The beauty of using multi-joint strength training exercises is that they can be used by anyone and often have a series of gradual progressions so you can work your way up each level. The downside of using these exercises is that they are often very difficult to learn and master. Many people look at complicated multi-joint strength exercises as just a gimmick or a circus stunt to impress people. I think sometimes this is true and these exercises can be quite crazy. However, the exercises I am about to share with you are all about trying to improve walking and running. Every exercise I use has a purpose and an objective to achieve. Nothing is random or just there to fill in time. One of the best things about the exercises I am about to discuss is that they do not require huge loads or apply tons of compression on your joints which is often a problem with strength exercises. This doesn't mean you do not need much strength, for you certainly do, it is just the strength must be obtained via the entire body as opposed to a particular area. The brain is really challenged with these exercises, arguably more so than your muscles.

3 Concepts That Are Similar To Each Exercise

I would say that apart from the obvious coordination being a factor in learning these exercises, it really comes down to executing the exercises quickly to make them work well. This is very similar to the problem with learning agility or power based exercises where it is difficult for me to even show you in slow motion how to do them. To make it easier to learn in each of the videos I show you a basic version of each of these to begin with, before progressing to the more challenging exercise.

There are 3 common themes that all of these exercises share and they are:

1. They are all highly functional and require great skill and coordination which is perfect for improving the gait movement pattern (walking and running).
2. They all demand high level of control with bending and rotation movements, which are two of the most problematic patterns.
3. Most importantly, they all move quite fast in order to execute the movement efficiently with the right timing. If you are too slow or a bit off with the timing it throws the exercise off balance.

By far the most beneficial part of these exercises is the strong emphasis on improving the gait cycle.

More specifically these exercises assist glute activation and core engagement, in movements that mimic walking and running. I think most people are very aware of the importance for adequate glute and core strength and this is something I have discussed at great lengths many times. What I don't think is understood quite as clearly is the need to move fast.

Any exercise that requires the gait cycle always looks very smooth and athletic when performed well and extremely awkward and robotic if performed poorly. 

It is not so much the lack of strength that makes it awkward but the poor timing and I think this really is the secret to maintaining healthy joints and effortless movement. Unfortunately, exercises like these are often very difficult to learn, especially if you have an injury or any type of walking dysfunction.

I have spoken about this numerous times in articles about walking problems and have had worked with many clients with severe disorders or injuries like MS, spinal cord injuries where disability is present. Using standard muscle strengthening exercises has little effect on changing the timing and muscle interaction needed for walking, which is something I was very frustrated with for many years when working with these conditions.

The two main problems associated with loss of stability in the gait cycle are smaller stride lengths, and a loss of speed.

A slowing of neural firing speed, (the brains message to the nerves within muscles for movement) from lack of exercise produces a slower response time for the initiation of movement. To make up for the body’s lost reaction it compensates by slowing everything down and shortening our stride to improve stability and overcome our lost reflexes and reaction times.

Basically, it becomes very inefficient and awkward.

Okay, now that you have an appreciation of what these following exercises are trying to achieve let's get started starting with the easiest and finishing with the hardest.

Single Cable Pull with Weight Shift

This first exercise combines two movements into one, being the Romanian Deadlift and the Single Cable Pull. Both exercises in their own right provide incredible benefits with strength, stability, and overall function. The timing required to achieve the swing shown towards the end of the video is your first taste of fast timing creating smooth movement. If you are too slow you will use your arms too much and experience shoulder fatigue. If you get it right you will feel aerobically exhausted.

Combining them allows you to incorporate the added rotation and weight shifting components that help to improve more dynamic movements. This is not an exercise I would necessarily start with for a new person as I would like to spend the time with more simple exercises first, but it is something that would be of great benefit later on for improving hip mechanics and function.

Anyone who struggles to understand the technique of the RDL will find this a good addition as the load pulling away from you helps to engage the hips sitting back. So in some small way it is a good teaching exercise for hip-hinging even though it really is more of an upper body strength exercise.

