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NOVEMBER 2016
EDITOR in chief Mike Ruiz mike@movermag.us
ASSISTANT EDITOR Lisette Ruiz lisette@movermag.us
SALES + ADVERTISING Lisette Ruiz media@movermag.us
CONTRIBUTORS Adam “Cobra” Khan
COVER PHOTO Miguel ‘Gara’ Murphy
MOVER MAGAZINE 8108 SW 20th CT. Davie, FL 33324 (754) 779 -2521 www.movermag.us @movermag
To advertise, have content published or to contribute photography or written content to the magazine, please email us at: media@movermag.us
This magazine is meant to promote and increase awareness of the movement culture and is for entertainment purposes only. This should not replace the advice of a health professional. Please consult your doctor before attempting any program, training, movement or exercise. While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy in the magazine, MOVER Magazine can take no responsibility for errors, or the opinions and facts supplied by authors and advertisers. All opinions expressed by authors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. Products and services advertised are also not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.
EDITOR’S NOTE Welcome to the first issue of Mover Magazine! We’re excited to launch a magazine dedicated to movers. Movement Practice is rapidly growing in popularity, and we wanted to take part in spreading the message and growing the community. Having a passion for movement, we started this magazine as a way to fully immerse ourselves in the movement culture. We knew that this project would take us on an amazing journey exploring the boundaries of what we think is possible with our own bodies while meeting others that share the same passion that connects us all. Our vision is to become a central hub for all things movement. We want to bring information, training and inspiration to the practitioners of movement and those interested in getting involved as well as creating a platform for brands, companies, gyms and movement coaches, to promote their products, services and events. We hope that by exploring and curating a variety of content for you, you too will feel motivated to get out there and try some new moves, get plugged in with your local movement community, and continue to feel inspired to grow your abilities by seeing what others are doing around the world as well. We’d love to connect with you, so please check us out on other social media platforms and feel free to send us a message any time! Keep Moving, Michael + Lisette Ruiz Co-Founders
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2016 • ISSUE 01
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IT’S PLAYTIME
07
THE HANDSTAND OBSESSION
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interview with GABO SATURNO
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HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY
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let’s move
Explore your inner child.
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In this series, Cobra Khan talks about the necessary fundamentals to do an awesome handstand!
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One of Miami’s premiere movers, we interview Gabo Saturno to learn about his journey and inspiration.
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4 tips for increasing your hamstring flexibility and retaining your new range of motion.
Top 10 reasons to start a movement practice.
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EXPLORE YOUR INNER CHILD P h o t o g r a p h b y M i g u e l ‘ G a r a ’ 4A l v a r e z •
@garavsmurphy
I T ’ S P L A Y T I M E Most of us have taken up a fitness routine at one time or another, and know what it feels like to hit the gym at a certain time every day, perform specific exercises, reps, and times. There’s nothing wrong with this, but sometimes the structure and rigidity of that routine can limit our freedom of fun and movement that should be a part of our daily routine as well. When something is fun for you, you’re more likely to continue doing it. Movement gets back to the basics of how and why we move. Getting up from that office chair or the couch and exploring our body’s ability to move in different ways. Using new muscle groups that maybe haven’t been stimulated in a long time. Movement can also be about exploring that childlike curiosity. Going back to having fun, the way kids do, just for the sake of having fun. When was the last time you rolled around in the grass, or jumped on a trampoline? There are multiple benefits to unplugging and getting back to the basics of play time. You’ll experience a new mindfulness, living in the moment, enjoying what you’re doing. The more you explore that fun, playful side of physical activity without giving it a name or workout structure, the more natural your body will begin to move and relax. So get out there and play!
