Imagine this: You鈥檙e a quarter-mile from the top of your trail run, cruising on singletrack at a solid pace but ready for the break your downhill return offers. All of a sudden, you come across a downed tree that鈥檚 too big to step over or walk around. It halts you midstep and crushes your momentum. But what if you could nimbly jump right over it without breaking stride?
That鈥檚 what 鈥攁 company started in 2008 by French fitness guru Erwan Le Corre focused on using the environment to restore natural human movements鈥攚ants you to do. MovNat calls it vaulting: 鈥淚t allows you to overcome an obstacle while maintaining momentum and minimizing energy expenditure,鈥 says Danny Clark, a certified MovNat trainer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 significantly more efficient to simply change your body position and continue over the object than stop to figure out how to do so.鈥 Not only will you save energy in that moment, you鈥檒l learn how to respond to any environmental challenges effectively so you can perform at your highest level no matter what you run into on the trail.
At MovNat, you start with the most basic vault: 鈥攁 stable and simple way to overcome obstacles that involves planting both hands on the obstacle and using one foot to help you bound over it. 鈥淚t uses the same pattern applied for simpler moves, such as getting off the ground,鈥 Clark says. Starting with basic ground movements gets you acquainted with the skills it will take to nail the tripod vault. Once you鈥檝e mastered that foundation, you鈥檒l progress to vaults that require more dexterity or strength, such as the .
You鈥檒l notice the impact of vaulting almost immediately when you鈥檙e out in nature鈥攈iking and running on trails, skiing out of bounds, or going off-road to that perfect camping spot. 鈥淚t opens up a whole new side of backcountry and trail exploration,鈥 Clark says. 鈥淲e learn that overcoming these obstacles doesn鈥檛 have to be hard. With a good dose of mindfulness, strategy, and technique, it takes only a fraction of the effort, so you have the energy to keep trekking and have more fun.鈥
But it benefits you in ways beyond just getting over downed trees and inconvenient boulders. Mastering the vault, even in its most basic form, helps to restore your body鈥檚 innate range of motion鈥攎uch of which has been lost due to daily activities like sitting and driving鈥攚hich directly translates to enhanced performance as an athlete. As you increase joint mobility and muscle control, your body starts to use energy more efficiently, gains speed and agility, builds strength in major muscle groups and smaller stabilizer muscles, and creates a solid base to go faster for longer on your runs or rides.