Client Assessment, Goal Setting, and Progressions/Regressions
Assessment and progression logic
The Client Assessment, Goal Setting, and Progressions/Regressions domain tests whether you can gather relevant history, set measurable goals, and choose the next best variation. Assessment is not a battery of tests for its own sake; it should change the program.
Core rules
- Intake: training history, injury history, available time, equipment, sleep, stress, and preferences. Use a readiness questionnaire and document consent.
- Baseline: observe a hinge, squat, overhead reach, carry, and a basic get-up. Record load, reps, control, and pain-not just range of motion.
- Goals should be specific and measurable (for example, “10 consecutive two-hand swings with a 16 kg bell and no lumbar flexion”).
- Progress one variable at a time: load, volume, density, complexity, range of motion, tempo, or stability. Regress by reducing the same variable.
- Use the “success threshold”: if the client can complete the target reps with consistent technique and no pain, progress next session; if not, repeat or regress.
Worked example
A client cannot get from the floor to the elbow in the Turkish get-up without rolling off the shoulder. Reasoning: the floor-to-elbow transition needs shoulder packing and thoracic rotation. Regression: practice the half get-up from the elbow with a shoe balanced on the fist, then add load. Progression only after three clean reps per side.
Traps
- Testing maximal strength before teaching technique.
- Setting “get fit” as the only goal.
- Progressing load after a single good rep.
- Confusing soreness with injury.