Episode 235: Be Bad at Many Things

Mike Fitch is an innovative fitness educator and movement coach with 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. He is the Founder/Creator of Animal Flow, a unique ground-based movement program that has certified more than 10,000 fitness professionals in 42 countries. Mike has also developed multiple other skills-based bodyweight training programs including the Bodyweight Athlete and is a highly sought-after presenter and content contributor.

Mike spent years exploring and coaching a range of techniques including Kettlebells, Olympic Lifts, Corrective Exercise, and pre/post rehabilitation. However, it wasn’t until he turned 30 years told that he decided to put down the weights and explore only bodyweight disciplines. He describes his change in training as a major turning point in his personal and professional development: “I had reached a point where I decided that I was way too young to feel so beat up all the time. There was something that I had been missing.”

Beginning with basic gymnastics, Mike found himself both incredibly challenged and inspired. Gymnastics soon lead to parkour, which lead to breakdancing and then hand balancing. A common thread that ran throughout these disciplines is the use of animal movements (locomotion) along with the emphasis of “flow.”

Mike is always the first to admit that he didn’t create animal movements. He sees his contribution to the discipline as having created a systematized program that makes the movements easy to learn and easy to coach for people of all ages and skill levels. Building upon his previous understanding of body mechanics, anatomy, and common postural issues, he developed specific ways to integrate animal patterns and other bodyweight-focused movements to elicit specific responses and results. His goal was to use these animal movements to improve the function and communication of the Human Animal.

When it came to incorporating the Flow component, Mike found the feeling of free and potentially endless movement to be incredibly empowering. He knew that others would feel the same immediate connection he did. In putting it all together, he created the Animal Flow program and its global community of inspired movers.

Today Mike remains dedicated to the various bodyweight-based disciplines, but still draws upon his accumulated knowledge to develop new training programs. You’ll see him integrating kettlebells, VIPRs and other heavy weights into his multi-disciplinary training regimes.

Listen to this episode of The MOVEMENT Movement with Mike Fitch about how Animal Flow can lead to improved movement.

Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week’s show:

How Animal Flow helps people reconnect with their bodies and addresses deficits in physical attributes.

Why you should push yourself out of your comfort zone to stimulate growth and train the body to adapt to new challenges.

How focusing on discomfort in the learning process creates new neural pathways and improves performance over time.

How engaging in Animal Flow movements results in significant improvements in cognitive markers and joint repositioning sense.

How incorporating variety and variability in traditional movement patterns enhances overall motional.

Connect with Mike:

Guest Contact Info

Instagram@animalflowoffical

Facebookfacebook.com/AnimalFlow1

Links Mentioned:animalflow.com

Connect with Steven:

Website

Xeroshoes.com

Jointhemovementmovement.com

Twitter@XeroShoes

Instagram@xeroshoes

Facebookfacebook.com/xeroshoes