If You Are Not Assessing, You Are Guessing

Whether your client is a pro athlete or a woman trying to lose 10 pounds after giving birth to her first child, assessment is the foundation from which all trainer-client accountability is formed.

Assessment is a personal trainer’s tool to create an individualized program. For clients with low function, recreational adults, or athletes prone to injury, a functional movement assessment tells the trainer about the client’s ability to perform basic movement patterns accurately and consistently.

Generally, trainers should measure a client’s “capability” to move before they assess “capacity.” Once a client has developed function and shown the ability to perform basic movement patterns, the trainer can begin to progressively overload and measure the physiological capacity of these movements. In this sense, “if you are not assessing capability and capacity, you are guessing” as to whether the program can actually help a client achieve their fitness, life, or performance goals.

Furthermore, the combination of assessing and then developing movement capability and capacity allows trainers to create programs that are both focused on the process (mastery of technique) and the outcome. This combination has been shown to increase overall program satisfaction and long-term adherence.

A focus on the process helps remove movement errors and sets clients up for success against wear, tear, and injury. Although plenty of research has shown that those who move poorly or asymmetrically are prone to injury, trainers often feel pressured to challenge a client’s fitness. If a client is prone to injury, but their program doesn’t focus on repeatable, accurate movement capability before capacity, the trainer risks injury and the client’s long-term success for short-term gains. An injured client is giving their money to a therapist, not to you.

At BCPTI (British Columbia Personal Training Institute), we teach trainers how to assess, integrate the results, and help clients progress toward movement and fitness success simultaneously.