7 Primal Patterns® of Tennis and all human movement

By Dr. Donald D. Shrump​ Jr.

​The 7 Primal Patterns® that should be systematically implemented into your professionally designed Tennis-specific fitness program. These patterns were first observed by Paul Chek of the C.H.E.K. Institute more than 40 years ago. You can explore these ideas in more detail by reading his book Movement That Matters.

What are primal movement patterns?
Primal movement patterns are the seven fundamental movements that develop through our ontogeny (ie growth and development from infant to adult) and include the most simple breakdown of all human movement: Twist, Push, Pull, Bend, Squat, Lunge, and Gait.

Primal Patterns in Tennis can be seen in the serve and groundstrokes:

PULL of the arm in the cocking stage of maximal  shoulder external rotation, scapular retraction, and abduction.

PUSH when the arm is accelerating forward with shoulder internal rotation, adduction, and elbow extension to the point of contact with the ball.

BEND is easily seen in the deceleration and Finish stages of the serve as the player lands in a single leg deadlift position as well as the ready position just after the serves finished.

SQUAT is seen on every split step, ready position, and recovery positions from slides.

SQUAT

LUNGE variation for every ground stroke both forehand, backhand, volleys, slices, etc. is such an important movement pattern in tennis.

GAIT is found in sprinting for the ball, footwork preparing to hit the ball, and all the agility needed to move around the court.

TWIST is the most important patter to swing the racket for every stroke and I find most often a limitation in tennis players that needs to be corrected to avoid injuries in the shoulders, elbows, hips, and ankles.

Combining the 7 Primal Patterns creates human movement. Efficiency and proficiency in all the Primal Patterns is requisite for performance on the court!

At Magnus Sports Performance we evaluate each of the 7 Primal Patterns for efficiencies and diligently work on improving the quality of movement, stability of the movement, and strength & power for each player. This systematic approach helps our players to fine-tune tennis techniques that advance their tennis development. If you are playing to win, then come get evaluated at Magnus Sports Performance TODAY!

For more information about getting your Primal Pattern Assessment, Contact Magnus Sports Performance below. 
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