What does “Functional Movement” have to do with you achieving your fitness goals?

Guest Post by: Michael Anders

Head Trainer Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting Inc.

Website: http://www.charlottepersonaltrainer.org

Most of our clients, like most people, would like to lose weight, tone, shed fat, gain muscle mass, prepare for a race and so on. In the last couple of years it has become more and more important for us to separate ourselves from the big box gyms filled with meat heads and weekend warriors.

Our goal was to give our clients a truelly personalized training program that not only gets them to their goals, but also gets them there safely while over-delivering. Most of our clients are between  40-60 and have some sort of ailment, the most common being lower back pain.

We start by assessing our client’s posture and movement patterns to check for weak links in their kinetic chain.  Sometimes the weak areas are based on muscle underdevelopment, but in actuality the muscles are strong however it is the movement pattern that is “off”.   When someone’s movement pattern is off, they are not able to activate the right muscles in the right sequence and all the core work and strength training does nothing to fix it (since strength was never the issue, it was activating the muscles at the right time, or simply dysfunctional movement patterns).  Dysfunctional movement patterns lead to higher risk of injury and higher incidence of pain.

Often clients come to us after previously getting injured while working with another personal trainer. We don’t mind getting new clients, but we would rather have people not getting injured in the first place. Through assessing our client’s fitness goals and their functional movement capacities, we are able to keep our clients healthier and have them achieve their goals faster.

Our initial consultations allow us to find muscle imbalances so that we can incorporate certain exercises to correct those imbalances in each client’s program. We don’t do magic, we are not doctor’s,  but we understand human movement and how to perfect human movement.

Find  a personal trainer or coach that you trust, ask them to observe your basic movement patterns,  squatting, bending, walking, lunging, pressing, and pulling. A trusted professional should be able to analyze your basic movement patterns and advise you accordingly on how to correct your imbalances with specific corrective exercises.

You will be able to incorporate your corrective exercises in your warm up, cool down, and/or even your actual workout to prevent  injuries, improve your performance, and alleviate pain.  Avoiding and minimizing the risk of injury is one hundred percent necessary to be successful in achieving your goals!!

One common low back injury occurs when there is too much flexion in your lower back while squatting.  Once you injure your back, you cannot workout anymore, and might fall back on “frustration eating”.  As a result: the pounds stay on.

Another common movement dysfunction we see is when a client is unable to stabilize their shoulder blades while bench pressing or doing push-ups.  Lack of scapular/shoulder blade stability increases the probability of impingement of the shoulder.  A shoulder impingement would prevent you from swimming in any triathlon for at least a year, even with the best physical therapists!  If you are of sound mind, here is what you can do to minimize you risk and prevent most injuries:

• Find a trusted personal trainer or coach and ask them to check your basic movement patterns and core stabilization.
• Raleigh, NC residents will benefit from contacting Nick as an experienced Personal Trainers.
• Have your trainer prescribe specific corrective exercises into your training while continuing to work on your personal fitness goals.
• Adhere to the prescription your professional provides specifically for you.  If your health and fitness goals are truelly important to you, then take some responsibility for your own health and follow the professional guidance.
• Have the trainer reassess your movement patterns every 6-8 weeks and make changes to your training if necessary.
• Enjoy your training ☺

I hope this was helpful to all readers. Feel free to contact me at Michael@charlottepersonaltrainer.org with questions.

Enjoy your training and make your goals happen!

Michael Anders

1. Motivating and Inspiring

2. Highly Skilled, Knowledgable, and Experienced

3. RESULTS!!

5 Step Process to Ensure Your Success

1. Advanced Movement Assessments and Lifestyle Analysis

2. The data from your assessments will then be used to create a specialized resistance training, cardiovascular, nutrition and supplement protocol.

3. We wil educate and empower you on how to incorporate the plan into your daily life without turning your world upside down. You can expect to know more than 90% of personal trainers in as little as four months!

4. Next you attack your plan with the fullest of your abilities with our support and coaching along the way.

5. Every 6 to 8 weeks we measure your results and then modify your plan to prevent plateaus and create ongoing physical change!

Still on the fence about being healthier, more fit, happier?  We spend the majority of our lives unable to make a decision that will dramatically improve our lives.  How and what we do while making our decision will either help or hurt how successful we will be once we’ve made a decision….or if we never make a decision.  Will fear prevent us from doing anything??

We will  cover what an ideal situation looks like and then discuss more realistic situations.

Before we move forward I want to clarify a key point that will have a profound effect once we have made our decision. 

Once we make a decision to move forward to a healthier life, we are committing to that decision and all the efforts that will accompany making the decision real.  In other words, our decision is a commitment to do what we have to do to make it happen.  This is why we spend a majority of our time in the decision making process.  

We should rename the process, “the commitment making process.”  There are going to be set backs and times we fall of the wagon.  Depending upon how committed we are will determine how fast we get back to our commitments and what we do in the mean time.  Our commitment and motivation levels will fluctuate.   How can we stay motivated and committed?

STEPS IN MAKING A DECISION INTO A COMMITMENT

1) Define your goals and why they are important to you.

Here are the most common responses that people give me when asked what their health and fitness goals are:

I want more energy, more confidence, and to be happier with myself. I want to feel better.  I want to get rid of my back pain.  I don’t want to be out of breathe going up the stairs.

I want to lose my belly. I want to tone my arms and legs.

I want to get stronger.  I want a stronger core.  More stamina, more endurance.

And I ask WHY are these goals important to you?   Dig deeper when honestly answering why.  At the most basic level you will find that you will be happier and you will feel more alive once you have accomplished greater health and a higher fitness level.  These are facts!

Use the S.M.A.R.T principles when defining your goals.

Specific- Set specific goals. I will lose 10 lbs.  I will lose 3 inches from my waist.  I will lower my stress level, currently a 9 to a 5 within a month.  I will increase my strength by 50% in 6 months are less.  I will reduce my bodyfat% by 3% over the next 6-8 weeks.

Use these guidelines from ACSM to improve your chances of success.  These guidelines are a good place to start.  We call the guidelines, how we will accomplish our goals, our process goals.

Examples of process goals to use:

I will (commit to) weight training at least 3 x week for at least 45 minutes

I (will commit) to doing 30 minutes of cardiovascular training, either jogging or walking for at least 3 x a week.

I will cut my daily caloric intake by 500 calories.

Measurable- tangible results will keep you motivated.  Assess where you are starting from so you can track your progress.

Attainable-  action oriented.

Realistic- relevant and rewarding.

Time measurable-  I will lose 5lbs in 5 weeks

2) Develop Alternatives- if it rains today, I will substitute my outdoor walk/jog for with my Yoga DVD workout.

3) Evaluate the Alternatives- be honest about what is realistic for you.  Set yourself up for success by participating in physical activity that you are good at and or enjoy.  Who or what will provide you with the best SUPPORT?  

Ask for the support of your friends, family, class, coach, and/or trainer to ensure your success!  We need the help of someone we can count on and who is dependable.

You are your most important investment, so invest in yourself!

4) Make a commitment- self explanatory

5) Implement the solution- get started

6) Monitor your solution- evaluate your progress daily, weekly, and monthly. 

As time goes by we produce results, or lack there of.  Our journeys will tell us if we are progressing or regressing.  Just like our journeys will be continued, so will our conversation…. to be continued, stay tuned!