Your muscles and joints will thank you for this fun and intuitive workout.
You’re at the gym and can’t help but be puzzled by the newfangled machines that strengthen muscles you didn’t know existed. Your coworkers are chattering about the latest exercise trends — none of which you’ve even heard of. (What, you’re thinking, is barre?). You see commercials for the latest gadgets and gear that somehow always require a monthly subscription. These overwhelming scenarios are all too real for many of us. Do you ever want to clear your head of the nonsense and try to get back to the basics of what feels good for your body?
Ryan Cooper is doing just that — in this at-home workout, he’s running through a fast-paced yet fluid primal movement routine. You’ve previously seen Cooper demo more mainstream fitness techniques — like ab workouts, yoga for pain, or simple stretching. Now, he’s helping you work up a sweat with exercises that go back to basics in a primal way. And yes, primal movement is just what it sounds like: movement that’s natural and intuitive to the human body. Think squatting or lunging — moves that children can (and often will) do.
In this video (which, at less than 15 minutes, will be easy to squeeze into your day), Cooper starts out standing, hinges his body down, and flows onto his knees. He reverses this move, then moves into a squat. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity, because “the core has to be active as you go down,” he says.
He continues into a bear crawl that also engages your core, another squat that involves some arm stretching while you’re working your legs, and hamstring stretches. Cooper also integrates rest sessions to keep you from burning out, which we very much appreciate.
By the time you finish up, you’ll be rolling (yes, literally — don’t knock it ‘til you try it) on your workout mat. Did you find Cooper’s flow invigorating? Good news — he’s cutting a deal for Katie Couric Media readers: Using the promo code KCM50, you can get 50 percent off Cooper’s fitness packages. Which will give you even more opportunities to get primal.
