This is the intro. The beginning. The foundation that will be with us for more evolved programming, a little later. In other words, although we begin here, we never leave here, just expand on it. So spend a little time here, even if you have a history with this workout stuff. Let this program be an examination of your relationship with your body. It's a groovy chance to observe what movements could use further embodiment or where you feel ready to move forward. Which is why many of these movements come with options. Spend some time with the first level, but progress when and where you feel good about it. Every movement here (and each progression) is explained in the videos that follow.
A note on how to consume this material. Initiate is presented as a four-day program. Each “day” is a “workout” that, once learned, can be done as a somewhat typical exercise session. That said, you might want to come at this a bit more slowly. If you are unfamiliar with these movements or with a looser approach to workout structure, spend some time getting to know things.
One way you might approach it is to take one movement a day. Start your “workout” with the Warm-Up Sequence. Take your time with it. There’s a lot to get familiar with here. From there, take the first movement. Watch the video, then play with that movement. Easy? Check out the progressions. Not so much? Here’s the space to check in. Get real present. Ask yourself, not with judgment, more curiosity, “Hmm, this isn’t as easy as I thought. I wonder what the hitch is?” This way, you take an active role in your journey. You’re not just a passive consumer of a product, but an active participant who helps shape the road you travel.
Taken in this way. You might spend a week getting to know the movements of Day 1. Awesome. You now have a whole new awareness of these movements and are now better poised to integrate them into your movement practice. Some movement patterns will come more easily than others.
Start with the Warm-Up Sequence and Movement 1 on the first day. On day two, start with the Warm-Up Sequence, review Movement 1, and then add Movement 2, etc.
An old pro? Have at it. Some of us have been doing this type of thing so long that we just need to look at a program to get it. Humans can only move in so many ways, right?. As foundational movements, you’ve probably seen this sort of thing before. You might just need a quick review, and you’re off to the races. Good for you. Initiate is yours, use it in good health. Just don’t get in too big a hurry. There’s a lot to grok by slowing down and embodying the movement.
One more thing. This program is meant to be run through multiple times and in multiple stages of your movement journey. Each time, try to challenge yourself a little more. Depending on where you are, you might start your first pass with just the foundational movements. Second time through, you swap out the next progression for anything that felt easy. You can repeat this until you’ve mastered every movement in the program
Or
You could go off and do something else. Anything really. We’re not here to tell you how to live your lives. We have a next step program, Integrate (two versions, actually - Loaded and Unloaded), and that would make a perfect addition to your practice. But you can also go out and do practically anything. Use your fitness to live your life. Then, after you’ve done something else for a while, come back to Intiate. This program was written as a kind of reset. Use it multiple times a year.
How are you feeling today? Did the last day’s (or possibly week’s, depending on your pace) work teach you anything new? Hopefully, you’re beginning to see that this isn’t just some in-and-out, check-the-box type of workout. This is big work. You’re learning a greater sense of just where you are. Only when you have a real sense of where you are can you actually go anywhere. (I’m pretty sure I read that on a fortune cookie somewhere.)
Today we’re getting off the ground a bit. After a good warm-up, we’ll spend some time finding our spines, learning both to mobilize and stabilize. From there, we’ll practice some good ol’ squats. I think you’ll find my approach to teaching the squat a little different than most. We’ll dial in more stabilization with planks and a whole host of variations. And finish out with one of the best hip stretches of all time.
Whether this is a week-long process or just an afternoon for you. I urge you to take your time. Get to know the movements first. There’s plenty of time for intensity of output later. For your first few runs, take this as an education. Start with educating your mind, understanding the movement, and then taking it in by educating your body. Understand the movement from a visceral place before chasing reps and intensity.
Warm-Up Sequence: Walking Warm-Up, Wrist Stretch 2
Movement 1: Cat/cow (3-5)/bird dog 3-5, 2-3 rounds, 1 min rest
Movement 2: Hinge/Squat
Movement 3: Plank Reach and Extensions / Hollow-Arch Bridge(5) – 3 rounds, 1 min. rest
Movement 4: Pigeon Stretch
Today, our goal is to introduce a little bit of new movement, but while really reflecting on what we've practiced this week so far. So we begin with a collection of possibilities from the previous day's workouts and warm-ups.
Our first movement is optional Hang Practice (if a bar is available). If you have something to hang from, begin today's practice with this progression of play. It's the beginning of so much more in the near future. Get used to hanging from things.
From there, we’ll start playing with the Get Up. There’s a whole range of progressions here. Start on the ground and get up to your feet. Simple? Yes, and not so much. 5 per side. 3 rounds, with a minute or so rest between each round. No weight required yet, but in the future, it may behoove you to have a little something to hold.
After the Get Up, we’ll play with Bridges, this time from our hands. To that, we can add Bear Crawls, our old friend the Folded Sit (maybe with a Roller Up, maybe not), and then, if things are feeling really groovy, a Crab Crawl. Put all of this together, and you’ve got a fun little combo that feels less like exercise and more like just play.
Warm-Up Sequence: The Compass, Standing Warm Up, Wrist Stretches 2
Movement 1: (Optional) Hang
Movement 2: Get Up
Movement 3: Bridges
Movement 4: Shin Box/Pretzel combo
See? You're getting the hang of this. Way to go, you! (Just in case you're not getting the hang of this. Reach out. Email me at chip@bodytribe.com). I'll gladly answer any question I can.
Warm-Up Sequence: - Yes, you’ve seen this before, and yeah, some of these are getting redundant, but why not make a habit of them?
Movement 1: the Child's Pose Jam. Aim for eventually going through 5 rounds of the entire jam 2-3 times, but learn the progressions first.
Movement 2: Burpees. That's right... but it's not what you think. Really. A few sets of a few reps of the furthest part of the progressions you feel connected with.
Movement 3: the Pigeon. No sets of reps here. Just take your time and relax into the move. Spend some seconds in each position. If groovy, try the variations.
Once you've finished today's work, it's time to reflect. How ya feeling? There's no exact next step. There's just whatever is right for you. Some options include recycling back to Day 1 and trying the next progression as you pass through the program. Somethings are just more difficult and may take multiple run throughs to get.
You could take these lessons and apply them to your favorite sport. Like I said in the beginning, what you do with your newfound strength and mobility is up to you (but please, for all our sakes, make good choices). Just remember, you've always got Initiate in your back pocket. Pull it out whenever you need a reset or want to improve your strength and mobility skills
And another option is to move on to the next phase of our programming, Integrate. This one takes the lessons you've learned here and ups the challenge. We've got a Loaded and Unloaded version. So whether you have access to a full gym or just the corner of your bedroom. We've got you covered.
Congratulations. You've made it through all of the course material for Initiate. You're well on your way to moving smoother, stronger, and longer.
To make this journey even easier we've included this workout cheat sheet to help guide you through your sessions. Can't remember all of one of the sequences? Maybe you need a quick reminder on one of the next moves? Just click on the exercise for a quick demo video to get you back into your groove.