Programming
Keep The Movement The Client Already Has, And A List Of Variables Gives You An Almost Unlimited Supply Of New Tasks
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in Motor Skill Application Specialist, where the variable list lives →
In short: In the Motor Skill Application Specialist course, a variable is anything that changes the environment the nervous system works in without changing the movement pattern the client needs. The course groups them into physical targets (direction, height, specific points), external obstacles (load, gravity, momentum, force direction, ground reaction, the environment), and internal obstacles (before, during and after the movement, such as pre-fatigue, coach commands, a moving target or a secondary task). Combined, they give an almost unlimited selection of tasks, so a trainer can keep developing a client's skill at whatever level the client shows.
One movement, a long list of ways to meet it
A trainer has a client who can do a movement well in the studio. The next job is to give that client more to succeed at, without turning it into a different movement.
The Motor Skill Application Specialist course has a list for exactly that. The lesson calls them variables: anything that changes the environment the nervous system works in, without changing the movement pattern the client needs to be successful.
Physical targets
The first group is where the client is going. The course breaks it into:
- Direction on the horizontal plane. Forward, back, left, right and the four diagonals, all the way to a specific target such as 26 degrees left.
- Height. Floor, foot, knee, hip, chest, shoulder, head, above the head, below the feet, or a specific dot to aim for.
A client who reaches to the floor and a client who reaches to a point at chest height are using the same pattern against a different target. The course says these can, and probably should, be used together.
External obstacles
The second group is what the client meets on the way. It covers load, gravity and momentum, then the direction the force arrives from: increasing, decreasing, static, interrupting, inline or oblique. Ground reaction sits here too, and so does the environment itself. That means hurdles to get over or under, cones to go around, a medicine ball thrown in to interrupt, or a floor that changes from stable to unstable.
Load is one line in a long list. A trainer who only adds weight is using a fraction of what is available.
Internal obstacles
The third group sits in the client's head and is split by timing.
- Before the movement. Pre-fatigue, or a task that makes the final movement harder to focus on.
- During the movement. A coach distraction, a coach's reaction command, or a moving target.
- After the movement. A secondary task, a reactive secondary task, or a new obstacle to handle straight after the first goal is met.
Why the list matters
The lesson says it plainly: combining the variables gives an almost unlimited selection of tasks. That is the answer to a trainer who worries about running out of ideas. You do not need a new exercise. You need a new variable on the movement you already have.
The course also warns that early on you may choose a variable that contradicts the movement pattern. That is normal, and you get better at spotting it over time.
Where this goes in PT Manager
The lesson ends by saying these variables become the skeleton of the exercise generator. PT Manager has one: a trainer sets rows and columns of movements, and it names every combination in full, so the trainer stars the keepers. Building that grid is covered in today's third post.
PT Manager opens when you sign up with any FASTER course, and adding real clients unlocks when you pass one. Read more about the Motor Skill Application Specialist course, or see PT Manager.
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Motor Skill Application Specialist, where the variable list lives — taught by the people who wrote it, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
Frequently asked
What is a variable in the MSAS course?
It is anything that changes the environment the client's nervous system works in without changing the movement pattern the client needs to be successful.
What are the main groups of variables?
The course lists physical targets, external obstacles and internal obstacles. Internal obstacles are split into before, during and after the movement.
Why not just add weight?
Load is one variable on the list, and the list has many others. Changing the target, the surface or a task around the movement lets a client keep developing skill at the level they show.
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