October 30, 2023 • 25 mins
Curious about how to take your fitness training to the next level? Strap in as I, Rob Maxwell, a seasoned exercise physiologist and personal trainer, guide you through an immersive deep-dive into the world of fitness assessments and goal setting. I'll be sharing my experiences and insights from my time teaching assessment workshops for the ACSM and the indispensable role of my trusty old clipboard.
Get ready to understand why assessing body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, and muscular fitness are essential before creating workout plans. Let's explore together various assessment techniques like girth measurements, skinfold calipers, bioelectrical impedance, and the Cooper 1.5 mile run. All while reminding you of the ethical responsibility we, fitness professionals, bear in ensuring our clients' safety and progress. So, hop on this information-packed ride, where we discuss not only fitness assessments and mobility but also the art of setting smart, achievable goals. Let's get started!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to.
There's a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell.
I'm an exercise physiologistand personal trainer.
I'm the owner of Maxwell'sfitness programs and have been
in business since 1994.
I'm here to talk about the realdeal of fitness.
Give you the facts, nosilliness.
(00:21):
Hence the name method to themadness.
Let me thank our very firstoriginal sponsors.
Man, I love loyalty Jonathanand Lynn Gilden of the Gilden
Group at Realty Pros.
They are simply the best.
They mostly focus in in theOrmond Beach area of Lush County
(00:41):
, but they will go all over andevery time I open up social
media there they are sellinganother house.
I'm gonna talk about that today.
By the way, metrics matter andif every time I open up their
selling houses, I kind of thinkthey're doing something right.
They could be reached at386-451-2412 and I know when I
(01:03):
eventually put the house back onthe market because it's a
little too big for me, I'm gonnadefinitely be using my boys and
my girls, the Gilden Group,alright.
So let's talk a little bitabout measurement.
That's what I want to focus ontoday in today's podcast.
(01:24):
If you can measure it, you canmanage it.
You know.
I don't know of any more topicis talked about in the personal
trainer certification workshopsas much as assessments.
I have taught them for the ACSM.
(01:46):
I think they're really good togo to like, even for seasoned
trainers, because we reallyforget about basics often.
But I remember when I wasbecoming an instructor for the
ACSM workshops, I had to go upto Boston, massachusetts, and do
(02:07):
a three-day in-service withseasoned I guess they were
called.
Well, they were just trainersof trainers.
So they were working with theACSM and the organization to
make sure that everybody thattaught their courses was on
board with what they wanted to.
And when I say had to, it'skind of funny because man, it
(02:29):
was a nice, you know, completelypaid-for trip up to Boston and
around people who I can gel withbecause they're fitness people,
and it was a beautiful time ofyear, it was late summer and I
was somewhere near Fenway, Imean it was.
It was a really fun trip.
So I was kidding when I saidhad to, but great experience.
(02:51):
But again, I don't know of anytopic at these workshops and
they're usually three days isany more talked about than
assessments.
I think the only other onemight be scope of practice,
which almost 90% of personaltrainers that I know violate and
for personal training that isso like the scope of practice
(03:13):
states that you are working withpresumably healthy people with
no risk factors or have beengiven absolute clearance by
their physician to exercise withrecommendations.
So you know how many people,how many trainers, really do
that and that should be part ofthe assessment.
(03:35):
That's part of our assessment.
I mean, I have a little morecredentials so I can work with
special populations is what wecall people that are not
presumed to be healthy, becausewe all have something.
I mean, even if you're over 50,that's considered a risk factor
.
So we all have something.
And most people have either atype 2 diabetes or high blood
(03:58):
pressure, possibly overweight,obese more than likely 66% of
the population is obese.
So, yeah, so those are allconsidered to be different
ailments or risk factors.
And if you really follow thescope of practice by the
American College of SportsMedicine personal trainer, it
says that the trainer shouldmake sure that they don't have
(04:22):
any risk factors and if they do,they got cleared medically.
And how many trainers that youknow and I know some that have
gone to various trainersthroughout the area and you know
how many of them say, oh, oh,so you have type 2 diabetes.
Is your physician well awareyou're going to be starting an
intensive exercise program andyou know?
(04:42):
If not, I need you to go andget this paper sign to get
clearance before you work out.
I mean, how many of them aredoing that, you know?
And, quite frankly, legallythat's a negligence issue.
If they don't Now, don't get mewrong.
Absolutely they should beexercising, absolutely.
It's probably right there withmedication, the best thing they
(05:05):
can do, probably better right?
I just don't want to step onpositions, toes and that's the
whole point of the scope ofpractice.
But we do need to be in contactwith the other allied health
professionals and I just see somany trainers not doing that.
So that was hammered home scopeof practice to make sure people
are actually following that.
And then the second thing isassessment, which kind of goes
(05:28):
right along with it.
Like, what are you assessing?
Since I started years and yearsago like even before I had my
own facility and I was a gypsygoing from place to place
training people, I still didassessments.
I had my little I can stillpicture it now my little gray
(05:49):
clipboard.
That was a clipboard, but youcan open it up and put papers in
.
I love that thing.
I need to get a new one ofthose.
You know that.
