What is Rotational Movement Training® (RMT)?
Rotation is the most fundamental component of movement. It takes place in all 3 planes of motion not just the Transverse plane. Watch above as David Weck explains the two key elements of Rotational Movement Training and how it applies to your overall training.
Read Video Text Below:
We're getting a lot of questions about Rotational Movement Training.People are asking what is RM ? So I want to take this opportunity to give you a brief overview of what Rotational Movement Training® or RMT® is.
So there's two key elements to Rotational Movement Training®. The first one is to create global right/left rotation. So we want the right side and the left side to be capable of rotating with this balance symmetry, unity for the proper timing and positioning.We want rotational ability and we want counter rotational ability. That is the essence of walking and running, which essentially forms the foundation for everything else. So that's the first element. This global left-right rotation and counter rotation.
The second key element is the internal timing sequencing and ratios of rotations through all of the joints. And this is a very important one to understand because it really defines all movement as rotation. So for instance, if we think of a sagittal plane movement or a frontal plane movement, the way we think of it is those are still rotational because the joints are articulating with rotation so it's not this linear move. There are no straight lines in the body.
So by understanding that it's all rotation, we can better target our training to achieve the objective, which is to move with the greatest balance, strength, power, efficiency, cleanest, less wear and tear on the body that we can possibly do.
So let me just explain this internal balance and that ratios of rotation a little bit more. When we perform a squatting movement, for example, we are hinging through the hips, the knees are flexing, the ankles, everything is in concert, rotating with these correct ratios a rotation. If we don't do that correctly we're going to stress joints because we won't have that full continuity and unity through the body.
If we look at the throwing motion it's this torso rotation, shoulder is rotating and extending back and then elbow, all the way down to the wrist and even the fingers as you pronate and release. So it's Rotational Movement Training®.
Now how we go about training it is by targeting this global left-right rotation with fundamental objects: the RMT® Ropes and RMT® Club. Both of these objects gives us the feedback through the hands.The hands are the distal most extremities and by using the feedback that we get from them, for instance, with the ropes, the spirally patterns that are continuous flowing. It's not just breaking and stopping so we're doing this patterning and that helps us tie everything into the center.And the feedback that we get from the tools essentially guarantees that we're going to get there. Without the tools you don't know exactly where you are and when you are in space and I mean “where and when" is positioning. It defines everything so that's what the tools do.
We strategically targeted it so that we give you better balance and timing through this rotation and we marry that with down up movement. It's all represented right here on the logo [points to hat]. WeckMethod teaches you how to move vertically: up and down, and rotate from side to side. And by mastering this which is the essence of movement we move better in all three planes of motion.
I hope this gives you a good understanding up what Rotational Movement Training® is.
