Measuring the Progress of Movement in Exercise

by Christine Fisher

When most people exercise for several weeks, they want to begin to see results. After all, many people work out in order to get in shape and lose weight. Seeing results is motivating.

In many cases, results occur within the body first and aren’t visible right away. “Members will tell me they haven’t lost weight yet after coming to work out for several weeks, but I’ll remind them of how much they’ve progressed with movement,” explains Shelby Hodges, exercise specialist and fitness coach with Dynamic Dimensions Fitness. “Their range of motion and flexibility are better. They are improving and the weight loss and toning will be visible soon.”

One of the ways Dynamic Dimensions Fitness (DDF) aims to help members track progress is through the Functional Movement Screen. It’s a tool available to all DDF members and used to evaluate seven fundamental movement patterns to see how much the member is able to accomplish without any pain. A retest is done every eight weeks to gauge improvement. The screenings performed will not in themselves cause injury, or increase the severity of a current area of pain or injury.

“The Functional Movement Screen can help uncover muscular and joint imbalances and compensations. This information helps us in developing appropriate strength and conditioning programs along with corrective exercises that can help improve these areas,” Hodges explains. “It also helps us uncover areas that can be improved before progressively overloading the body, which can help in lowering the risk of injury.”

The screening tool is designed to place an individual in real-life basic movement patterns where deficits become noticeable if appropriate stability and mobility are not used. “One example of this is to stand on one foot for a minute. Many of us would have to drop the foot and reset to complete the full minute, unless we have good balance,” Hodges says. 

The seven movement patterns that are tested are:

• Overhead Squat
• Hurdle Step
• In-Line Lunge
• Shoulder Mobility
• Rotary Stability
• Trunk Stability Push Up
• Active Straight-Leg Raise

The scoring takes into consideration if the individual can perform the complete movement without compensating in any way or feeling pain. 

The Functional Movement Screen is not intended to diagnose orthopedic problems but rather to demonstrate opportunities for improved movement in individuals.

“In the retest that we do after eight weeks, we can measure improvement in mobility, balance and range of motion,” Hodges says. “It helps us to know when an individual is ready to move to a higher level of exercise or a new type of exercise. It also helps us track how well the current exercise program is doing for that individual.”

Dynamic Dimensions Fitness offers group fitness programs, personal training, aquatics and free weights. For more information, call the Sulphur location at (337) 527-5459 or the Moss Bluff location at (337) 855-7708.