The Tripartite Physical Assessment
The assessment session includes:
Body OPEX: Body composition analysis to ground the debate in facts, not assumptions.
Move OPEX: Motion control to understand how the person moves and what limitations matter for training design.
OPEX work: A simple work ability test to observe approach, expression, pace and effort.
These are not random tests.
Each part ties directly into how you plan the next training and lifestyle segment.
OPEX Work: What You Really Test
There is a common misconception that OPEX Work is a test of energy systems. Is not.
It’s a practical way to watch how a person approaches and expresses work and then decide what kind of work they should do next.
The test: 10 minutes on an Assault bike, burn as many calories as possible.
What matters most: how they approach the project, not just the final number.
Do they come out hot and then crash?
Do they know what high effort feels like?
Can they hold up without collapsing?
Can they regulate?
The goal score helps with context and comparison.
Trainers using CoachRx may apply body weight conversions to make scores comparable across customers. But the first priority is the behavior you observe.
How OPEX Work Guides Program Design
If someone can’t move non-stop for 60 minutes, they still don’t need aerobic development. They need practice moving consistently, such as walking daily, plus 2 to 3 days of resistance training.
If a client is sprinting, then fussing at 3 minutes, teach stride and speeds. They may have a big engine but no control.
If a client is four minutes in and feels nauseous at a moderate pace, they probably need more movement before longer efforts.
Use the test to model what follows.
Evaluation builds professionalism
A system in which each customer moves creates trust.
People can feel when you make it.
They can also feel when you have a process that adapts to them.
It makes a strong first impression. Customers see value in an hour that many have never experienced before.
It makes the service feel personal. You don’t guess. You show, explain and align.
It allows you to teach. Most people have seen body fat numbers or heart rate zones, but few have asked a trainer to explain what those numbers mean in layman’s terms.
When you teach someone about their body in a way that makes sense, you reduce stress and increase buy-in.
Challenge and support: What clients really hire you for
Estimation of surface discomfort. Some customers don’t want to step on a body grooming machine. Some resist work trials. Many coaches stop there. This is where your role matters.
A professional coach balances challenge and support. This balance looks different for each person.
The challenge can be a hard effort on the bike or a calm set of questions about why someone is avoiding a test.
Support can be slowing down the plan, reframing the numbers, or focusing on the wins.
You are in a position of power in this relationship.
With that comes responsibility.
You guide behavior change, from current habits to next best actions.
Assessment is one of the clearest places to practice this balance.
Re-evaluation: Responsibility for coaches as well
Clients aren’t the only ones feeling nervous about reassessment.
Coaches do it too. Six months later, what if the numbers aren’t moving the way you hoped?
That’s the point. Continuous assessment is a mirror.
If a client does the work and doesn’t improve, the plan needs to change.
Use the truth to adapt and move forward.
Make your system simple, repeatable and useful
It’s easy to add more tests. It is more difficult to remove the noise.
The strongest tip from this week was to simplify.
Keep what informs your design, remove what doesn’t.
Make your recruitment, consultation and assessment the same flow for everyone.
Align conversation and priorities within a consistent structure.
Over-evaluation leads to a pile of data that is never used.
Keep the pieces that relate directly to what you plan next.
What coaches can implement this week
If you’re following outside of the guidance, use these steps to improve your own system:
Write your two-day entry on one page. Intake, 60 minute consultation, then a body, movement, work session.
Script your advice. Write down the 8 to 12 questions you should ask each time.
Set your motion screen. Choose a small set of patterns that you will always evaluate.
Take the Assault 10 Minute Bike Test. Record calories, pacing notes, perceived exertion and any breaks.
Set the re-evaluation rate. Choose cycles when to retest and how to present results.
Keep it simple, repetitive and connected to your design choices.
What follows in the method
Next week is spent planning the program.
The focus begins with resistance training within OPEX Gain, followed by aerobic training in OPEX Sustain, and then anaerobic work in OPEX Pain. The series ends by putting it all together into daily, short-term, and long-term plans.
Expect clear examples, as well as frameworks for creating macro cycles that match the person in front of you.
If you want to follow the full guidance and join an upcoming cohort, explore it OPEX method guidance.
Enrollment for the next cohort is opening soon, you can apply and book with the training team to see if it suits where you are in your coaching career.
Final Thoughts
Evaluation is not a hoop, it is a conversation with evidence. It creates common language, tightens your design, and invites customers into the process. Keep the system simple, use it with everyone and let the truth do the work for you and your customers.
Need a boost this week? Limit the onboarding to two days and then run it with your next new customer.
