Assessment
Assessment is a sequence, not a single test
Start with preparticipation screening (e.g., PAR-Q+) and subjective information - goals, medical history, lifestyle - before any objective testing. Static postural assessment checks the five kinetic chain checkpoints (feet/ankles, knees, LPHC, shoulders, head) for common distortions such as pes planus, knee valgus, excessive lordosis, or forward head.
Dynamic movement assessments - overhead squat, single-leg squat, pushing and pulling - reveal mobility versus stability compensations. Manual muscle testing then classifies muscles as overactive or underactive so you can choose inhibit, lengthen, activate, and integrate strategies. Performance testing follows: cardiorespiratory (YMCA 3-minute step test, Rockport walk, 1.5-mile run), muscular endurance (push-up, curl-up, YMCA bench press), strength (estimated 1RM), power (vertical jump, medicine-ball throw), and speed/agility (40-yard dash, pro agility). Body composition may use skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance, BMI, or circumference.
Traps: treating a compensation as a diagnosis; calling the bench press test a measure of maximal strength (it is upper-body muscular endurance); testing performance before posture and movement; forgetting that BMI does not distinguish fat from lean mass. Worked example: knees diving inward during the overhead squat point to overactive adductors with underactive gluteus medius - foam roll and stretch the adductors, then strengthen the gluteus medius, rather than only cueing "knees out."