!Created and Compiled by Justin Goodhart

Copyright © 2014 Justin Goodhart, LLC

February 19th, 2014 - Version 1.0

All Rights Reserved

!Feel free to email, tweet, blog, and pass this ebook around the web...but please don’t alter any of its contents when you do.

Thanks! !

!www.wellroundedathlete.net

The

Movement Manifesto

75 Training Principles for Movers, Athletes, and Fitness Enthusiasts

of Any Age

Movement Manifesto

1. Move. Every. Day.

!2. Use it or lose it.

!3.Take frequent movement snacks throughout the day.

!4. Do the work.

!5. Bring your body to reality. [i]

!6. Your own health and wellness are priority #1. !7. S U C C E S S L E A V E S C L U E S . [ii] !8. The Process is primary. Goals are secondary.

!9. Movement perspective and context is worth 80 (Movement)IQ

points, and 2 years of practice. !!!

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Movement Manifesto

10. When moving and training properly, mobility and fine

motor skills (like balance) should improve daily, strength

should improve weekly, speed should improve

monthly, and endurance should improve yearly. [iii]

!11. The brain exists primarily to create adaptable and complex

movement patterns. [iv]

!12. Coordination is a motor expression of intellect. [v] !13. Breathing reflects and creates your physical state. It is the bridge

between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.

!14. Your body, your responsibility. 100%.

!15. You must break yourself down, then actively rebuild. There is no

growth without recovery.

!

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Movement Manifesto

16. You must have both a movement practice, and a stillness practice.

!17. In movement and in life: Fail fas t , frequently, and small – you will

progress fast, frequently and BIG. !18. Stay away from junk food and junk movement.[vi]

!19. Listen to your body when it whispers, or you will force it to YELL .

!20. Eating is a conversation.

Don’t be an asshole. !

21. Most important muscle to strengthen? Will power. [vii]

!22. Listen to your body, and follow your intuition, but never fall into the trap of doing too little.

!23. You have the collective wisdom and consciousness of humanity

inside you and at your fingertips. Don’t take that for granted.

!

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Movement Manifesto

24. You are part of the most intelligent, adaptive species that

has ever existed on this planet. Don’t squander it.

!25.Don’t fall victim to paralysis by analysis. !

26. Act, reflect, act, reflect. Clarity comes from action more than thought.

!27. Action reflects priorities.[viii]

Knowledge and words do not. !28. Five requirements to move well: (in order of importance)

Purpose, Frequency, Complexity, Intensity, Capacity.

!29. In other words, seek simplicity in life and complex i t y in

movement. Never the other way around. [ix] !30. Become anti-neophobic; seek out new movements and

experiences. [x] !31. Adaptability is the highest form of

progress . Be adaptive in mind and body.

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Movement Manifesto

32. If you do not have a physical practice, you are only half a human. If you do not have a mental

practice, you are only half a human.

!33. Preparation, Mindfulness, Observation. This trio will literally save

you thousands of dollars and hours. In other words, it will save you(r) life. !

34. Don't build c a p a c i t y on top of poor movement patterns. !35.Move with Quality. Movement quality separates the men from

the boys (and the girls from the women).

!36. Prepare for the unknown Unknown (AKA the Black Swan). It’s coming. [xi]

!37. Do not lecture birds on how to fly. [xii]

!38. Mindfulness is medicine. Mindlessness is a virus. Both are contagious.

!39. Soft body, soft floor. [xiii]

!40. Hard mind, hard life. !

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Movement Manifesto

41.Connect the sense of effort to the sense of enjoyment. [xiv]

!42. Sleep is essential for every function of the body. Do not disrespect it. !

43. Nutrition and lifestyle habits: They will be your wings, or your prison.

44. Be healthy to be strong. Be strong to be useful. [xv] Live long to maximize your usefulness. !

45. Why is it important to live longer and stronger? The longer and stronger you are able to pursue your higher purpose, the better every single person on the planet will become. [xvi]

!46. Conversely, weakness and poor health are forms of selfishness and

are a disservice to yourself, your family, your friends and humankind. !47. If you are weak or in poor health, there is no guilt or shame. Only renewed

efforts. This time: smarter, more sustainable, and with a community to

support you. No human is an island. [xvii]

!48. If you never reach a point where you help others, the pursuit of health and

performance becomes selfish. I don’t care if you can do a triple backflip into a

one arm handstand on tightrope. If you never help others,

you’re selfish. Your fancy tricks die with you.

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Movement Manifesto

49. There is no difference between the mind and body. There is only the MindBody.

Your body is your subconscious mind. [xviii] And as

Nietzsche said, “there is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.”

!50. ...But physical prowess is not enough.

!51. Movement must be engaging to the MindBody. If the way you move and train isn’t engaging to your MindBody, find something else. [xix] !

52. Everything you do or feel speaks directly to your cells, and influences the

way your genes are expressed (for you and for your children, and probably a couple

generations down the line).

!53. Every system of the MindBody must be given appropriate stimulus – vision, hearing, vestibular,

muscular, skeletal, auditory, etc.

