Foundation

Developing a strong movement foundation can be a key role throughout your training.

Usually, assessing where you are at can be the first step.

Movement screenings, unloaded and loaded can be where to start. Evaluating an individuals movement without external load, vs with external load, can sometimes look different. Analyzing several movements targeting your kinetic chain checkpoints specifically and ensuring you have the proper mobility, and stability to determine your placement throughout a training program, is recommended.

The foot and ankle, the knee, the Lumbo-Pelvic Hip Complex (your core), your shoulders, and your head and cervical spine are some checkpoints to focus on.

Improving your movement can aid in muscle growth, as well as decrease risk of injury.

For example, an individual who has limited range of motion in their hamstrings, possibly shouldn’t be practicing conventional deadlifts.

Typically, the body will aim to compensate to make up for that limited range of motion, by including other areas of your body, which may not be beneficial in the long run. This can lead to increased risk of injury. An idea would be regressing the exercise, to a different hinge pattern, such as a rack-pull, until the individual develops the proper range of motion and progress them along the way.

There are several other factors that can play into this as well.

You don’t necessarily have to be performing a conventional deadlift to develop strength in a hinge position, there are other exercises one can perform to develop strength and adaptation to the body.

There are different types of strength, depending on the individual,

the type of athlete they are, what they are training for, and even in different planes of motion.

Strength athletes, sports-performance athletes, or even your weekend-warriors, it is crucial to develop a strong movement foundation, not only to decrease risk of injury, but also to improve training efficiency.