If you’ve ever watched a talented athlete and envied their abilities, you know it’s a combination of factors that leads to that kind of performance. But when you start training, you can easily get stuck fixating on just a small piece of the puzzle.Sometimes, it’s the quest for maximal strength. Others, it’s the strict adherence to a system of skill progressions that lead towards a particular goal. Either way, you’ll eventually get stuck unless you address the right combination of abilities.
The truth is that any skill you may want to do with your body is made up of three components: strength, flexibility, and motor control.
Strength
For real-world movement ability you can rely on, it’s important to develop strength in all directions and even in unusual positions.
Flexibility & Mobility
Fewer restrictions in your ranges of motion means you can move with grace and ease.
Control
Control is your ability to direct your body’s capabilities and have it respond like a finely-tuned machine to your needs and wishes.
A lot of programs will make you stronger. Some will improve your flexibility. A handful will build your skills progressively.But what we’ve learned from working with tens of thousands of people around the world is that, if you lack in any one of these three elements, eventually you WILL get stuck – no matter what program you follow.
Elements is designed to fix that using our “AAA” training framework.
GET UNSTUCK BY FIXING YOUR WEAKEST LINKS
We developed our AAA Framework to ensure you spend your limited training time on the areas you need to improve most. Here’s how it works:
Weeks 1 & 2
Step 1: Assess Your Abilities
During Weeks 1 & 2, you’ll learn the basic movement patterns while testing your current levels of strength, flexibility, and control.
Weeks 3-6
Step 2: Address Your Weaknesses
Weeks 3 – 6 assign specific movement variations, transitions, and circuit training to strengthen your weakest links as efficiently as possible..
Weeks 7 & 8
Step 3: Apply Your Skills
Weeks 7 and 8, bring you both towards a challenging and refinement of your abilities as you complete the program with all of the variations, flows, and circuits.
The AAA Framework is deceptively simple. It seems like “common sense,” but once you spend time looking at how most people train, you’ll see it’s anything but. Most programs are based on generalized assumptions about what you should practice.Since weaknesses are never identified, they can’t be adequately addressed in the training. Instead, you end up practicing exercises and skills the trainer naturally excels at. It’s truly a case of “guru knows best,” which only works for people who have the same natural abilities.
We designed Elements around three core moves that give you the specific physical attributes you need for a stronger and more responsive body that can move with fluid agility and absolute freedom in any situation.
THE 3 CORE MOVEMENT PATTERNS
“Animal movements” are found in the dance and martial traditions of almost every culture. Though there are thousands of variations, we’ve selected three that provide a solid base for almost any skill.
The Bear builds strength and stability through the arms and shoulders while stretching the hamstrings and upper torso. You’ll get familiar with several variations that emphasize strength and control in different areas.
The Monkey is a deep lateral move that opens the hips through repeated squat transitions. As you build balance and control, you’ll find your legs can reach upward, forming the basis for cartwheels and other tumbling skills.
The Frogger is also squat-intensive but places more forward pressure on the arms and shoulders. As your trunk gets stronger, your hips are able to lift higher towards handstands and other inverted skills.
EXPAND WHAT YOUR BODY CAN DO
Getting “good” at Bear, Monkey, and Frogger isn’t the point. It’s how these movements help you build the capabilities you want, loosen your restrictions, and open up new ways to move. Here’s some of what Elements will help you with:
A. Improve mobility in hips and back, and fix back pain: “About halfway through Elements, a nagging lower back pain I lived with for years was suddenly gone.” –Sandi York, Buffalo, NY
B. Stronger, more stable and pain-free shoulders: “Working through Elements has helped me develop stability and range of motion with my shoulder that I never thought I’d regain.” –Rob Arthur, Raleigh, NC
C. Deeper, stronger squats: “Getting into deep squats feels effortless now, even without a long warm-up or spending hours per week foam rolling.” –Christian Ampania, Sacramento, CA
D. Flexible, strong wrists that can take a beating: “I’ve been doing these exercises on a daily basis for at least a month and have seen my nagging wrist issues vanish! I can do stuff like push-ups without pain. Hurray!”–Eric B., California
E. Improved flexibility through your hamstrings and ankles: “By continually working these movements, I have improved my hamstring flexibility and control.” –Jodi, Australia
F. Move in ways you never thought possible: “For the first time in my life, I go to the gym to play. To explore the limitations of my mind and body and it is exhilarating.”–Justin Hepler, Scottsdale, AZ