MovNat

So in case you didn't hear about it, haven't been in a gym for the past year, or go to the gym with your headphones cranked so loud with Metallica that you can't even hear every single muscle fiber screaming in agony as you finish the last 30 seconds of THE PLANK... there is a debate over training for aesthetic reasons and functional training (Methode Naturelle®). Before I dive headlong into the debate I first want to talk about the origins and newest form of functional training called Methode Naturelle and in that regression we will touch on parkour, which if you seen the scenes in Casino Royale of Bond chasing a man through a construction site you know what I'm talking about, if not click here.

"In 1902, Georges Hebert was a 27-year-old French naval officer stationed on the Caribbean island of Martinique. On May 8 of that year, he was aboard a ship off the coast when an ominous plume began rising from Mont Pelee, the volcano looming over Saint-Pierre, Martinique's largest city. Sometime around 8 a.m., Pelee erupted, raining hot ash and sizzling rocks on the horrified population. Molten lava gushed down the slope and spread through the streets in fiery streams, igniting everything in its path. Swarms of pit vipers poured off the mountain to flee the searing heat, tangling in the feet of fleeing people and biting at their legs. In minutes, the Paris of the Caribbean had turned into an absolute hell. Into this inferno plunged Hebert. Leading his troops ashore, he scouted out viable escape routes and waded into the panicky crowds, trying to shepherd them to safety. By the time the eruptions ceased, fewer than 700 people had survived, many thanks to Hebert's improvised rescue operation. Hebert was celebrated as a hero, but he couldn't help focusing on all of those who'd been lost. When he returned home to France, he looked around and was dismayed to see how many of his country-people reminded him of the victims he'd watched die in Saint-Pierre. How many of these Parisians, he wondered, would be able to carry a child on their backs? Or trust themselves to leap over a 3-foot gap? Or take an elbow to the face but manage to keep their balance and continue running for their lives? The modern world, Hebert believed, was producing hollow men who focused on appearance and forgot about function. At the same time, they stopped exercising with the wildness of kids and instead insulated themselves from risk. The cost, he felt, was far more destructive than they might think. Motivated to do what he could to realign our fitness philosophy, Hebert convinced the French navy to put him in charge of conditioning for a class of its recruits. Using the recruits as guinea pigs, he incubated a system he called Methode Naturelle -- the Natural Method. Hebert preached a simple philosophy -- "Be strong to be useful" -- and focused on 10 essential skills: walking, running, jumping, walking on all fours, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, defending, and swimming. Next, Hebert set to work on an outdoor training facility. He designed it to look like a giant playground, equipping it with climbing towers, vaulting horses, sandpits, and ponds. Scattered about were rocks and logs and long poles to be used for throwing, or balancing, or passing hand-to-hand while running, or anything else an athlete dreamed up at the moment. Hebert had only one firm rule: No competing. When you try to beat the other guy, he believed, you test the other man's weaknesses and not your own.Within a few years, Hebert's "Be Useful" system was adopted by the entire French navy. In 1913, speaking before the French Physical Education Congress, he astounded them with the results of tests he'd performed on 350 navy recruits. On a rating system that scored performance according to strength, speed, agility, and endurance, French sailors ranked with world-class decathletes.The time had come to take Methode Naturelle to the world. Hebert handpicked an elite team of trainers and prepared them to spread the word throughout Europe, Asia, and America. But before they scattered, the First World War erupted. Because of their superb physical conditioning and dedication to service, the men of Methode Naturelle were deployed in frontline positions against German troops armed with machine guns and poison gas. By the end of the war, the trainers were all dead or maimed. Hebert was heartbroken, but not surprised. Methode Naturelle was never about trying to live forever -- it was about trying to make a difference before you died. Hebert himself barely survived his wounds and struggled to regain the use of one arm. When he sank into paralysis after the war, Methode Naturelle was all but forgotten, swept away by a world that wanted to pretend that danger was gone forever."
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Some key points that I really like about the Natural Method.
>Be Strong to be Useful
>Focused on 10 essential skills: walking, running, jumping, walking on all fours, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, defending, and swimming
>This type of Training can be Performed ANYWHERE
>Focused on an Improved Quality of Life
>Makes us All Think We Can Be Superheroes/Superheroines
>FREAKIN FUN!

