How to get started with Locomotion Training

So, you’ve found this locomotion thing, and want to get started.

• Where the hell do I start?

• What do I learn? How do I learn?

• How does it fit in with my other training?

The aim of this guide is to answer all those questions and provide ideas on how to structure your training.

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

The best way is to just try it. Here’s a follow along video. No equipment needed, just some space to move.

For further tutorial videos on the movements featured in the follow along: Quadrapedal Crawl, Dragon Step, Role

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

Click here to find out what inspired me into this type of training.

Understanding Locomotion

Locomotion is a sequence of movements. Simple as that.

What is difficult - is performing the movements on their own, and, performing the movements in combination.

Locomotion borrows and builds on movements which are taken from a variety of disciplines - dance, capoeira, yoga, martial arts, b-boying, parkour. Locomotion is an expression of various movement arts, combined together.

Locomotion is a language

At the beginning, you’ll be learning each movement as an individual skill piece. As you get comfortable with each movement, you can then combine the movements to transition from one to another.

Think of it like a language - you learn the words, then you learn how to say the words together. Once you become comfortable, you can start playing around with the combinations and add in your personality.

Think of each movement as a piece of “skill”. Each movement is a skill which requires lots of practice and continual refinement. This is extremely important as a perspective - to approach each movement with curiosity continuously, even when it becomes easy to perform.

Closed System Flow

After you learn an individual movement, you then practise it by transitioning from one individual movement to the other. This is called a “closed system flow”. Basically, you pick any number of movements, and then practise how to flow from one to the other in any combination. In this way, even 3 different movements A, B, C, can given you 5 different transitions to practise.

Isolate, Integrate, Improvise

Similar to a language, as you get more proficient, you start embodying and internalising each movement, like a word. As it starts becoming known, you can then practise it in different expressions - fast, slow, soft, hard - and improvise.

Low Gait, Floor Work, Soft Acrobatics

You will come across these terms as you learn locomotion.

Think of them as representing different levels of height from the ground. Low gait are movements which are executed from deep squat, normally keeping the hips low to the ground. Floor work are movements where you are lying on the ground. Soft Acrobatics involve you taking flight and operating at a higher distance from the ground.

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

Am I strong enough? Am I mobile enough?

Strength and mobility will help you learn locomotion faster - but you don’t need to let it stop you from starting locomotion training. Strength and mobility give you potential. Locomotion gives you a way to express these traits.

Some movements will benefit from additional strength and mobility training - ie, bridge rotations.

It’s up to the individual to identify where they are lacking and address it with the appropriate training.

In most cases, to get started with locomotion training; you can build strength and mobility directly by just performing the movements and following this guide. As a base, it’s helps to be able to squat to adequate depth.

As you continue training, your hands and shoulders become strong enough to support your bodyweight. Being able to use your hands as supports, provides you with many more movement options versus only relying on your legs.

For this reason, training for the handstand becomes very useful for advancing in locomotion. There are many guides already available on the internet for how to get started on the handstand. Finding an in-person coach for the handstand will speed your progress the fastest.

Here are some links to help you with foundational mobility and strength:

• Squat Routine 1 | Squat Routine 2 | Squat Routine 3 | Squat Routine 4

• Wrist Routine 1 | Wrist Routine 2

• Hanging | Shoulder Routine 1 | Shoulder Routine 2

• Full Body Mobility Routine

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

So what movements should you choose at the beginning?

Here is a suggested list of movements to start with:

• Frog

• Side Monkey

• Role

• Quadrapedal Crawl

• Duck Walk

For more movements, check out the Library of Locomotion.

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

How do you setup a locomotion practice session? Here is a basic format which works well.

Warmup, Mobility, Skill Work, Integrations, Conditioning, Down Regulation, Reflection

I’ve detailed each step below.

Warmup

Locomotion places a lot of stress on our joints. Especially in the beginning, it helps to prepare the joints before going into the skill work.

I’m a big believer in progressive overload, even at the warmup stage. What this means is that even in “warmup” movements, you should keep a track of your progress here, and make it more difficult as you get stronger.

At some stage in your locomotion journey, you can even just do more basic patterns of locomotion to warmup.

Ultimately, the goal is not to need a warmup - but the warmup is still a necessary and useful tool for most people.

The warmup can be split in 2 parts:

General

To start, one can choose movements which will be either explosive, isometric or adrenally stimulating in nature. These will provide the greatest stimulus to your brain to “wake you up” into action. Skipping, trying to push a wall, balancing on a rail, slamming a weight ball down in the ground, performing arm swings are just some ideas.

The goal of this is not only to wake the body, but also the mind into focus. It doesn’t have to be long - 2 minutes of double jump skips and you’ll induce a different energy state.

