Learning to analyse exercise is not easy.
Not only have we been brainwashed by the exercise world’s simplistic preconceptions of it, but “seeing” forces is not something many of us have done since high school physics.
But humans and exercise machines are not blocks on a slope.
They come in all sorts of quirky shapes and sizes.
And things are constantly in motion.
Just as you’re trying to visualise what’s taking place, your client is already in a different position. It’s like trying to paint a picture – while on a moving speedboat.
So simplify it. Hit the freeze button.
Take photos in the “top and bottom” position of a rep and perform your analysis on those. If you’re trying to analyse someone else’s video, take well-timed screenshots.
In most cases, the starting and ending positions of a rep will tell you what’s happening in between.
There might be some details missing from a Turkish Get-up, but that’s not really an exercise. It’s a weighted dance move.
When you’ve got still images to work with, things get much easier. You can envisage or even draw the forces involved and the angle at which they relate to the body, which helps precisely pinpoint the musculature that is involved.
If you know your anatomy well and want to dive deeper, you could even draw the directions of the various muscle placements at the time – further highlighting which ones are most likely doing the majority of the work in opposing the resistance. The rest will be involved, but playing more of a role in joint management.
There is a LOT of learning and understanding that goes into effective exercise analysis and design.
Well-seasoned veterans can eyeball angles on the fly. That doesn’t make it the best way to learn. Freeze-framing things is still how the best of us figure out complicated instances.
Don’t throw yourself in at the deep end unnecessarily.
Hit pause. Slow down. Then measure up.