So this is where it all began for parkour which was a branch of Herbert's training used by French soldiers in Vietnam which has evolved into the flipping, dynamic, areo-technical sport that it is today. The newest, and might I add coolest, edition of the Natural Method is being pioneered by Erwan Le Corre, a French man who decided to move to Brazil and chase his dream.



"In 1990 at age 19, Erwan meets Habrey ... For 7 years, Erwan trains under Habrey in natural or urban settings, day or night, climbing bridges, balancing on heights, jumping from roof to roof, walking on all fours in the underground, swimming in cold waters, breath training techniques and fighting moves…a “Fight Club” version of natural movement!
At age 27, Erwan decides to follow his own path...sailing, Olympic weighlifting, rockclimbing, long distance triathlon, trailrunning and Brazilian jiu-jitsu...These experiences confirm his intuition that a broader approach is more beneficial to everyday life and is more fun as well as healthier.
At age 33, he discovers the history of Georges Hebert and Methode Naturelle® which fascinates him and in which he finds many similarities with his own approach and past experience. From then, Erwan researches everything about Hebert and Methode Naturelle®, unearthing photos and newspaper archives and extensively studying the old, dusty French Methode Naturelle books.
After studying every detail of its history and the reasons why the practice of Methode Naturelle® declined to almost total extinction and failed to propagate itself into the modern era, Erwan understands that the best way to revive the practice is to improve and update the coaching system as well as providing an overall approach that better fits the people of today’s world with today’s concerns and expectations.
In 2008, while living, training and coaching in Brazil, he works on improving and renovating the old training method, leading to the creation of the Natural Movement Coaching System®. At the same time, he defines his approach called “True Nature”, which states that it is our universal birthright to be strong, healthy, happy and free. MovNat is born.
In 2009, Erwan is featured in Men’s Health USA in an inspiring article about him and MovNat written by Christopher McDougall in which the journalist describes his transformative first-hand training experience with Erwan in Brazil."
MovNat.com



Check out his site and you can learn more about it but I think that it is going to become a lot more popular, not faddish because it makes sense, in the coming months/years. This type of training makes me think of a piece of equipment called the TRX, random but worth taking a look at...so on that note back to the info.

I see to many people, males and females, at the gym who, due to their training styles, have created skeletal and muscular imbalances that affect their daily life or will in the future. The guy that can bench a Buick is impressive I am in no way dissing his determination and work, I'm just saying there is something wrong with having to turn sideways in order to pass through a door because your arms stick out so far from your chest: or the gal that has done so many Jane Fonda's (PS if you can keep up with Jane for the entire workout you are my new hero THE PAIN!!) and Hamstring curls to tighten up her butt that has such an accentuated arch in her spine that she looks like someone is constantly giving her an epidural in the middle of the back! I know we all want to look like the beautiful people but is it really practical?? An exercise that works a single joint should never be the basis of ANY workout for the following reasons.

A. You can't lift as heavy a weight and therefor you can't make gains/improvement as efficiently B. You waste too much energy too on a single joint exercise to improve the entire muscle
C. The risk of over training and exercise induced injuries is much higher because of the strain placed on a single joint.
ALWAYS WORK AS MANY MUSCLES AS POSSIBLE AND THE BIGGEST MUSCLES FIRST!! I have a lot of respect for anyone who competes in Bodybuilding and Fitness competitions but it's just not for me and yes I may be saying that because I'm jealous and may never succeed in being able to knock a grown man out with a single flex of my left pec muscle BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT.
The purpose of exercise/fitness/weight training/resistance training/aerobics/healthy eating/cardiovascular training is to improve your quality of life, however ever single individual will have his/her own opinion of what that means and each person is entitled to that. So first decide where you want to be in 20-25 years and then take a critical look at your training regime and ask your self "Am I training for that Goal?" If the answer is yes then GREAT keep GOING, YOU CAN DOOO IT! But if it isn't than there needs to be an appropriate overhaul of your training to get you on track to where you want to be, do your research, ask the tough questions, get help from an educated and certified personal trainer, pay for the dietitian to help you (they are worth their weight in gold!), and make the plan that will get you there and then GO BIG!
As for me if you don't hear from me for a while I'm not dead, please don't try to steal my sexy wife or call 9-1-1, relax, I'm just in the backyard building a sand pit, monkey bars, alligator infested pools, scaling wall, and jungle gym so I can train to be the next Tarzan.