Joint Specific

Wrists, Ankles, Knees, Shoulders, Elbows, Hips. For most people, the wrists and knees especially benefit from specific work to strengthen them for locomotion.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Remember, try to choose movements which can be progressively overloaded over time.

• For the wrists, I prefer First Knuckle Pushups and Reverse Wrist Pushups.

• For the shoulders, use something like Teacups, Swimmers, YTWL Raises.

• For the hips, knees and ankles, use something like the infamous Ido Squat Routine, a Duck Walk, or a Corkscrew Squat.

If you need to spend more time on an area, then do so. If you feel strong there, then you can save time and move onto the work.

Mobility

If your skill work demands greater ranges of motion than what you currently can perform when “cold”, then extra mobility work done here can then make the skill work easier for you to perform.

An example is opening the shoulders and hips for cartwheels, or opening up the front anterior side for bridging work.

If you are still struggling with a deep squat, maybe do a few more sets of a squat routine, or a weighted pike squat hold to get you deeper.

Individual Skill Work

At first, everything will be new “skill”.

Whilst your energy is still high, it’s a good idea to work on the skill moves separately, and focus on the movement quality of each skill.

This is where you can prioritise a harder skill first. For example, if you struggle with cartwheels. Practice cartwheels first. Keep doing them over and over again. Break them down into an easier progression, practice that.

Then, move onto the next hardest skill. Practice each individually first.

For each session, pick 2-4 movements you want to master, and focus on them individually and intensely.

Practice them for a hard number of repetitions so you condition the body and start learning the pattern as 2nd nature.

Integrations

The next stage is to put the movements together. Out of the 2-4 movements you picked, you now perform a “Closed System Flow” - which is learning how to keep flowing from each of the movements, in any combination.

Put a timer on, 2 - 4 minutes, forget about repetitions, and keep trying to flow non-stop between the two.

Conditioning

This can be extra, to improve your work capacity - so you can keep flowing for longer. If this is the aim, you could either;

• extend the integration flow by a number of minutes

• pick 1 or 2 basic patterns and work them for a number of minutes

Since the goal is conditioning, it helps to pick a movement pattern which you already are familiar with - just like how in running, you can “zone out” and keep running.

Down Regulation

At the end, it’s important to calm down the nervous system to speed up recovery. Either breathwork or shaking are great tools for this.

Just remember that your body rebuilds and gives you gains during the time when you don’t train.

Reflection

Locomotion is very different to general strength and mobility training. You are focusing on movement quality and understanding your own movement patterns. It is an intense learning process. A favourite tool of mine is to maintain a journal which contains notes about what you noticed, what you did well, what you should focus on.

Start journalling and you’ll be amazed at how it can supercharge your practice.

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

Movements picked: Dragon Step, Side Monkey, Duck Walk

• Warmup:

  • Arm swings, first knuckle raises, reverse wrist pushups, swimmers, squat routine.

• Mobility:

  • Another set of squat routine or pike squats.

• Individual Skill Work:

  • Dragon Step - 3 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Side Monkey - 3 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Duck Walk - 3 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Each round changing focus on a different part of the body in the movement.

• Integrations:

  • Dragon Step to Side Monkey: 2 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Duck Walk to Side Monkey: 2 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Duck Walk to Dragon Step: 2 rounds of 2 minutes

  • Dragon Step, Side Monkey, Duck Walk: 2 rounds of 2 minutes

• Conditioning:

  • Duck Walk, 3 rounds of 2 minutes.

• Down Regulation:

  • Shaking, eyes closed, 10 minutes.

The aim is not to follow this exactly but as a representation of the general ideas above, so that you can construct your own individual practice. You can also view the follow along video as a guide.

🏃Jump to section: | Follow Along Video | What is Locomotion? | Strength and Mobility | Skill Movements | Programming | Sample Program | FAQs |

Programming with other Training

Ok, so how do I put this in with all my other training?

It depends largely on your ability to recover.

If your training age is low, you are new to training in general - you might have to reduce volume on other training you have. Or you may have to focus on locomotion only. You’ll be surprised at all the stress that it places on your body!

If your training age is high, then locomotion could be treated as a “project”. You devote dedicated time to it every week, with movements that you want to learn.

Just make sure that your ability to cultivate energy and recovery is also treated with the same importance. This is key for continuing long term.

Questions?

The key thing in locomotion training is,

• learn; not just “work-out”

• have fun!

You are going to be frustrated, make a lot of mistakes, feel like an idiot. That’s OK - you’re in the process of learning something new, every practice session.

Remember if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message via the form on the about page!