Who knew that training smarter and not harder
would take a lot of thought? The time it takes to think through, design,
and put into practice an individualized exercise program may become a buzz kill
for those excited to just get moving and sweat off some pounds. A surge
of motivational energy is great to follow up with an immediate workout but it can
cause many to overlook the value and effectiveness of taking extra time
beforehand to strategically plan workouts. Strategy is important when
we’re involved with something for the long haul, such as living a healthy and
active lifestyle. It is very easy to over train, under train, or get
injured without a clear plan in mind.
There is much truth to the phrase “everyone is
their own best doctor.” The value of self-awareness and self-examination
stands in no comparison to the opinions of others, but there is no reason why
external feedback cannot be included in an individual’s bank of personal
awareness. This is a reason why we implement physical assessments in the
health and fitness industry. It is also why we began to use the
Functional Movement Screening™ (FMS) into our assessment process with EVERY
member of the club. The FMS™ is not a gimmicky service aimed at further
distinguishing trainers from gym rats. It is part of a well-balanced
exercise program that should be as routine as “doing cardio 2-3 times a
week.”
Movement screenings provide some of the most
valuable information regarding strength, mobility, and stability that we do not
get from a PAR-Q or 3 Minute Step Test. Normal gym assessments involve
some Q and A regarding health history. These discussions highlight previous
injuries, health goals, and any contraindications to exercise. Aside from
that subjective information trainers also obtain objective information through
measuring some of the body’s markers for physical conditioning, like body
fat. Trainers may also record results from tests measuring the performance
of physical tasks. All of this data is then compared to charts composed
of current national standards. Even though this information is great to have for recording progress in
some ways, it does not cover some other details which are crucial to assessing
a person’s readiness for certain types of exercises and activity.
By and large the missing question is “How well
are you moving?” It sounds like a vague question but standards are being
introduced that are just as testable and reliable as waist size. It is
even more important to ask this question if the goal is improving success in
activities based on movement and not numbers. The FMS™ is currently
helping health and fitness professionals provide a measurable standard for
movement that better enables health professionals to track progress. Here
at LTS we’ve broken down the techniques and tools of the FMS™ to a series of 6
tests combining the most fundamental movements of the human body. What
the tests do is ask the body to move in ways that are completely natural yet
have a tendency to become unnatural as it gets deconditioned by the environment
and other factors instilling faulty movement patterns (e.g. regularly working
on a computer leading to rounded shoulders). When we recreate these
movements through the FMS™ then asymmetries, weaknesses, and strengths are more
easily detected by eyes trained to recognize them. With this information
we can design a program that better addresses these discrepancies in order to
help the body rediscover its ideal positioning for all sorts activities.
To put it briefly, the FMS™ can help us build
a good foundation for movement. More complex movements will become less
efficient if they are performed without a good foundation. The more able
we are to perform fundamental movement patterns then the more efficient we will
be at performing activities requiring more refined skills. This is
because we expend less energy fighting to use muscles not meant to serve as
primary support for certain movements. Instead
we use our bodies as we should by recruiting the right muscles at the right
times, transferring energy to where it is needed, and taking it away from
where it is not. Better movement allows the body to get more benefit from
exercise while making it less prone to injuries that can hinder or diminish
gains acquired through training. Performing a movement assessment every
programming period (about 4-6 weeks) keeps us up to date on the effectiveness
of a program and reveals where changes may need to be made in our
approach. It can reveal where there has been improvement and it can give
permission to raise the bar on a foundation proven to be strong enough to
support it.
For more information on the Functional
Movement Screening™ go to
- Noel Poff, CSCS, CPT, LMT, FMS Certified, LTS Trainer
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