The Ido Portal Method can look hard from the outside. Handstands. Floor work. People hanging from bars like it is nothing.
Starting is simpler than it looks. Here is how beginners start the Ido Portal Method in Chicago.
1. Start with what you already do
You do not need to be fit first. You start where you are.
In a 2020 YouTube guide for beginners, coach Nathan of Moving Focus gives simple advice. If you run, play with your footwork. If you lift, add some mobility drills. Pick the piece that pulls you. That is the piece you will keep doing.
Curiosity first. Skill comes after.
2. Move more, not just harder
On his own site, Ido Portal writes: "We move. A lot." He does not mean 45 minutes in a gym, three times a week. He means movement all through the day.
So do not save it all for one workout. Take the stairs. Sit on the floor while you watch a show. Hang from a bar when you get the chance.
Small movement, all day, adds up.
3. Be a mover first
Most workouts live in one box. Lift. Stretch. Run.
Ido Portal says movement is bigger than any one of those. On his site he writes that we are all "HUMAN first, MOVERS second and only then SPECIALISTS."
That means a little of everything is welcome. Strength. Balance. Hanging. Floor work.
4. Keep getting better
Ido also writes: "There is always a better way, so find it. Then find a better one."
For a beginner, that is good news. You do not have to get it right on day one. Try it. Notice what feels stiff and what feels free. Then try again.
You are not just doing reps. You are learning your own body.
5. Learn it with a coach
You can start alone. But a coach shows you the safe steps and fixes the small stuff early.
We are the only true Ido Portal Method movement gym in Chicago. Our sessions run in a simple order. Skill work comes first. Then strength. Floor work comes last. You do not need experience. You need a starting point.
Drop in for a session. 434 W Ontario St #310, Chicago. Give us a call at 312-397-1179.