A Framework for Improving Movement Quality
I’ve been coaching sport and movement since I was 16 years old. Whether that coaching happened on the field or in the weight room helping athletes improve their movement quality has been a common line through it all. It wasn’t until speaking with a new athlete this past week that I paused to question exactly what I meant when I used the phrase “movement quality.” After writing out some thoughts here is my current working definition:
“Movement quality is the execution of specific skills in the most efficient way for the given context. This means that: 1. the athlete has access to all ranges of motion necessary to execute the skill 2. The athlete has coordination & stability through these ranges of motion 3. The athlete has control of the precise speeds required to execute the skill in the context of the environment 4. And the athlete performs the skill with personality.”
Movement quality is tough to quantify on paper, but we know it when we see it. Its a rare combination of smooth, powerful accuracy with a dash of self-expression. The fourth characteristic I included in my definition, personality, isn’t common in other definitions of “movement quality” but I think its an important one. Movement is a form of expression, of communication, and so the quality of our movement is influenced and I believe enhanced by our personality and culture. You gotta find the flow, bring the sauce, and let your soul shine through.
I was 10 years old during the 1998 world cup when Nike dropped the Brazilian airport commercial. It sparked a love of the ball and movement for me. Then in the mid 2000’s Nike brought Brazil back in focus with their Joga Bonitio ads built around their football culture. They did a whole documentary on “ginga”, the sway, a way of moving, playing, and living, And when you watch those guys play (Ronaldiho, Robinho, Ronaldo, etc) you can see my definition of movement quality in action. But this definition of movement quality isn’t soccer specific, it’s universal from the weight room, to the dance floor, and everywhere in between.
With a definition to work from here is the framework, or thought structures, I use to support my programming and coaching decisions on developing movement quality:
“The body follows the rules of physics. It takes the path of least resistance. So if it’s easy to move there, it keeps moving there, and thats what you’re trying to change to make it easier to move at other places where you should be moving.” - Dr. Shirley A. Sahrmann, PT, PHD
Question one of improving movement quality: Does the athlete have access to the ranges of motion necessary to execute the desired patterns and skills?
If not, then it is my job as a movement professional to create and implement a plan to help the athlete make it easier to move into the positions and patterns required. This starts with assessment. Give the athlete a movement task, watch them solve the movement task, determine where the athlete is moving where they should be and where they shouldn’t be. Address where they shouldn’t be moving, and then reassess to determine if your coaching has worked.
Here is an example from this past week. I had a first session with a new athlete where we go through a number of assessments. One of them being an overhead squat with a dowel. As the athlete sat down into their squat they lifted their heels, shifting weight onto their forefoot in order to get into a deep squat position and keep the dowel nearly overhead. Now reference the quote from Dr. Sahrmann above, the body is smart, it took the path of least resistance to get into that deep position. Now when the athlete was cued to keep their feet flat, their hips stopped about 8 inches above parallel and their torso folded forward along with the arms and dowel trying to find more depth (which they did). When the athlete was then cued to go as deep as possible with keeping the feet flat and dowel overhead they stopped about 8 inches above parallel. I now know where they can and cant move in that pattern. And now I can go about selecting the methods, frequencies, exercises, intensities, and volume necessary to create adaptations that will help the athlete to more easily access the range of motions necessary for that movement pattern.
“Three simple facts: 1. Every human movement, thought, or feeling is a precisely timed electrical signal travel through a chain of neurons - a circuit of nerve fibres. 2. Myelin is the insulation that wraps the nerve fibers and increases signal strength, speed, and accuracy. 3. The more we fire a particular circuit, the more myelin optimizes the circuit, and the stronger, faster, and more efficient our movement and thoughts become.” - Daniel Coyle from The Talent Code
“Struggling in certain targeted ways—operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes—makes you smarter. Or to put it a slightly different way, experiences where you're forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them—as you would if you were walking up an ice-covered hill, slipping and stumbling as you go—end up making you swift and graceful without your realizing it.” - Daniel Coyle
Question two of improving movement quality: Now that the athlete has access to the ranges of motion necessary to execute the desired pattern or skill, how do we help them enhance their coordination, stability, and control in a variety of contexts?
In terms of methods, it feels like there is truly an unlimited amount of answers. But this post isn’t about methods its about principles and frameworks. Regardless of the method selected, in order to improve stability and control you have to struggle. You have the give your neural circuitry and muscle structures a reason to adapt. There ’s an optimal gap between what can and can’t do. When you find that sweet spot, improvement takes off.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” "The clouds don't plan when to rain; they simply wait for the water to coalesce and fall" "The world is wu wei — it acts without action" - Lao Tzu | Tao Te Ching
Question three of improving movement quality: Now that the athlete has access to the ranges of motion necessary to execute the desired pattern or skill with coordination, stability, and control, how do we make it more efficient?
As the Lao Tzu of college basketball , John Wooden, put it “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” I think of it as “effortless action” finding the right amount of focus, tension, and intensity to execute the skill without over straining. This is a psychological concept, a mindset. And I have found it best translated to the athlete by asking them to repeat a skill but “make it look as easy as possible.” This single cue helps the athlete learn to relax into the movement, still execute with stability and control, but now with a ease that comes across as second nature.
“Game Face is your optimal mental state. From an interpersonal perspective, it’s the attitude you want to display and it’s the style in which you want to execute your behaviours during your performance moment. Internally and externally, it’s the personality you want to experience (in your body) and the personality you want to portray (to others).” - Dan Abrahams Phd | Sport Psychologist
And the fourth question of improving movement quality: Now that the athlete has access to the ranges of motion necessary to execute the desired pattern or skill with coordination, stability, and control with ease, how do we make it theirs?
The truth is that through their practice of this skill they have been making it theirs. This is now art, not science. How you communicate this concept to the athlete will depend on the athlete. Robinho said “you gotta have the sway” and through watching him I knew what that meant. I found my own “sway” in my dribbling skills, my own way to let my personality come through. With a lot of my youth athletes I would tell them to “exaggerate” the skill, which lead to a lot of unique, personal interpretations. My high school and college athletes understood “Do you” or “Do your thing.” It gave them permission to let their personality through. For some guys that was moving with more force and aggression, for others is was moving with more rhythm, but simply giving them permission was all they needed to let it flow. Occasionally I would get the player who would say “I don’t know what my ‘thing’ is.” which is a great topic for another post haha. And for the adult athletes who have really come to understand who they are…these conversations can be a little deeper and more nuanced. But usually simple cueing is better.
This framework helps me continue to evaluate and coach movement quality from both a physiological and psychological level. Providing coaching, and programming to meet the athlete where they are at in their specific movement journey. And it is not trained in the linear, step by step fashion I outline above. Going back to my client with the overhead squat. We are going to address improving range of motion in the squat pattern AND while we are improving that we are going to work on coordination and control (strength and tempo of movement) through the ranges he currently has access to.
Some questions to take into your own training today:
1) What skill or movement are you currently working to execute more efficiently?
2) Do you have access to the ranges of motion necessary with coordination, stability and control?
3) Have you built enough coordination, stability, and control to start adding your personality to it?
4) What is your “game face”? What part of your personality could you communicate through this skill or movement?
Would love your thoughts on this framework, email: alex@evergreen-peformance.com
Cheers - Al