HPM - Human Body as a Whole
A new training philosophy to improve yourself
HPM (High Performance Method) was born as a training philosophy that focuses on the objective evaluation of the patient’s or athlete’s starting conditions and tracks their improvements using high-tech instruments.
The numbers, in this sense, are a guide, a ‘real’ feedback of a physical situation that must then be translated into a training or rehabilitation programme thanks to the collaboration of a team of professional experts.
The approach, however, must not be one-size-fits-all: recovery and training must combine and integrate the various medical and clinical specialisations, according to what is called the holistic approach.
We tend to see the human being as a vertical structure, as a collection of parts that, when put together, give life to the body. The holistic approach overturns this conception, interpreting the human being not as an organism composed of various ‘parts’, but as a unicum to be considered in its entirety. Training must include a game dimension that unites body, mind, and technology. This ‘theory’ on human beings translates into a synergy between the various disciplines to structure the best-customized training plan.
By measuring movement – and thanks to the large amount of data that can be obtained – objective verification of recovery and progress is achieved. This is crucial for both the coach and the athlete, who can access direct feedback on body behaviour, recalibrating training need from time to time.
HPM was born from the need to fully understand the mechanisms that govern the human body, combining the specifics of clinical specializations to design the best training modality for the patient. In doing so, HPM makes use of high-level professionals, who act coherently intending to improve the subject’s physical and bodily performance. It is within this framework that the comparison between static and dynamic is made. The movement must be analyzed in all its phases and under all conditions; only in this way it is possible to interpret the data correctly and act precisely and accurately. HPM therefore applies a functional analysis that can focus on the best intervention for the individual patient/athlete.
The treatment, of course, differs when approaching a performance analysis from when treating ordinary patients or those with specific problems: while an absolute evaluation is used on the one hand, qualitative aspects are emphasised on the other. In any case, the need for an objective evaluation using the greatest number of instruments capable of reliably providing a whole range of information to be translated into a training or therapy pathway remains at the centre.
HPM is a training centre for motor science postgraduates in Milan (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Università degli Studi di Milano), Rome (Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata), Turin (SUISM) and Bergamo.
Through HPM Academy, the aim is to train a new generation of specialists, educated according to HPM’s philosophy, guided by the holistic approach, which rejects the conception of the human being as a whole composed of several parts, but instead sees it as a totality that must be addressed as such.
Hence the need to join forces and integrate the various disciplines in order to exploit the specificities of each science, so as to act correctly and functionally on each body district while maintaining the focus on the body as a unicum.
The aim is therefore to ensure an education that is oriented in the direction of synergy and cooperation between disciplines and that trains professionals who are complete and prepared to deal with any kind of physical need.
HPM’s collaboration with wellness centres, including wellness and medical spas, combines the training philosophy with the benefits provided by the beneficial rehabilitative courses within the spas.
Two different approaches can be adopted in this context: on the one hand, the preventive approach, which analyses the patient’s condition and intervenes to avoid the onset of subsequent problems; on the other hand the rehabilitative approach, which acts on pre-existing problems by trying to solve them or at least improve them.
The aim always remains that of calibrating the problems, measuring them objectively and analysing them from time to time in order to concretise a work plan adherent to the specific needs of the patient and his or her problems.
Stefano Maldifassi, co-founder of HPM together with Luca Temperini, started out as an engineer: he attended Polictecnico of Milan and here he met the founding members of BTS, with whom he had a long-standing relationship, which has continued since 2000. It was in this context that he also met Vincenzo Faina, former head of CONI’s Institute of Sport Science, who was among the first to install platforms and use objective measurement applied to the training regime.
BTS technologies are a key ingredient in HPM’s philosophy, as they guarantee the quality of measurement and purity of information. In addition, they are capable of assessing all those small but fundamental differences in the individual patient’s body balance.
In his experience at Milan Lab in Milanello, Stefano Maldifassi also used PODIUM from BTS to improve the performance of Milan’s professionals. PODIUM, in fact, guarantees the evaluation of strenght and range of motion, allowing access to absolute as well as qualitative evaluation. Thus, strenght and movement parameters can be assessed, but also the evolution and improvement of patients can be observed, directly verifying the progress and effectiveness of the training regime.
G-WALK, with its ability to assess walking, jumping and running perfomance, will become an essential tool within HPM’s training philosophy, joining the essential tools for measuring movement.
“BTS technologies are a key ingredient in HPM’s philosophy, as they guarantee the quality of measurement and purity of information.“
PODIUM guarantees the evaluation of strenght and range of motion, allowing access to absolute as well as qualitative evaluation.
G-WALK, with its ability to assess walking, jumping and running perfomance, will become an essential tool within HPM’s training philosophy.
