Move Like You Mean It 🕺💥: The 7 Primal Patterns Your Body Was Built For

The seven primal patterns that shaped your body—and still define how you move.

Groceries in one hand, keys in the other, nudging the car door shut with your foot while twisting to stop a backseat coffee disaster—welcome to primal movement in action. 🛒🦵🌀🖐️🔑

These aren’t gym exercises. They’re the blueprints your body has followed since day one—before reps, before routines. They’re the seven foundational ways humans move.

And whether you’re 45, 55, or pushing 70, those patterns still power everything you do. You haven’t lost them—you’ve just stopped using them with intention.

Time to change that. Let’s unlock the way your body was built to move. 🧠➡️💪

🍼 Day 1: How We All Started Moving

Where it all begins: Before we walk, run, or lift—we sit, roll, reach, and explore. Movement starts here

Before you ever lifted a dumbbell, you mastered rolling, crawling, and squirming like a little legend.

In fact, babies are like nature’s personal trainers. Think about it:

• They build core control before they can even sit up.

• They hinge to reach for things (like Mum’s phone).

• They squat effortlessly for hours playing with toys—knees out, heels down, perfect form. 😲

These early movements build neural pathways that shape everything else. Miss a stage—or stop practicing—and the body starts to forget. That’s why many coaches today reintroduce crawling, rolling, or floor-based movements into adult workouts. It’s not regression—it’s rewiring. 🔄

So yes, crawling in your 40s might actually be a flex. 😉

🎯 Why Movement Patterns Trump Muscle Days

Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard someone say, “Today’s chest and tris.” 💪

Now raise your other hand if you’ve ever pushed a shopping trolley, carried luggage, or climbed stairs. 🧳🚶‍♂️

That’s movement. It’s how your body naturally works: as a team, not a collection of isolated parts.

Focusing on movements—rather than muscles—doesn’t just improve how you perform in the gym. It helps you:

• Move more efficiently 🏃

• Prevent injuries 🛑

• Build real-world strength that translates to your daily life 🏗️

And that’s what Fitfty is all about—movement that serves your life after 40, not just mirrors and muscles.

🔑 The Magnificent Seven: Your Built-In Movement Toolbox

Let’s break down the seven fundamental movement patterns your body was literally designed for:

1. Squat 🧎‍♂️ – The Throne of Power

This is your sit-to-stand, your lift-the-box, your “I dropped my phone again” movement.

Benefits:

• Strengthens legs and hips

• Improves knee and ankle mobility

• Builds glutes (yes, those glutes 🍑)

• Boosts bone density

Fitfty tip:

You don’t need to squat like a powerlifter. Just squat like you mean it—heels down, spine tall, and knees tracking your toes. You already do it dozens of times a day.

2. Hinge 🦵 – Power at the Hips

This is the movement of legends. It’s how you pick up your suitcase (or grandchild 👶) without blowing out your back.

Think deadlifts, hip thrusts, kettlebell swings.

Why it matters:

• Trains the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, back)

• Teaches safe lifting mechanics

• Protects your spine from becoming the victim of bad form

Analogy time:

If the squat is sitting down, the hinge is moonwalking backward into a seat that isn’t there. Own it.

3. Lunge 🚶 – Life on One Leg at a Time

Walking? Running? Climbing stairs? All lunging.

The lunge builds:

• Balance and stability 🧘

• Single-leg strength

• Coordination between hips, knees, and ankles

Real-world perk:

Training lunges helps prevent falls. And let’s be honest—after 40, not falling is a full-on fitness goal. 😅

4. Push 🧱 – Press Your Way Through Life

From push-ups to overhead presses to closing a stubborn cupboard, the push pattern is one of your most-used upper body tools.

Why it matters:

• Builds chest, shoulders, triceps

• Strengthens core and stabilisers

• Transfers to dozens of daily activities (from carrying groceries to pushing doors open like a boss)

Pro tip:

Balance pushing with pulling. A strong chest is great—but not at the cost of rounded shoulders. 😉

5. Pull 🧲 – Reel It In

Rowing, pull-ups, or just hauling a heavy bag over your shoulder—pulling is essential.

