One of the primary determinants of strength expression, especially in complex movements, is inter-muscular coordination: the ability of the muscles to contract in measured harmony to create a desired motion pattern. The more complicated the movement in terms of joints crossed, muscles utilized, modes of contraction present, and speeds encompassed, the more task-specific inter-muscular coordination is required to perform at a high level.
For movements like juggling, swimming, or top speed sprinting, the coordination requirements are very high. For movements like deadlifts, overhead medicine ball throws, or broad jumps, the barrier to entry is considerably lower. Regardless of the complexity of a pattern however, specific practice is necessary to maximize coordination and skill expression. The need for specificity having been clearly stated, I feel that one of the most overlooked, and potentially beneficial, areas of training is that of general coordination.
While specific coordination training can be thought of as reading a specific textbook in preparation for a specific test, general coordination training is like practicing speed reading. Speed reading alone won’t allow you to pass a test, but it’ll make studying easier and more effective when it’s applied to the class materials. The parallel is similar to general coordination training. General coordination training might not directly help your golf swing or triple jump, but it will help keep your body healthy and prepare you to respond more quickly and easily to specific skill practice.
As has been touched on by myself, Joel, and a number of other authors, being exposed to a wide variety of movement patterns is essential to ward off overuse injuries and stagnation and to generally keep athletes progressing over time. This variety can be supplied by either playing multiple sports or by a constantly shifting program in the weight room. Within the latter option, one of my own personal favorite ways to provide novel motor stimuli is through aerobic circuits involving crawling, carrying, and some low level tumbling.
“Being exposed to a wide variety of movement patterns is essential to ward off overuse injuries and stagnation”
I am, and always have been, a big proponent of coach Dan John’s saying, “the body is one piece,” and there is no place where this is more evident than during crawling drills and loaded carries. Unlike traditional weight training, which focuses on symmetrical static support positions and compartmentalized muscle emphasis, crawls, carries, and tumbling utilize the body in its entirety and force each muscle to work in concert. While no individual muscles are overloaded, the level of systemic effort is fairly high, and the cardiovascular system gets a good workout if the pace is kept brisk. More important than aerobic benefits, however, is the boost in general coordination that displays itself as a “knitting together” of the body as a whole, resulting in increased strength and power outputs in more conventional movement patterns. While it may seem farfetched, every single trainee who I have used my crawling and carrying circuits with has seen immediate increases in their running, jumping, deadlifting, pressing, and abdominal strength, sometimes as much as 5-10% within only a few weeks. Furthermore, there has been a general increase in durability and injury resistance following implementation as well.
Here is a great series of crawls and crouch walks that can be arranged into a killer general circuit
In terms of application, I always include this sort of work into circuits because of the relatively low level of intensity lends itself well to continuous movement. Tucked into a training session after a dynamic warm-up, crawling and carrying fit perfectly with most any general strength session, and the difficulty is low enough that I haven’t seen any negative impact on the following work. Circuits typically last from 15-30 minutes (depending on needs and time constraints) and intensity is kept between 70-80% of max heart rate. My two favorite circuits I like to work with are a “Run, Crouch, Crawl, Roll” series and a “Unilateral Carry” series.
The Run, Crouch, Crawl, Roll series involves performing a running motion, a crouching motion, a crawling motion, and a rolling motion each for a set of 10-15 yards forward followed by 10-15 yards back and then repeating the process until the allotted time is up. Movements change with each rotation, and cadence and rest are determined via monitoring heart rate. Also, it is important that if a movement can be done in more than one direction, it should be. For instance, if you bear crawl 10 yards forward, you should make the return trip bear crawling in reverse. The same goes for left to right movements. A quick and incomplete list of the movements I use is:
| Run | high knees, shuffle, carioca, skips for height, skips for distance, single-leg linear hops, single-leg lateral/medial hops, skater bounds, sprints |
| Crouch | duck walks, horse walks, lunges, lateral lunges, rabbit hops, frog hops, low lateral walks, chicken walks |
| Crawl | linear bear crawls, lateral bear crawls, linear crab walks, lateral crab walks, ape walks, inchworms, tiger bounds, camel walks, handstand walks, plank rolls, cross crawls |
| Roll | somersaults, shoulder rolls, lateral rolls, dead bug twists, bridging shoulder walks, worm crawls, straight-body rolls |
The Unilateral Carry series comes in two forms, one involving a sandbag and the other involving a kettlebell. For both variations, the point is to walk at a speed and incline (I usually use a treadmill) that puts the trainee within their target heart rate range while carrying their implement in a series of constantly shifting positions. Implement weight is also determined by the ability of the individual, and as with all training methods, should be increased over time to provide overload. For the kettlebell carry, the trainee will shift the weight between suitcase carries, front rack carries, and waiter carries, alternating hands as they go. For the sandbag carry, trainees will shift the bag between right and left shoulder carries, right and left hip carries, and two-arm bear hugs. Times spent in each position before switching off are left up to the discretion of the athlete, provided there is balance between the left and right sides.
Some variations of kettlebell carries
Despite being low intensity, low tech, and easy to implement, the Run, Crouch, Crawl, Roll series and the Unilateral Carry series are both awesome additions to anyone’s general training routine. Not only are they a fun way to get some zone 1 cardiac work in, but their cost to benefit ratio is higher than almost any other form of training I’ve come across. Give them a try yourself, and within a couple of weeks you’ll notice the benefits of increased strength, coordination, and injury resistance.
About Roger Nelsen Jr.
Free Training Guides!
Sign up for the newsletter, get your FREE eBooks, and receive weekly updates on cutting edge training information that will help take your knowledge of athletic performance to a new level.