Movement: Functional Movement Systems: Screening, Assessment, Corrective Strategies

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Adherence to a squatting program with no upper body work whatsoever will yield upper body development. However, attention to an upper body strength-training program does not yield the same benefits in the lower body. That in itself represents how powerful the squat is as a developmental platform.

The good news is that the more you practice it, the easier it should get. Doing a dynamic stretch circuit every day, holding a deep squat while keeping your torso upright, and generally adding foam rolling can make a big difference. When we stretch, compress, foam roll or bend the stiffest and tightest parts, we tend to breathe poorly. We tense, and our breathing becomes shallow and even faster in some cases. We show our stress in our breathing, and this actually increases our tension and makes the mobility work ineffective or even counterproductive. Be very aware of this. We know better and still make this mistake, so don’t expect clients and patients to not slip into stress breathing—continuously observe and remind them of this. (p.539) The muscles change roles responding both mechanically and with neuromuscular accommodation as they perform the task, unaware of the academic classifications. How to map movement patterns and understand movement as a behavior and not just as a mechanical idea

8) Infant development is key to understanding human movement

If you can’t change the movement of the majority of clients you are working with then you are doing something wrong. You need to have a standard operating procedure as a way to test and re-test their movement patterns. In a video I saw recently, Gray joked that he tells high school football players, “If you’re going to be tight, be tight on both sides. Then you’re just slow. If you’re tight on one side, your going to rip yourself in half.” 8) Infant development is key to understanding human movement Unless you find the driver of bad movement, and find the thing that changes it, you’re just guessing. The rule here is to never assume anything; remain hyper-vigilant and always know as much as you can. When you look at the investment of time and the continuity, you’re always going to wonder what those other patterns were.

Focusing on movement efficiency (or moving well) should be a chief aim of a properly constructed strength and conditioning program. I wanna see if you have lost the abilities you had when you were 3 years old, at 3 you could roll, clime, balance on one foot, and run. While the masses make maximums part of identity, the truly talented are just as clear that their minimums are also part of their identities. In fact, our minimums are usually our weakest links and influence outcomes more than our superlatives. When we see somebody with a left-right hip asymmetry (because they’re a hurdler) go deep in a squat, they’re going to shift. The question you’ve got to ask: Is this asymmetry an occupational hazard? Do I correct against it, but I don’t load into it? Because there are a lot of loads I can put on a hurdler that will never make them shift. If the Functional Movement Screen had no scoring system whatsoever and all it did was identify people who have pain with movement (before movement is imposed through sport or activity), I still think it has great value.I have no idea when I first heard about Gray Cook and his FMS. It must have been several years ago but, at the time, it was still only in fragments. Nowadays, he is everywhere. Even when the name is not mentioned, if you are observant, you will recognise his methods and his logic in the work of coaches and physical therapists. That was the reason I decided to read the book. Need answers? Go to the source. We need to create an understanding and an active dialog between the professions. Our team does not advocate, not for a second, that any of us work outside of our particular specialties. This is merely a call to understand how to interact and communicate with others in or around the profession. A true paradigm shift requires better communication and new semantics may be required.

Especially for very experienced coaches, it can be tempting to discard protocol and arrive at decisions based on incomplete data. What we tried to say is in these patterns, if you get a 1 on the movement screen, it means you cannot complete the pattern at one bodyweight, so my hypothesis is that the medical physical is not getting the pain off the board.

Strength or mobility asymmetries of greater than 10% in an asymmetrical sport (IE, golf) are a problem! Second, FMS cannot be used for some of the more complicated cases. I know FMS ppl argue that it can, but I've had to use other testing in some of my more severe cases. FMS didn't make the cut. It is a BEGINNER'S GUIDE to corrective testing. Movement is a vivid discovery, a fundamental and explicit teaching in which the return to basics takes on a whole new meaning. In it, author Gray Cook crosses the lines between rehabilitation, conditioning and fitness, providing a clear model and a common language under which fitness and rehabilitation professionals can work together. By using systematic logic and revisiting the natural developmental principals all infants employ as they learn to walk, run and climb, Gray forces a new look at motor learning, corrective exercise and modern conditioning practices. Whenever possible, we must separate movement dysfunction from fitness and performance. Aggressive physical training cannot change fundamental mobility and stability problems at an effective rate without also introducing a degree of compensation and increased risk of injury. One thing’s for sure: Movement dictates the way we live -- all day, every day -- and we take that very seriously. Since 1995, our mission at FMS is for everyone to move well. And move often.