Coaching & Mindset
Movement Coach Teaches Trainers To Give Feedback That Works Straight Away
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in Movement Trainer (AFT), where Movement Coach's feedback lessons are taught →
In short: Movement Coach defines feedback as the information returned to a person about the outcome of a task. It can be intrinsic, from the body itself, or extrinsic, from a coach, immediate or delayed, spoken or measured. Immediate feedback appears to give the best results when you measure how fast someone acquires a skill. Its purpose is to give the client information they can use to adjust. Feedback on the quality of the movement, even when it is not perfect, helps a client find ways to adapt to get the result they need, and helps their movement organise itself towards better options.
The short version
Feedback is the part of coaching that happens in the middle of a set, with a client who is busy moving and has about two seconds to hear you. Movement Coach gives it a plain definition: the information returned to a person about the outcome of a task. Once feedback is information, the job becomes choosing which information to hand over, and when.
Two sources, two timings, two kinds
The course sorts feedback in three ways.
Where it comes from. Intrinsic feedback comes from the body itself, the feel of the movement. Extrinsic feedback comes from outside, such as a coach.
When it arrives. Immediate or delayed.
What form it takes. Qualitative, which is verbal advice, or quantitative, which is measurable data.
That is six words, and together they cover most of what happens on a gym floor. A rep count read out loud mid-set is extrinsic, immediate and quantitative. A comment after the session is extrinsic, delayed and qualitative.
Straight away wins, for learning speed
Movement Coach is direct about timing: "Immediate feedback appears to give the best results if the measurement is based on the speed someone acquires a skill."
The wording is careful, and it is worth keeping the care. It says the best results when the measure is speed of learning. A trainer reading that can run it as a test with each client instead of a rule. Try it quickly, see whether the client picks the movement up faster, and keep what works.
What feedback is for
The course states the purpose in one line: to give people information that helps them adjust and improve. It then walks through what feedback does for a moving body.
It guides the system. Feedback interacts with the client's degrees of freedom and the constraints around them, steering the movement towards better options.
It builds adaptability. The course notes that "giving feedback on the quality of the movement, even when the form is not perfect, could help the client to find ways of adapting to achieve the result they need." The client is handed something to work with, so they keep moving and keep experimenting.
It helps movement organise itself. Patterns tend to emerge naturally, and feedback "acts as a check on the system". Feedback that relates to success in the quality of the movement helps the client self-organise.
How it sounds on the floor
A trainer says what just happened and how well it served the task: "that one travelled further than the last". The client adjusts, then adjusts again, and the movement settles. Nobody needed a lecture, and nobody was graded.
That is the tone Movement Coach teaches. Describe what is happening, measure it where you can, and give it back while it still matters.
Learning it your way
FASTER lessons come as written text, audio and video, with diagrams you can interact with. Answers can be typed or dictated. The feedback lessons sit inside the course's dynamic systems module, which is built around exactly this: movement as something that organises itself when it gets good information.
What to do next
Movement Trainer (AFT), £375 is where Movement Coach's feedback lessons live, and where they connect to the interview, the programme design and the exercise creation. Any FASTER course also opens PT Manager straight away, and adding real clients unlocks once you have passed.
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FAQ
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic feedback? Intrinsic feedback comes from the body itself, such as how a movement feels. Extrinsic feedback comes from outside, usually a coach, a mirror or a measurement.
Does feedback have to be about technique? No. The course points to feedback on the quality of the movement and on success at the task, which gives the client something to adapt around instead of a verdict.
Is immediate feedback always better? The course says it appears to give the best results when the measure is how quickly someone acquires a skill. Treat it as a starting point to test with each client.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
Movement Trainer (AFT), where Movement Coach's feedback lessons are taught: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
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Frequently asked
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic feedback?
Intrinsic feedback comes from the body itself, such as how a movement feels. Extrinsic feedback comes from outside, usually a coach, a mirror or a measurement.
Does feedback have to be about technique?
No. The course points to feedback on the quality of the movement and on success at the task, which gives the client something to adapt around instead of a verdict.
Is immediate feedback always better?
The course says it appears to give the best results when the measure is how quickly someone acquires a skill. It describes feedback as one tool among several, so it is a starting point to test with each client.
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