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part
THE HANDSTAND
01 OBSESSION
In part 1 of this series on handstands, Cobra Khan talks about the beginning fundamentals necessary to do an awesome handstand! Everyone wants to be upside down all of a sudden. I have been wondering why there is such a sudden fetish for being inverted. It’s a beautiful thing to see, and whether its social media or Ido Portal’s videos to blame, the response has been absolutely amazing.
gymnasts do not necessarily hand balance. I find that for the best training on handstands you need to train with a hand balancer. So follow people like Miguel Santana, Yuri Mamerstein and Yuval Ayalon and attend their workshops. Training with Miguel Santana in London certainly transformed the way I approach the art of hand balancing forever. I also strongly recommend Yuri Mammerstein’s e-book “Balancing the Equation”.
What I find is a lot of people who are already experienced with movement based practices such as crossfit or yoga, have slowly found themselves naturally attracted to handbalancing. We have to be grateful for those two examples because they have at least created a space, away from the traditional fitness/commercial gym set up, so people can explore other movement beyond bicep curls, chest press machines or treadmills.
“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HANDS STUPID”
In crossfit, people get exposed to some form of gymnastics movement; in Yoga its inversions and arm balances which opens practitioners to that universe. I am a yoga teacher and a former crossfit trainer, so the attraction to gymnastics was inevitable. In a recent interview on the Tim Ferris show I heard Coach Sommers from Gymnastics Bodies correctly talk about the poor quality of handstands in crossfit, calisthenics and yoga. Poor alignment and banana bodies are common place. That said,
It amazes me how many handstands related classes in yoga, calisthenics, crossfit and some gymnastics settings actually ignore the importance of your hands and hand and finger control. A handstand is not that much different to standing on your feet. With that in mind, your hands become your feet, the base, the root of the pose. The index finger must point forward and your fingers should be “spread out, like the roots of a tree” as Miguel Santana once put it beautifully.
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Now a dead hand will never keep you up in a handstand and stable. It just will never happen. The hand and fingers need to be active and working hard (see how the fingers engage HERE). If you attend a workshop by Miguel Santana or other handbalancers you will learn the idea of spider fingers and varying the level of engagement and power back and forth to keep you up. When you finally get to the stage where you can do a free standing handstand off the wall you may notice there is a constant battle to keep you up in the handstand, a constant falling and catching yourself. This level of awareness and an active practice of the hand and finger control will help you get a better kinesthetic appreciation it takes to keep your body inverted. The fingers therefore should be working and one should be able to see the whites of your fingertips whilst the majority of your weight is in the palm of your hand just like when you stand, the majority of your weight is in the heels of your feet. If you stand and lean forward until you are about to fall, it is your toes that stop you falling forward. This is translated into the handstand world with your fingers! Although the hand and finger control is the base of this pose, it is initiated along with all the other alignment in the body that needs to be activated which we will get to eventually. So play with that and enjoy! By Cobra Khan IG: @cobra_khan_ FB: www.facebook.com/adamkhancharsi
Handstand training with Miguel Sant’ana (@miguel_hand_balance), Adam “Cobra� Khan (@cobra_khan_), Muhammad Firdaus (@firdaus_hand_balance) and Jonathan Ti (@jon_tomato).
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Gabo Saturno Calisthenics | Yoga | Movement
P h o t o g r a p h y b y M i g u e l ‘ G a r a ’ 10 Alvarez •
@garavsmurphy
A Venezuela native, now living in Miami, Gabo Saturno has taken his fitness to another level after experimenting with calisthenics, yoga and functional movement. One of Miami’s premiere movers and coaches, he shares with us his motivation, inspiration, and journey.
1. How long have you been involved in fitness training?
3. How does movement make you feel? It makes me feel connected to my body and at the same time detached from it, pretty contradictory I know. If I had to sum it up in one word: It makes me feel ALIVE!
I started weight training since I was 15 years old, however, it was not until three years ago that I begun to experiment with calisthenics, yoga and functional movement in general.
