Why You're Doing What You're Doing: The Movement Assessment
When I sat down in late 2021 to plan article ideas for this year I kept coming back to the same concept…write about what your clients ask you.
If you’ve been following my writing then you’ve heard me mention that my clients' questions are the best content ideas.
The old cliche rings true, if you have the question, so do 99 other people.
Which means If I write about the answer in these articles, you’ll find it useful.
Which brings me to the start of a new series for 2022.
For those keeping score at home, I write the Home Gym Series, which has been going splendidly, twice a month, nutritional strategies get some love one week a month, and now this series.
Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing is a concept 100% stolen from my friends at Beyond Strength, who also double as the co-founders of Strength Faction, the most amazing fitness professional mentorship group.
I feel it’s only right to give the kudos to those guys since I am 100% ripping off their concept.
The best form of flattery is theft, right? Or something like that. But seriously, Chris and Todd, thank you!
This series is all about answering questions related to the programming clients receive at Purposeful Strength. Through these answers I am hoping that you will learn about new concepts in your workouts, see the thought process(es) that go in to working with a Personal Trainer, and like I am doing with Beyond Strength, steal my ideas for your own workouts!
Our first edition covers a topic that all my personal training clients, in person and online, go through; the movement assessment.
“Hey Casey, Can you just start the workouts?”
Nope.
We start with a movement assessment, even online, for a few foundational reasons.
The movement assessment allows me to see foundational patterns in action to better prescribe exercises that fit your current movement capabilities.
The movement assessment shows subjective progress. If we look at a movement today, and then again in 90 days, we can use this as a measure of progress.
The movement assessment is also a part of the coaching education process, especially in the online personal training format. If you can watch the tutorial videos, perform the movement safely, film and upload for review, then you’ll jive with online personal training.
So what gets assessed?
The movement assessment looks at foundational every day movements of life, and common movements that people perform in their workouts.
Arms up bodyweight squat- this shows how well you can perform the squat pattern, how your ankles, knees, and lower back align during the movement, and any mobility restrictions from upper back to ankles.
How it affects your program: impacts which squat variation you receive
Toe touch- this shows how well you can segment your spine as you reach to the floor.
How it affects your program: Where we start with hip hinge/deadlift movements.
Inline stationary lunge- this test requires a demonstration in balance and requires a test of relative body strength.
How it affects your program: Which single-leg exercises you receive. How much additional assistance in high-balance movements to prescribe.
Shoulder mobility- In today’s work from home world, I need something to see that upper-back and shoulder range of motion. This test shows all that.
How it affects your program: Which shoulder movements you receive and is a deciding factor in how many pressing movements your program will have.
Active straight-leg raise- my favorite assessment, This test shows how well you can systematically engage your core to glute your back and pelvis to the floor, while simultaneously lifting your leg. Many think it’s just a measure of hamstring flexibility, which it is, but it shows how the whole body interacts.
How it affects your program: This assessment helps decide where and how we start deadlifting.
Bottoms up Push up- This shows relative strength, scapular control, and core strength. If you push yourself up and your shoulders move before your torso and hips, then we’ve got a good indicator of core stability,
How it affects your program: This helps determine pressing variations and which core strength movements are going to be most beneficial to start.
If you’ve ever started with a Personal Trainer and they just took you through a workout, without any kind of assessment, throw up that red flag.
Outside of safety, the assessment is the backbone to a client program in that it helps make the decisions for movements that can be done well by you, the client. When starting with me, or any other Personal Trainer, it’s critical that the movements selected fit the bodies that are performing them. This helps build early confidence, spark early motivation, and allow for this success to be fostered into long term positive habits.
So though your first workout will have to wait, I promise you, the assessment process is going to make it that much better.
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