Alvaro Romano was born in 1956 in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, where he grew up doing every kind of natural activity imaginable, like climbing trees, flying kites, playing ball in the streets, capture-the-flag and all the other games that occupied the childhoods of so many generations of people. As a teacher, he came to view these activities in a different light, for the role they played in his body’s development. They were something other than traditional competitive sports, like swimming or soccer, he did not have the opportunity to do any specific training, as is so common in high-level sports these days. He introduced the practice of sports to his family, to his son Raphael, who is also a teacher, and his daughter Renata, as no one practiced physical activities, and his was not a traditional sporting family, it was all the more difficult to start the tradition. Competition-specific training only came along once he was 19 years old.

In 1969, he moved to Copacabana, near the Arpoador, Rio de Janeiro's surfing hub at the time. That was when surfing became his main activity and he could often be found surfing at Ipanema Pier. He made two trips to surf in Peru, once in 1973 and again in 1975, when he met Rolls Gracie.

During this time, he shared a house with Rolls, who showed Romano the secrets of the dietary regime his father, Carlos Gracie, created. Later, Rolls invited Alvaro to train in his gym, once they were back in Brazil.

In 1976, Romano started training Jiu-Jitsu in Rolls Gracie’s academy in Copacabana, and in 1977 began his formal study of Physical Education.

“Rolls was of great importance to my personal and professional life, as his discipline in training, his character, courage, and winning spirit of always wanting to go the distance was impressive, and spread to all those that kept his company. He was a great stimulus in my becoming a competitive athlete. And in my personal life, his posture as master, leader and his charisma were an example to me, and everyone else; he was very much ahead of his time, in every way, in terms of the techniques he practiced and spiritually. What is more, he was and still is to myself and many others an idol and his premature departure was a tremendous loss for the martial arts and those of us that were around him every day.” ALVARO ROMANO.

In 1982, he began practicing Hatha Yoga and training for the Triathlon, a sport combining swimming, bicycling and running that had just arrived in Brazil at the time.

Many people ask about the development of Ginastica Natural (Natural Fitness), how the idea was born. Romano emphasizes that the physical activities, and way of life, of his childhood and adolescence, carried through to his professional life.

In the beginning, Romano perfected a type of training he would do on his own to, later, apply in class. For the safety of those practicing it, he conducted an in-depth study into the movements. His first experience applying Ginastica Natural techniques was with the athletes he trained.

For being a practitioner of the martial arts, mainly Jiu-Jitsu - and for initially having the goal of developing a system for physical conditioning, Alvaro Romano adapted, transformed and introduced several techniques that were the result of his practical experience and analysis of training methods.

“I always sought to be original, to not copy anybody, using no existing model, but, in accordance with my own characteristics, to develop my own project, following my intuition.” ALVARO ROMANO

-Through approximately 4 hours of training per day, he created the basis from which to understand and develop the moves. Through intense training, he perfected various physical qualities, did several experiments with his own body, felt each move and overcame every hardship, until he felt the importance of controlling the breathing while executing the movements.

Ginastica Natural has been evolving over the years and the methodology in teaching it has changed a lot during this time.

The spread of Ginastica Natural has benefited licensed professionals, in many countries, practicing in establishments, or their own spaces.

There have been hundreds of seminars, lectures and training sessions conducted the world over. Ginastica Natural has also become recognized in the Brazilian and foreign media as an innovative method, which can benefit its practitioners through its concept, which associates physical fitness, health and quality of life.

Currently living in the United States, Alvaro Romano has been teaching his method in several countries. Ginastica Natural is a registered trademark in Brazil and abroad. It is a specific methodology for fighters, physical fitness, quality of life, recreation and games for children, as well as being a form of physical preparation for the arts.


What is Ginastica Natural?

Alvaro Romano studied a wealth of different oriental techniques. As a practitioner of Hatha Yoga, his aim was to improve his performance as an athlete, with training for sports as the central theme, and he began developing his own body of work, influenced by the ground movements of Jiu-Jitsu.

I began by identifying some of the movements I created in my training routines with animal-names in a purely illustrative manner, Ginastica Natural does not mimic animals like some martial arts do/ ALVARO ROMANO

Ginastica Natural retains some concepts and fundamentals from centuries past, based on the natural movements of primitive man and activities performed in nature, but its exercises to be practiced in open-air and in closed-environments like classrooms were developed and adapted in a completely unique manner and influenced by the sports Alvaro Romano practiced.

In constant motion and with several combinations of different moves, Ginastica Natural is based on Jiu-Jitsu ground movement, strength exercises using the body's own weight, and dynamic stretching and breathing techniques. There are hundreds of movements, with different class plans every day. It is a complete body of work that develops physical qualities like strength, flexibility, coordination, among others, and through breathing techniques provides the practitioner with great progress in mental and motor control. Romano has his own specific training routine and new sequences and exercises are being created every day to offer practitioners different and innovative ways to get to know and control the body and mind.