The

Movement
Manifesto
75 Training Principles
for Movers, Athletes, and Fitness Enthusiasts
of Any Age

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Created and Compiled by Justin Goodhart
Copyright 2014 Justin Goodhart, LLC
February 19th, 2014 - Version 1.0
All Rights Reserved

Feel free to email, tweet, blog, and pass this ebook around the
web...but please dont alter any of its contents when you do.
Thanks!

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www.wellroundedathlete.net

Movement Manifesto

1. Move. Every. Day.

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2. Use it or lose it.

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3.Take frequent movement snacks throughout the day.

4. Do the work.

5. Bring your body to reality. [i]

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6. Your own health and wellness are priority

#1 .

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7. S

U C C E S S

L E AV E S

C L U E S

. [ii]

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8. The

Process is primary. Goals are secondary.

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9. Movement perspective and context is worth 80

(Movement)IQ

points, and 2 years of practice.

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Movement Manifesto

10. When moving and training properly, mobility and fine

motor skills (like balance) should improve daily, strength
should improve weekly, speed should improve

monthly, and endurance should improve yearly. [iii]

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11. The

brain exists primarily to create adaptable and complex

movement patterns. [iv]

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12. Coordination is a motor expression of intellect. [v]

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13. Breathing reflects and creates your physical state. It is the

bridge

between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.

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14. Your body, your responsibility. 100%.

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15. You must break

yourself down, then actively rebuild. There is no

growth without recovery.

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Movement Manifesto

16. You must have both a

movement practice, and a stillness practice.

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17. In movement and in life: Fail f a s t , frequently, and small you will

progress fast, frequently and

BIG.

18. Stay away from junk food and junk movement.[vi]

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19. Listen to your body when it whispers, or you will force it to

YELL .

20. Eating is a conversation.

Dont be an asshole.
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21. Most important muscle to strengthen? Will

power. [vii]

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22.

Listen to your body, and follow your intuition, but never fall into the trap of doing too little.

23. You have the collective wisdom and consciousness of humanity

inside you and at your fingertips. Dont take that for granted.

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Movement Manifesto

24. You are part of the most intelligent, adaptive species that
has ever existed on this planet. Dont squander it.

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25.Dont

fall victim to paralysis by

analysis.

26. Act, reflect, act, reflect. Clarity comes from action more than thought.

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27.

Action reflects priorities.[viii]

Knowledge and words do not.

28. Five requirements to move well: (in order of importance)

Purpose, Frequency, Complexity, Intensity, Capacity.

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29. In other words, seek

movement. Never the other way around. [ix]

30. Become

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31.

simplicity in life and c o m p l e x i t y in

anti-neophobic; seek out new movements and

experiences. [x]

Adaptability is the highest form of

progress.

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Be adaptive in mind and body.

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Movement Manifesto

32. If you do not have a physical practice, you are only half a human. If you do not have a mental

practice, you are only half a human.

33. Preparation, Mindfulness, Observation. This trio will literally save

you thousands of dollars and hours. In other words, it will save you(r) life.

capacity

34. Don't build

movement patterns.

on top of poor

35.Move with Quality.

Movement quality separates the men from

the boys (and the girls from the women).

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36. Prepare for the unknown Unknown (AKA the Black Swan). Its coming. [xi]

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37.

Do not lecture birds on how to fly. [xii]

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38. Mindfulness is medicine. Mindlessness is a virus. Both are contagious.

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39. Soft body, soft floor. [xiii]

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40. Hard mind, hard

life.

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Movement Manifesto

41.Connect the sense of effort to the sense of enjoyment. [xiv]

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Sleep

42.
is essential for every function of the body. Do not
disrespect it.

43. Nutrition and lifestyle habits: They will be your wings, or your prison.

Be strong to be useful.

44. Be healthy to be strong.

[xv] Live long to maximize your usefulness.

45.

Why is it important to live longer and stronger?

The longer and stronger you are able to pursue your higher purpose, the
better every single person on the planet will become. [xvi]

selfishness and

46. Conversely, weakness and poor health are forms of

are a disservice to yourself, your family, your friends and humankind.

47. If you are weak or in poor health, there is no guilt or shame. Only renewed
efforts. This time: smarter, more sustainable, and with a community to

support you. No human is an island. [xvii]

48. If you never reach a point where you help others, the pursuit of health and
performance becomes selfish. I dont care if you can do a triple backflip into a
one arm handstand on tightrope. If you never help others,
youre selfish. Your fancy tricks die with you.

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Movement Manifesto

49. There is no difference between the mind and body. There is only the MindBody.

Your body is your subconscious mind. [xviii] And as

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50.

Nietzsche said, there is more wisdom in your body than in your

deepest philosophy.
...But physical prowess is not enough.

Movement must be engaging

to the MindBody. If the way you move and
51.

train isnt engaging to your MindBody, find something else. [xix]

52. Everything you do or feel speaks directly to your cells, and influences the
way your genes are expressed (for you and for your children, and probably a couple

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53.

generations down the line).

Every system of the MindBody must be given appropriate stimulus vision, hearing, vestibular,
muscular, skeletal, auditory, etc.