4. What did you do to increase your mobility and flexibility?
2. How and why did you start? Even though I have always loved working out, I never felt satisfied by just focusing on the aesthetics part of fitness. This is the primary reason why I began calisthenics and yoga at the same time. I wanted something that would increase my awareness, focus, well-being, mind-body connection as well as my ability to move freely in space. It was then that I found out about calisthenics by looking at some youtube videos and about yoga from a very good friend of mine who turned out to be my girlfriend at the time. Things didn’t work out so I am single now. Anyway, I decided to join a calisthenics gym where I met my trainer which is now my friend, mentor and the person I work with. I decided on yoga to go on a personal journey. I taught myself through some videos and have been waking up every single morning to do my self-practice for about 3 years now.
Pretty much just basic yoga every single day.
”I never felt satisfied by just focusing on the aesthetics part of fitness.”
7. What is the one thing that has attributed the most, to your fitness success?
5. Who do you admire or would love to meet? Wow so many people! If I had to say a few I would say Elliot Hulse, Dylan Werner and Ido Portal. 6. What Instagram accounts are the most inspiring to you? Every athlete that pushes himself every single day and works hard to improve him/herself is an inspiration to me. I also love reading quotes and inspirational phrases; my favorite IG accounts and writers in general are Brendon Burchard and Brian Tracy.
Consistency.
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8. What advice would you give to a beginner just starting out? There is so much information on the internet. Find out what you want to accomplish, see who has done it and learn from him or her. Watch tutorials, online classes, etc.. all the information is out there. The second thing is simply to commit to a plan and follow it every single day, whether you feel like it or not. Forget about motivation as it’s temporary, and just work hard every single day, results will come! 9. What is your favorite move or exercise? Handstands, no doubt! 10. What is the best way to build strength? There is no best way, there are so many methods and we are all different. However, training hard, giving your body the right type and amount of fuel (food) and getting enough and good quality rest are the 3 pillars that need to be in check for strength to go up. 11. How often do you train? 6 times per week. However, I always do some yoga, conditioning or some light movement practice on my rest days. So in theory I work out every single day.
GABO SATURNO
Online Coaching Calisthenics Master Trainer VP of THENX Content ISSA Certified IG: @gabosaturno 12
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Hamstring Flexibility
4 tips for increasing your hamstring flexibility and retaining your new range of motion. Hamstring flexibility is one of the most searched for and asked about topics when talking flexibility. Our sedentary lifestyles and long work hours of sitting in one place have caused a tightening and shortening of our entire lower bodies. Your hamstrings are connected to many different parts of your lower body, so
working other areas will assist in getting that flexibility you desire. There’s a wide variety of fitness disciplines you can refer to when trying to increase hamstring flexibility, and we’ve explored various approaches and compiled 4 tips here on how to get the biggest bang for your buck when trying to increase flexibility.
01 surrounding areas stretch
Your muscle systems are all connected. Tight hamstrings could be a result of areas that surround the hamstrings like your hips, calves and lower back. Stretching the areas surrounding your hamstrings will allow the hamstrings to relax and give you freer motion to work the hamstrings. Start with loosening the lower back and pelvis. Get down on all fours, and practice repetitions of the camel - cat pose. Camel is pushing up, rounding out your back, tucking your pelvis in, head in and mimicking the hump of a camel, then bring everything down, arch your back, head up, pelvis tilted up to mimic the arch of a cat. Then move onto you calves. Get in a standing lunge position with front leg bent and the other leg extended back with the knee straight. Keeping both feet flat on the ground, lean body forward by bending the front knee while keeping the upper body upright.
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02 with movement follow up stretch
Stretching alone will only produce minimal results because it will only temporarily improve the range of motion of the muscle and revert back to its original state soon after. Our bodies adapt to the demands of the body, therefore, to retain the new range of motion you attain through stretching, you must actively work the stretched area in the new range of motion.
Use it or lose it. If you don’t train your body in the new range of motion, you will lose it. So follow up your stretches with dynamic movements. Animal locomotive exercises are a great place to start, like the bear crawl, inch worms, duck walk or frog.
