There are seven basic movements that the human body can perform and all other exercises are variations of these seven fundamental movements, some of these movements will come as no surprise as you will be quite familiar with them but hopefully this will shine a new light on it. By performing these 7 movements you will be able to use and stimulate all of the major muscle groups in your body. 

These seven movements are:

• Pull
• Push
• Squat
• Lunge 
• Hinge 
• Rotation
• Gait

Pull

First on the list is the pulling motion which as the name suggests involves pulling a weight or a resistance towards your body or your body towards your hand. This can be a vertical of horizontal pull, such as a pull up or a barbell row. The main muscles being used in these types of movements are the mid and upper back, biceps, forearms and rear shoulders.

Push

Next, we have is the pushing motion. Which is a little misleading in the name as it suggests your muscles can push, in fact a muscle in work can only pull. In this instance we look at movements that involve pushing a weight away from your body or pushing your body away from an object. This group is also divided into vertical and horizontal components. Exercises in this group include pushups, and dumbbell shoulder press, the push up being you pushing your body weight and the shoulder press being that you’re pushing an object/weight away from your body. The muscles targeted are the chest, triceps and front of the shoulders.

Squat

Next on the list we have squat. A simple one yet also one of the more complexed movements that the human body can perform. Variations of the squat include, wide legged squat (sumo Squat), deep squats, front squats, goblet squats and many more. The squat targets the glutes, core, quadriceps, and the hamstring slightly.

Lunge

Another lower body movement. The lunge consists of placing your body into a less stable position, with having one foot further away from your center of mass. Since your body is as a disadvantaged stance, this movement set requires greater flexibility, stability and balance. Some exercises in this category are steps ups, front/back/side lunges, Bulgarian split squat. The lunge targets the use of your quadriceps, core and unlike the squat the lunge movement targets the rear chain to a greater degree such as the hamstrings and glutes.

Hinge

Fifth on our list is the hip hinge exercises, which are executed by shifting your butt back and leaning your torso forward while maintaining a neutral spine. Imagine as if you are picking something off the floor. These exercises a varying form of the deadlift exercises. The muscles being engaged during these exercises target your posterior chain such as glutes, hamstrings and lower back.

Rotation

The sixth movement on the list is rotation. Rotation is a unique movement on this list as it works on a different plane from the other movements. The other movements all involve moving forwards, backwards or side to side, yet the rotational movement involves twisting at the core. Being as it’s the only movement on this list that involves a different plane of movement makes it all the more crucial and essential in our martial arts practice. This range of motion is commonly used when throwing a ball, punching, kicking changing directions while running and many other actions. The core (specifically obliques) are the main contributor to these sets of movements. Exercises that fall under this category include Russian twists, side swipe sits ups and wood chops.

Gait

Last on our list, we have gait, which is simply put as walking. This might seem like an obvious movement but which is why its on the list as a fundamental movement. Gait is a combination of multiple movements. Exercises for these are jogging/running, jumping or farmers walk.

Now that we have taken a look and broken down fundamental movements into these 7 categories, it is now your responsibility to your self and to your students to ensure that you are ticking these movements off in classes and your own training. Using this list, you can start to build a plan to make sure all major muscle groups are being targeted and that if any weaknesses are identified you now have a place to start to put you on the right track.