Every JAMFITNESS client starts with a Movement Assessment before a single program is written. It is the step most personal trainers skip, and the reason the results here last. This page explains what the assessment is, what it covers, what to expect, and how it shapes your training.
What is a Movement Assessment?
A Movement Assessment is a full-body movement screen, from your feet to your fingers, that shows how your body actually moves. Antonio Montes looks for the asymmetries, restrictions and compensations that quietly cap your results or cause pain, then uses what he finds to write a program built around your mechanics rather than a generic template.
Most trainers coach how much you can lift. JAMFITNESS coaches how well you move, joint by joint, so strength lasts and pain doesn’t.
What should a full movement assessment include?
A thorough assessment screens the whole chain, in order, from the ground up:
- Feet and ankles: the base everything else is built on
- Knees and hips: where many recurring knee, hip and back issues start
- Spine: how you control and move your trunk
- Shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers: the upper chain, often limited by desk work
At each joint the question is the same: is it doing its job, or is something else compensating for it? The output is a clear picture of your restrictions and compensation patterns, and a plan to fix them in the right order.
Why have a movement assessment before starting personal training?
- You train the real limitation. When a squat, press or deadlift has a ceiling you can’t explain, it is almost always a joint, not a muscle.
- You avoid the injury cycle. Poor movement plus heavy weights leads to injury; good movement plus progressive strength leads to results that last.
- Your program fits you. Exercise selection, loading and coaching cues are based on your anatomy, not on something someone else did online.
- You have a baseline. Progress is reassessed over time, so you can see what has improved.
What to expect during your Movement Assessment
At JAMFITNESS the Movement Assessment is a comprehensive, 100-minute session with Antonio. You will:
- Talk through your goals, training history, schedule, and any injuries or limitations.
- Go through the joint-by-joint screen, feet to fingers.
- Learn what the screen found: which restrictions and compensations are holding you back, and why.
- Leave with the starting point for a program written around your mechanics, and a recommended training frequency based on your goals, schedule and starting point.
What to bring: clean indoor athletic shoes, comfortable workout clothes, a water bottle and a towel. Optional: your goals written down and a list of any injuries or limitations. Equipment is provided.
Who the assessment is for
- Lifters whose strength has plateaued for reasons they can’t explain
- Anyone with an old knee, shoulder, hip or back issue that keeps flaring up
- Beginners, and people returning to training after years off
- Runners, cyclists and rec league athletes who want to stay injury-free
A note on injuries: JAMFITNESS is a movement coaching practice, not a physiotherapy clinic. If you have an acute injury, sharp or stabbing pain, numbness or tingling, see a physiotherapist or doctor first. Once you are cleared, the assessment is where rebuilding starts.
What happens after the assessment
Your program is built from what the assessment found. You train 1-on-1 in studio at 235 Carlaw Ave in East Toronto, in Yorkville, at your condo gym where scheduling and travel logistics permit, or online. Sessions are 50 minutes (MVMT) or 100 minutes (10xHealth). As you progress you are reassessed, so the program keeps up with you.
Not sure yet? Start with a free Health Coaching Session
If you would like to talk it through first, book a free Health Coaching Session. It is a no-pressure conversation about:
- What you want to achieve in your health and fitness
- The benefits you can expect from working with a coach
- How to plan your training schedule and overall program
- Tried-and-tested strategies for your optimal health
No sales pitch, just an honest conversation about whether JAMFITNESS is the right fit. If it is, the next step is your Movement Assessment.
Who does the assessment?
Antonio Montes, founder and head coach of JAMFITNESS. He earned his Bachelor of Physical Health and Education (Kinesiology) at the University of Toronto, has been coaching since the early 2000s, and founded JAMFITNESS in 2010. He is a movement coach and an injury and recovery specialist, and JAMFITNESS holds a 5.0 rating across 34 Google reviews.
Movement Assessment FAQ
Which personal trainers in Toronto specialize in movement assessments?
JAMFITNESS is built around them: every client starts with a full Movement Assessment before a program is written. Sessions run out of boutique studios at 235 Carlaw Ave in East Toronto (convenient for Leslieville, The Beaches, Riverside and East York), in Yorkville, in condo gyms where logistics allow, and online.
How does a movement assessment make coaching more effective?
It replaces guesswork with a plan. Instead of adding load to movement patterns that are already compensating, the program restores the joints that aren’t doing their job first, then builds strength on a foundation that can hold it. You still get stronger; the difference is that the results stay.
Can I do a movement assessment on my own?
You can notice obvious restrictions yourself, but a coach sees the compensations you can’t feel, like a hip doing a job the ankle should be doing. That is why the screen is done 1-on-1, joint by joint, before any program is written.
Ready to start? Book a free Health Coaching Session, view and purchase intro offers, text +1 647-889-3430 or email jam@jamfitness.com.
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