Motion Is Lotion

If movement is medicine, then motion is lotion. The question is how do we as coaches assess our clients movement and motion? What assessments do we use, and what indication do we have we're on the right track to our clients goals? These are all great questions that get overshadowed by many coaches biases and their inability to see the assessment doesn't align with their clients particular goals.

Too many coaches are married to an assessment that doesn't coincide with a specific environment the athlete/client is in, and the context or function the athlete participates or competes in. In the fitness industry there are so many isolated and outdated assessments that neglect all the omnipresent demands of the body.

The body is such an amazing organism with a million integrated parts, that just looking at one function and hyper focusing on an assessment that is off course does our clients a huge disservice. The coach then comes to a conclusion on what that athlete needs and bases a whole block of training on a limiter that at best could be addressed as pre/rehab work in their warm up with specific movements.

Movement is amazing, and movement is unique to each individual. we can absolutely assess our clients needs through their movement. I assess my clients movement in four categories. The four categories are strength and power, conditioning, functional movement screens, and motivation. These four categories are always on going and help adjust in real time.

The first category is Strength and power. When I assess my clients movement through a strength and power lens, I'm essentially looking at how fast the movement is being performed.

If the movement is assessed as slow, then strain is usually present and indicates my client is producing high amounts force. This means they're working on the force side of the force-velocity curve. I would record the weight my client is using and categorize the weight as very heavy or heavy.

If the movement is assessed and the weight is moving very quickly, I know my client is teetering more on the velocity side of the spectrum. I would categorize the weight as very light and this would be considered power training. This assessment would give me a valuable velocity profile for my client.

The last profile in the strength and power category is a moderate pace or tempo. when my client is lifting or performing a movement and it's sustainable for a period of time before fatigue settles in, I know that the weight is sub-maximal. I'll use this assessment for lower end hypertrophy or endurance training and match sets and reps with adequate rest time.

The second category is an assessment of conditioning and the endurance of movement. This category measures not just cardiovascular, but musculoskeletal too. When I'm assessing cardiovascular conditioning, I'm looking at my clients breathing, posture, threshold, max heart rate, heart rate, heart rate recovery, power and capacity. when I'm assessing a clients musculoskeletal conditioning, I'm looking at form, when fatigue sets in, velocity drop, and movement economy.

The third category ties into movement economy and the functional movement screen. When we're performing a movement screen we're assessing movement quality. When movement quality is high we can produce more force with much less effort. This also helps stave off fatigue as well. when movement quality is low our energy expenditure is much greater because the body is fueling movement that is inadequate, and this brings fatigue to the surface much faster. As movement economy improves, clients can express force much higher with way less effort.

The fourth and final category is Motivation. We can assess our clients motivation through effort. I usually do this through a rate of perceived exertion and follow up while my client is resting after a hard effort. I'll ask questions to understand where they're mentally, and ask them to rate that last set. When my clients rate the set 10 being hard, and 1 being easy I can adjust and auto regulate the next set to get consistent hard efforts while building client rapport.

The rapport I have makes my clients feel heard and understood. They know I'm here to guide and serve them. My clients and I continue to push boundaries and get results. This process is apart of an ongoing ever changing assessment process.

These four assessment categories strength and power, conditioning, functional movement screen, and motivation take the friction out of assessing a client, and sends the message that motion is lotion. Keep getting your reps in AMRAP as many reps as possible.

-Coach Austin-