03 the process don’t rush
Remember, this isn’t something to accomplish in one day or one session. Over stretching can lead to injury and that will impede your progress for weeks or months. Take these stretches slow, only going as far as your body will allow you to go and take it one day at a time. Remember to always check with your doctor if you have any concerns before beginning a fitness regimen.
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04 is king
consistency
Even the best stretching exercises won’t be effective if you don’t keep at it. Consistency is more important than a specific program. Start small, even as little as one minute a day to ensure you stay consistent. Starting small is manageable and will allow you to get early wins. This will give you momentum that you can leverage. Typically we set a results goal, like touching your toes. The problem is that although we get there, we don’t always stay there. Once the goal is reached, we feel satisfied but if we take the foot of the gas, in no time, we find ourselves back at square one. Instead, we should make a habit goal of stretching daily. This way we are not in a rush to reach a certain milestone or result. We will be creating a habit that will prime us for longevity. Remember that life is a marathon, not a sprint and this includes your fitness goals. Sustainability is key. Whatever exercise is going to keep you the most consistent, practicing every day, is going to be the best and most effective for you.
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BODYROOTS.ORG
P L A Y FU L M O V E M E N T
CULTURE
body.roots 19
let’s
Move Although movement training has been around for decades, in recent years, there’s been a growing popularity of the Movement Culture. Here are the top 10 reasons to start a movement practice.
01 fun
03 expression
Movement brings us back to that childlike curiosity we had when learning to crawl, walk, run, jump and climb. As children, we were always eager to explore the possibilities of our bodies and abilities. Essentially, movement brings us back to that childlike play and exploration.
Movement is a form of artistic expression. Just like dance, movement allows us to showcase our physical abilities in a way that is interesting and beautiful to watch. Through coordination, strength, agility, flexibility and balance, we can demonstrate the infinite amount of ways our bodies can move in combinations that express our own style.
02 body autonomy
04 health + fitness
To have body autonomy is to have freedom in our bodies. Having the ability to get down on the ground to play with our children, dance at a wedding or take part in fun activities while on vacation adds more to life. When we are limited by what our body can do, we limit what we do in our life. A movement practice develops more body autonomy which opens us up to more possibilities to life’s pleasures and spontaneity.
Movement is much more than just fitness, but the icing on the cake is that movement is a phenomenal way to stay fit that doesn’t require expensive gym memberships or equipment. Through integrated strength and full range of motion, movement helps strengthen our bodies while increasing our mobility and motor function.
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05 longevity
06 aesthetics
Movement practice is an exceptional way to prime our bodies for longevity. Our bodies are adaptive and will adapt to the repeated actions we perform the most in our lives. If we spend most of our lives at a desk, we will quickly lose the mobility and motor function of our bodies. The more we move, the more we maintain the range of motion, strength and body control that will suit us in later years. The old adage applies here, “Use it or lose it.”
Although movement is not restricted to just fitness, it is an amazing tool to build an awesome physique. Movement integrates a lot of muscle groups in many different combinations, therefore it tones and defines our bodies more so than just performing isolated exercises.
09 empowerment
Being able to move freely in our bodies gives us a strong sense of empowerment. You’ll stop shying away from activities due to a lack of ability. As we get stronger and more capable in our body, we develop a confidence that carries over into all aspects of our lives.
07 performance
Movement builds on the fundamentals of human movement while giving you a better understanding and awareness of how your body moves. Movement improves your balance, motor function, mobility and strength. Whether you’re a practitioner of movement or using movement to compliment your sport or another discipline, movement creates a solid foundation that improves your overall performance.
10 we were built to
Our bodies were designed to allow us to move like no other species out there. We were built to move, and capable of moving in complex and sophisticated ways. This is instrumental for our survival but also a beautiful gift to explore and create with.
08 mindfulness
Movement is a mindful practice that builds a strong connection between the body and mind. It puts us in the moment, fully in tune with our bodies and engaged with our minds. Its fun and spontaneous nature makes movement a great way to melt away our stress and live for the moment.
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