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This is the transcript of Brett Jones’ The FMS, Common Errors or Misperceptions audio lecture. If you’ve received this material, do not own the audio lecture and would like to learn about it, visit movementlectures.com.

For more from Brett, visit him at appliedstrength.blogspot.com.

Brett Jones coming to you with an audio on The Functional Movement Screen—Common Errors or Misperceptions.

I was an athletic trainer at a military academy in Chatham, VA, in 1995 when Gray Cook walked into my training room and asked if I needed help. From then, I worked directly with Gray for a couple of years, and was at the first-ever FMS workshop in late 1997 or early 1998—we argue over the date. I eventually got hooked back up with Gray and have been using the screen since I learned it in 1997.

I’ve worked with Gray on the development of the FMS Level II teaching material and the Secrets DVD series, expanding the corrective exercise offerings. I’ve taught almost 100 FMS workshops, so I’ve got my mileage in using and teaching the screen.

What I want to share with you today are some of the common errors or misperceptions I see in people using the FMS. Right off the bat, what I want to talk about is the concept of professional versus customer communication.

In instructing the course to fitness professionals and clinicians, we use terms like ‘dysfunction’ or ‘you failed the screen because you have pain.’ Please understand this sort of language is for us, the fitness professionals or clinicians, in communicating with fellow professionals or in your own head while you’re running a screen. We don’t use that sort of communication when we’re working with clients.

When I begin the screen, I tell my clients, “We’re going to run through something called the Functional Movement Screen. It’s seven different movements and some clearance tests. I’m going to give you some instructions. Let me know if you understand them. We’re going to do the best we can. We’re not going to really talk much about it until we’re at the end because I don’t know anything until we’re done with all seven tests and the clearance tests.”

I let them know right away, ‘We’re going to go through this thing. It’s no big deal. I just want to see how you move. I’m not going to give you a whole lot

of feedback or information while I’m doing it.’ They don’t know anything until I’m done with the screen. We’ll talk more about assumptions in a minute.

Don’t verbalize the score to your client. “Whoa, that was a ‘1.’ “Well, what’s a ‘1?’” “What does a ‘1’ mean?” “Does a ‘1’ mean I’m good?” “Does a ‘1’ mean I’m bad?” “What does a ‘1’ mean?”

That’s what’s going to be going on inside your client’s head. “It’s just a movement screen. I will go over the results afterward.”

Maybe it’s an active straight leg raise. “See how on this active straight leg raise you scored a ‘1’ and a ‘2.’ A ‘1’ means we’ve got some work to do on that pattern. A ‘2’ is okay, but let’s go see if we can find things to improve that pattern.”

That’s it. I don’t go into detailed explanations because they don’t really want it. They know from an inherent sense that they didn’t move perfectly and they don’t need you to tell them that. Just remember professional versus customer communication. Don’t go into the deep woods the way we do when we’re talking among ourselves.

Understand also that the names of the screens are for the person we’re screening—not for the fitness professional. We know an active straight leg raise is not just about hamstring length, but it’s about how the core, pelvis and hip all talk to one another. Can you maintain extension on one leg while you produce flexion on the other, controlling your pelvis position and having great motor control?

We know the shoulder mobility is not just shoulder range of motion, but rather motor control of the core, thoracic spine, the scapula on into the shoulder and on. Just remember the test names were made easy for the person we’re screening, but we understand it’s deeper than that in what we’re looking for. We also want to understand that talking to the customer is very different than talking to a fellow professional.

The second thing I want to talk about is the setup. The description, verbal instructions and scoring criteria really have to be combined in your

BRETT JONES

The Functional Movement Screen—Common Errors or Misperceptions

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This is the transcript of Brett Jones’ The FMS, Common Errors or Misperceptions audio lecture. If you’ve received this material, do not own the audio lecture and would like to learn about it, visit movementlectures.com.

For more from Brett, visit him at appliedstrength.blogspot.com.

head in order to use the screen well. The description and verbal instructions are going to get the person in the right position. The scoring criteria only matter if the person is in the right position. If the setup isn’t perfect, you’re not collecting the information you think you’re collecting.

