Triage Method Newsletter - 07/09/2020
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In last week's newsletter, we discuss Exercise Assessment, Screening & Prerequisites. This is particularly important for trainers, but also has relevance to trainees worried about whether or not they need specific assessments to find out how they should train.
Additionally, as always, we have a number of recommended resources, as well as the content we shared on our social media this week.
Enjoy!
- Gary
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Exercise Assessment, Screening & "Prerequisites"
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Early in one’s career as a trainer, exposure to notions that there are prerequisites to training, assessments to carry out, and endless individualisation necessary, can be very attractive.
Why is this attractive?
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Well, it makes you feel as if there is that “next level” of individualisation that will ensure your client gets results.
Sounds pretty reasonable. What’s the problem, Gary?
➡️Every assessment and prerequisite standard introduced prior to exercise prescription needs to be accepted for what it is: a barrier to participation.
✅The vast majority of people do not meet basic exercise guidelines.
✅Exercise is a very low risk intervention. This goes for both aerobic and resistance training.
✅There are benefits to exercise that span across almost all facets of human health and apply to pretty much all individual humans.
➡️Therefore, it follows that, as exercise professionals, the goal should be to minimise any barriers to exercise participation.
Okay, okay, I’m with you Gary, but does that mean there is no need for any assessments or individualisation?
🔍At this point in time, I see very few cases in which prospective assessment is required. I am far more in favour of an approach whereby we say “hey, let’s give this exercise a shot and see how it feels for you?”. From there, we then have the option to allow the person to find their way with their own individual technique and/or make reactive adjustments via cueing or various changes to the exercise (e.g. mode of resistance, ROM, etc.), which may include assessment.
With that said, are there cases where prospective assessment might be really useful to allow for immediate individualisation? Yes...
1️⃣55 y/o Mary with unilateral hip osteoarthritis, marked changes in hip ROM and associated pain noted.
✅For Mary, it might be very reasonable from the beginning to have a look at her hip ROM and modify exercise selection accordingly.
2️⃣25 y/o Mark post-ACL reconstruction, who is trying to reintroduce bilateral squats, but with residual loss of knee flexion ROM.
✅For Mark, it might be reasonable to assess his current knee ROM to decide on what bilateral squat variation might be appropriate and what ROM we might expect.
3️⃣30 y/o Bobby the Bodybuilder who reports consistent, predictable shoulder pain in the bottom 1/3 of the ROM on pressing exercises.
✅For Bobby, assessing his available shoulder ROM at rest might give you an idea of what may be a more appropriate ROM for him to work through at this point in time.
In summary, no, I do not believe you need to do the FMS, joint by joint ROM assessments, or any other form of movement assessment prior to getting someone started with exercise. I think that doing so introduces unnecessary hoops for trainers to hold and clients to jump through. I’ve met many young trainers who feel like they’re idiots in gyms they work in because all the other trainers run complex assessments. It’s mostly for show — but, please feel free to present me with evidence to change my
mind.
On that note, I do cover examples of how to assess ROM generally for different joints and exercises in the Coaches Corner. However, one of the things I repeatedly say is that you do not need to do this for every client. Knowing when something like that may be appropriate is a bonus, but it’s certainly not for everyone.
Enjoy!
- Gary
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If you want to check out more of our recommended resources, visit the link below, where we have archived all recommendations from previous newsletters.
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Podcast Ep. 126 - Dealing with Failure as a Coach
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Podcast Q&A - More Volume When Dieting?
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Sleep: Effects of Sleep on Health
by Paddy Farrell
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