Educational content only; this is not medical advice.
Start with why
Nelly’s starting habit is to ask why. Why does the knee sit over the ankle in a lunge, the reference she calls the green line? Why does the squat use a different position? Those questions turn anatomy from a list of structures into a way to examine the purpose and mechanics of a movement.
The point is not to impose one answer on every exercise. A lunge and a squat ask for different actions and organise the body differently. Asking why helps a coach look at the task, the joints involved and the intended outcome before giving a cue. It makes the explanation more useful than memorising a shape without understanding its context.
Connect the cue to the movement
A movement involves relationships among muscles, joints and connective tissue. Nelly uses functional anatomy to ask how those parts contribute together, and how force can pass through connected structures rather than stopping at one named muscle. The question is how the body is organising the task, not simply which muscle a participant can feel.
That perspective makes cueing more precise. A coach can explain what a joint position is doing, what needs to remain controlled and why a particular line matters. If the participant understands the purpose, the cue can be short and actionable. Anatomical vocabulary supports the explanation, but the participant does not need to memorise every term to perform the movement.
Fascial connections transmit force
Fascia is part of how force can be transmitted between regions of the body. A structure does not work in isolation simply because an exercise is named for one muscle. Connections through fascia can link the trunk with the pelvis and limbs, helping explain how a movement in one area contributes to force or stability elsewhere.
For instructors, this means looking beyond the place where effort is felt. A participant may be working through a connected chain even when the movement is visible in another region. Functional anatomy gives Nelly a way to walk through those relationships and explain why a position or action matters, while keeping the account tied to the exercise being coached.
Understand endurance, strength and power
Muscle-fibre characteristics also shape the questions an instructor asks about training. Nelly points out that the gluteal muscles are largely fast-twitch. Lagree includes sustained muscular work that develops endurance, but endurance is not the only quality relevant to those muscles.
Strength and power matter as well. If a programme is intended to develop those qualities, the work needs to include efforts that challenge them, alongside Lagree’s endurance demands. The point is not to dismiss one training quality; it is to understand what the exercise is asking for and avoid assuming that one kind of effort covers every goal.
Build concepts for the general population
Nelly builds the anatomy concepts for the general population rather than centring instruction on outliers. A useful foundation should help coaches understand the bodies and movement patterns they are likely to see in ordinary sessions. It should also leave room to adapt when a participant’s proportions, experience or movement history call for a different approach.
Starting with broadly useful concepts makes the material easier to apply. Coaches can learn a principle, observe what happens in class and adjust the exercise when the person in front of them needs something different. Outlier examples can add context, but they should not become the default model for every participant.
Use the why to guide a coaching decision
The habit of asking why can be applied to a class plan as well as to an individual cue. Why is this exercise placed here? What movement quality is it intended to develop? Which part of the body needs to stay controlled, and how will the coach know whether the participant can do that? The answers help make the sequence deliberate.
Nelly’s functional anatomy approach combines movement questions, fascial connections and an understanding of muscle-fibre demands. It gives instructors a way to explain why a lunge and squat differ, why force can travel through connected tissues and why endurance, strength and power each have a place. The result is a set of concepts designed to guide decisions for everyday participants.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Nelly ask why the knee sits over the ankle in a lunge?
The green-line reference gives her a way to connect a visible position with its purpose. Asking why also helps distinguish the lunge setup from a squat.
How does fascia matter in functional anatomy?
Fascial connections can transmit force between body regions, so a movement may involve linked structures rather than one isolated muscle.
Why include strength and power alongside Lagree endurance?
Nelly notes that the gluteal muscles are largely fast-twitch and that strength and power are relevant qualities alongside the muscular endurance developed in Lagree.