Movement and Mobility Training, Functional Fitness
- Alastair Hunt
- May 3, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 3, 2025
Movement training is a type of exercise that emphasises natural, often functional movements, that the human body is designed to perform. It is a form of physical training that focuses on improving strength, mobility, flexibility, and coordination by performing various movements that mimic real-life activities.
Unlike traditional weightlifting exercises that isolate muscles, movement training involves full-body movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. These movements are typically functional, they involve a combination of pushing, pulling, twisting, and bending, as well as jumping and crawling.
Before we proceed any further, a word of caution: check with your doctor before starting a new exercise or diet routine and always work-out within your limits. A personal trainer can also help with technique and specific skills.
Examples of popular movement training routines include:
Animal Flows: Bodyweight training programs that blends animal-inspired movements like bear crawls, crab walks, and ape hops with yoga-inspired flows and ground-based movements.
Calisthenics: A type of bodyweight training that focuses on performing exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats in creative and challenging ways to improve strength and mobility.
Functional Fitness: A type of training that emphasises natural, multi-planar movements that mimic real-life activities. It typically involves exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings to improve overall fitness and functional strength.
Inspiration
Some of our favourite practitioners can be found on the following YouTube channels below:
The Bioneer
GMB Fitness
K Boges
Strength Side
Tom Morrison
Tom's focus is on flexibility and mobility rather than, say, strength.
Vahva Fitness
Final Thoughts
What does 'fitness' mean to you? Often people get caught up on one pattern of training - likely that they enjoy the most - and ignore others that also have benefits and are vital in the long-term. Some people only run, others only hit the weights in the gym. Cross training is vital, there are so many options and alternate modalities and benefits to be enjoyed. Flexibility training has been shown to be associated with longevity effects.
Supporting your body through balanced nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction, quality sleep and meaningful social connection (these are known as the Pillars of Health) are some of the most powerful health 'tools' we have. Changing health for the better is about consistent progress, not perfection, and even small changes can make a meaningful difference over time.
As always, the best health strategy is one you can stick with - one that fits your personal lifestyle profile. Improving health is about finding motivation, prioritising self-care and taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps to that fit into your unique lifestyle, The Whole Health Practice is here to help. Whether you want to improve eating practices, beat chronic illness or enhance your overall well-being, our consultations and programs deliver results that are tailored to your needs.
FOUNDATIONS - our premier whole person health consult - identifies and prioritises the key factors, known and unknown, that affect health and wellbeing. It provides targeted recommendations tailored to you, the individual, and your unique lifestyle.
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies
Hermann T, Mohan AE, Enes A, Sapuppo M, Piñero A, Zamanzadeh A, Roberts M, Coleman M, Korakakis PA, Wolf M, Refalo M, Swinton PA, Schoenfeld BJ. Without Fail: Muscular Adaptations in Single Set Resistance Training Performed to Failure or with Repetitions-in-Reserve. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2025 Apr 18. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003728. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40249908.
Gabbett TJ, Oetter E. From Tissue to System: What Constitutes an Appropriate Response to Loading? Sports Med. 2024 Nov 11. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02126-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39527327.
Paluch AE, Boyer WR, Franklin BA, Laddu D, Lobelo F, Lee DC, McDermott MM, Swift DL, Webel AR, Lane A; on behalf the American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; and Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. Resistance Exercise Training in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024 Jan 16;149(3):e217-e231. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001189. Epub 2023 Dec 7. PMID: 38059362.
Ogawa M, Hashimoto Y, Mochizuki Y, Inoguchi T, Kouzuma A, Deguchi M, Saito M, Homma H, Kikuchi N, Okamoto T. Effects of free weight and body mass-based resistance training on thigh muscle size, strength and intramuscular fat in healthy young and middle-aged individuals. Exp Physiol. 2023 Jul;108(7):975-985. doi: 10.1113/EP090655. Epub 2023 May 3. PMID: 37133323; PMCID: PMC10988481.
Kato M, Nihei Green F, Hotta K, Tsukamoto T, Kurita Y, Kubo A, Takagi H. The Efficacy of Stretching Exercises on Arterial Stiffness in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Non-Randomized Controlled Trials. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 5;17(16):5643. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165643. PMID: 32764418; PMCID: PMC7460052.
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