Upon joining Evolution Fitness, all members are taken through a detailed assessment called the Body Blueprint. Each member is subsequently re-screened, either when they renew or after certain phases of their exercise program, depending on their membership level. The Body Blueprint is what enables the Evolution Fitness program design department to develop effective, individualized exercise programs that are specific to each of our members' particular needs.

What is a Body Blueprint?

The Body Blueprint begins with the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), a nationally recognized screening tool utilized by many fitness professionals and sports organizations, including the NFL. Its primary purpose is to assess any imbalances or asymmetries in the member's body and movement patterns, as well as his or her stability and mobility. During the FMS, the Evolution Fitness member is led through seven natural, primitive human movement patterns.   The trained fitness professional performing the assessment documents any compensations, asymmetries, or pain associated with a given movement, assigning a numeric score to each.

Many new members mistakenly think the FMS is a test of athletic ability, but that could not be further from the truth. We have had outstanding professional and collegiate athletes score lower than some of our members with no athletic background at all. The FMS doesn't test athletic ability, but rather screens for compensatory movement patterns. The NFL, for instance, uses the FMS to assess injury risk. Players who score lower than 14 out of 21 are not allowed on the field until the score has been raised through corrective exercise protocols. For Evolution Fitness, the FMS determines the corrective exercise protocol as well, but it also greatly informs which exercises are chosen to achieve the particular member's goals. This is how we insure that none of the exercises we utilize for a member's program will cause them any injury over time. It is our priority to build a foundation of movement for our members that is balanced and symmetrical before we put any speed, power, or resistance on top of it.

The second portion of the Body Blueprint is the Integrated Kinetic Chain Assessment. This assessment is also widely used by many fitness professionals, particularly athletic trainers. The Integrated Kinetic Chain Assessment consists of two parts. The first is a postural analysis, wherein six photographs of the member standing in a neutral position are taken and then analyzed on a grid to determine any underlying issues he/she has while static and non-mobile. Next, we take a picture of the member in a squat pattern. These are also analyzed on a grid to determine any underlying issues in the major joints, limbs, ankle, scapula or head/neck of the member when mobile.

The Value of a Body Blueprint

So, what does all this mean for you, the member? The best way to answer that is to ask you a series of questions in return. Is it important to you to see results from your workouts? Do you want to get to your fitness goals quickly and effectively? Is safety important to you? Would you like to decrease your risk of injury, both inside and outside the gym? Would you like to move better and experience less pain? Would you like an exercise program designed specifically for your body and its particular needs? Would you like your personal exercise program to be designed with sustainability and longevity in mind, meaning it's going to take care of your body so that you'll still be exercising with the same vigor in 10, 20, 30 years? Do you want to both feel and look great? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then you inherently understand the value of a Body Blueprint. Safe and effective exercise program design is what we are all about at Evolution Fitness. We take care of our members' bodies. The Body Blueprint is what empowers us to do so.