Alex Effer on Assessments, Exercise Selection, and Coaching

As a young Canadian, Alex Effer understood the importance of health and physical activity from playing hockey, and he dreamed of playing the sport professionally, a life path that contrasts the careers of his accountant parents.

Although health complications later hindered Alex from becoming an NHL player, he accepted the challenge to overcome physical pain and educated himself on several fitness, rehabilitation, and nutrition models – all this, in addition to his degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Toronto.

He took it upon himself to draw from his experience as an Exercise Physiologist to guide others in overcoming ailments and pain, and to meet this end, Alex founded Resilient, a training, education, and rehabilitation service dedicated to alleviating pain and improving fitness.

Alex joins me today to discuss the value of assessments and the importance of letting them inform exercise selection and coaching.

He shares his background and the lessons he learned from working with a broad range of clients and athletes over the years.

He illustrates his process for assessing and explains why he focuses on squats and toe-touches when assessing clients.

And finally he emphasizes why coaches need to continue learning about anatomy and physiology and shares his advice for young trainers and coaches who want to get better results for their clients and athletes.

Exercises need to be implemented with the right intent and accomplish what measurements and assessments tell. – Alex Effer

This week on the Physical Preparation Podcast:

The challenges of transitioning online as a strength & conditioning coach
What led Alex to the world of physical preparation, his big rocks, and training philosophies
A process of understanding the relationship between breathing and movement
Why you don’t need to train for every single angle of lunges
Alex’s assessment process for new clients and how it has evolved over the years
How “assessments” has become a buzzword recently and the biggest mistakes coaches make when it comes to assessing clients
The importance of reassessment processes and making assessments adaptable
Categorizing and selecting exercises based on assessments
How to refine and improve an exercise selection process
Why coaches need to keep learning more about the human body
Cultivating relationships with clients and creating buy-ins post-assessment through effective communication

Resources Mentioned:

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

Connect with Alex:

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