Upstream Movement

For the majority of human evolution, man has lived in an environment drastically different than today.  His survival was directly determined by the physical ability to hunt, gather resources, build shelter, and escape danger.  It was imperative to be able to climb, crawl, jump, lift, and run in a variety of unpredictable environments.  However, over time, man has removed himself from the natural evolutionary order;  the human animal has become a sedentary creature, feasting on artificial and processed foods, lacking the capacity to execute the basic movements that his body is designed to perform, leading to chronic injuries and degraded health.

The goal of Upstream Fitness is to reawaken the human animal and revive these instinctual survival abilities.  Upstream Movement focuses on the performance of these natural movements. To provide the means and resources for people to become better prepared to meet the possible demands of their own current environment, such as climbing out a window to escape a fire, picking an injured person off the ground, or jumping out of the street to avoid an oncoming vehicle. We accomplish this by adhering to the concept of “adaptability”, and performing movements that share common traits. All of these movements have been in existence for thousands of years. Until recently, they were ‘re-invented,’ first by George Hebert in the early part of the 20th century and again by Erwan La Corre in more recent times.

Adaptability: This term refers to the “ability” of the human animal to “adapt”. It is important to break routine, as routine lowers the adaptability of the human animal. Our ancestors rarely performed the exact same movement again and again. They climbed, jumped, and ran in a variety of unpredictable circumstances. This allowed their body, and mind, to be prepared for any situation. In today’s world of exercise there is far more routine than needed. Take a box jump for instance. This is a plyometric exercise designed to strengthen the lower body. But when in life do we repetitively jump up and down on a box? Why not vary the movement? Jump laterally, jump for distance, jump and move forward. Jumping in the same manner repetitively lowers our ability to adapt to new scenarios, and thus does not fully prepare us for the potential demands of our environment.

Practical: “Functional” movement is often a blurry concept in today’s fitness community. Everybody says his or her technique is “functional”, but is it really? The real question to ask is whether it is “practical”? Can the movement being performed be applied to a practical or “real-world” scenario? Take the overhead press for example; lifting an object over your head. There are many moments in our life when we need to lift an object over our head, whether it is placing dishes in a cupboard, or lifting a stone in the construction of shelter. Thus, the overhead press is a practical movement. However, following the principle of adaptability, we must vary our training of the overhead press to include, barbell, dumbbell, and lifting other heavy and awkward objects.

Survivability: Upstream Movement is considered movement that would aid us in our own survival, from the age of our ancestors and even today. In the early part of the 20th century, George Hebert, the pioneer of Method Naturalle, observe the eruption of a volcano in the Pacific islands and the subsequent demise of the local villagers. He noticed the villagers had become so sedentary in nature that they were unable to escape the volcanic eruption. The capacity to run, climb, and jump had been lost. We may not live in nature anymore, and the term “survival of the fittest” may be a bit lost, but the potential for danger and opportunities still exist. Upstream movements are based around the ability to survive potential scenarios; an intruder in our home, jumping out of traffic, and lifting an injured friend off the ground.

Universal: Upstream Movements are universal, meaning they are performed virtually the same way across the globe. You can find tribal people in Brazil lifting, crawling, and jumping the same way you might find tribes in Kenya lifting, crawling, and jumping. These movements are similar to humans of the whole world, regardless of age, gender, or origin.

Instinctual: Upstream Movements are instinctual. Have you ever watched a toddler run, climb, lift, squat, or crawl? Their form is impeccable. They perform each movement as a professional without having any coaching or instruction. And why? These movements are written in our DNA, and are part of an innate human desire. From the time we are born we are given the ability, physiology, and structure to perform these movements in an efficient manner. These movements are not compulsory, but simply come naturally. As we grow older and embrace the comforts of our modern world, we slowly lose these abilities. It is our goal to reawaken these movement capacities.

Primal: Animals perform movements out of the need to survive within their environment. A leopard sprints to catch food, drags the food to a safe location, and will often climb trees to evade others. A human is no different. A human is an animal, designed to perform a certain set and variety of movements, however we have simply been born into an environment different than the one we were designed for. Our abilities and physiology remains the same and yearns for this animalistic movement. Primal movements are ones that have been around for millions of years, not invented for simply exercise.

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Running

 

Our most important form of human locomotion, running is a movement that everybody performs (correctly or incorrectly) and is what makes us unique as a species.

Upstream Fitness has two goals in teaching barefoot technique:

1. To improve performance.
2. To reduce injury.

The Focus: The transition and biomechanics (Upstream).

A runner who performs the movement incorrectly is much like a person who is on high blood pressure medication. The Downstream approach is for them to stay on their medication, the Upstream approach is control of diet and exercise, the true root of the problem. However, you can’t abruptly pull patients off their medication and force them to exercise. Just as you can’t abruptly rip conventional running shoes off an avid runner and tell them to run barefoot. Both would result in a disaster, injury, and complications. This is why many who try “minimalist” running are quick to return back to their old big conventional running shoes. They rush the transition and become injured. The transition is key, and the focus is biomechanics and Upstream thinking.

A simple switch in footwear is not the answer, it is a good start, but understanding the philosophy, development of skill, and consistent practice must be paramount. Check out our events page to see any upcoming Barefoot Running Clinics.

 

Support Links:

 

Terra Plana Vivobarefoot ebook CLICK HERE

- An excellent training resource that cuts through the myths and misinformation to bring you the ultimate guide to barefoot running. Terra Plana is one of the leading designers behind barefoot or minimalist footwear.

