The 3 Biggest Mistakes Trainers Make With Assessments

How I go about assessing a 23 year-old overhead athlete with vast experience in the weight room who’s complaining of shoulder impingement (ß a bullshit term mind you), while having some similarities, will often be profoundly different compared to an inactive 57 year old who sits at a computer desk all day and presents with flexion-based lower back pain.

I’d argue any fitness pro who possesses the ability to be adaptable, more open-minded, and avoids pigeonholing him or herself into one train of thought or one way of doing things is (probably) going to be much more successful in the long-run.

And (probably) get better results.

And (probably) not come across as a pompous a-hole.

Mistake #2: Avoiding the Power of Test/Re-Test

During most of my talks I always stress two things:

– My cat is the cutest cat ever.

– With assessment, it’s crucial to implement a test/re-test strategy.

It’s nothing fancy or elaborate.

You test something – whether it be looking at range of motion or maybe a strength discrepancy – implement a “corrective” modality if something’s deemed out of whack, and then re-rest that shit to see if it worked.

If it did….you’re Gandalf.

If not…#awwwwwkward.

The test/re-test approach helps set the tone for any future “corrective” strategies or programming considerations you’ll do as a coach or trainer.

In addition, and something I’d argue is equally as important, it also provides an added layer of value to the assessment.

If you’re able to demonstrate to someone a significant change or improvement in ROM or reduction in pain/discomfort by implementing a drill or two, and it’s something they’ve been struggling with despite countless interactions with other fitness professionals, what’s the likelihood they’re going to bust out their checkbook?

Pretty freakin high.

Lets use an everyday example: the ability for someone to raise their arms overhead.

Everyone should be able to do it; however, due to any number of factors, many can’t. As a result, it’s not uncommon for some to experience pain in their shoulder, or elsewhere up and down the kinetic chain.

I can test their shoulder flexion – both actively (standing) and passively (on a table) and see a ROM limitation.

I can use the test/re-test approach to see if I can nudge an improvement.

There are any number of protocols I can implement, but in this scenario I’ll usually start with positioning and addressing ribcage (thorax) movement. The shoulder blade’s ability to move – in this case to upwardly rotate, posteriorly tilt, and protract – are at the mercy of ribcage position.

Many people live in an extended posture and tend to be “stuck.” I.e., the ribcage doesn’t move and the scapulae can’t perform the above movements.

If I can get them to learn to achieve 360 degree (or 3D) expansion via some simple breathing/positional drills – like Prone Belly Breathing (Alligator Breathing), Supine Belly Breathing, or Deadbugs (performed right, with a FULL exhale) – and allow their ribcage to move, this enhances position – via better alignment – tricks the CNS into turn off the brakes, promoting more parasympathetic activity, which then allows more ROM to occur. Hopefully.

The idea here is to get both the lower back and upper back to move (expand), and then to work on lateral expansion (if someone had their fingers on the sides of my upper torso, my ribcage would expand into their fingers).

I’d have someone perform 5-10 of these breaths making sure to stress a FULL exhale. I’d then re-assess their shoulder flexion ROM.

If I see an improvement I now know what one of their “corrective” strategies may be. And, I didn’t have to smash or thrash or have them perform any excessive stretching. All I did was stress better positioning.

If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. No one modality works for everyone. I’d move onto something else, maybe have them spend some additional time foam rolling their lats and pecs, and then toss in some additional thoracic mobility drills like the Side Lying Windmill:

Then I’d re-test.

If it worked, SHA-ZAM…I now know I need to have them work on additional tissue quality.

If not, I guess I’d just go fuck myself.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with several approaches. Oftentimes why many “corrective strategies” don’t work is because the trainer/coach doesn’t choose or implement the correct strategies to begin with.

Mistake #3: Making People Feel Like They’re Broken

You know what’s weird? Using the assessment as an excuse to poke and prod for an hour and then “hmmm’ing” and “ahhhh’ing” someone to death.

I find many (not all) trainers/coaches use the assessment as an opportunity to go out of their way to find something wrong; as if they’re playing some sort of diabolical game of hide-n-seek with dysfunction.

They seek it out, and try to find something wrong.

They’ll “poke” and “prod” for an hour detailing every degree of forward head posture, lack of hip internal rotation, or lack of big toe dorsiflexion, and then wax poetic on how it has to be fixed, and that if it isn’t fixed the person standing in front of them is a walking ball of fail, or, I don’t know, a baby seal dies.

By the end, the person being assessed is wondering whether or not they can do anything well? They feel like they’re broken, and that’s not cool.

Don’t get me wrong: the poking and prodding (or “Isolative” component of the assessment) is important. I’ll plop people onto a massage or assessment table and try to ascertain whether or not that exhibit ROM limitations and try to figure out what causes their pain/discomfort (if it exists).

But that only gives me a teeny-tiny part of the equation. It would be pretty presumptuous of me to think the only information I need is what someone demonstrates on a table. They may present as “limited” or “dysfunctional” with passive screens, such as on the table, only to blow my preconceived notions out of the water and prove me wrong once I add movement, load, and/or repetition(s).

I need to add an INTEGRATIVE component to the assessment as well. I need to see people move.

I want to see them squat, hip hinge, perform a walking lunge, maybe a few push-ups.

Does movement improve or get worse? Do I see an increase on ROM, or less? Do they “own” the movement, or do they resemble a baby giraffe?

The assessment should have shades of a training session. I gain more information using a hybrid approach watching people move and seeing what their default patterns are then if I just had them lie on a table for 45 minutes. What’s more, it’s only at that point that I can “match” what I see actively (movement) with what I see during a more passive screen (on a table).

For example, many trainers will look at someone’s squat pattern, notice it’s limited, and assume it’s a hip mobility issue. Well, is it?

Oftentimes the issue has nothing to do with lack of hip mobility, but rather a lack of stability.

If I only used an isolative approach and failed to add movement into the assessment I’d be barking up the wrong tree.