So if you're listening, go outthere and buy me one.
I mean, come on, be so cool forChristmas present.
I'll put a sticker on it foryou and you know, I can walk
around with it and pretend likeit's the old days.
It was really cool.
I can still picture it.
(06:09):
Man, I'm not really going offinto a little happy memory here.
I had my old fashioned stickeron it.
It was silver gray, it wasplastic.
I could use it as a clipboard.
I kept all my nice little formsin it.
I thought I was Mr Professional.
That thing was great.
Anyway, I would do anassessment.
I would take my trusty littlefriend, the clipboard, in with
(06:31):
me to wherever I was going.
I had my own set of skin foldcalipers and I would do an
assessment.
It is so important and it givesus such good insurance as a
trainer Like.
There's such a good feeling tosee your clients make progress
and so many times people arejust like working out, which is
(06:55):
great, and everything kind ofgets not everything.
But a lot of places exerciseprograms, even personal training
, especially group personaltraining, especially boot camps,
turn into exercising for thesake of exercising.
You might be sitting back onRob's so.
So what?
(07:15):
What's wrong with that?
We all need to exercise, that'scorrect.
But when we're really getting atrainer like, I think that's a
good investment, you know, Imean, I believe it's a good
investment.
I think one of the best thingswe can do for our health and
fitness is to hire a personaltrainer, and I'm not just saying
that because I am one.
(07:36):
I'm really, really not.
I just do believe that it works.
But the reason why I know itworks is because I have the data
to back it up.
So, yes, I do believe that weshould all be exercising, but I
also believe in goals and Ibelieve in assessments and they
(07:57):
can all be done together.
But so many trainingestablishments that call
themselves professional trainersthey make themselves known by
their tricky, unique kind ofwhat I would call sorry, stupid
exercises that they do that arelike really challenging in
themselves to do and I'm likeokay, so what?
(08:19):
You're working your lumbarspine doing that?
You can also do a hell of a jobwith your lumbar spine doing
bent over rows and good mornings.
So what Basics work.
But like that's how they maketheir name all these stupid
little videos they make.
You know, and it's like, butwhere is the assessment?
Like that's the differencebetween a hack and an expert.
(08:41):
An expert in the fitnessindustry is going to be able to
assess, determine what's goingon, determine what the quote
problem is, design goals andthen design a plan that leads
towards those goals.
Like that is what professionaltraining is all about.
(09:04):
And, as I say, you know,sometimes I drive my trainers,
you know whoever they may be,you know, not going to name
names, but any of them throughthe years, really nuts, because
I am a perfectionist, there's nodoubt.
And I will sit down and I'llmake an assessment sheet and I'm
like man, this is the greatestassessment sheet I've ever made.
(09:25):
Like this totally coversanybody that can walk in, and
then somebody will walk in.
I'm like, oh, except for that.
So like that's my point ofsaying that little funny story
is that that's how much I thinkabout assessments.
Like I'm constantly trying tofind the perfect assessment, but
really there isn't a perfectassessment.
(09:47):
The perfect assessment is theone for that individual, like
everybody's different.
But again, I've always donethem.
We continue to do them now.
So what I believe we should beassessing as a professional
trainer is, we should always bedoing some form of body
composition assessment.
(10:07):
That could be like, if youdon't have a lot of equipment
and you're a newbie trainer oryou would like to assess
yourself, whatever that could beas simple as weighing yourself
and then doing girthmeasurements Just get out the
old tape measure.
Measure your waist properly.
There are ways to do things.
Measure your thighs, measureyour arms.
Those are just examples.
(10:29):
Measure any areas you reallywant.
That could be a good place tostart.
Now, personally, I like to doskin full caliber body
composition for a lot of peopleI say a lot because not
everybody.
It's not always the mostaccurate for people who tend to
be a bit obese or people thatare very shy like very ashamed
(10:52):
of their body fat.
So then you don't want to bepoking and prodding with these
calipers everywhere.
You're going to want to usesomething like our Amron or
bioelectrical impedance.
The problem with it is it's notas accurate, but it's
definitely more accurate thannot doing it at all.
But the point is I'll do someform of body composition along
with weight.
Bmi is a joke.
(11:12):
I mean BMI stands for body massindex.
It's not made for the athleticor muscular physique.
I mean the doctors, physicians,ama.
They don't probably want to useit either, but they kind of
have to because the insurancestandards say that you need to
have a BMI rating.
It's the easiest thing forcorporate medicine insurance
(11:36):
companies and all that Tomeasure.
They have to put numbers inthere.
But the bottom line is it isn'taccurate.
It's height and weight, so thatdoesn't take into account
muscle.
So if you look at bodybuildersor NFL linebackers, or even NFL
wide receivers or NationalBasketball Association NBA
basketball players, they're allgoing to be considered obese.
(11:57):
And there's some of the finestspecimens on earth, physical.
So it's just silly.
It doesn't take into accountmuscle.
The next thing we always want toassess is some form of
cardiorespiratory endurance.
We want to see how the heartresponds to exercise.