Say you have someone performing the deep squat test. You make sure the feet are straight for the first repetition. When the person performs the movement, one foot moves out a little bit and you don’t set up again for the second repetition. Now it didn’t look like a ‘3’ before, but boy, they are now. No, they’re still not a ‘3.’ You just didn’t perform the setup correctly for the second repetition.

Every repetition needs to be set up correctly and perfectly, so keep that in mind as you’re going through all of the screens. In the inline lunge, you have to get the back foot straight. You have to make sure the dowel is vertical for every repetition. When what looked like a ‘2’ or even a ‘1’ starts looking like a ‘3,’ check your setup. Make sure every rep is set up correctly.

Typically during the trunk stability push-up, on the way down the person drifts forward, going from testing for a ‘3’ to testing for a ‘2-1/2’ to testing for a ‘2’ and you’re giving them a ‘3.’ You didn’t think to reposition the hands, but they were drifting forward during the push-up. Really examine the description, the verbal instructions and make sure those setup positions are perfect for every repetition and every attempt of every screen.

The next thing we want to do is avoid assumption, We see this all the time on something like the deep squat. There are a couple of tests like the deep squat, the push-up and rotary stability where we make a delineation or a differentiation between ‘3s’ and ‘2s,’ or ‘2s’ and ‘1s’ by changing position slightly.

For the deep squat, we’re going to perform a test for a ‘3’ with the heels on the ground. Somebody may look really close to a ‘3,’ but is just not meeting the criteria, so you say, “It’s a ‘2.’ What if it’s not? What if you put the heels up on the board and the person still can’t break parallel, or the stick still pitches forward?

You only know it’s a ‘2’ when you test it for a ‘2’ or a ‘1,’ but in particular for the deep squat, the trunk stability push-up and rotary stability, you want to be sure to complete the full screen. Don’t start making assumptions.

The next thing we want to talk about is running the screen and scoring by the numbers, meaning every repetition simply gets a number. You’re watching somebody perform a hurdle step. Every time the person steps over the string and comes back over the string, this should get a number in your head. When stepping over the string and stepping back over, automatically in your head you should think, ‘That was a ‘2,’ That was a ‘1’ or That was a ‘3.’’ Step over the string again and come back, then think, okay, that one was a ‘2.’

Score it by the numbers. Use the scoring criteria. Ask if the person is having pain. The most

important thing we’re finding in the screen is ‘0s’ or finding pain, and also the ‘1s.’ We’ll spend all day arguing whether something was a ‘3’ or a ‘2’ and there’s a ‘1’ waiting for us someplace else in the screen. Don’t get obsessed on ‘3s’ and ‘2s.’ Look for the ‘0s’ and ‘1s’ and the asymmetries. Those are going to lead you down the right tunnel.

We focus on the score. Whether it’s a ‘3,’ ‘2, ‘1’ or ‘0,’ we don’t assign blame. I never watch somebody squat and think, ‘Hmmm, I bet the lateral two-thirds of their foot blahblahblah fibers aren’t firing and that’s why they can’t deep squat.’ That is not the purpose at all. Look at the squat. Simply give it a number.

I think what really gives people a hard time is stepping back and being that simple. Clinicians in particular have a hard time with this because clinicians are really good at peeling the onion and finding a stinky layer that needs to be dealt with. They’re used to looking at something and figuring, ‘I bet it’s this.’

The only thing I know at the end of the deep squat is the number. Either you’re a ‘3,’ ‘2’ or a ‘1,’ or you’re a ‘0’ because you have pain. That’s all I know for all of the seven tests. The clearance tests, of course, can score a ‘0,’ but just score by the numbers.

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This is the transcript of Brett Jones’ The FMS, Common Errors or Misperceptions audio lecture. If you’ve received this material, do not own the audio lecture and would like to learn about it, visit movementlectures.com.

For more from Brett, visit him at appliedstrength.blogspot.com.

Don’t assign blame. Just scoring by the numbers makes your life so much easier.

