I know what you’re thinking- that this title was just to grab your attention- and that may be so, but there’s absolute truth to it.  We want you to take the laziest approach to being incredibly fit, which you may know this as the minimum effective dose, and we can show you how.

What are you doing?

Every time you walk into the gym, or whatever environment you train in, what are you doing?

Are you mindlessly going from exercise to exercise, void of direction for your desired outcome?

Sure, you have the best of intentions, but why are you doing the things that you do?

It starts with an assessment (or at least it should)…

No, no, no- not the type of “assessment” where you drop into the local big box gym and get run into the ground by a trainer salesman, through a workout only intended to show you how out of shape you are.  We’re talking a real assessment.

1. What REALLY brings you in (what do you want)?

   

   • Let’s talk goals, aspirations, fears, likes, dislikes, etc…
   • Let’s figure out where we’re going, when we want to arrive, and come back to this info later to formulate a plan.
2. Where have you been?
   • Background with training
   • Injury/medical history
3. Are you cleared to proceed to physical testing?
   • Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
   • Is there any reason why we would need clearance from your medical professional first?
4. How are your fundamental patterns?
   • Functional Movement Screen – Have we developed/maintained our movement resources to a minimally acceptable level of quality?
     • No?  “Most of our resourcefulness will simply be used to compensate, causing inefficiency, unnecessary stress, compromised learning and increased potential risk of injury” – Functional Movement Systems and Gray Cook with Dr. Phil Plisky.  No big deal, we start here.  We may be able to work on this stuff in the gym, but sometimes we may need to refer to a medical professional to be treated.  But don’t freak out, we can still train everything that’s cleared.  And, with your permission, we can communicate with your medical professional to keep everything moving towards your goals, as a team.
     • Yes?  Great!  We assess further. ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓
5. How are your fundamental movement capacities?
   • Fundamental Capacity Screen – “Let’s measure the results/baselines of your balance, strength, power and efficient energy storing, simply and objectively.  Then, on that fundamental non-biased platform we can start to construct all of the specific expressions of human movement potential and create a better platform for long-term movement development.” – Functional Movement Systems and Gray Cook with Dr. Phil Plisky
   • The following tests help us to decide what aspects of your training may need treated (referral), tuned (dysfunction), trained (deficiency), or trimmed (you’re great at _______, let’s trim some of that work to make more time for insert what you need to work on here).
   • Based on your goals and/or background, we may not perform any/all of them.
     1. Can we demonstrate single limb competency, showing that we are balanced in the four quadrants of our body (movement control)?
     2. Are we able to carry with integrity (postural control)?
     3. Are we able to work against gravity impressively (explosive control)?
     4. How well do we store/recycle energy (impact control)?
6. How much capacity do you need for your goal(s)?
   • What’s that goal we talked about earlier?  What do we need to do to get you there?
   • Conditioning testing?
   • Specific skills testing?

The laziest approach to being incredibly fit means that we only do what’s necessary, and no more.

With the information from our assessment we can now proceed to training with intent.

What’s your goal?

What is our intent with a given training program?

Are we selecting the appropriate exercises, sets, reps and frequency, for YOU, that allow you to express your intent, so that you can reach your desired goal(s)?

Because otherwise, what the heck are we doing?

Live in Northern Virginia?  Want to get assessed so that you can train to express your intent and meet your goal(s)?

By filling out this form you are not committing yourself to anything. We'll simply reach out to get the membership conversation rolling, steering you in the direction we believe will be the best fit!

Name: *

My goal(s) involve (check all that apply): *

Fat Loss

Strength

Muscle Building

Performance

Have you ever worked with a trainer before? *

Yes

No

How would you like us to contact you? *

Email

Phone

If phone, what is the best time of day to reach out?

Any ideal days/times you'd like to come in for the initial assessment? *

How did you hear about us? *

Email Address: *

Phone: *

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Chris Merritt

Owner at Beyond Strength Performance NOVA

Strength Coach/ B.S. Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University/ Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist/ FMS/ Strong First Level 1 Certified Kettlebell Instructor/ Owner of Beyond Strength Performance, LLC, Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, LLC, and Beyond Strength Performance Tactical, LLC

Latest posts by Chris Merritt (see all)

• Why Your Favorite Instagram Model’s Butt Program is a Waste of Time - 2017/08/30
• The ABC’s of the Kettlebell Swing - 2017/08/23
• I’m New to the Gym, What Should I Do? - 2017/08/16