How Do You Measure Up?

How do you measure success?

Ok so how do you measure success or failure with any endeavor? There must be some type of system of measurement to determine if what you are doing is actually working. You need a benchmark of accountability to help you reach the end goal. Yes? 

So what are some situations where we measure success or failure?

Losing weight: 

We use a scale to give us a number. Is it going up or going down. We can debate what the scale is actually measuring in another post. You get the point. If it goes up you change your approach. If it goes down, keep doing what you are doing. Simple.

Education: 

We use tests, quizzes and evaluations to determine if we pass or fail. Have we earned the right to move onto the next grade level? If not, you repeat it until you OWN IT!

Career: 

Salary, bonuses, and job performance reviews tell us if we are doing more than what is expected, doing bare minimum or are we getting FIRED!

Healthcare:

We have blood pressure readings, relative ranges in blood work, pulse rates, and hundreds of other measurements to see if we are normal or abnormal...or at RISK for poor health.

So my question to you is... how do you measure movement and the risks involved with exercise?

• How in the world can you put your body under the duress of hard exercise without knowing how well it moves? 

• Have you earned the right to graduate to the next level of movement and workout intensity? 

• What holds you accountable to passing or failing in the arena of injury prevention and  performance enhancement? 

• How do you determine if what you are doing is working beyond  just looking better? 

• How can you determine the baseline?

Success depends on progression.

What is your scoring system? Allow me to suggest one.....

FMS 

FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN

Class dismissed!

Perry Nickelston, DC, FMS, SFMA

Your Ass is Your Foot

Say what Doc? Have you finally lost your mind? Well sort of...What do I mean by this statement? As a society WE SIT ALL DAY, so instead of being on our feet all day we are on our ass all day! We were designed to move and stand on our feet...not sit. In essence with this much sitting, we have a cascade of dysfunctional movement and muscle symmetry.

The body typically ends up with quad dominance, tight hip flexors, anterior weight shift, decreased hip extension and glute activation, weak hamstrings, restricted ankle mobility and hyper-kyphotic thoracic spine. Now imagine trying to go workout and train hardstyle with this movement pattern. This is what the average person does...They go to the gym and ask their trainer to 'kick their ass' or go to crazy bootcamps and crossfit workouts where the body cannot tolerate the movements. What happens...injury usually...BUT you also have decreased movement and lack of muscle control meaning your performance suffers. Don't even get me started on a lack of durability.

One thing most people do when they train is they come to the gym after sitting on their ass all day, sitting in their car to get to the gym and then sit down on equipment to train even more with resistance. HELLO!! See anything wrong here?

So how do you see how bad your movement is? Get an FMS Functional Movement Screen. And if you have pain get the SFMA. Get evaluated before you start moving. Movement Screen