DKB Fitness on Creating Their Successful MovNat-Based 'DKB Move' Program
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DKB Fitness implemented their first 6-week DKB Move program in June. With six DKB trainers certified to teach MovNat, Mark Bixby, RKC, MCT, felt it was the right time to create a program to help the team refine their teaching skills and to share MovNat with gym members.
“It was perfect timing to hold this MovNat class, and we had great results with something new and different in our Kettlebell gym,” said Mark. “It was cool to test it out in a controlled environment, and now we are incorporating MovNat into our regular class structure.”
Nine gym members participated, and Mark started the program with a focus on balance work. He scaled the program to the fitness level of the participants, 2 men and 7 women, all around age 40, building progressions and ensuring that everyone was relaxed and improving in their movement capacity.
In addition to balance work, they trained front rolls followed by jumps with good landings — making it fun with varied drills.
“It was really good for me to practice scaling the progressions,” said Mark. “We started with walking into a roll and then running into a roll — both with much success.”
They practiced jumping, crawling and climbing techniques outdoors, utilizing large trees for the climbing practice, and they also integrating movement combos. I
Indoors, they used every inch of the 1,800 square foot gym. A typical indoor session included 10 minutes of joint mobility work, 15 minutes balance practice on 2x4s and some rolls and hand-foot crawls, with teaching of new skills when the participants were ready for it.
“We discovered creative ways to use our gym for MovNat,” said Mark. “Our monkey bars were great for climbing practice. The pull-up bar worked well, and we started with folks simply lifting their feet up off the ground. Another bar was great for leg swing-up practice.”
“The coolest thing was that they were really excited about this program,” said Mark. “At first, there was some trepidation, but it was so unbelievable to watch the tension leave their faces and the rigidity in their bodies change with some instruction. For some, even just jumping up off the ground to grab a bar was a big step. Later, they would all leap and grab the monkey bars very relaxed and confident.”
“Not being afraid, doing it gracefully and feeling really good about their progress was a very liberating aspect of the program for me,” said Mark. “That confidence has carried over into everything they do in the gym now. We have a group working on their hand-stands. MovNat just opened the door to so many other movements opportunities.”
DKB runs a training circuit program four times weekly with 7 or 8 workout stations. They are incorporating MovNat skills into the stations with posture drills, broad jumps, skilled landings, vertical jumps, both up and down, and much more.
They use 12- 18- and 24-inch boxes with instructors teaching people the proper jump landing. They practice balance and they are working up to the tripod transition.
“We’ll add more MovNat classes for sure. I want to emphasize that we are able to use MovNat components now, such as the breathing, posture and other drills in our current Kettlebell training program,” said Mark.
“We’re all using our MovNat trainer certification skills in some way,” said Mark. “The DKB Move program has been a huge success. Overcoming fear is huge, and to see how confident people are in the movements and where they are going with it … they have all come a long way very, very quickly.”
To stay informed about the upcoming release of the MovNat Book in 2013, subscribe to the True Nature Newsletter. Learn about becoming MovNat Certified.
