#495 Ben Yanes - Why Your Assessment Might Be a Waste of Time
Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew CoatesShow Notes
Ben Yanes makes his long-overdue first appearance on the podcast and brings his trademark nuance to assessment, biomechanics, exercise selection, injury narratives, science-based fitness, and what good coaching actually looks like in the real world.
Ben joins me to discuss:
• Why “a vast majority of the assessments you’re doing are a total waste of everyone’s time” • Why skilled coaches are continuously assessing clients during actual training • How training itself can function as an assessment • The relationship between science-based and anti-science fitness communities • Why the two tribes often rely on each other to create content • What actually qualifies someone as “science based” or “anti-science based” • Why nuance rarely performs as well as certainty on social media • The different camps that emerge around fitness information online • How people can rewrite the story they tell themselves about lifting • Common “bro biomechanics” misconceptions • What Ben means when he says, “Exercises don’t have a purpose, only people have a purpose” • Why exercise selection needs to begin with the goal of the individual • Why muscles respond to tension rather than knowing the name of an exercise • How biomechanics, physics, and subjective experience can coexist • The panic that sometimes develops around exercises like preacher curls • Why blaming an exercise for an injury can create misleading narratives • What Ben means by asking how “f#@kupable” an exercise is • Why load management and respect for an exercise matter • Why anterior pelvic tilt is not automatically something that needs to be fixed • The problems with quick-fix diagnoses and corrective-exercise identities • How diagnostic labels can influence someone’s perception of their own body • Why good coaches need to become comfortable operating in uncertainty • And much more
Follow Ben on Instagram:
@ben_yanes
CHAPTERS
01:32 The Evolution of Fitness Social Media 02:18 Why Most Assessments Are Overrated 05:21 Training Is an Assessment 07:56 Science-Based Versus Anti-Science Fitness 16:07 Why Nuance Loses to Hot Takes 20:01 The Three Fitness Camps 25:21 Stereotypes and Exercise Selection 27:20 Rewriting Your Lifting Story 29:42 Bro-Biomechanics Myths 30:20 Exercises Don’t Have Goals—People Do 33:34 Muscles Respond to Tension 34:47 Where Physics Meets Feel 37:47 The Preacher Curl Panic 38:18 The Trap of Blaming Exercises 41:25 Load Management and Respecting the Exercise 44:39 The Anterior Pelvic Tilt Myth 47:38 Quick Fixes and Coaching Identity 50:31 Diagnosis and the Stories We Tell Ourselves 52:38 Coaching Through Uncertainty 54:59 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Ben
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Stuart McMillan is one of the world’s most respected and decorated sprint coaches.He joins me to share his expertise on speed, sprinting, skipping, movement quality, youth development, coaching, and the balance between complexity and simplicity.We discuss:• Why adults tend to stop moving fast and powerfully• Why speed and intensity variability may matter as we age• Whether everyone actually needs to sprint• How to move fast in ways appropriate for your ability• Why movement variability matters• Why Stuart believes more adults should skip• Hip extension and the fundamentals behind skipping• How to progressively introduce skipping• How beginners can start sprint training• Managing sprint-related injury risk• Why consistency and gradual exposure matter• Coordination as a limiting factor• Why adults need to stop worrying about how movement looks to other people• Sprinting and speed development for young athletes• Why youth training should emphasize coordination and skill• Strength versus skill when thinking about injury risk• Why movement quality deserves more attention• Stuart’s six-part framework for assessing movement quality• Whether movement is effective, efficient, stable, adaptable, authentic, and aesthetic• Balancing art and science in coaching• How Stuart thinks about systems• Complexity versus simplicity• Why good coaching often becomes simpler with experience• “Safe to fail” experiments in coaching• Why mastery often involves subtraction• And much moreFollow Stuart:@fingermashCHAPTERS00:16 Why Adults Stop Sprinting02:10 Intensity Variability and Aging04:45 It’s Never Too Late to Train Speed05:45 Move Fast Your Way07:22 Why Stuart Loves Skipping08:48 Hip Extension Fundamentals12:08 Progressive Skipping Practice15:07 Beginner Sprint Progression18:40 Injury Risk and Consistency20:30 Coordination as a Skill Barrier21:51 Stop Caring How It Looks22:19 Coaching Kids to Move Fast25:07 Youth Coordination Over Strength26:26 Strength vs. Skill and Injuries27:50 Coordination Over Capacity29:49 Defining Movement Quality33:37 The Six-Word Movement Framework35:33 Authentic and Aesthetic Movement39:37 Balancing Art and Science42:33 Systems Thinking Basics48:18 Safe-to-Fail Coaching49:36 Simplicity After Complexity52:28 Mastery Through Subtraction55:18 Final Thoughts and Where to Follow StuartSUPPORT THE SHOW• Subscribe and check out more episodes• Share the episode and tag @andrewcoatesfitness• Send this to someone who hasn’t moved fast in yearsFOLLOW ANDREW COATESInstagram: @andrewcoatesfitnesshttps://www.andrewcoatesfitness.comPARTNERS AND RESOURCESANDREW COATES’ 13-WEEK ONLINE GROUP STRENGTH PROGRAMSJoin my Men’s or Women’s 13-Week Online Group Strength Programs.Choose between:• Gym Upper/Lower• Home Upper/Lower• Full BodyGet full access to me with prompt responses.Use code SEPTEMBER10 to save 10%.www.foreverstrength.ca/join-now/Questions?https://www.instagram.com/andrewcoatesfitness/?hl=enI would love to coach you.RP STRENGTH APPUse code COATESRP:https://www.rpstrength.com/coatesJUST BITE ME MEALSUse code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off:https://justbitememeals.comMACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIALDownload MacrosFirst and enter ANDREW when asked how you heard about the app.KNKG BAGS — 15% OFFhttps://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676VERSA GRIPPShttps://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoatesTRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIALhttps://www.trainheroic.com/liftfreeReply to the email you receive or email [email protected] and tell them Andrew sent you.L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSEUse code COATES:https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents
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