54. Like planting a tree, the best time to start moving was 20

The next best time is

today. [xx]

years ago.

55. To paraphrase Plato, t h e u n e x a m i n e d m o v e m e n t , i s n o t

worth practicing. [xxi]

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Movement Manifesto

56. Movement should be made as

complex as is human, then as

simple as possible. [xxii]

alive

57. As long as youre

, your body has incredible capacity for
adaptation, no matter your age.

58.

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Fitness is the bastard child of Movement.

It quickly becomes limited. Its a shadow of how humans were meant to

move.
59. Never use authenticity or expression as an excuse for lack of skill.

60. Two

marks of inefficiency: Ugly movement,

and noisy movement. Be silent, be graceful.

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61. In movement, what we recognize as

beauty is often

efficiency .
62. Therefore, in movement, be as

efficient

as possible. In (strength)

training, be as inefficient as possible. [xxiii]

63. In other words, movement choices should make

sense, or they should make ANTI-sense. But no

nonsense. [xxiv]

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Movement Manifesto

64.If you want to move a

mountain, youd better have a

big shovel and a bigger work ethic.

65. A pile of

links

does not make a chain.

66. In movement and in life: Isolate -> Integrate -> Improvise.

Improvisation is the highest form of practice (and play). LIFE is an

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67.

68.

improvisation. [xxv]
Dont pay for a Kia and expect a Mercedes.

Never fire a cannon from a canoe. [xxvi]

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69. The body is more like a flickering flame than a machine . [xxvii]

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70. If you hate the process, find a better process. A better process will be
any combination of (a) more fun, (b) more sustainable, or (c) more

effective FOR YOU.

71. Dont use #70 as an excuse to be lazy and/or disregard good

advice.

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Movement Manifesto

Boredom is a
disease of small minds. Theres always
something interesting to learn, practice, or experience.
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72. In Movement and in Life,

73. Approach your practice with I N T E N S I T Y . Intensity = Passion +

Patience [xxviii]

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74.

Getting old isnt a matter of age; its a lack of movement. And the ultimate lack of movement is death.
[xxix]

75. Pure air, pure water, pure food, pure movement , pure

community. Is there anything else?

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Movement Manifesto

I hope youve enjoyed the Movement Manifesto! Movement is such a

big subject and its crazy to think a single document like this could
encapsulate all of the important principles and ideas. This document
may never be complete, but Ive done my best to collect the insights
that have helped me along my journey, so I could pass them along to
you.

Sincerely,
Justin

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About the Author:

Justin Goodhart is a teacher, coach, athlete, and

writer living in Denver, Colorado. He believes in
the power of play and practice, and regularly
trains martial arts, parkour, and gymnastics
(among other things!). His blog, Wellrounded
Athlete, is dedicated to providing knowledge
and inspiration for those hungry to improve the
quality of their lifestyle, nutrition, and movement.
He firmly believes, the longer and stronger you
are able to pursue your higher purpose, the
better every single person on the planet will
become.

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Website: www.wellroundedathlete.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wellroundedathlete

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Movement Manifesto

Thanks:

A special thanks to Ido Portal to whom I owe an unpayable debt of

gratitude. Your teachings and mentorship have forever changed how I
will approach and practice movement.

Thanks to Orench Lagman and the crew at Awaken Adult Gymnastics. Its
been a big honor training with all of you and Ive learned so much. You
have always motivated me and provided amazing friendships and
community.

A big shout out to the work of Charles Poliquin, Paul Chek, Erwan Le
Corre, and Christopher Sommers. These men are brilliant thought
leaders who practice what they preach and I highly suggest you
familiarize yourself with their work. It will transform your training.

And finally, thanks to all the training partners Ive had over the years (and
to all the ones I will have!). You all have pushed me, taught me, and
inspired me to no end. Thanks for sharing all those early morning and
late nights with me. Keep training hard!

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Question, comments, concerns, problems, or ideas?

Please email me personally at justin@wellroundedathlete.net

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Movement Manifesto

End Notes
i. Quote by Ido Portal
ii. Quote by Tony Robbins
iii. Quote by N.G. Ozolin
iv. Quote by Daniel Wolpert
v. Quote by Z. Wazny
vi. Quote by Ido Portal
vii. Quote by Ido Portal
viii. Quote by Ghandi
ix. Contributed by Galo Naranjo
x. Contributed by Galo Naranjo
xi. Adapted from Nicholas Nassim Taleb
xii. Quote by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
xiii. Proverb of unknown origin
xiv. Quote by Ido Portal
xv. Quote by Georges Hbert
xvi. Quote by Scott Sonnon
xvii. Adapted from John Donne
xviii. Quote by Candace Pert
xix. Adapted from Candace Pert
xx. Adapted from Chinese Proverb
xxi. Quote by Frank Forencich.
xxii. Quote by Ido Portal
xxiii. Quote by Ido Portal
xxiv. Quote by Ido Portal
xxv. Adapted from Ido Portal
xxvi. Quote by Humphrey Walters
xxvii. Adapted from Candace Pert
xxviii. Contributed by Alex Herrera.
xxix. Quote by Tony Robbins

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