Now what we do mostly in thepersonal training world is we do
(12:17):
what's called submaximal tests,meaning not maximal, although
we can and I am trained to do itand I'm OK to do it but for the
most part we do submaximalexercise tests and then use
different estimates to figureout different numbers.
Some of them could be thethree-minute step test.
I use that forever.
I use that even back in myFlorida Corp days when I was
(12:40):
working as a PT tech.
That's simply where you have a12-inch box, you have a
metronome set at 96, and theperson steps for three minutes
and then you get your recoveryheartbeat.
That's a very good assessment.
The cool thing about assessmentsis you learn things about
people besides what you'retrying to learn.
(13:00):
You might learn that personcan't do a three-minute step
test OK, well, we just assessthe cardio.
They can't do it.
Or they can't do it becausetheir knee hurts OK, so then we
just tested their joints.
We're not able to do that.
So the cool thing about when wego through a nice script of
assessments, we're gathering allkinds of extra information too,
(13:22):
and we learn a lot about theclient.
We learn do they like to push?
Do they not like to push?
Do we have to really push themto just do anything?
Like we learn a lot in theassessment process.
It's almost unethical to do aworkout program without doing an
assessment.
It really is.
It's like you're trying to dothings that you have no clue if
(13:45):
the person is able to do them.
You really don't know muchabout them mentally or
physically or emotionally, andit's just not the right thing to
do so.
Another form of cardio could bea treadmill test submaximal.
It could be what we call theCooper 1.5 mile run.
That's not for most people.
We can do the Rockport 1 milewalk test.
That's a really cool onebecause everybody can walk and
(14:08):
you can gather their VO2 max andrecovery heart rate from those
things.
And then, whatever we choose,again, everybody needs to do a
body comp, everybody needs to doa cardio.
Then I like to move intomuscular fitness.
Now, oftentimes people try toseparate muscular strength and
muscular endurance from eachother and yes, there is a subtle
(14:31):
difference between the two.
But ultimately what the studiesshow and what my experience
tells me is that when somebody'sstrong, they also have really
good muscular endurance, andwhen they have really good
muscular endurance, they'restrong.
So I like to combine thesecategories and this is the one
where you have to get really,really tricky, like this is the
(14:52):
one you have to really use yourold melon up there.
I should say I have to use mymelon and go.
Okay, I just got to thinkoutside the box because not
everybody can do some of thetests.
If you have a person in their20s without any injuries, you
can do a one rep max on thebench press, a one rep max on
the leg press.
Those are like the two onesthat are used all the time in
(15:13):
professional settings, like atNational Football League or
Baseball or NBA.
They assess the bench press,they assess the leg press for
upper body strength and legstrength.
With those you can do anestimated one hour one RM test.
So you don't necessarily haveto just do one, which can be
very risky and if you don't knowsomebody I would say stupid.
(15:34):
You can do like eight reps tofailure.
And then there's a formula youcan use the lower the reps you
use, the more accurate it isgoing to be.
So those are like the biggies.
But then you can do likeestimated, somewhat submaximal
tests by using less weight ondifferent exercises and
(15:56):
determining somebody's 10 repmax.
We do a lot of that here.
We just did that the other daywith somebody who started back
up after not working out for awhile.
We'll do like an estimated 10pounds on the hammer chest press
because again you know we'regoing to use a hammer chest
press instead of a bench pressfor the majority of people and
(16:17):
see how many reps they can getwith 10 pounds on each side and
then if they get eight and theyget 15 a month later, that's
progress.
I like to do a seated row forthat too.
They can sit on the seated row.
We'll just make a very goodguesstimate based on what I know
.
Let's say, 50 pounds, how manyreps do they do day one?
Maybe it's five, day 15, maybethey're doing like 16 reps, and
(16:42):
no, those numbers aren't floated.
I mean, that's pretty accurate,probably what somebody's going
to do, because if you measure itthen you are going to manage it
because you care, you're likeman, I want them to do good on
their assessment, reflects goodon them and reflects good on me.
She's going to manage it.
So when you're doing all ofthese exercises, you're pushing
(17:02):
because, let me tell you, it'sbeen close before.
It's been a situation where youknow somebody's been a little
stubborn in their gains and Iknow it's reassessments coming
up and I'm like, oh shit, youknow, you know they showed a lot
of progress.
This isn't going to go well andthey're going to be upset.
I'm going to have to, like youknow, talk to them and figure
(17:23):
out what we're all doing wrong.
So that's happening.
You can avoid that by simplyalways keeping the assessment in
the back of the mind, notbecause I'm worried about
business.
I'm actually not.
You know we're full.
We're not even taking peopleright now, and you know this.
This isn't a new thing either.
I've been full for like areally long time and I'm not
saying that arrogantly at all.
It's just simply the truth.
(17:45):
But I don't like to see anybodyfail.
I don't like to feel like whatwe were doing hasn't helped a
whole lot.
So it's more about that, andusually people who haven't done
overly well beat themselves up.
So I don't want to see them dothat.
So I just want to make surethat I keep my mind where it
should be.
I'm staying focused.
I'm not just doing a boot campexercise where somebody comes in
(18:07):
and I'm blowing them out withcalorie burning exercises.