Once you have the numbers, I’m going to encourage you to follow our corrective algorithm. The algorithm is in the book Movement, and in the FMS Level I and Level II courses. We cover this well. And the FMS 360 software will mentor you through using the algorithm.

Remember, the screen is simply the entry point to the correctives. You only need numbers at the end of your screen because it’s going to direct you into which pattern to look at. I don’t have to blame something at the end of a screen. I just have to have a tunnel to go down.

Once I start going down that tunnel and I start looking for corrective exercises that make a positive change in that person’s movement, now I can start thinking, ‘Ah, needed a little motor control,’ or ‘Oh, look, we had a tissue issue.’ I love that—tissue issue.

Follow the algorithm: active straight leg raise, then shoulder mobility, rotary stability, trunk stability push-up, inline lunge, hurdle step, deep squat. Yes, the deep squat is the last. It is the least important thing we’re going to correct, or it should correct itself if we deal with other things in the screen.

Stepping back quickly to the scoring criteria and assigning the number, don’t look for things that aren’t in the scoring criteria. ‘That deep squat looked like a ‘2,’ but I saw the lower back round, so I don’t think it’s a ‘2.’ Is that in the scoring criteria? It’s not. People start adding things they think are important and they start scoring according to that.

Just follow the scoring criteria. The ‘0s,’ the ‘1s’—the really big, red flags we need to go down the tunnel and look at—those are going to show up on their own, so don’t look for things that aren’t in the scoring criteria. Just follow the scoring criteria. Score by the numbers. All you should end up with is ‘3,’ ‘2,’ ‘1’ or ‘0.’ You can make a little note to the side, but it’s ‘3,’ ‘2,’ ‘1’ or ‘0.’

Speaking quickly about correctives, correcting a movement pattern should be very efficient.

Within an hour session with me, you’re going to get screened. We’re going to dig into where I think the weak link is according to the algorithm. I’m going to find between one to three things to send you home with to work on. They’re things I know make a positive difference in the person’s movement.

I know they make a positive difference because I retest. If I’m trying to bump an active straight leg raise and I think the foam roller is going to be the trick—a little soft tissue work—then I’ll have you foam roll and I’ll retest the active straight leg raise. You don’t leave me with five different exercises when I don’t know if they change your movement.

Correction is efficient. It doesn’t take months. People get caught in what I call the corrective whirlpool—chasing this pie in the sky perfect result. There’s no such thing. All you’ve got to do if they’re a pair of ‘1s’ is get them to ‘2s.’ If they’re a ‘3-2,’ get rid of the asymmetry. If they’re a ‘2-1,’ get rid of the asymmetry.

Initial corrections might actually take them down to a ‘1-1’ and then you build them up from there to a ‘2-2.’ Just focus on the weak link. Find the exercises you know make a difference in the movement and move on from there. Correcting is efficient. It’s not months and months.

One of the things that makes me put my head in my hands to have a moment is when people say, “Oh, you FMS people. You’re going to take everybody off of any kind of weight and you’re just going to be doing correctives for months.”

Get to strength in your corrective program. This should be efficient. You should know you’re making a positive change in that pattern. In one session, you should show it’s possible to change that pattern and get to strength as soon as possible.

For example, in an active straight leg raise, I want you deadlifting. I want you pulling roughly half-bodyweight in a single arm contralateral single-leg deadlift for eight to 10 repetitions on each leg. I want you strong. For a 100-kilo guy, that’s going to be 50 kilos in one hand. It’s not exactly a sissy standard.

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This is the transcript of Brett Jones’ The FMS, Common Errors or Misperceptions audio lecture. If you’ve received this material, do not own the audio lecture and would like to learn about it, visit movementlectures.com.

For more from Brett, visit him at appliedstrength.blogspot.com.

Get to strength. Know you’re making a positive difference in that pattern and move on to strengthening that pattern appropriately within the ranges they can control. For something like shoulder mobility, I want great overhead lifting. I want good horizontal pushing and pulling. I want to stop correcting and get to a program that supports great movement.

