maybe one day you'll feel ready to leave your boots while training in nature. It will be an excellent day for you.

7. Make snacks of natural movement

"I do not have time ". I think it's the excuse (a self-justification actually) that I hear most often.

When we know that the French (the others are not better) spend nearly 4 hours per day on average in front of the TV, we can say that it must be in general a lousy excuse.

One way that I use when I have little time at my disposal is to make natural movement snacks. Whenever I have the opportunity, I will practice one of the natural movement skills. Often for less than 5 minutes. But 5 x 10 = 50 minutes of movement in your day.

8. Practice quadrupeds

Here is a piece of very appropriate advice. Already, what are mammals? It's moving on our four limbs. There are many techniques in Natural Movement.

So why practice quadrupeds? Because they are useful techniques in themselves, unlimited applications in real life (look for an object under a piece of furniture, take animal pictures, watch something under the car )

Also, quadrupeds can train the body as a whole, especially the stabilizing muscles of the trunk (external rotation of the shoulder), abdominal muscles, the psoriasis, etc. 

Also, general coordination is improved (collateralize scheme).

9. Avoid sitting (on the chair, armchairs)

I like to say that comfort is a fatal danger. It's so easy to sit in a chair or a recliner for hours. So easy that we easily forget that this position is unnatural.

From an evolutionist point of view, if you take a look at traditional cultures, you will never see them sitting on a chair, but most often in squats, on their knees (Japanese style), cross-legged, lotus, sitting on the floor, etc.

Try to remember as often as possible to avoid sitting in a seat and using your ground positions. Your general mobility will be quickly improved.

10. Listen to your instinct and your body

We now often tend to trust electronic aids more than our feelings and feelings. There is no better specialist in the world on you than yourself.

These times, it becomes almost incongruous to go running without his smartphone or smartwatch or another electronic bracelet (like, like prisoners ).

Free yourself from these shackles! And do you listen? When should I rest? When should I surpass myself? It's simple, listen to your instinct and your body naturally.

Take time and effort, and you will be rewarded with greater body awareness every day.

11. Play!

If you want to go beyond without having to think about it, play. The game adds volume, intensity and complexity. 

 The advantages of the game:

• The game promotes a positive, relaxed and happy state of mind. It's putting our training party.
• The game allows for more significant interaction between practitioners; they influence each other and motivate each other.
• The game makes it possible to implement what we have learned directly. For example, running, climbing and vaults during a cat-perched match (and yes, it's a game that makes us move particularly intensely).
• During the game, we have immediate feedback on our practice. 

You can read one more article about The 5 Best Fitness Tricks (https://careinger.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-5-best-fitness-tricks.html)