What Is Flow Training and Is It Effective?

Strength training goals typically involve lifting heavier, building muscle, and hitting personal bests. When not adequately balanced with recovery and mobility work, these goals can leave athletes stiff or pain-ridden. Flow training is a series of dynamic, rhythmic exercises to help reduce pain, enhance mobility, and prevent injuries. 

Nsima Inyang is a natural pro bodybuilder and Brazilian Jiu‑Jitsu competitor. After years of wear and tear on his body, he programmed flow training into his routine and saw the benefits, well, flow.

Flow Training Breakdown & Benefits 

In contrast to traditional weightlifting’s start-and-stop approach, flow training combines fluid, continuous, rotational movements that demand coordination, timing, and full-body engagement. This type of training can be executed with stone locks, clubs, kettlebells, and ropes. 

Flow training can be valuable for powerlifters or bodybuilders. Swinging a heavy object like a mace requires shoulder mobility, footwork, and core stability. A 2013 study in Sports Health suggests core stabilization exercises, as part of a training program, can help reduce injury risk and improve muscle coordination, reinforcing flow training’s focus on fluidity. (1) 

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A post shared by Nsima Inyang, Mastering Flow through Movement 🤘🏾 (@nsimainyang)

Flow training helped Inyang through shoulder dislocations. “It got my arm back into places it wasn’t reaching before because that range of motion wasn’t being hit,” Inyang shared. “I haven’t had a shoulder injury since using kettlebells and mace bars. It’s been years.” 

Studies on overhead rotational exercises, often used in flow training, can prime the rotator cuffs and increase scapular muscle activation, promoting shoulder stability. (2) 

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A post shared by Nsima Inyang, Mastering Flow through Movement 🤘🏾 (@nsimainyang)

Flow training can lead to more efficient force generation and grip strength, both critical aspects for strength athletes and Jiu‑Jitsu practitioners who use their grip to move heavy objects or immobilize opponents on the mat. (3)(4)

Nothing compares to flow training. The goal is to not think of the next move, it just happens, and it’s the right move.

—Nsima Inyang

If you’re new to these movements, start with light weight or ropes to prioritize mobility, coordination, and injury prevention.

References 

1. Huxel Bliven KC, Anderson BE. Core stability training for injury prevention. Sports Health. 2013;5(6):514-522. doi:10.1177/1941738113481200 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24427426/
2. Alizadehkhaiyat O, Hawkes DH, Kemp GJ, Frostick SP. Electromyographic Analysis of the Shoulder Girdle Musculature During External Rotation Exercises. Orthop J Sports Med. 2015;3(11):2325967115613988. Published 2015 Nov 4. doi:10.1177/2325967115613988 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26740950/
3. Labott BK, Bucht H, Morat M, Morat T, Donath L. Effects of Exercise Training on Handgrip Strength in Older Adults: A Meta-Analytical Review. Gerontology. 2019;65(6):686-698. doi:10.1159/000501203 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31499496/
4. Keir PJ, Brown MM. Force, frequency, and gripping alter upper extremity muscle activity during a cyclic push task. Ergonomics. 2012;55(7):813-824. doi:10.1080/00140139.2012.668947 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22506613/

Featured image: @nsimainyang on Instagram