The 5-Question Movement Assessment
A simple way to clarify where to start
When I try something new or I’ve been out of routine—after travel, holidays, or a busy stretch—I don’t jump straight into workouts or plans. I start with a short check-in to understand what my body is actually ready for right now.
This is that check-in.
The purpose of this assessment isn’t to measure how fit you are or tell you what you should be doing. It’s to clarify where your effort will have the greatest return so you don’t waste time, energy, or motivation working on the wrong things.
There’s no scoring, no testing, and no pressure. Just honest answers.
Take a moment. Read each question. Choose the response that best reflects your current reality—not your goals or your past.
The Questions
1. Daily Movement
Thinking about a typical week, how often do you move your body on purpose (walking, mobility work, exercise, etc.)?
Rarely
1–2 days per week
3–4 days per week
Most days
2. Joint Comfort & Mobility
Do any joints or areas of your body regularly make movement feel uncomfortable or restricted?
No
Occasionally
Yes, one area
Yes, more than one area
3. Strength & Movement Confidence
How confident do you feel using your body for basic movements like getting up from a chair, pushing, pulling, or carrying things?
Very confident
Mostly confident
Somewhat unsure
Not confident
4. Recovery & Fatigue
After a day of activity, how does your body usually feel the next day?
Refreshed or normal
A little stiff but fine
Frequently sore or tired
Drained or achy most of the time
5. Consistency Constraint
If you’re honest with yourself, what tends to make staying consistent with movement hardest right now?
Time
Pain or physical discomfort
Energy or recovery
Not knowing what to focus on
Confidence
What Your Answers Suggest
This assessment isn’t meant to label you or rank you. It’s designed to highlight where your effort will matter most right now.
Most people don’t need to do more. They need to aim better.
Here’s how to interpret what you noticed in your answers.
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If you chose “rarely” or “1–2 days per week” in Question 1, your priority isn’t intensity—it’s regularity. Short, manageable movement done consistently will move you forward faster than occasional hard efforts.
Focus on:
Daily walking or light movement
Simple mobility work
Effort levels you can repeat
Ignore (for now):
High-intensity workouts
Calorie-burn chasing
“Making up for lost time”
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If you noted discomfort in Question 2, your body isn’t asking you to stop—it’s asking you to be more selective. Movement should feel supportive, not threatening.
Focus on:
Improving comfort and range of motion
Reducing fear around movement
Choosing joint-friendly options
Ignore (for now):
Exercises that aggravate symptoms
Pain-as-progress thinking
Comparing yourself to your past self
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If you felt unsure in Question 3, the issue isn’t just strength—it’s trust. Confidence builds when movements feel stable, predictable, and repeatable.
Focus on:
Relearning basic movement patterns
Slower, controlled reps
Feeling competent before adding challenge
Ignore (for now):
Complex exercises
Performance benchmarks
Speed for the sake of speed
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If you often feel sore, tired, or drained after activity (Question 4), your current recovery capacity may be lower than you expect—especially after stress, travel, or disrupted routines.
Focus on:
Allowing enough recovery between sessions
Sleep, hydration, and pacing
Matching effort to how your body responds
Ignore (for now):
Daily high-effort workouts
Guilt about “not doing enough”
Comparing recovery to others
-
Your answer to Question 5 points to the main bottleneck—not a personal flaw.
Time → your plan needs to be simpler
Pain or discomfort → your plan needs to be gentler
Energy or recovery → your plan needs more rest
Uncertainty → your plan needs clarity
Confidence → your plan needs small, early wins
Better movement isn’t forced. It’s designed.
What Comes Next
More than one of these areas may apply—and that’s normal. You don’t need to work on everything at once.
Start with the area that creates the most friction. When that improves, the rest often follows naturally.
If you’re following along with the 12-week series, Week 2 focuses on establishing a realistic movement baseline—how much your body can currently tolerate, where it needs support, and how to restart without overdoing it.
If you’re not following the series, your next step is the same in principle: start by addressing the area that showed up most clearly in your answers. That might mean prioritizing regular movement, improving joint comfort, rebuilding confidence with basic movements, or allowing more recovery before adding challenge.