#function follows form

Excerpts from, “Building the Elite Efficient Injury free Athlete”. The topic at this years ITCCCA lecture.

It’s been said “Form follows Function” , to be clear......Form is dictated by Function.

For example, If you do not have good ankle rocker function your Form will:

1- not be optimal 2- require compensation / cheating 3- change, be limited, and prevent desirable Form (Inefficiency + increased workload = eventual injury or system failure)

Your Form can only be as good as the Functioning of your physical parts. If you or your athlete has bad Form….. Spending weeks on “running FORM clinics” or training hard to improve a loss of Form may only force new compensations. The solution to better “Form” is often sitting right in front of you in the form of biomechanical dysfunction. When you see bad Form you should ask yourself if that person lacks the functional parts to give you good Form. What you see in someone’s Form are their capabilities with the parts they have that work.

Mind you, some athletes or patients have all normal functioning parts available to them and all they need is Skill coaching or first level skill rehabilitation exercises … the first part of S.E.S. (*Skill, Endurance, Strength). Just always be on the look out for bad function.

Said another way, forcing what you think is good Form will quite often not work on someone with limitations; It will only develop further strength into a compensation pattern that you do not want. Instead, do the necessary initial work to resolve the function limitation so that you can begin to engrain skill Form patterns.

An elite and efficient athlete is one who: 1- has the parts ( sport is matched for body type), 2- presents with no dysfunction … . thus clean FORM, 3- understands that “more is not always better” 4- and has a coach, trainer or medical professional that can teach progressing levels of S.E.S. into that individual.

From this years lecture on “Building the Elite Efficient Injury free Athlete” presented January 14th at the ITCCCA (Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association. This was a standing room only event. We look forward to presenting what we learn in 2012 at next years event. Thanks to all those who endured 2 hours sitting in the stairwells, on the floors and in the seats. Good luck this season everyone !