!54. Like planting a tree, the best time to start moving was 20 years ago.

The next best time is today. [xx] !55. To paraphrase Plato, “the unexamined movement, is not

worth pract ic ing.” [xx i ]

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Movement Manifesto

56. Movement should be made as complex as is human, then as

simple as possible. [xxii]

!57. As long as you’re alive , your body has incredible capacity for

adaptation, no matter your age. !58. “Fitness” is the bastard child of Movement.

It quickly becomes limited. It’s a shadow of how humans were meant to move. !

59. Never use ‘authenticity’ or ‘expression’ as an excuse for lack of skill.

!60. Two marks of inefficiency: Ugly movement,

and noisy movement. Be silent, be graceful.

!61. In movement, what we recognize as beauty is often

efficiency .

62. Therefore, in movement, be as efficient as possible. In (strength) training, be as inefficient as possible. [xxiii]

!63. In other words, movement choices should make

sense, or they should make ANTI-sense. But no nonsense. [xxiv]

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Movement Manifesto

64.If you want to move a mountain, you’d better have a

big shovel and a bigger work ethic.

65. A pile of links does not make a chain. !66. In movement and in life: Isolate -> Integrate -> Improvise.

Improvisation is the highest form of practice (and play). LIFE is an

improvisation. [xxv]

!67. Don’t pay for a Kia and expect a Mercedes.

!68. Never fire a cannon from a canoe. [xxvi]

!69. The body is more like a flickering flame than a machine. [xxvii]

!70. If you hate the process, find a better process. A better process will be

any combination of (a) more fun, (b) more sustainable, or (c) more

effective FOR YOU. !71. Don’t use #70 as an excuse to be lazy and/or disregard good

advice. !

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Movement Manifesto

!72. In Movement and in Life, Boredom is a disease of small minds. There’s always something interesting to learn, practice, or experience. !

73. Approach your practice with I N TENS I TY . Intensity = Passion +

Patience [xxviii]

!74. Getting old isn’t a matter of age; it’s a lack of movement. And the ultimate lack of movement is death.

[xxix]

!75. Pure air, pure water, pure food, pure movement, pure

community. Is there anything else?

!!!!!!!!!

!

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Movement Manifesto

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Movement Manifesto! Movement is such a big subject and it’s crazy to think a single document like this could encapsulate all of the important principles and ideas. This document may never be complete, but I’ve done my best to collect the insights that have helped me along my journey, so I could pass them along to you. !Sincerely, Justin

!About the Author:

Justin Goodhart is a teacher, coach, athlete, and writer living in Denver, Colorado. He believes in the power of play and practice, and regularly trains martial arts, parkour, and gymnastics (among other things!). His blog, Wellrounded Athlete, is dedicated to providing knowledge and inspiration for those hungry to improve the quality of their lifestyle, nutrition, and movement. He firmly believes, “the longer and stronger you are able to pursue your higher purpose, the better every single person on the planet will become.“ !!!!!!Website: www.wellroundedathlete.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/wellroundedathlete

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Movement Manifesto

Thanks: A special thanks to Ido Portal to whom I owe an unpayable debt of gratitude. Your teachings and mentorship have forever changed how I will approach and practice movement. !Thanks to Orench Lagman and the crew at Awaken Adult Gymnastics. It’s been a big honor training with all of you and I’ve learned so much. You have always motivated me and provided amazing friendships and community. !A big shout out to the work of Charles Poliquin, Paul Chek, Erwan Le Corre, and Christopher Sommers. These men are brilliant thought leaders who practice what they preach and I highly suggest you familiarize yourself with their work. It will transform your training. !And finally, thanks to all the training partners I’ve had over the years (and to all the ones I will have!). You all have pushed me, taught me, and inspired me to no end. Thanks for sharing all those early morning and late nights with me. Keep training hard! !!!!!!!!

Question, comments, concerns, problems, or ideas? Please email me personally at justin@wellroundedathlete.net

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Movement Manifesto

End Notes i. Quote by Ido Portal

ii. Quote by Tony Robbins

iii. Quote by N.G. Ozolin

iv. Quote by Daniel Wolpert

v. Quote by Z. Wazny

vi. Quote by Ido Portal

vii. Quote by Ido Portal

viii. Quote by Ghandi

ix. Contributed by Galo Naranjo

x. Contributed by Galo Naranjo

xi. Adapted from Nicholas Nassim Taleb

xii. Quote by Nicholas Nassim Taleb

xiii. Proverb of unknown origin

xiv. Quote by Ido Portal

xv. Quote by Georges Hébert

xvi. Quote by Scott Sonnon

xvii. Adapted from John Donne

xviii. Quote by Candace Pert

xix. Adapted from Candace Pert

xx. Adapted from Chinese Proverb

xxi. Quote by Frank Forencich.

xxii. Quote by Ido Portal

xxiii. Quote by Ido Portal

xxiv. Quote by Ido Portal

xxv. Adapted from Ido Portal

xxvi. Quote by Humphrey Walters

xxvii. Adapted from Candace Pert

xxviii. Contributed by Alex Herrera.

xxix. Quote by Tony Robbins

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