The Naked Warrior Assessment

Musculoskeletal assessment is a fundamental prerequisite to conditioning and training. I often lecture on its benefits because we know very little about the history of those we train. We know what they tell us, but that often does not include their complete training and injury history.

When I speak, I often reference The Naked Warrior by Pavel. The quote I usually use goes like this: “If we all trained the way The Naked Warrior implies we should, we would need very little assessment.” It is a compliment on many levels. I would like to take the time to explain each level.

Level One

The Naked Warrior promotes body awareness through a slow progression of bodyweight exercises.

There is nothing but you. There is always a way to make the movement easier or harder. This system allows you to gauge your current level of ability and target a new level as you set goals. The numerous distractions of equipment, mirrors, and chrome are not there for you.

It’s not a workout; it’s learning, at a basic and fundamental level, what you can and cannot do. It’s not a workout; it’s a movement-education session, and if you can’t already do it, you need it.

“Know Thyself”
—Inscription on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, 6th century B.C.

Level Two

The Naked Warrior promotes mobility and stability at the same time.

Many who attempt the moves will have mobility issues that require mobility work. Many will have stability and strength issues that require better muscular effort and coordination. The beautiful simplicity is that the exercises promote both at the same time.

In this age of technology, we think that if we identify the cause of a movement problem, we can fix it. I call this the name game. The simple fact is that your movement depends on the combined contribution of your mobility and stability. Most people will admit they need to stretch or strengthen, but most will focus on only one or the other. When I teach, I say, “If you want to gain length in one place, add strength somewhere else.” The place you thought was tight was actually holding you up temporarily while you figured out the right way to do it. Likewise, to add strength somewhere, you usually need to add length somewhere else. Basically, better stability centrally allows for better mobility distally (see, Pavel, I didn’t say “core”—ha-ha).

The goal of The Naked Warrior is movement. Pavel has already broken it down for you. Focus on movement, and muscles will take care of themselves. Muscles can go unnamed, undiagnosed, and unisolated; if the movement is correct and appropriately dosed, they will respond and perform.

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Pavel emphasizes correct movement. He promotes practice when you are fresh and warns against mindless repetitions and workouts. He champions the correctness and efficiency of movement. He takes the opportunity provided by the difficulty of the one-arm pushup and one-legged squat to teach you how to overcome a movement problem. He knows that few will be able to perform the movements correctly or at all. He knows that your inability will make you listen and learn. Each fresh, frequent session will show you that the techniques work by letting you reassess your work and learning.

You could say that Pavel teaches you how to get stronger as he improves your movement, or that he teaches you how to move as he makes you stronger. Either way, it works for me!

“To be ignorant of motion is to be ignorant of nature.”

Level Three

The Functional Movement Screen—a set of tests I developed—is used to detect differences between the right and left sides of the body. The tests don’t look at the static body; they look at the body in motion. They look at movement patterns.

For example, a lunge to the left looks great, while a lunge to the right is all over the place (poor balance, poor coordination, poor stability).

When the left and right patterns don’t look the same, problems are more likely to occur. Research has proven this. Asymmetries in movement cause compensation. Compensation causes poor efficiency. Poor efficiency increases fatigue. Fatigue destroys body awareness. Loss of body awareness increases the risk of injury.

The Naked Warrior functions remarkably as an assessment in this way. The one-arm pushup and the one-legged squat are excellent demonstrations of body control and symmetry.

If you cannot do these moves, the program still makes you consider the left and right sides of your body independently. Pavel shows you how to modify and break down the exercises so the moves can be accomplished regardless of your level. The focus remains on symmetry. Most of us will have asymmetries, and the “grease the groove” approach will help bring up the weaker side.

The rules work amazingly and quickly if you use them. When you achieve your goal of performing the one-arm pushup and the one-legged squat, you will have demonstrated a blend of strength and body control. You have learned the skill of strength, and it will automatically become a foundation for all you do. Revisiting The Naked Warrior will remind you how balanced you are or put your asymmetries back in your face. Either way, you needed to know!

“It’s the way that creates the warrior.”

Level Four

A slice of humble pie is a welcome addition to any diet. I know many people who log long hours in the gym to achieve and maintain fitness. I also know many who log countless hours running and cycling on the road and feel that the great volume of work is their key to success.

I would venture to say that each of these high-volume athletes could benefit from temporarily dropping two or three workouts and adding some “Naked Truth” to their conditioning plan. Most will not do this because they think more is better. But if they did, they would achieve better body control and overall balance. They would also notice general improvements in their chosen activity or sport. They would receive this benefit by working on the fundamental structure of performance. They would improve the foundation of their movement, and only then could they add more volume to their activity. The extra volume would now sit atop a broad, stable foundation without cracks or flaws. Every step toward achieving advanced levels of performance should be prefaced with a reassessment of the foundation. It is completely simple and yet so hard to do.

I also know young athletes who wish to excel at a sport and want to train like the pros. They want to lift, sprint, and train like the big boys and girls. Their parents come to me and ask, “Could you put them on a weight-training program?” I say, “Sure, let me look at a few things first.” Part of my assessment is determining whether they can perform a basic pushup (not a one-arm pushup) and a deep squat (not a one-legged squat). Without noticing that their child cannot do either of these movements, the parent looks up at me and says, without blinking, “So when do we get started on the weights?” I look at the parent and say, “Your child cannot even manage their own body weight. They need to learn to move first. Then I will teach them to lift.”

Pushups come before lifting, and squats come before sprinting. Mechanically speaking, the mobility, stability, and symmetry that these two basic moves promote are used efficiently when you lift and sprint. Sure, you could do these activities without the basics, but your coach or trainer would have to overtrain and overcoach just to teach the basic movement. If your fundamentals were in place, this would not be necessary.

In my book Athletic Body in Balance, I use the pushup and basic jump rope to teach readers to become quicker. Pavel uses the one-arm pushup and one-legged squat to teach you to move and help you feel real, usable strength. I think we both discovered that, when teaching quickness or strength skills, it is best to start with simple, familiar, basic movements.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

1. Promotes body awareness.
2. Evaluates and corrects whole movement patterns, not isolated movements.
3. Exposes asymmetries—the hidden robbers of movement efficiency.
4. Exemplifies the KISS principle: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”