The top 3 Raw Functional Training movements you need to master

You might think Da Rulk gives you crawls, switches and gorillas just to torture you. But there is a lot more to the exercises and combinations he dishes out than meets the eye. We should all be putting his moves into practice.

“Raw Functional Training – RFT® – is a curriculum I designed that utilizes bodyweight movements for dynamic mobility and functional strength and conditioning,” Da Rulk explains. “Everyone will be challenged. It's going to push your dynamic mobility, your functional strength conditioning. But everyone has a hard time with it when they first start. It's the sequencing of the movement patterns that is the key.”

Da Rulk has a unique approach to exercise. He focuses on the body’s foundational movement patterns, then sequences these movements together to enhance core stability, joint mobility and overall functional strength and conditioning for all fitness levels.

Complex movements are stripped back to basics, worked on and then strategically progressed for fitness gains.

If we take a step back for a moment and look at the natural progression of movement from the day we are born, our bodies ‘learn’ each movement in an order that allows us to progress to the next.

For example, a baby needs to build up core strength to be able to sit up. Once they can sit, rotational and reaching movements are mastered and shoulder, core, hip and leg strength propel them into crawling. Leg, lower back and core strength develop further until they can pull themselves up to stand, squat and finally, walk.

Have you ever seen a toddler squatting down to play with toys? It’s a perfect squat! A lot of Da Rulk’s exercises mimic these movements we have all progressed through as we've grown, and are the springboards for so many more moves.

Let’s look at a couple of the big man’s exercises and consider why we should be doing them…

1. Crawls – forward, backward, sideways

Crawls are a fundamental movement. As we said, learning to crawl is a base for babies to build up all other moves. Da Rulk’s crawl exercises help to build shoulder strength and mobility under bodyweight load. They also work the core muscles to increase functional strength and require increased hip mobility to be able to complete them effectively.

2. Switches

Switches are a dynamic bodyweight movement. They improve agility and speed of movement through increasing rotational strength, working the core and opening up mobility in the hips. The squatted start position also relies on and increases quad and glute (legs and butt) strength.

3. Sit thrus

Sit thru exercises work on flexibility through the lumbar and thoracic spine, while also improving hip mobility and developing core and shoulder strength. They are a great full-body movement that anyone can complete – taking it a pace that suits your individual fitness level.

So many of us struggle with agility, mobility and flexibility – hello sitting at desks, in cars, on public transport or on the sofa for 70 percent of the day! – and it can stop us from completing the most basic exercises correctly. But most importantly, it can also stop us from performing everyday tasks to the best of our ability.

By including – and mastering – Da Rulk's training, you can set strong foundations not just to take your fitness and movement goals so much further, but also to improve the quality of everyday life.