One small benefit of using this exercise which is easily overlooked is the stretch of the latissimus dorsi which is a muscle prone to shortness and tightness causing problems for the shoulder and neck. While it is not necessarily a stretch it does help the body to mobilize this area. By adding the hip-hinging movement at the same time it really is a great mobility type strength exercise.

Single Dumbbell Shoulder Press with Weight Shift

This exercise is similar to the woodchop in that incorporates the weight shifting skill and strength to effectively integrate the lower body and upper body together.

The shoulder press is definitely one of the most difficult upper body strength exercises for many people to get right and the exercises shown here show you some of the ways to use the strength in the legs to assist the weaker shoulder muscles with the overhead action.

Most people think their upper traps are very strong as they are often quite tight. When in reality they are the exact opposite in that they are very weak from being excessively stretched all day long. Stiffness is a protective mechanism to prevent injury. Finding ways to strengthen this area of the body without causing pain and injury to the neck or shoulder can be quite tricky so using exercises like this can help to avoid that.

This is not an exercise I would begin with if I had severe weakness or pain but something I would use towards the end of the rehab program to learn how to integrate overhead movements into functional tasks.

The first exercise is relatively easy but the second one does require good coordination and basic strength. The best part about the second exercise is how it demands the additional use of the core and the legs to assist the movement.

Walking Deadlift/Lunge

This next exercise is an excellent choice for the person who has sore knees and cannot do the walking lunge as it is more of a hip-loaded exercise than a knee loaded one. For this reason it is an excellent way to improve the strength of the glutes.

This is one of those exercises that requires incredible timing and coordination in order to get it right which is one of the main reasons I stopped using it years ago for many people found it too difficult to get right. A bit like kettlebell swings I fell out of favour with a lot of those exercises as many people used to hurt themselves by bending so poorly so I stuck with the more controlled versions of hip-hinging or Romanian Deadlifts.

However, recently I was using this myself as for the past few years I had trouble with my right hip and wanted to use some more dynamic exercises to get myself back to where I was. Almost immediately I could feel how useful this exercise was to my body so I continued using it and decided to try and teach a few people how to do it again.

Hence, my reason for making this video is so I could have something for them to watch and learn how to get it right as it can be a bit frustrating if your coordination is not great.

If you currently have back pain like bulging discs or hip problems like FAI or piriformis syndrome I would not try this first and spend more time with more stable and structured exercises. Eventually you could do this at the end to restore gluteal strength and full functional movement but it is an advanced progression to use in the later stages of your rehabilitation program.

However for those who do have great technique or people with hip related problems like lateral pelvic tilt or asymmetrical postures this type of exercise can be really useful early on in helping to restore those imbalances. Very much like the benefits of the suitcase carry in that the instability helps to resolve the underlying weakness and problems.

It all depends on the person.

Single Cable Push with Weight Shift Progressions

This last exercise is my favourite one right now and it is also the hardest to learn.

The single cable push has been one of my all-time favourite exercises for almost 20 years and is featured several times on my You Tube channel and I even wrote an entire article about this one exercise for I like it so much. (See - Single cable push is much more than a simple strength exercise)

I use it in my assessment process with clients on their first day for it tells me so much about how the person moves with the pushing pattern. While it certainly has an emphasis on pushing strength using the pecs, shoulders, and triceps as you would with exercises like the bench press and push-ups, this exercise has so many more benefits that are critical to the health of the body.

Here is a brief summary of the main benefits.

Functional Benefits

While the push up and bench press can increase the strength with the upper body they are not as functional compared to the single cable push for they do not require the use of the legs and core in a standing position to provide adequate stability to move. The push-up at least demands some core strength, but the bench press requires none. Neither require a great deal of brain involvement to complete, and for this reason provide little carryover to improving how we move in a standing position.

