I would like to challenge you to think about how you approach your new clients – both how you perform your intake and assessments as well as what exercises you choose to use with them – and help you develop your knowledge and skill-set so that you become a booked solid industry expert.

And I have included a video link below to show you one quick and easy assessment we use as part of the Integrative Movement System with all our clients.

1.   We are in the midst of a health crisis – both in the deterioration in the state of health of the majority of people in this country and the disproportionate amount of money spent within the health care system to treat disease and dysfunction.

2.   Because of cutbacks in certain sectors of the health field – rehabilitation being one of them – patients are being released from therapy way before their condition is fully resolved. And many don’t ever receive appropriate therapy for the underlying cause of their musculoskeletal dysfunction – faulty movement patterns.

3.   With the recent economic climate, individuals are having to cut back on their spending. And one area where they tend to cut back on their finances is with their health, fitness, and well being. Likely you know someone within the fitness industry, perhaps a friend or colleague, who has had his or her business affected in the past year or two by the recent economic changes.

While these points may seem to point out a ‘doom and gloom’ scenario, they also present us with an incredible opportunity – that is, if you are dedicated to improving your skill set and marketing yourself as a movement specialist.

There is an incredible opportunity to have more clients than you can handle and make a powerful impact in the lives of clients that need the expertise of a specialist.

How?

By becoming a movement specialist.  However, there is one catch……

You must want to work with challenging clients (and just to let you in on a secret, unless you are working with genetic freaks, they are all challenging) and dedicate yourself to understanding both the mechanics of injuries and how to improve movement.

Here’s an example of what I am referring to:

A client was recently referred to me from a physical therapist colleague of mine. Sheila was 2 months post-surgical from a torn right ACL and medial meniscus and had just been released from physical therapy by my colleague. Wanting to get back in shape she presented to a personal trainer at her health club. On the first session with her, he had her performing lunges on the BOSU. Subsequently, she had knee pain in her rehabbed knee for several days later.

During her intake I asked if her trainer inquired about the exercises the physical therapist had been doing with her. She said he had not. I asked whether or not he had performed any kind of assessment on her. Again she replied he had not. I asked if he had taken into consideration the fact that she had two C-sections and was experiencing inhibition of her core that was affecting stability on her entire right side of her body. Once again, he had not.

Unfortunately, this scenario is all-too-common in the fitness industry. And the more unfortunate thing is, this lackadaisical approach by many personal trainers (these individuals are not fitness professionals so I will refrain from including them in that category) are harming their clients and perpetuating many clients dysfunction while keeping their clients in a perpetual cycle of dysfunction.

If you want to become part of the solution, you must develop yourself into a movement specialist and understand some basic principles of improving movement despite your client’s goals. Trying to get a client in shape, help them lose weight, or simply exercise without helping them develop the fundamental movement patterns can be likened to trying to run a marathon while never running for more than 10 miles during your training runs – it’s doomed to break you down once you get over 10 miles.

We have to be more systematic about how we approach and work with our clients if we want to develop ourselves into the industry experts and be paid for that expertise.

Here is one easy way to assess and clue your client to see where they are at with their lower extremity stability.  See below to see the video.

CONCLUSION

• There are incredible opportunities out there to dramatically increase your business and make incredible amounts of money working with post-rehab clients or those recovering from injuries.
• To become that sought after specialist, you must develop yourself into an industry expert and understand both how to assess and design an appropriate program for these clients as they often do not respond to traditional approaches that work for athletes and higher performing individuals.
• If you want to make a dramatic difference in the lives of your clients, if you want to book yourself solid, if you want to become part of the solution to the health care crisis, we can help. Make plans to join us in 2012 for the Integrative Movement SpecialistÔ program and let us help you develop your expertise and confidence in become a movement specialist.

If you wanted to purchase Complete Core Fitness by Mike Robertson for just $97.00 you will need to do so by Friday, October 9th.

Mike has included a bonus I created a free 2 hour webinar I recently recorded on Complete Trunk Conditioning – For Sport, For Life. In this webinar, I will share with you;

• The three reasons your clients lose optimal trunk function – so you can help educate your clients as to why they develop poor movement patterns and experience chronic pain;
• Why stretching is not the best way to improve function – so that you can help your clients develop an improved stabilization strategy and not inhibit their progress through excessive stretching;
• Three quick and easy assessments of core function and length assessment of the anterior and posterior oblique chains – so that you can quickly, easily, and efficiently assess your client’s trunk function and show them how your corrective strategy can have immediate impact on their range of motion;
• The key to improving overall function and efficiency in the body – so that your clients can restore the inherent function of their core and limit compensatory stabilization strategies;
• Ways to use unilateral and alternating pushing and pulling patterns to drive thoracic motion – so that you can add functional progressions to your clients program and make their patterns life or sport specific.

Click Here to Visit Mike Roberston’s site and learn more about how to obtain your copy of Complete Core Fitness and all the free bonuses including my 2 hour webinar.

Helping You Think Bigger About Your Role as a Fitness Professional,

Evan Osar

P.S.

Coming Next Edition of FITNESS INSIDER: Improving Scapular Depression