Gritty Training Log: Equinox Tier 4 - The Assessment by Coach Beth Sullivan

Poked, Prodded, Twisted... who needs it?

We have all been "assessed" at one point or another, so we are all too familiar with the uncomfortable process it can be. As daunting as they can be, assessments are an extremely helpful tool in providing important information about the subject.

At Equinox, the Tier 4 fitness assessment can be an arduous process, but as fitness coaches it is invaluable. It allows us to get a firm grasp on the person we are working with inside and out, so we are better equipped to help them to succeed. It is roughly a 2 hour process, but as they say "time flies when you are having fun!".

The first step is the metabolic assessment. We measure the subjects Resting Metabolic Rate as well as their Exercise Metabolic Rate. Metabolic what?? A persons RMR is the number of calories used to maintain basic life functions, such as brain activity, heart and lung function, tissue growth and repair, and internal organ functions. RMR is typically 60-75% of total energy expression in a relatively healthy individual. When training for something specific, every calorie counts. This gives us the individuals exact number of calories to consume each day! The EMR gets a little more complicated. We are looking for the individuals capacity for work. In basic terms we are looking for a persons cardiovascular ceiling, "VO2", and how efficient they are in getting there. From here we can develop a very specific training protocol to maximize efficiency and raise the "ceiling". A side effect from this training? Faster times!

Next in line, posture. Oh boy I can't stress enough the importance of good posture! I could talk for days actually, but for the now I will discuss our assessment of it. We do two postural assessments. First is a static assessment. We place stickers on landmarks of the body from head to toe and take two pictures; a front view and side view. No,this isn't going on the Internet, we download it into software where we can establish any muscular imbalances or excessive deviations from "normal postural alignment". Second, we look at dynamic posture using a Functional Movement Screen. This shows us how your body moves in different positions. From here we can develop a plan to correct any of these problems, and either fix the current pain or prevent it from happening in the future. Postural problems combine for the majority of our aches and pains so it's worth taking a closer look at!

Body Age! How old is your body? For this test, we measure a number a different things and combine them all to get an average body age. While this is all very exciting, the importance of this test really lies in what we are measuring. We measure blood pressure, body composition, waist to hip ratio (more explanation coming), and we also give the subject a self-report questionnaire that addresses nutrition, prevention, and stress. Waist to hip ratio is just what it says, the ratio of one's hip measurement versus their waist. This number is a marker for determining your risk for Coronary Heart Disease. When combining all of these measurements it can show us what your body age is! Could you be 18 again? Absolutely!

As fitness coaches it is our job to guide you toward your goals in a safe and effective manner. This assessment really gives us a window into who you are and how you work, but more importantly we hope the subject is able to see what we see. I say this because often times we don't see our own limitations and road blocks, but when we are able to figure them out on our own, our success rate increases exponentially. This is your journey, we as coaches can only open the doors and turn on the lights, from there, it's all you! Happy Training!