It's like, no, you know, youcan do that on an exercise bike
on your own.
I'm trying to get progress in avery critical area.
So if you can, if you canmeasure it, you can manage it.
So we keep our eye on it.
So O's do some form of muscularassessment, strength, endurance
(18:27):
assessment, and I always try toincorporate at least an upper
body and a lower body and, ifpossible, an upper body, pull, a
lower body and a upper bodypush.
You know those are like thethree big areas that will tell
me a lot.
So, for example, if somebody'sin their 20s or whatever and
they're athletic and they'vebeen working out, I can do a
(18:48):
bench press test, followed by apull up test, followed by a leg
press test.
Or one that we like to use is a30 second squat test.
How many squats can they do in30 seconds?
That gives us a really goodidea.
And again, at all points whereO is critiquing form that's a
big part of validity withassessments Is you want to make
(19:11):
sure you're measuring whatyou're really supposed to be
measuring.
So if a person does like reallytextbook form on day one of the
assessment and they only get,say, eight reps or so, and then
when you assess them again infive weeks or so and they do
really shitty form and they'rethrowing it around and they
(19:31):
increase it by 300%, well that'snot very valid.
You're not measuring the samething.
You're measuring one day withgood form and the next day with
not good form, and like theseare areas I find to be very
interesting.
I like I love looking at thedata on these things Because,
man, just this morning I waspicking apart a study not a
(19:52):
study, but it was in anassessment book by the American
College of Sports Medicine andit should have absolutely been
handled more professionally.
And I'm reading this gripstrength, this dynamometer
strength test, and it gave likesix different tips on how to do
it properly.
And at one point I think it wastip three it said with a flexed
(20:14):
elbow, at 90 degrees, squeezethe dynamometer.
Like well, that's true.
But then the picture theyshowed below was the person with
their arm completely straightout in front of them.
So that's not a flexed elbow.
It's like you said one thingand did another.
It's like professionals shouldbe better than that.
So does that affect it?
(20:35):
Yeah, because if you do it oneway one time on a dynamometer
and then the next time you do ita different way, you're gonna
get a different number.
So you always have to make surethat you're doing the same way
the same time.
And that's why it's alsoimportant that, for the most
part, when I assess somebody, Ineed to assess them, and when
(20:57):
Ellen or somebody else assessesthem, they need to re-assess
them, because we all have ourdifferent way of doing things
and it's gonna be a little bitdifferent if two people assess
and then finally I end theassessment with some form of
mobility.
Now I've replaced what somepeople call flexibility with
mobility, because the reality isflexibility doesn't mean nearly
(21:21):
as much as mobility as far ashuman function goes, and it is
also very subjective.
So the classic sit and reachtest is an example of
flexibility and I've seen peoplego from, say, 14 on the sit and
reach test, 14 inches to 18.
And then tell me there's nodifference in how they feel,
(21:42):
which is probably true.
And then I've seen people gofrom 13 on the sit and reach
test to 13, no improvement, andI just don't think.
I mean it's cool.
You can see, when I wasteaching sports medicine I'll
put the sit and reach boxes outin the class and they would all
have fun competing against eachother.
But the reality is I'm not surethat that translates into
(22:04):
anything very productive forthem.
Now, mobility, that is veryimportant, like how do we move?
Like what does our body do whenit's time to do it in unison,
when it's time to do itdynamically moving?
So I like to test mobilityexercises.
Now, again, a lot of it can beassessed when we're doing the
previous tests, like step ups isgonna really tell me a lot
(22:28):
about somebody's mobility.
The Rockport One Mile Walk Testis gonna tell me a lot about
their mobility.
But I also like to do, like, anoverhead squat test where I can
see what their joints do whenthey're actually going through a
squat.
Do their knees adduct?
A lot of people's do.
Do their feet pronate?
A lot of people do.
Can they not keep their chestup in parallel?
(22:49):
That's true for a lot of people.
I like to look at those thingsbecause that's an area we want
to correct, like.
That's why I say form iseverything.
That's a big part of it.
So when people are doing theirexercises, are they make sure
that they're maintaining properposture when they do?
And I can see what theirnatural posture is when they do
things like an overhead squattest?
(23:11):
And then, finally, to wrap thisup, what I do afterwards, what
you should do afterwards, is setobjective goals.
I like to use smart goalsspecific, measurable, attainable
, realistic and timely Set goals.
So, whatever we came up with,if you did the Rockport one mile
in 17 minutes and 30 seconds,well you know, keep it a smart
(23:31):
goal, meaning objective andtimed.
Say, let's get under 17 minutesin the next five weeks and no
running.
In other words, don't cheat toget there.
Strength wise did 10 pounds inthe chest press 10 times Okay,
in five weeks, let's be able toget it 16 times On the seated
row.
Did eight reps with 50 poundsOkay, let's get 15 reps in, say
(23:55):
five, six weeks or whatever.
Maybe a squat test oh, they did20 in 30 seconds, which is
already pretty good.
All right, let's really push it.
Let's get close to 30, 28 in 30seconds.
Body composition they were 27%body fat Okay, let's try to be
under 26% in five weeks.
