STARTING OFF RIGHT!
ARE FITNESS ASSESSMENTS IMPORTANT?
Functional Movement Assessments are important for program design and well worth the initial investment.
All too often we jump right into a workout plan with no plan at all. The first result is a lack of results and even worse, possible injury. To get the most out of your exercise prescription schedule an initial Functional Fitness Assessment.
There are strict assessments but these aren’t always necessary. I’m familiar with the Functional Movement Screen and others that require certification but I find that they are too restrictive in their application and many trainers will miss obvious dysfunction.
If you’d like an assessment from our online partner, The Virtual Personal Trainer, a lead trainer will take you through their online Functional Movement Assessment that goes over 7-9 different exercises, 1 to 3 reps each, to see your range of motion, any hitches in your giddy up and analyze what your fitness level is. There is a lot of science behind these types of assessments but unless you have a serious medical condition, a generalized understanding of imbalances in your anatomy, your range of motion and an idea of your level of fitness is all your virtual personal trainer needs to get your program started right.
The Online Functional Movement Assessment
Single Leg Raise to Step: This movement allows us to see imbalance in your hips and determine if certain repetitive motion exercise will lead to injury.
Push Up: This is a staple exercise that helps determine general strength and fitness. Watching to see how your full kinetic chain reacts when engaged in this exercise produces a lot of information for a good personal trainer to work with.
3 Squat Variations: The squat is another staple that everyone should be able to perform correctly. I like to see a sumo squat (wide with toes out) a standard squat and a skier squat (feet and knees together). Watching a client squat in these three variations allows us to see patterns of dysfunction and is another key indicator of your level of fitness.
Inline Lunge: This is is a unique exercise that allows us to analyze patterns of dysfunction found in the squat. Your virtual personal trainer will be able to see how interrelated muscle groups work either together or independently. We like to see them working together.
Core Sit Up: A core sit up requires you to keep your spine straight from the Atlas bone down to the Coccyx. If this movement is broken it can identify poor cores strength and coordination.
Quadroplex: This is an information rich movement that shows off function/dysfunction in your kinetic chain and core stability. It’s an excellent exercise for bringing symmetry back to your frame and coordination throughout your core.
Bridge: This is a basic exercise that we use a lot in our training and allows us to see flexibility in your hips and glute strength from a supine position.
Supine Should Press: I don’t want to give away the secret because your Virtual Personal Trainer will need to see where the dsyfunction and imabalances are. However, this is a great exercise for reducing shoulder pain attributed to long hours at a computer, a common symptom we often tackle early in our programs to keep an obvious injury from occuring.
Comparison is to an in-person personal training session.
- DIFFICULTY 50%
- INTENSITY 30%
- CARDIO 5%
- STRENGTH 25%
Virtual Personal Training doesn’t require traveling to your trainer or the cost of them traveling to you. 30 Minutes a day is all you really need to improve health and without the burden of driving, parking and changing in a gym or studio, virtual personal training makes 30 minute a day workouts more available and time-cost effective.
If your virtual personal trainer can record the workout, you can repeat it multiple times before your next meeting. This makes virtual personal training even more cost effective and consistent.
WHAT TO EXPECT
If you have a computer and a decent internet connection, that is all you really need.
Simple & Effective
1. Private Appointments
Meet your trainer in an interactive online appointment with only you and your personal trainer.
2. Consistant
Your Virtual Trainer can record their instruction for you to repeat in between live sessions.
3. Cost Effective
Appointments are generally 50% of the cost of in-person appointments. Made more cost effective when you count gas, time and gym membership dues.
Virtual Personal Training is growing into a huge industry in the next year. In previous years, poor internet connections and lack of understanding how to log into online meetings made progress slow. Now that virtual appointments have become commonplace, people are searching for a virtual personal trainer more frequently. Most of us have gained some weight since the lockdowns have started and will need accountability and professional direction to get back on course to a healthy lifestyle. Make sure you meet your trainer online before you purchase any costly packages, you want to know that they have the actual technology to hold a quality session. Also, you want to determine that your online trainer will be able to provide you with the right intensity in the online format. It is a skill than not everyone has acquired.
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