Introduction
Movement assessment is an evaluation by personal trainers which allows them to tailor a workout or plan specifically to each client. Specifically, it is the process whereby personal trainers will look at how clients move, checking for limitations, imbalances or over compensations and try to understand the underlying cause of any of these issues. Assessing movement can include basic tests such as looking at a client’s squat or lunge movement.
The goal of the movement assessment is for the trainer to gain an understanding of the client’s movement capabilities at the time of testing. It allows the trainer to develop a training programme that’s specific to the client’s needs, goals or potential injury risk factors.
In this article, we’ll break down some of the most important reasons why personal trainers should be carrying out movement assessments.
To Establish a Take Off Point
One of the most important aspects of any fitness plan is knowing where to start. Both the client and the personal trainer should know what the starting point is, and the movement assessment allows the coach to create a clear picture of the client’s current movement capacity, so that they can easily establish what the client’s next step up in challenge and progress should be. It is difficult for both the client and the PT to know what progress looks like without knowing the starting point, and building a structured plan becomes impossible.
An example might be that a client who has limited mobility in their hips may struggle with standard squat exercises. Without a movement assessment, a personal trainer might unknowingly prescribe a workout routine which pushes their hip mobility, leading to frustrating the client, injuring them, or limiting their progress. With a proper movement assessment, the personal trainer can identify the injury first and start the programme with modified exercises which improve the client’s hip mobility, and gradually progress them through more complexity and weight.
They Create Iterative Challenges
Once the personal trainer has established a take off point, they should be continuing movement assessments to help guide the programme forward. The concept of an iterative challenge is a key part of any fitness programme; it is the idea that once a client masters a particular movement or reaches a certain level or strength, the PT introduces a new and slightly more challenging task.
This over time becomes a continuous cycle of assessment, adaption and continuous challenge for the client means that they are always kept on a path or improvement, without getting bored or reaching too much of a plateau.
Finally, regularly carrying out movement assessments allows the personal trainer to make informed decisions about when and how they should introduce new challenges. They can assess safety and potential effectiveness of bringing in a new challenge, and align projected progress to current abilities.
Promoting Consistency of Action
Once a PT and their client have established the take off point, a solid goal (both long term and short term) and a plan which allows for iterative challenges, the client will understand that there is a lot of thought and meaning in the process. In many cases, this will lead to better buy in, with them showing more consistency and adherence to the plan.
Consistency is the predominant factor in any successful fitness journey; the best designed programme in the world would fail to deliver results for a client who does not follow it consistently. Movement assessments can play a key role in developing clients’ consistency in training by keeping them on a focused and progressive path.
There are a couple of reasons why movement assessments promote better consistency of action. Firstly, they are usually utilised in programmes which are tailored to the clients’ current abilities, meaning they are more likely to be engaging. This will mean that even the smallest steps of progression are likely to keep the clients committed. It will ensure that as they reach new benchmarks, regular assessments keep them being introduced to new challenges.
Secondly, when a client sees that their programme is specifically designed for them, they are just generally more likely to trust it and follow through with it. The personalised approach to the process helps build a stronger trainer to client relationship.
Lastly, by carrying out regular movement assessments, the personal trainer can introduce more safety precautions tailored to the client’s movement and potential limitations. By placing this focus on injury prevention, the PT can ensure that their client reduces injury risk and promotes consistent training.
Conclusion
Movement assessment is a key tool in personal training, which can be used from the first session and throughout an entire training programme. This article has presented some of the main benefits from continuous implementation of movement assessments. If you want to learn more about the best methods for personal trainers to implement into their coaching, then be sure to check out our level 3 personal trainer course.