So that's what we do with theassessment we set smart goals.
(24:19):
If we do that, we really aretraining professionally.
Speaking of professionalism,there is no more professional
garage door company in the stateof Florida than overhead door,
and we actually have one here inDaytona Beach and it's owned by
Jeff and Zach Hawk.
They give the best customerservice and the best garage
(24:43):
doors.
If you need any help, give thema shout at
overheaddoordatonacom.
Welcome to.
There's a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell.
I'm an exercise physiologistand personal trainer.
I'm the owner of Maxwell'sfitness programs and have been
in business since 1994.
I'm here to talk about the realdeal of fitness.
Give you the facts, nosilliness.
(00:21):
Hence the name method to themadness.
Let me thank our very firstoriginal sponsors.
Man, I love loyalty Jonathanand Lynn Gilden of the Gilden
Group at Realty Pros.
They are simply the best.
They mostly focus in in theOrmond Beach area of Lush County
(00:41):
, but they will go all over andevery time I open up social
media there they are sellinganother house.
I'm gonna talk about that today.
By the way, metrics matter andif every time I open up their
selling houses, I kind of thinkthey're doing something right.
They could be reached at386-451-2412 and I know when I
(01:03):
eventually put the house back onthe market because it's a
little too big for me, I'm gonnadefinitely be using my boys and
my girls, the Gilden Group,alright.
So let's talk a little bitabout measurement.
That's what I want to focus ontoday in today's podcast.
(01:24):
If you can measure it, you canmanage it.
You know.
I don't know of any more topicis talked about in the personal
trainer certification workshopsas much as assessments.
I have taught them for the ACSM.
(01:46):
I think they're really good togo to like, even for seasoned
trainers, because we reallyforget about basics often.
But I remember when I wasbecoming an instructor for the
ACSM workshops, I had to go upto Boston, massachusetts, and do
(02:07):
a three-day in-service withseasoned I guess they were
called.
Well, they were just trainersof trainers.
So they were working with theACSM and the organization to
make sure that everybody thattaught their courses was on
board with what they wanted to.
And when I say had to, it'skind of funny because man, it
(02:29):
was a nice, you know, completelypaid-for trip up to Boston and
around people who I can gel withbecause they're fitness people,
and it was a beautiful time ofyear, it was late summer and I
was somewhere near Fenway, Imean it was.
It was a really fun trip.
So I was kidding when I saidhad to, but great experience.
(02:51):
But again, I don't know of anytopic at these workshops and
they're usually three days isany more talked about than
assessments.
I think the only other onemight be scope of practice,
which almost 90% of personaltrainers that I know violate and
for personal training that isso like the scope of practice
(03:13):
states that you are working withpresumably healthy people with
no risk factors or have beengiven absolute clearance by
their physician to exercise withrecommendations.
So you know how many people,how many trainers, really do
that and that should be part ofthe assessment.
(03:35):
That's part of our assessment.
I mean, I have a little morecredentials so I can work with
special populations is what wecall people that are not
presumed to be healthy, becausewe all have something.
I mean, even if you're over 50,that's considered a risk factor
.
So we all have something.
And most people have either atype 2 diabetes or high blood
(03:58):
pressure, possibly overweight,obese more than likely 66% of
the population is obese.
So, yeah, so those are allconsidered to be different
ailments or risk factors.
And if you really follow thescope of practice by the
American College of SportsMedicine personal trainer, it
says that the trainer shouldmake sure that they don't have
(04:22):
any risk factors and if they do,they got cleared medically.
And how many trainers that youknow and I know some that have
gone to various trainersthroughout the area and you know
how many of them say, oh, oh,so you have type 2 diabetes.
Is your physician well awareyou're going to be starting an
intensive exercise program andyou know?
(04:42):
If not, I need you to go andget this paper sign to get
clearance before you work out.
I mean, how many of them aredoing that, you know?
And, quite frankly, legallythat's a negligence issue.
If they don't Now, don't get mewrong.
Absolutely they should beexercising, absolutely.
It's probably right there withmedication, the best thing they
(05:05):
can do, probably better right?
I just don't want to step onpositions, toes and that's the
whole point of the scope ofpractice.
But we do need to be in contactwith the other allied health
professionals and I just see somany trainers not doing that.
So that was hammered home scopeof practice to make sure people
are actually following that.
And then the second thing isassessment, which kind of goes
(05:28):
right along with it.
Like, what are you assessing?
Since I started years and yearsago like even before I had my
own facility and I was a gypsygoing from place to place
training people, I still didassessments.
I had my little I can stillpicture it now my little gray
(05:49):
clipboard.
That was a clipboard, but youcan open it up and put papers in
.
I love that thing.
I need to get a new one ofthose.
You know that.
So if you're listening, go outthere and buy me one.
I mean, come on, be so cool forChristmas present.
I'll put a sticker on it foryou and you know, I can walk
around with it and pretend likeit's the old days.
It was really cool.
I can still picture it.
(06:09):
Man, I'm not really going offinto a little happy memory here.
I had my old fashioned stickeron it.
It was silver gray, it wasplastic.
I could use it as a clipboard.
