How you do anything is how you do everything!
The truth is, the qualities of LOAD, EXPLODE, and DRIVE are everywhere; they don’t occur in isolation. In any movement, whether it be walking, squatting, sprinting, or jumping, the individual must create force, transfer the force, and express the force they created. The same deficiencies and strengths that you will see in an individual's Movement Signature, you will find in the way they do any movement.
Let’s take an individual with low EXPLODE trying to change direction with a quick cut. She will tend to relax upon impact with the ground and take a long time to redirect the force, just as she did while performing the vertical jumps in her assessment. To the observer, she looks slow getting out of her cuts. The intent of increasing her Explode isn’t simply to “increase her Explode,” but to increase her ability to transfer force and get out of her cuts faster!
Many coaches, trainers, and health professionals pride themselves on emphasizing "technique" and "movement quality." They are hands-on and meticulous about movement quality in every exercise or action. When they notice an inefficiency in a movement, they cue it consistently to correct the weak part of the chain. If an individual has a tendency to leak force (what we would see as a low Explode), they tend to do so in every movement: from changing direction to carrying a heavy load to landing after a jump.
A big reason the Movement Signature makes so much sense to these trained professionals is that it reaffirms what they have been able to see with their own experienced eyes.
We encourage programming targeted exercises based on the Movement Signature because it provides a systematic, repeatable solution. This way, all of the key stakeholders, including you, know precisely what is needed, and the exercises and activities are targeting that specific need!
Take homes:
- Take a holistic approach to understanding movement. You will notice an individual's deficiencies and strengths are present in everything that they do.
- Movement quality matters. Performing activities and exercises in a high-quality manner doesn't only reduce the risk of injury during that activity but also helps to build strength and reduce the inefficiencies that underlie your Movement Signature
- Whatever you do, do it safely, and do it well!