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As a certified personal fitness trainer who works with clients of all ages and of all physical abilities, I am frustrated by the lack of a governing body that oversees the fundamentals of practicing trainers. The reason I am so perturbed by this is what I saw when I observed a fitness class at an active senior center in my area. As a fall risk reduction exercise instructor, I want to be able to refer older adults to decent classes that are offered locally.
This particular instructor spent a disgusting amount of time working the shoulders. The shoulder is not only the most flexible joint in the body but also the most likely to be injured. This woman had the participants doing side and front raises using resistance bands that were not appropriate for shoulder work. Purple and grey bands are good for lower body work but are too difficult (for me) for shoulder and upper body work in the full range of motion. She even commented how her shoulders were hurting as she did the front raises. The reason her shoulders hurt was because she was doing them incorrectly. OUCH.
I cringed when I watched the instructor begin to do squats. Knees were shooting out over toes everywhere. DOUBLE OUCH. No wonder older adults think they can’t do squats, they haven’t been properly instructed how. Improper function results in injury. This woman didn’t have a clue how to squat and she was perpetuating the cycle of pain and lack of movement.
This killed me. No, it outraged me. There is no governing body that checks up on these “certified” trainers and how they practice. The result is thousands of bad experiences, unnecessary injuries, and wasted efforts. The older I get, the more I value my time and my effort. I consider the older adults whom I strive to help and if they have one bad experience, they might give up on the message: it’s never too late to benefit from consistent activity; when the consistent activity is done correctly. In my seated exercise routines, I constantly cue the viewer how to breathe correctly, what muscle to be concentrating on during each movement, and to stop if they feel pain.
I do not claim to know it all or to have all the right answers. Quite the contrary, I am a person who is forever seeking more wisdom, more knowledge, more insight into the movement of the human body, especially corrective exercise techniques. I want to know how can I help a person the most? If I observe an inefficient movement pattern, I feel it is my obligation as a certified health and fitness professional to be able to prepare an effective program that will help them move easier, with less pain.
Passionate about working with older adults, I see myself as a protector of the vulnerable. I am a consumer advocate. I want people to get the best training possible but mostly, I do not want people to get hurt. I realize budget cuts or the lack of a budget result in a lack of qualified trainers and instructors working with the older population. I am not discounting the good intention of the thousands of instructors who have stepped up to the plate to fill a need but who is regulating these classes?
Times have changed and there is more knowledge about correct form, sequence and type of exercise that is appropriate for older adults. Effective classes are more than shoulder rolls, arm raises and rubber bands. There is a sequence that classes should follow:
· Warm up
· Balance work
· Leg strength
· Chest/Back
· Shoulders
· Arms
· Core
· Cool down
In the meantime, please be careful. It may be my calling to help establish a regulating body that implements ‘surprise visits’ to senior fitness classes everywhere. Each instructor should be “graded” on principles, techniques and overall safety. I am deeply disturbed that unqualified instructors are not only causing injury but also shaping people’s attitudes about exercise which ultimately increases the risk of an accidental fall.
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