I kept all my nice little formsin it.
I thought I was Mr Professional.
That thing was great.
Anyway, I would do anassessment.
I would take my trusty littlefriend, the clipboard, in with
(06:31):
me to wherever I was going.
I had my own set of skin foldcalipers and I would do an
assessment.
It is so important and it givesus such good insurance as a
trainer Like.
There's such a good feeling tosee your clients make progress
and so many times people arejust like working out, which is
(06:55):
great, and everything kind ofgets not everything.
But a lot of places exerciseprograms, even personal training
, especially group personaltraining, especially boot camps,
turn into exercising for thesake of exercising.
You might be sitting back onRob's so.
So what?
(07:15):
What's wrong with that?
We all need to exercise, that'scorrect.
But when we're really getting atrainer like, I think that's a
good investment, you know, Imean, I believe it's a good
investment.
I think one of the best thingswe can do for our health and
fitness is to hire a personaltrainer, and I'm not just saying
that because I am one.
(07:36):
I'm really, really not.
I just do believe that it works.
But the reason why I know itworks is because I have the data
to back it up.
So, yes, I do believe that weshould all be exercising, but I
also believe in goals and Ibelieve in assessments and they
(07:57):
can all be done together.
But so many trainingestablishments that call
themselves professional trainersthey make themselves known by
their tricky, unique kind ofwhat I would call sorry, stupid
exercises that they do that arelike really challenging in
themselves to do and I'm likeokay, so what?
(08:19):
You're working your lumbarspine doing that?
You can also do a hell of a jobwith your lumbar spine doing
bent over rows and good mornings.
So what Basics work.
But like that's how they maketheir name all these stupid
little videos they make.
You know, and it's like, butwhere is the assessment?
Like that's the differencebetween a hack and an expert.
(08:41):
An expert in the fitnessindustry is going to be able to
assess, determine what's goingon, determine what the quote
problem is, design goals andthen design a plan that leads
towards those goals.
Like that is what professionaltraining is all about.
(09:04):
And, as I say, you know,sometimes I drive my trainers,
you know whoever they may be,you know, not going to name
names, but any of them throughthe years, really nuts, because
I am a perfectionist, there's nodoubt.
And I will sit down and I'llmake an assessment sheet and I'm
like man, this is the greatestassessment sheet I've ever made.
(09:25):
Like this totally coversanybody that can walk in, and
then somebody will walk in.
I'm like, oh, except for that.
So like that's my point ofsaying that little funny story
is that that's how much I thinkabout assessments.
Like I'm constantly trying tofind the perfect assessment, but
really there isn't a perfectassessment.
(09:47):
The perfect assessment is theone for that individual, like
everybody's different.
But again, I've always donethem.
We continue to do them now.
So what I believe we should beassessing as a professional
trainer is, we should always bedoing some form of body
composition assessment.
(10:07):
That could be like, if youdon't have a lot of equipment
and you're a newbie trainer oryou would like to assess
yourself, whatever that could beas simple as weighing yourself
and then doing girthmeasurements Just get out the
old tape measure.
Measure your waist properly.
There are ways to do things.
Measure your thighs, measureyour arms.
Those are just examples.
(10:29):
Measure any areas you reallywant.
That could be a good place tostart.
Now, personally, I like to doskin full caliber body
composition for a lot of peopleI say a lot because not
everybody.
It's not always the mostaccurate for people who tend to
be a bit obese or people thatare very shy like very ashamed
(10:52):
of their body fat.
So then you don't want to bepoking and prodding with these
calipers everywhere.
You're going to want to usesomething like our Amron or
bioelectrical impedance.
The problem with it is it's notas accurate, but it's
definitely more accurate thannot doing it at all.
But the point is I'll do someform of body composition along
with weight.
Bmi is a joke.
(11:12):
I mean BMI stands for body massindex.
It's not made for the athleticor muscular physique.
I mean the doctors, physicians,ama.
They don't probably want to useit either, but they kind of
have to because the insurancestandards say that you need to
have a BMI rating.
It's the easiest thing forcorporate medicine insurance
(11:36):
companies and all that Tomeasure.
They have to put numbers inthere.
But the bottom line is it isn'taccurate.
It's height and weight, so thatdoesn't take into account
muscle.
So if you look at bodybuildersor NFL linebackers, or even NFL
wide receivers or NationalBasketball Association NBA
basketball players, they're allgoing to be considered obese.
(11:57):
And there's some of the finestspecimens on earth, physical.
So it's just silly.
It doesn't take into accountmuscle.
The next thing we always want toassess is some form of
cardiorespiratory endurance.
We want to see how the heartresponds to exercise.
Now what we do mostly in thepersonal training world is we do
(12:17):
what's called submaximal tests,meaning not maximal, although
we can and I am trained to do itand I'm OK to do it but for the
most part we do submaximalexercise tests and then use
different estimates to figureout different numbers.
Some of them could be thethree-minute step test.
I use that forever.
I use that even back in myFlorida Corp days when I was
(12:40):
working as a PT tech.
That's simply where you have a12-inch box, you have a
metronome set at 96, and theperson steps for three minutes
and then you get your recoveryheartbeat.
