My Weekend in Boston

This past weekend I spent in Boston at a Functional Movement Screen and Core Training Systems workshop. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) consists of 7 fundamental movement patterns that we all had as children and have likely lost over time. The screen is used to determine potential risk for injury then to prescribe the proper corrective exercises. The screen is used by many NFL, NHL, and most big time college football programs to determine an athlete's readiness to play (and prepare to play.) If an athlete scores low he will not be allowed to perform certain lifts until that movement pattern is cleaned up. The max score is a 21 (score of 3 on all 7 screens.) Just for some perspective, Joseph Addai (Pro Bowl running back for the Indianapolis Colts) scored a horrible 9 the first time he took the screen. My mom scored a 14. Joseph Addai is a far better athlete and much more "fit" than mom (sorry mom) but his movement patterms were far more dysfunctional. Without the screen he would have been allowed to train and build strength and fitness on top of his dysfunction. This would have resulted in injury. However, because of the screen, his coaches were able to hold him back temporarily, clean up his movement patterns, and keep him healthy and productive on the field. Now, he's an elite athlete but it can (and should) be applied to the general public as well. Anyone who wants to start a fitness program with dysfunctional movement patterns will get injured and give up on their program. Using the screen we can find the source of problems that result in low back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, etc. Anyway, over the course of the workshop I took a ton of notes, here are some:

• "It's not about sports, it's about moving." Point is, we ALL move, and we can ALL move better than we do now.
• Grip strength is the best predictor of overall strength. I think I need to buy a grip strength analyser and test this out.
• "What you remove is sometimes of greater impact than what you add." Apply this to your diet. If you eat a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a big plate of pasta for dinner then you need to remove all the crappy grains from your diet, not start taking some fish oil.
  
• Performing a deadlift or romanian deadlift with poor form will result in LESS pressure on the disks in the lumbar spine than sitting while lifting or pulling. Think about that one if you are someone who goes to the gym and "does the machines." You are putting a tremendous amount of stress on your lower back when you sit at one of those Nautilus machines and perform the chest press or row. This will catch up to you.
• Many studies have shown that performing deadlifts (or any deadlift variation) to be a great way for the elderly to maintain bone density and hormone levels.
  
• Ibuprophin is a bad breakfast
• Assymetry is the recipe for injury.
  

And finally,

• Fitness on top of proper movement patterns is ALWAYS the best way to remain healthy, active, and injury free!!

Mike

PS...Oh, also, I'm an early riser but 5:30 is much too early to be up on a Saturday. 6:30 is no problem, but 5:30 was rough.