 

 

 

Dan Lieberman, Harvard University, CLICK HERE

- Dan Lieberman is a professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at harvard University in Cambridge, MA. His work on the biomechanics of foot strikes and applications to running barefoot or minimalist footwear have been groundbreaking, and paved the wave for the “minimalist” movement.

 

 

 

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Weight Training

 

Weight training at Upstream Fitness is simply “picking things up and putting them down”. We add weight to the individual to create the desired affect. Weight training can be manipulated to produce a desired effect such as to develop pure strength, develop power, or develop endurance, and at times a combination within. Upstream Fitness takes a “generalist” approach, defined as preparing the individual for a variety of circumstances. Thus, the focus of our weight training is spread equally across the categories of strength, power, and endurance.

Physiologically, there are numerous benefits to weight training. Assisting in bone growth, increasing circulation, preventing cardiovascular disease. In terms of survivability and practicality, there are numerous reasons to conduct weight training. The deadlift, conducted with a barbell, kettlebell, or any weight, is an exercise with direct carry-over to our environment. Appropriately named by Roman soldiers collecting their dead after battle, the deadlift not only strengthens the athletes back extensors, glutes, and hamstrings, but teaches an athlete how to properly pick something off the ground. Next time your friend falls down, will you possess the strength to pick him up? At Upstream Fitness we will not only conduct weight training with barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells, but with other objects as well, even each other. After all, another person’s body is weight, isn’t it?

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Obstacles

 

Upstream Fitness uses its obstacles as means to explore movement and inspire athletes to re-discover the animal within. We use these obstacles either by themselves in order to improve specific movements, or incorporate them into various workouts to improve conditioning. In general, most obstacles can be performed a number of ways, decreasing the likelihood of them becoming routine. They reflect a profound influence from many sources such as the military, nature, and the urban world. However, our obstacles are unique in design and aesthetic quality, taken directly from nature.

Military Obstacles: A number of obstacles at Upstream Fitness are taken directly from the United States Army Physical Fitness Field Manual (FM) 21-20. The Military is a large proponent of obstacle courses, and as of March 2011 announced they are now adopting an obstacle course as their primary physical fitness test. The environment he or she faces overseas constantly challenges a soldier. They must climb over walls, lift fallen comrades, and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Their ability to adapt to a variety of circumstances and meet the demands and opportunities within their environment is a matter of life and death. In short, a soldier’s movement is inherently linked to their survival. Thus, we use many standard obstacles adopted by the military.

 

The Weaver: Found in the Army Rangers “Darby Queen” obstacle course, and
the Navy Seals obstacle course in Coronado, CA, this obstacle will challenge any athlete. Traditionally performed in a supine position, athletes must weave in an out of each wooden rung, moving up to the peak and then back down. This obstacle requires incredible strength in climbing ability, as well as flexibility and joint mobility. For those having difficulty, move Downstream and work on your flexibility and mobility with Yoga. Trouble supporting your body weight; try some reverse push-ups with the Olympic rings.

 

Vaults: On any military installations obstacle course, the vaults are a commonly found obstacle. Vaults are relatively simple for the average soldier, and are used as a tool to condition ones ability to jump over an obstacle. The goal is for the athlete to jump over each vault as fast and fluidly as possible, with only the hands touching the vault. When done correctly this obstacle develops fast-twitch (type II) muscle fibers, and improves power and agility. There are additional means of navigating this obstacle, such as crawling under and climbing over alternating vaults, and more.

 

Nature Obstacles: Our bodies were designed to interact with an environment much different than today. An environment filled with trees, grass, stone, oceans, and mountains. Thus, Upstream Fitness has multiple obstacles that imitate obstacles that we would find in our “original” environment.

The Regain: The Regain is an obstacle that mimics a tree with many different sizebranches. The goal of the obstacle is to climb from limb to limb, and can be performed in a variety of ways. It can be used individually to develop a skill, such as the regain (a movement that requires the transfer of body weight to propel one onto the branch), or the obstacle can be used in collaboration with a workout.

 

 

Urban Obstacles: For most of us, we do not live in nature. We live in the urban world, surrounded by cars, roofs, walls, traffic, and buildings. How threatening is our modern world? Are we prepared for all the potential demands it may throw at us? Upstream Fitness address’ this through using many obstacles dedicated to our modern world.

 

The Wall: Walls are everywhere. It is the most commonly found obstacle in our urban world. Are you prepared to climb over it if your life depended on it? Climbing a wall requires enormous upper body strength, and in some cases agility. It also requires lower body strength, as you need to slow your descent when lowering down to the other side. In addition, wall height and width play a major role in how to navigate the obstacle. With that said, we have lots of walls, and know many ways to climb over them.

 

Tunnel: The tunnel requires athletes to move on all fours, or crawl, through a narrow passage. Most children will at one point or another crawl. It is an instinctual movement, one that requires significant coordination and strength in the extremities. As we grow older, we lose this ability and it becomes extremely challenging. The goal of the tunnel is to move quickly and fluidly through the narrow passage.

 

The Window: How fit are you for your environment. If your home was on fire, or an intruder was in your home, do you possess the skill and fitness ability to climb through your window? If so, can you perform the movement with something in your arms, such as a small child? If not, then perhaps it is time to work on more flexibility, or more upper body strength? The goal of the window is to navigate through as efficiently, and then as quickly as possible.

Support Links:

www.goruck.com

 

 

 

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Yoga

 

Upstream fitness has two classifications of yoga: Yoga for Athletes, and Recovery Yoga. Yoga is a helpful tool in the program at Upstream Fitness.Many of the movements we perform require a body that is nimble, balanced, flexible, and coordinated. If an individual is having difficulty performing some of our Upstream Movement, such as climbing through a window, perhaps he or she needs to work specifically on their flexibility.