Use Movement Assessments To Save Time

Movement Assessments Make You More Effective

Movement assessments are a simple and effective way of knowing what you need to do to stay healthy and moving. The best part is that you can do them without getting lost in a sea of information on social media.

So why are so many of us are willing to commit to high-intensity workouts but yet so unwilling to put in the work to handle our pain and poor movement?

Personally, I think that it’s one part lack of knowledge and one part that the truth just isn’t that sexy.

Assessing movement, and correcting it, is pretty much going right back to the basics. It doesn’t usually require a lot of weight, nor does it look like much is happening. But as you’ve probably heard, the basics are the most important part of your health and fitness.

The fact is that a LOT of aches and pains are related to movement. Namely poor movement, and too much of it.

Your intentions are good. You know your back hurts so you stretch your back and hips. But how do you even know that’s what you need?

Stop Guessing And Start Assessing

To quote the folk wisdom sometimes attributed to Abraham Lincoln-

-Allegedly Abraham Lincoln-

Think about that. Using a sharp axe is a force multiplier, it makes the lumberjack more effective. Movement assessments are the same; they can make your time in the gym more effective. 

In other words, while it may seem like doing the upfront work of assessing your movement is a poor use of time because it isn’t being productive, in reality, it opens up more time to laser focus your attention on the things that will actually help you.

Be More Efficient, Assessing Your Movement Will Show You The Way

Would you rather spend 5-10 minutes a day working on one or two things and KNOW with certainty that it was what you needed? Or would you prefer to spend 30+ minutes a day working through every possible cause of your pain or immobility all the while wondering if it’s even worth it?

If you had assessed yourself then you would have a baseline measurement of where you started from and a good idea of what things to work on. This way you can stay focused, track progress and get stoked when you show improvement.

Let’s use knee pain as an example.

Many of us suffer from non-descript anterior knee pain. In other words the front of the knee aches but an exact location is difficult to define. So what do people do?

Most people stretch the quads and maybe the hips, which is a good start, but how do they know that is what will get them the most benefit?

There could be a bunch of different things contributing to their achy knees, including:

• • • Poor ankle range of motion
    • Poor hip movement in nearly any direction
    • Inhibited (weak) hip abductors aka glutes
    • Weak Quads
    • Overactive hip adductors (groin)
    • Tight IT bands
    • Poor core control
    • Even poor hydration!

Sure, you could work on everything on this list hoping to stumble upon the real cause of your issue, but how much time would you waste along the way? 

Wouldn’t it be nice to just have a shortlist of things that will get you help you fix the ACTUAL problem?

Mission MVMT Can Help

In short, movement assessments are often a missing link in people’s fitness. If you know what you need to keep moving and stay healthy then you can focus on that without wasting time elsewhere. Doubly so in today’s distracting world.

I know that all of this seems like a lot to digest, and for good reason.

The body, pain, and movement can be confusing and intimidating.

But we’re here to help.

At Mission MVMT we have spent a lot of time learning different systems of assessment. Our current system that we use with face to face clients is a mix from:

• Functional Movement Systems
• Integrative Diagnosis
• National Academy of Sports Medicine

We’re also taking what we’ve learned and building a system for you to use.

If you want to go through our online signup and we’ll send them to you as they are finished.

As we develop cool new things you’ll be the first to know.