Movement pattern
A movement pattern is the mechanical family an exercise belongs to: horizontal push, vertical push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, knee-dominant, hip-dominant and core work. It is what makes a plan cover the whole body, and what lets one exercise be swapped for another in the same pattern when the equipment is missing or a joint complains.
A movement pattern is the mechanical family an exercise belongs to: horizontal push, vertical push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, knee-dominant, hip-dominant and core work. It is what makes a plan cover the whole body, and what lets one exercise be swapped for another in the same pattern when the equipment is missing or a joint complains.
In practice
It is the unit a routine that survives the real world is built from: if the rack is taken, the correct substitution is another knee-dominant, not whatever machine happens to be free.
The common mistake
Covering all seven patterns in every session for symmetry's sake. A balanced plan is balanced across the week, not the day, and forcing daily symmetry leaves every pattern with a single set.