That's a very good assessment.
The cool thing about assessmentsis you learn things about
people besides what you'retrying to learn.
(13:00):
You might learn that personcan't do a three-minute step
test OK, well, we just assessthe cardio.
They can't do it.
Or they can't do it becausetheir knee hurts OK, so then we
just tested their joints.
We're not able to do that.
So the cool thing about when wego through a nice script of
assessments, we're gathering allkinds of extra information too,
(13:22):
and we learn a lot about theclient.
We learn do they like to push?
Do they not like to push?
Do we have to really push themto just do anything?
Like we learn a lot in theassessment process.
It's almost unethical to do aworkout program without doing an
assessment.
It really is.
It's like you're trying to dothings that you have no clue if
(13:45):
the person is able to do them.
You really don't know muchabout them mentally or
physically or emotionally, andit's just not the right thing to
do so.
Another form of cardio could bea treadmill test submaximal.
It could be what we call theCooper 1.5 mile run.
That's not for most people.
We can do the Rockport 1 milewalk test.
That's a really cool onebecause everybody can walk and
(14:08):
you can gather their VO2 max andrecovery heart rate from those
things.
And then, whatever we choose,again, everybody needs to do a
body comp, everybody needs to doa cardio.
Then I like to move intomuscular fitness.
Now, oftentimes people try toseparate muscular strength and
muscular endurance from eachother and yes, there is a subtle
(14:31):
difference between the two.
But ultimately what the studiesshow and what my experience
tells me is that when somebody'sstrong, they also have really
good muscular endurance, andwhen they have really good
muscular endurance, they'restrong.
So I like to combine thesecategories and this is the one
where you have to get really,really tricky, like this is the
(14:52):
one you have to really use yourold melon up there.
I should say I have to use mymelon and go.
Okay, I just got to thinkoutside the box because not
everybody can do some of thetests.
If you have a person in their20s without any injuries, you
can do a one rep max on thebench press, a one rep max on
the leg press.
Those are like the two onesthat are used all the time in
(15:13):
professional settings, like atNational Football League or
Baseball or NBA.
They assess the bench press,they assess the leg press for
upper body strength and legstrength.
With those you can do anestimated one hour one RM test.
So you don't necessarily haveto just do one, which can be
very risky and if you don't knowsomebody I would say stupid.
(15:34):
You can do like eight reps tofailure.
And then there's a formula youcan use the lower the reps you
use, the more accurate it isgoing to be.
So those are like the biggies.
But then you can do likeestimated, somewhat submaximal
tests by using less weight ondifferent exercises and
(15:56):
determining somebody's 10 repmax.
We do a lot of that here.
We just did that the other daywith somebody who started back
up after not working out for awhile.
We'll do like an estimated 10pounds on the hammer chest press
because again you know we'regoing to use a hammer chest
press instead of a bench pressfor the majority of people and
(16:17):
see how many reps they can getwith 10 pounds on each side and
then if they get eight and theyget 15 a month later, that's
progress.
I like to do a seated row forthat too.
They can sit on the seated row.
We'll just make a very goodguesstimate based on what I know
.
Let's say, 50 pounds, how manyreps do they do day one?
Maybe it's five, day 15, maybethey're doing like 16 reps, and
(16:42):
no, those numbers aren't floated.
I mean, that's pretty accurate,probably what somebody's going
to do, because if you measure itthen you are going to manage it
because you care, you're likeman, I want them to do good on
their assessment, reflects goodon them and reflects good on me.
She's going to manage it.
So when you're doing all ofthese exercises, you're pushing
(17:02):
because, let me tell you, it'sbeen close before.
It's been a situation where youknow somebody's been a little
stubborn in their gains and Iknow it's reassessments coming
up and I'm like, oh shit, youknow, you know they showed a lot
of progress.
This isn't going to go well andthey're going to be upset.
I'm going to have to, like youknow, talk to them and figure
(17:23):
out what we're all doing wrong.
So that's happening.
You can avoid that by simplyalways keeping the assessment in
the back of the mind, notbecause I'm worried about
business.
I'm actually not.
You know we're full.
We're not even taking peopleright now, and you know this.
This isn't a new thing either.
I've been full for like areally long time and I'm not
saying that arrogantly at all.
It's just simply the truth.
(17:45):
But I don't like to see anybodyfail.
I don't like to feel like whatwe were doing hasn't helped a
whole lot.
So it's more about that, andusually people who haven't done
overly well beat themselves up.
So I don't want to see them dothat.
So I just want to make surethat I keep my mind where it
should be.
I'm staying focused.
I'm not just doing a boot campexercise where somebody comes in
(18:07):
and I'm blowing them out withcalorie burning exercises.
It's like, no, you know, youcan do that on an exercise bike
on your own.
I'm trying to get progress in avery critical area.
So if you can, if you canmeasure it, you can manage it.
So we keep our eye on it.
So O's do some form of muscularassessment, strength, endurance
(18:27):
assessment, and I always try toincorporate at least an upper
body and a lower body and, ifpossible, an upper body, pull, a
lower body and a upper bodypush.
