It’s official!! I am now a Steve Maxwell Certified Trainer in Fundamental Human Movement.
If there’s one thing I learned, it is to never stop being a student. To always continue to learn and deepen my knowledge in all areas. Over the past 7 years, fitness has become another passion of mine. I just love it and embrace any new knowledge that I can experience and get my hands on. If I were to choose a secondary career, in a heart beat, it would definitely be in the area of health & fitness.
This past weekend I attended Steve Maxwell’s 2-day certification course on the Fundamentals of Human Movement at StrengthBox. Every time I get to train and learn from Coach Steve Maxwell, I continue to be amazed at the amount of insight and depth of information I gain. This time was no exception.
If you haven’t had a chance to learn from Steve Maxwell, I would highly recommend attending one of his workshops/certs. With an extensive background in wrestling, grappling, kettlebells, mobility, and strength and conditioning, Steve is one of the most humble, down to earth trainers you will ever meet. Having been a part of the fitness world for almost 50 years, he shared with us an accumulation of his years of experience and wisdom as fitness modalities shifted from isolation-based training to philosophies and modalities based on movement.
The first day was spent learning the pillars of movement with an emphasis on the importance of breathing both for recovery and performance – the different types, and how and when to use it. We then proceeded to learn fundamental movements based on evolution and the developmental theory. Breathing techniques were then applied to walking which then progressed to a more efficient form of running adopted from the military, which allows one to run a longer distance while remaining loose and relaxed. After that, I actually started to hate running a little less 🙂
Day 2 was a lot more intensive. We began our day with Steve Maxwell’s joint mobility moves and 10mins of running as a warm up. Joint mobility is the fountain of youth. I you’re not already doing it, it should definitely become a part of your workout regimen.
- Coaching each other
One of the most important things we learned was how to integrate all the principles we learned into a complete full body workout as well as different ways to assess a client and help them correct postural and movement deficiencies.
There was so much movement that it literally felt like play the whole time. The most fun I’ve had in a while. Steve’s engaging style of teaching was very hands on as he involved us in various group games, taught us how to fall, and to defend ourselves should a situation arise.
Attendance at this course did not guarantee that one would get certified. I for one, was not actually taking the course because of the certification aspect. I was mainly there to benefit from the valuable information being taught and to see how I can apply it to improve my own training. At the end of the workshop, each of us were given a fair test in which we were to apply and demonstrate the principles and techniques we learned over the course of the weekend. I’m very proud to say that I PASSED!!
What a great weekend! My muscles were quite sore the day after. I learned so much and am now armed with a ton of new material to add to my arsenal.
Photo credits: Greg Carver // StrengthBox