I have always been fascinated by human movement and the fact that we all must move in some capacity, in order to survive. No two people move the same, and it’s no wonder.

We are a culmination of asymmetrical bones, joints, tendons and muscles that have grown at slightly different rates, and to compensate, we have instinctively adjusted our bodily form, posture, and movement technique – walking, running, jumping, etc. –  to allow for this.

Add the odd injury into the equation, and over time, with further bodily compensation and a worsening movement, performance decreases and the threat of injury increases.We continue trying to perform despite our posture, form, and technique.

This is why I truly believe no one really reaches their true performance potential unless they can determine and improve their movement impediments.

I welcome the trend of fitness trackers, devices these all encourage us to move, movement is key to life keeping us healthy, giving us stamina and cardio vascular fitness. This will enable us to live longer happier lives.

But there is a downside: If you have an improper bodily movement (which nearly everyone has), these devices encourage you to move more, but without having your form properly assessed and adjusted to allow for proper movement. Ultimately, two things will happen.

First, you will never reach your maximum performance level; gravity and improper form will simply prevent your body from optimally performing. Second, it’s a fact that improper form and technique will lead to wear and tear much quicker and unfortunately, injury.

Treating an injury without adjusting your form and technique will only lead to repeated injuries and possibly additional injuries as your bodily movements subconsciously adjust again to compensate.

As a clinician practicing for some 20 years, I have treated thousands of people who have injured themselves by walking running, cycling, weight training, swimming, and even yoga.

I strongly urge anyone currently carrying out physical exercise to get a physical assessment, to understand how their body is moving under certain physical conditions.

This will help determine which limbs have bias in terms of strength and flexibility, analyze stride and gait, and understand flexibility and joint movement to get a “movement signature” — understanding how they move, what improvements they can make that will reduce injury and enable them to reach their true fitness potential.

As a co-founder of Variant Training Lab, I’m proud to have developed our Test – Treat – Train methodology. We assess your current movement signature, identify improper movements, and help you understand how you may be negatively impacting your body and performance.

We do this using proven techniques and our state-of-the-art technology which gives real-time data to show you your whole movement profile, and how we can help make adjustments to enable you to safely reach your true performance potential.

We invite you to schedule a visit to evaluate your movement signature today, visit http://varianttraininglab.com/ or call 805-837-8475.

— Maury Hayashida for Variant Training Lab.