Another one of the big mistakes I see is people spend a little bit of time correcting and then they go back to program X. They re-screen the person and the movement is poor again. Don’t work further than the program. Unless the person fell down and had an accident or whatever, don’t look further than the program.

I have generated the world’s most perfect program on about 30,000 different occasions. It didn’t work out for anybody I put it on because there is no perfect program. Everything needs to be tweaked. Correction is efficient. Know the corrective drills or movement prep you’re using with people, know it’s moving them in the right direction.

Correcting is efficient. Get to strength. Don’t get sucked down the corrective whirlpool in chasing this unrealistic pie in the sky perfection. Remember, ‘2s’ are awesome. That’s right, ‘2s’ are awesome. You don’t need to be a ‘3.’

You may bump somebody to a ‘3’ through great programming or correctives, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to get people to fundamental movement competency and use great coaching, great program design and great movement to maintain fundamental movement competency and build skill off of that.

In a future podcast, I may run down and set up the mistakes I see for each screen, but really take the opportunity to review the description and the verbal instructions. If you’re not dialed in on those two things and you’re not achieving a perfect setup for every attempt of every part of the movement screen, you’ve got some work to do.

Make sure your setup is bang-on and then notice that the scoring criteria matter. Only score by the numbers. The only thing you know at the end

of a movement screen is the numbers. They’re a ‘3.’ They’re a ‘2.’ They’re a ‘1.’ They’re a ‘0’ because they have pain. They’re a ‘2-1.’

That’s all you need to know. It’s going to send you down the right tunnel where you’re going to follow the corrective algorithm because that’s our entry point. The screen is our entry point to the correctives. The screen is not an end unto itself. We’re not going to look for things that aren’t in the scoring criteria.

We’re going to make sure our correctives are efficient, that it’s not taking months to correct a movement pattern, and we’re going to get to strength. We’re going to get to great coaching and great programming. We’re going to build strength and work with those individuals, supporting great fundamental movement, but also building great strength.

I just want to wrap up one more time highlighting the professional versus customer communication. The communication between fitness professionals and clinicians is different. We’re going to use words like dysfunction and failed because they had pain. We are not going to use those words with the person we’re screening.

The person we’re screening should leave empowered. “This person screened me and I had trouble doing this leg raise-y thing. Then, she worked with me. She gave me a little foam roller and this little core engagement thing. Man, my leg raise is amazing now. Here, let me show you.”

That’s what people should leave a screen with. They should leave empowered. They should leave knowing they’re going to be able to efficiently correct this movement pattern and get on to building great strength, so they can do the things they want to do.

Now obviously, there are going to be exceptions to all of this. There are going to be people due to whatever situation they’re in, they’re going to have a longer corrective path. I get it. I’ve been doing this a while. I’ve got a few thousand hours in of working with people—tens of thousands. Understand that the exceptions—the ends of the bell curve—do not

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This is the transcript of Brett Jones’ The FMS, Common Errors or Misperceptions audio lecture. If you’ve received this material, do not own the audio lecture and would like to learn about it, visit movementlectures.com.

For more from Brett, visit him at appliedstrength.blogspot.com.

invalidate the bell curve. You’re going to have people who are very efficiently corrected and that’s going to be the bulk of the people you work with.

You’re going to have outliers. You’re going to have people who don’t need any correction at all because they screened really well right out of the gate. It’s your responsibility as a fitness professional to coach them well, to design the program well and move on with strength-and-conditioning to get them where they want to be and achieve those goals.

You’re going to have people on the other end of the bell curve, really difficult to correct. I get it. I’ve had those people. Don’t be thrown off when you run into somebody who you’re banging your head against the wall for. This is where you’ve got to have your referral network. We refer out for pain.

I hate blind referrals. Try to know whom you’re referring to or have communication with that clinician, doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor or whoever it is. Have communication with them, so you can do the best for the person you’re working with.

Again, this is Brett Jones for movementlectures.com. I look forward to seeing you at a FMS combo course or a FMS Level II course after you’ve done the home study course. See us at functionalmovement.com. Shoot us feedback and let us know what you think.