THE TJF NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2007 Edition 9

Dear all,

This month we are going to dive back into the discussion of human function and hopefully go one step further into helping you understand the definition of “function” in relation to your fitness.
To do this, in the next few issues we are going to talk in more detail about what are known as the litmus tests of function.

INTRODUCTON The litmus tests are what a true function coach will use to help them “step back” and constantly assess what is going on in order to help them accurately create an exercise programme that facilitates the coach/patients desired function - whether it be improved performance in a certain sport (such as golf or tennis), rehabilitate an injury that is inhibiting them in some way, or even lose weight.
Therefore it is important that an exercise should not be termed functional unless it passes all of these litmus tests.

TRI-PLANAR MOVEMENT One of the most vital litmus tests for function is whether or not an exercise is utilising all three planes of movement.

The three planes of movement are explained below:

When I was first learning about human movement my university lecturer always used to say that if you imagine the body being cut open with a circular saw then it could be cut in one of three ways -sagittal, frontal or transverse.
If you cut the body front to back so you had a left and a right side, the cutting movement would be “sagittal”. If it was cut the from one side to the other so you had a front and a back, the cutting movement would be “frontal” and if the saw cut the body across your trunk so there was a top and a bottom half it would have been a “transverse” cutting movement.
At all joints in the body and in all muscles these three planes of movement are utilised to create a function.

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CONTACT TJF If you are interested in looking better, feeling better and performing better, then contact us today for your free consultation.
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