Gary Ryan is a former Irish Record holder for the 100 and 200m twice an Olympian and a World Championship Bronze medallist in the 4x400m Indoors. He holds a Masters degree in Biomechanics from the University of Limerick. After retiring from Athletics he was Director of Coaching for Athletics Ireland and now is working with the University of Limerick on establishing the UL Beo project, which is an initiative from UL to contribute significantly in the areas of physical activity, health, lifestyle and sport. Gary is also the Tipperary Senior Hurling Fitness coach.
Why is Functional Movement Screening important?
Having a staged approach to anything obviously makes sense. The problem often with sport is that we understand all the component parts of making a player better, but often get them in the wrong order. We train children like adults, introduce weights, before body weight circuits and workloads on bodies not yet capable of dealing with half of that.
“Passing” an FMS screen isn’t the be all and end all but it is a good starting place. The purpose of the FMS screen was to examine how individuals were able to control their body weight. If there are deviations from the norm in the screen then there you are more likely to become injured without taking corrective action. Simply put If you had a car whose wheels weren’t properly aligned, then you are going to cause uneven and quicker wear and the tyre will burst. Put a large load in that car and the tyre will burst quicker and probably more catastrophically.
Screening functional movement in young players is particularly important. If we want them to train like adults when they reach the train to win stage of development they have to be functionally sound. You also need to forget the birthdates here; it isn’t about being 16 and being expected to do “x” or 21 and expected to be at level” y”. We all have a “training age” somewhere along a continuum that suggests what we are capable of doing next in terms of our physical preparation.
For me the FMS screen is the checklist that decides where you begin in a training program with any athlete. If there are no issues shown by the screen then you progress with one plan but if there are they must be addressed first. The idea of one program with the same goal for all players is a non-starter. Everything has to be individualised, even if on the surface it looks pretty similar.
An Inter county hurler of say 80kg will get to speeds of over 30kmph during a championship game and during each step will be in contact with the ground for less than 0.2 of a second. Think about that, imagine throwing something weighing 80kg about 2m (an average stride length) at speed repeatedly and you get an idea of the demands that come on the body in actual game play. If you aren’t functionally correct that is going to cause you problems. It is also why players and athletes spend so much time in the gym, not just to be able to move that load quickly, but to be able to absorb the loads involved. Again if you have issues with your functional movement you will not be able to develop the strength necessary in the gym to improve performance and manage injury risk.
It is also incredibly important to develop running technique. More than anything I see it is incorrect running technique that increases substantially the risk of injury. Some of that incorrect running technique can be traced back to the FMS screen and appropriate interventions applied, but some is as much about learned habits that not only increase the risk of injury but inhibit performance. Develop your knowledge of FMS screening and interventions but also learn how to improve running skills, balance and agility as they apply to GAA players.
Why is Functional Movement Screening important?
Having a staged approach to anything obviously makes sense. The problem often with sport is that we understand all the component parts of making a player better, but often get them in the wrong order. We train children like adults, introduce weights, before body weight circuits and workloads on bodies not yet capable of dealing with half of that.
“Passing” an FMS screen isn’t the be all and end all but it is a good starting place. The purpose of the FMS screen was to examine how individuals were able to control their body weight. If there are deviations from the norm in the screen then there you are more likely to become injured without taking corrective action. Simply put If you had a car whose wheels weren’t properly aligned, then you are going to cause uneven and quicker wear and the tyre will burst. Put a large load in that car and the tyre will burst quicker and probably more catastrophically.
Screening functional movement in young players is particularly important. If we want them to train like adults when they reach the train to win stage of development they have to be functionally sound. You also need to forget the birthdates here; it isn’t about being 16 and being expected to do “x” or 21 and expected to be at level” y”. We all have a “training age” somewhere along a continuum that suggests what we are capable of doing next in terms of our physical preparation.
For me the FMS screen is the checklist that decides where you begin in a training program with any athlete. If there are no issues shown by the screen then you progress with one plan but if there are they must be addressed first. The idea of one program with the same goal for all players is a non-starter. Everything has to be individualised, even if on the surface it looks pretty similar.
An Inter county hurler of say 80kg will get to speeds of over 30kmph during a championship game and during each step will be in contact with the ground for less than 0.2 of a second. Think about that, imagine throwing something weighing 80kg about 2m (an average stride length) at speed repeatedly and you get an idea of the demands that come on the body in actual game play. If you aren’t functionally correct that is going to cause you problems. It is also why players and athletes spend so much time in the gym, not just to be able to move that load quickly, but to be able to absorb the loads involved. Again if you have issues with your functional movement you will not be able to develop the strength necessary in the gym to improve performance and manage injury risk.
It is also incredibly important to develop running technique. More than anything I see it is incorrect running technique that increases substantially the risk of injury. Some of that incorrect running technique can be traced back to the FMS screen and appropriate interventions applied, but some is as much about learned habits that not only increase the risk of injury but inhibit performance. Develop your knowledge of FMS screening and interventions but also learn how to improve running skills, balance and agility as they apply to GAA players.