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| One Size Doesn't Fit All |
It’s important as a trainer to understand that everyone
doesn’t have the same goals nor can they perform the same exercises. I have met many people over the past six
years. I have heard so many different
goals over these past six years. Some of
the goals include;
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Exercising consistently
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Decreasing cholesterol
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Losing as little as five pounds or as much as 60
·
Keep up with grandkids
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Become pregnant
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Maintain current level of health
·
Complete pull-ups, push-ups or max deadlifts
·
Decrease stress, anxiety or help with depression
·
Improve self-confidence
·
Set a good example for my kids
Fitness isn’t a one size fits all! I train a small group (15 people max) class because
I want to be able to provide one on one training with clients. I have clients with various abilities. I have moms who are extremely strong and moms
beginning to take care of themselves again.
I have clients with previous injuries and recovering from by-pass
surgery. When I plan a class and post
their workout I really emphasis that it is “their workout”. What does “their
workout” mean? It means that we are
working within their abilities. If they
cannot perform a squat we utilize a box with plates (stacked on it) and we work
on their hips mobility/flexibility. If
there are existing shoulder injuries use light weight tension bands instead of
weight and slowly progress them only when they are able. Understand that some clients cannot do
burpees because they are on medications or have blood pressure issues. I even had a client with inner ear problems that
cannot do up/down motions. Realize some
clients are on beta blockers which affects their heart rate. You need to know what medications your
clients are on!
My goal in training clients is to provide them the
opportunity to become healthy within their own individual abilities. In addition I want to provide exercises that will
help my clients perform tasks of daily living.
Aging decreases muscle strength, muscle mass, flexibility and causes
balance issues. It’s important to work
on all of these to maintain a good quality of life. Giving clients a workout just to run them
into the ground isn’t a good idea. This
increases the risk of an individual becoming hurt and decreases any chance of getting
referrals.
Be sure to complete a health risk screening on your
clients. This will allow you to properly
program their training. I use
kettlebells as a means of resistance and cardiovascular training because they
are less damaging to the joints.
Kettlebell training does improve cardiovascular health, muscle
endurance, muscle strength and flexibility.
I completed a half-marathon and trained with only kettlebells. I didn’t spend months running before the
race. I completed the half marathon in
2:04 which is pretty dang good and I ran the entire race.
If you are looking for a trainer Contact Me. Register for my 6:00 a.m. M/W/F Small Group Class at the School of Strength located at Center Grove High School, Greenwood, IN. New Classes Begin in August!