Trains the Brain

This movement also uses both the left and right side of the brain as it requires you to use opposite sides of the body at the same time. For example if you push with the left arm your right leg is the main stabilizing leg. This mimics the exact action we use when we throw a ball, and also when we walk and run which is exactly what I explained at the beginning of this article.

In the video the last progression shows a perfect example of how this exercise develops the strength and timing needed for running. While coordination is a big problem with learning these type of exercises the benefit to your brain is significant and can go a long way to preventing problems like Dementia.

Improves Strength Of Serratus Anterior

With almost every shoulder and neck injury you will find there is a significant weakness with serratus anterior. The single cable press is one of the best exercises to develop the strength with the serratus anterior for several reasons. It allows full protraction of the shoulder which is the key in activating this muscle. It also demands good thoracic mobility with rotation as the exercise requires you to move in 180 degrees. Thoracic stiffness is a known problem with instability of the scapula and shoulder.

Improves Strength of the Anterior Oblique Sling

In addition to the serratus anterior the activation of the abdominal muscles is substantial during the single cable push. The single cable push is one of the best exercises for developing what is known as the Anterior Oblique Sling. You can read more about this by clicking here.

This system tells us that the obliques help provide stability and mobility in the action of walking or running. They are both important in providing that initial stability during the stance phase of gait and then contribute to pulling the leg through during the swing phase.

In this movement the obliques and the contra-lateral adductors work in perfect sync to create movement. Many people will find this movement really trains the oblique muscles more than their arms for the rotation element is significant. Training this system is essential for the sporting player who use multi-directional movements as it enhances stability as speed increases in activities such as sprinting, and also when needing to brake or change direction.

Leg Strength

Normally this exercise is more about upper body strength but when it is performed as shown in this video it almost becomes more of a leg exercise. Standing movements like this are of much more importance to the brain for improving movement. If there is any weakness in the base the entire structure will suffer and this movement requires great stability and positioning to be able to execute the exercise efficiently. Having strong legs to do squats and deadlifts is one thing, but if your form and technique is not perfect in the lunge this movement will be difficult to master and your upper body strength will suffer. This exercise is one way to bring all of this together.

Want More Ideas?

If you want more ideas of how to put these exercises together into complete strength programs and even cardio and sporting workouts, make sure you get a copy of the Little Black Book of Training Secrets where I share 101 amazing programs. Click here to see more about what is inside this special report and download your digital copy instantly.

Summary

I hope this article gives you some ideas of how you can try to improve the efficiency and coordination of functional movement. Sure, these are not for every person and you may need to regress to much simpler exercises to begin with but I think they are something we should all aspire to. For one thing is for sure if you really spend the time to try and move well it pays off in buckets for you later on, no matter what age you are or what your current ability is.

For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 300 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. You can also subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter by clicking here.

If you do need specific help with your exercise program please feel free to reach out to me for help and we can set you up with your individualised program.

About The Author

Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 19 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specialises in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.

References:

• The Gift Of Injury - By Dr Stuart McGill and Brian Carroll
• 8 Steps To Pain Free Back - By Esther Gokhale
• The Vital Glutes - By John Gibbons
• Movement - By Gray Cook
• Functional Patterns
• Corrective Exercise Solutions - by Evan Osar
• Back Pain Mechanic - by Dr Stuart McGill
• Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes - By Shirley Sahrman
• Low Back Disorders - by Dr Stuart McGill
• Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance - by Dr Stuart McGill
• Knee Injuries In Athletes - by Sports Injury Bulletin
• The ACL Solution - by Robert G Marx
• Understanding & Preventing Non-Contact ACL Injuries - American Orthopaedic Society For Sports Medicine
• Core Stability - by Peak Performance
• Athletic Body in Balance - by Gray Cook
• Anatomy Trains - by Thomas Meyers
• Motor Learning and Performance - By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
• Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance - By Vladimir Janda
• How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek
• Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course - By Paul Chek
• Advanced Program Design - By Paul Chek