The pull pattern:

• Builds back and biceps

• Improves posture (counteracts all that desk slouching 🧑‍💻)

• Prevents shoulder injuries

Daily use case:

Anytime you pull a door, open the fridge, or tug on a seatbelt—you’re pulling.

6. Rotation 🌀 – Twist Responsibly

Rotation is the unsung hero of movement. You rotate when you reach across the table, twist to back out of the driveway, or try to win at pickleball. 🏓

Why it matters:

• Builds core strength

• Enhances mobility in the spine and hips

• Makes you more agile and injury-resilient

Don’t neglect it.

Most injuries in sport and life happen during twisting movements. Train it, don’t avoid it.

7. Gait 🚶 – Walk This Way

Walking, jogging, running, dancing down the hallway—it’s all gait. And it might just be the most important pattern for health and independence.

Why gait is gold:

• Promotes cardiovascular health ❤️

• Encourages hip stability and ankle strength

• Helps prevent cognitive decline (seriously!) 🧠

Did you know?

Gait analysis is now used to predict brain health. The way you walk says more about your body than any single exercise ever will.

🧩 Movement Isn’t Optional—It’s Foundational

Forget trends. This is about truth.

And the truth is simple: these seven patterns are your body’s original software.

They’re not fitness fads. They’re how you exist in the world—sit, stand, twist, lift, walk, react, and recover. Ignore one too long, and your body will adapt… just not in the way you want.

Skipping the hard stuff (we see you, lunges 👀) doesn’t make it disappear. It just makes your body find workarounds. And those workarounds often show up as:

• Pain or discomfort

• Overuse injuries

• Posture imbalances

• Stiffness or fatigue

Fix the patterns, and suddenly?

That annoying shoulder pain? Less annoying.

That back twinge when bending down? Gone.

That awkward shuffle when getting out of the car? History.

🔁 Rebuild Your Routine With Real Movement

From flips to lifts—no matter the sport, all complex movements are built on the same seven foundations. Master the basics, and your body can do anything.

You don’t need to overhaul your life to get started. Just layer these movements into your week like seasoning. Here’s a sample idea:

• Monday: Squat + Pull

• Wednesday: Hinge + Push

• Friday: Lunge + Rotate

• Daily: Walk like you mean it 🚶‍♀️🔥

Start light. Use your own bodyweight. Or resistance bands. Or tins of beans. Just move like a human again. 🧍➡️🏃

🤹 You Already Move—Now Move Like You Mean It

Here’s what most people get wrong:

They think fitness has to be intense, exclusive, or aesthetic. That it only counts if it happens in a gym.

But real movement?

It’s how you bend, reach, lift, turn, and carry.

It’s how you age well—not just “work out.”

Master these 7 patterns and suddenly:

• Playing with grandkids doesn’t leave you sore for days 👨‍👧‍👦

• Gardening isn’t a backache waiting to happen 🌱

• Stairs become leg day, not doom day 😅

You don’t need perfect technique. You need purposeful practice.

🏁 Final Thoughts: Reclaim the Way You Move

You were born to move.

Not just in a gym. Not just in youth. But for life.

By reconnecting with the 7 primal patterns of human movement, you’ll unlock:

• More strength

• Better balance

• Less pain

• And way more confidence 💯

So, move like you mean it. Your body still remembers how—you just need to remind it

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👟 Next Steps: What You Can Read Next 👇

→ Still Lifting: The Real Reason Deadlifts Endure from Youth to 60+

→ 🥊 Until You Get Punched in the Face. The Truth About Injury, Adaptation, and Moving Forward After 40

→ Are They Built Different? What We Can (Actually) Learn from the Superhuman Few

→ The Foundations of Strength: Before the Weight Comes the Why

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📚 References

1. Cook, G. (2010). Movement: Functional Movement Systems. On Target Publications.

2. Boyle, M. (2016). New Functional Training for Sports. Human Kinetics.

3. McGill, S. (2015). Back Mechanic. Wabuno Publishers.

4. Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. Q. (2009). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. Worth Publishers.

5. Clark, M. A., Lucett, S. C., & Sutton, B. G. (2014). NASM Essentials of Corrective Exercise Training. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

6. Robbins, D. W., & Young, W. B. (2012). Gait speed and age-related decline: A functional perspective. Journal of Aging and Health, 24(4), 554-565.

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