You know those are like thethree big areas that will tell
me a lot.
So, for example, if somebody'sin their 20s or whatever and
they're athletic and they'vebeen working out, I can do a
(18:48):
bench press test, followed by apull up test, followed by a leg
press test.
Or one that we like to use is a30 second squat test.
How many squats can they do in30 seconds?
That gives us a really goodidea.
And again, at all points whereO is critiquing form that's a
big part of validity withassessments Is you want to make
(19:11):
sure you're measuring whatyou're really supposed to be
measuring.
So if a person does like reallytextbook form on day one of the
assessment and they only get,say, eight reps or so, and then
when you assess them again infive weeks or so and they do
really shitty form and they'rethrowing it around and they
(19:31):
increase it by 300%, well that'snot very valid.
You're not measuring the samething.
You're measuring one day withgood form and the next day with
not good form, and like theseare areas I find to be very
interesting.
I like I love looking at thedata on these things Because,
man, just this morning I waspicking apart a study not a
(19:52):
study, but it was in anassessment book by the American
College of Sports Medicine andit should have absolutely been
handled more professionally.
And I'm reading this gripstrength, this dynamometer
strength test, and it gave likesix different tips on how to do
it properly.
And at one point I think it wastip three it said with a flexed
(20:14):
elbow, at 90 degrees, squeezethe dynamometer.
Like well, that's true.
But then the picture theyshowed below was the person with
their arm completely straightout in front of them.
So that's not a flexed elbow.
It's like you said one thingand did another.
It's like professionals shouldbe better than that.
So does that affect it?
(20:35):
Yeah, because if you do it oneway one time on a dynamometer
and then the next time you do ita different way, you're gonna
get a different number.
So you always have to make surethat you're doing the same way
the same time.
And that's why it's alsoimportant that, for the most
part, when I assess somebody, Ineed to assess them, and when
(20:57):
Ellen or somebody else assessesthem, they need to re-assess
them, because we all have ourdifferent way of doing things
and it's gonna be a little bitdifferent if two people assess
and then finally I end theassessment with some form of
mobility.
Now I've replaced what somepeople call flexibility with
mobility, because the reality isflexibility doesn't mean nearly
(21:21):
as much as mobility as far ashuman function goes, and it is
also very subjective.
So the classic sit and reachtest is an example of
flexibility and I've seen peoplego from, say, 14 on the sit and
reach test, 14 inches to 18.
And then tell me there's nodifference in how they feel,
(21:42):
which is probably true.
And then I've seen people gofrom 13 on the sit and reach
test to 13, no improvement, andI just don't think.
I mean it's cool.
You can see, when I wasteaching sports medicine I'll
put the sit and reach boxes outin the class and they would all
have fun competing against eachother.
But the reality is I'm not surethat that translates into
(22:04):
anything very productive forthem.
Now, mobility, that is veryimportant, like how do we move?
Like what does our body do whenit's time to do it in unison,
when it's time to do itdynamically moving?
So I like to test mobilityexercises.
Now, again, a lot of it can beassessed when we're doing the
previous tests, like step ups isgonna really tell me a lot
(22:28):
about somebody's mobility.
The Rockport One Mile Walk Testis gonna tell me a lot about
their mobility.
But I also like to do, like, anoverhead squat test where I can
see what their joints do whenthey're actually going through a
squat.
Do their knees adduct?
A lot of people's do.
Do their feet pronate?
A lot of people do.
Can they not keep their chestup in parallel?
(22:49):
That's true for a lot of people.
I like to look at those thingsbecause that's an area we want
to correct, like.
That's why I say form iseverything.
That's a big part of it.
So when people are doing theirexercises, are they make sure
that they're maintaining properposture when they do?
And I can see what theirnatural posture is when they do
things like an overhead squattest?
(23:11):
And then, finally, to wrap thisup, what I do afterwards, what
you should do afterwards, is setobjective goals.
I like to use smart goalsspecific, measurable, attainable
, realistic and timely Set goals.
So, whatever we came up with,if you did the Rockport one mile
in 17 minutes and 30 seconds,well you know, keep it a smart
(23:31):
goal, meaning objective andtimed.
Say, let's get under 17 minutesin the next five weeks and no
running.
In other words, don't cheat toget there.
Strength wise did 10 pounds inthe chest press 10 times Okay,
in five weeks, let's be able toget it 16 times On the seated
row.
Did eight reps with 50 poundsOkay, let's get 15 reps in, say
(23:55):
five, six weeks or whatever.
Maybe a squat test oh, they did20 in 30 seconds, which is
already pretty good.
All right, let's really push it.
Let's get close to 30, 28 in 30seconds.
Body composition they were 27%body fat Okay, let's try to be
under 26% in five weeks.
So that's what we do with theassessment we set smart goals.
(24:19):
If we do that, we really aretraining professionally.
Speaking of professionalism,there is no more professional
garage door company in the stateof Florida than overhead door,
and we actually have one here inDaytona Beach and it's owned by
Jeff and Zach Hawk.
They give the best customerservice and the best garage
(24:43):
doors.
If you need any help, give thema shout at
overheaddoordatonacom.
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