You have done your research and selected a personal trainer to help you achieve your wellness goal, your investment to personal health and wellbeing. Your personal trainer is a specialist in the health and fitness field whom you selected because of his/her expertise. You started this journey by completing a Health/Medical History and a Medical Release for Exercise may have been requested from your healthcare provider. An initial evaluation was performed and you received a report to reflect current health, function or fitness status and received an exercise prescription or a plan. Your personal trainer provided you with physical activity and exercise recommendations or an initial workout plan to help you succeed.
Appropriate exercise frequency
Personal training works when exercises are performed as recommended by the trainer and when training sessions are scheduled so that you experience a progression in training. Personal training performed on a regular basis is beneficial because your trainer adapts the exercises according to how your body responds. He or she can progress exercises along the function, health, fitness, and performance continuum. Initially, receiving twice to three times per week personal training is best to make sure you learn how to perform exercises correctly and safely.
Clients want to avoid scheduling initial sessions too far apart, continuity is lost and your trainer is unable to really get to know your abilities and challenges and this often results the client using incorrect exercise techniques. Safety and effectiveness nd sometime unsafe exercise technique, and limits your ability to progress. Hiring a personal trainer or a private physical therapist is an investment in your health and well-being.
Personal training sessions
A personal training session typically includes and initial check where the trainer asks how you are doing today, begins with a warm-up, followed by resistance training exercises, core stability, posture and mobility exercises, flexibility and range of motion exercises, and when needed also multi-sensory balance training exercise, cardiorespiratory exercise training and finishes with cool-down. Session may also include a check of vital signs such as blood pressure and heart rate. When you have type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes, your trainer may also ask you to check your blood sugar, before, during and after exercise. At the end of your session, your trainer will discuss home work or independent exercise, healthful nutrition and hydration and confirm the next training session. Client and trainers work well with a pre-arranged schedule.
Scheduling training to your advantage
With Fitness & Function we schedule our clients one month in advance to ensure clients receive their preferred time slots and for accountability. After exercise habits start to form and when clients are able to complete exercises correctly and safely; training session frequency can be tapered down. Many of our clients prefer consistent training twice to three times per week at an ongoing basis to ensure that they:
receive the needed exercises to achieve their wellness goal and then
maintain that particular level of function, fitness or performance and
minimize the chance of lapses in exercise and return to not so favorable nutritional habits and loss of health, skills and abilities.
Our health and fitness professionals are well-care managers who keep a keen eye out for you. Each trainer or physical therapist is dedicated to helping you optimize function, health, fitness, and performance for life.
Physical Therapy
At one or more points in our life we may need to enlist the expertise of a physical therapist to help us restore function. Physical therapy works when clients follow recommendations and complete independent exercise. Physical therapy benefits are best when clients receive recommended frequency in treatment sessions so that the the PT can progress the patient to a higher level of function. At Fitness & Function, physical therapists often provide ongoing private physical therapy. Many of our clients take advantage of private physical therapy treatment sessions since insurance reimbursement is insufficient and/or insurance companies place restrictions that limit patients from fully restoring function or from returning to a desired level of function.
After physical therapy, patients are advised to continue with the recommended exercises. When a higher level of function, health or fitness or maintenance is desired the patient is advised to hire a qualified personal trainer or hire the PT at an ongoing basis. For many older adults the monthly fee for ongoing physical therapy treatment or personal training sessions is much less than the cost of losing function, increasing chances of falling and losing independence, out-of-pocket healthcare, and paying for the high cost of assisted living or nursing home care.
Healthy successful aging and longevity
Living a long and healthy life beyond retirement age begins with a plan and learning what it takes to stay healthy with the level of fitness that allows you to fully enjoy and remain engaged in life throughout the lifespan. The health and fitness professionals with Fitness & Function specialize to meet the unique needs of mature, mid-life, and older adults. Give us a call to get started.
