#495 Ben Yanes - Why Your Assessment Might Be a Waste of Time

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 moreFollow Ben on Instagram:@ben_yanesCHAPTERS01:32 The Evolution of Fitness Social Media02:18 Why Most Assessments Are Overrated05:21 Training Is an Assessment07:56 Science-Based Versus Anti-Science Fitness16:07 Why Nuance Loses to Hot Takes20:01 The Three Fitness Camps25:21 Stereotypes and Exercise Selection27:20 Rewriting Your Lifting Story29:42 Bro-Biomechanics Myths30:20 Exercises Don’t Have Goals—People Do33:34 Muscles Respond to Tension34:47 Where Physics Meets Feel37:47 The Preacher Curl Panic38:18 The Trap of Blaming Exercises41:25 Load Management and Respecting the Exercise44:39 The Anterior Pelvic Tilt Myth47:38 Quick Fixes and Coaching Identity50:31 Diagnosis and the Stories We Tell Ourselves52:38 Coaching Through Uncertainty54:59 Final Thoughts and Where to Find BenSUPPORT THE SHOWIf this episode helped you think differently about assessments, biomechanics, exercise selection, or coaching:• Subscribe and check out more episodes• Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness• Send it to a coach who still believes every client needs to pass a long checklist before they can trainFOLLOW ANDREW COATESInstagram: @andrewcoatesfitnesshttps://www.andrewcoatesfitness.comPARTNERS AND RESOURCESRP STRENGTH APPUse code COATESRP:https://www.rpstrength.com/coatesJUST BITE ME MEALSUse code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off:https://justbitememeals.comMACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL• Download MacrosFirst• Begin setting up your account• When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREWKNKG BAGS — 15% OFFhttps://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676VERSA GRIPPShttps://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoatesTRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL• Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree• Reply to the email you receive or email [email protected]• Let them know Andrew sent youL1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSEUse code COATES:https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents