Introduction
Loss of muscle mass, immunity, and bone deficiencies are just some of the shortcomings you may have to face when you age. However, there is nothing which a good exercise and training cannot fix.
Keeping this in mind, if you want to hire a personal trainer for elderly person or loved one who needs to improve his/her strength and immunity, then this is the right article you have come across.
Hiring a fitness instructor for elderly people is one of the best methods to let the old person engage in exercise. There are many instances when elderly people do not indulge in exercises just on the orders of their children.
In such a case, the best trick is to employ a physical trainer for the senior citizen. In this article, we will describe in detail how to find the top personal trainer for an elderly person in Singapore.
So let’s get started and know about hiring a personal trainer for elderly!
Why Should We Hire a Personal Trainer for Elderly?
1. Staying Active & Improving Range of Motion
Functional mobility is an advantage that only healthy people have when they age. As the name suggests, functional mobility refers to the ability to move by yourself without any external help when you age.
One exciting statistic shows that people may lose around 5% of their muscles when they turn 40. This figure itself describes the importance of indulging in fitness training as and when you age.
2. Enhance Your Immunity Level as You Get Older
Hiring a physical trainer specifically for senior citizens can even help to increase immunity levels. A good gym coach will provide you with additional information regarding nutrition and healthy diets.
This information helps enhance your immunity and prevent any infectious diseases that you may catch with age.
3. Prevent Injuries from Falls in Golden Years
Getting imbalanced and falling is a common phenomenon in senior citizens and older adults. However, this is a concerning issue that makes senior citizens immobile and increases their dependency on others.
However, a personal fitness trainer can help you exercise regularly which can improve your motor functions. This, in turn, will result in long-term benefits when you become old.
4. Positive Benefits on Mental Health of the Elderly
Regular exercise fosters a positive impact on mental health irrespective of age. Once you engage in any physical activity or training program, it can regulate your hormonal and brain activities.
Hence no doubt why regular exercising can deal with mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.
5. Delay Bone Deficiencies in Senior Clients
No matter if you burn thousands of bucks in healthcare facilities to delay old age, it has to come one way or another. But what you have control over is to make sure you exercise regularly with the help of a personal trainer.
Engaging in exercises like strength training or resistance training can help delay or prevent inevitable conditions like loss of mass strength and muscle and even osteoporosis.
Prevention is always better than cure. So, don’t you think hiring a personal fitness instructor instead of burning money at healthcare facilities is better?
Tips and Tricks to Learn before Choosing Fitness Trainer for Senior Citizens
With a number of physical fitness trainers out there in the market, choosing the right person for a senior citizen can be a tough job.
However, keeping the right tips and tricks in mind before you find a senior fitness specialist according to your unique requirements can do the job.
So here are the different tips and tricks that you should know before you are willing to spend your bucks on an elderly fitness trainer.
1. Should Coordinate with Your Healthcare Team
Clearly, different types of chronic diseases and medications can hold your hand with age. This makes it necessary for you to connect with a Healthcare team who can take responsibility for your health.
So when you hire a fitness trainer for your workout regimen, it becomes crucial for this person to coordinate with your healthcare team as well.
Such a person should know about your medications and chronic conditions which could affect your workout or fitness schedule.
Moreover, they should also follow any instructions given by your physical therapist and modify your exercise plan accordingly.
2. Should Have the Required Qualifications, Education and Certifications
When you are finding certified personal trainers for older clients, you must research their certification, qualifications, and education. The right person for this job should have a certificate from an industry-recognised organisation.
Apart from this, people who keep on upskilling themselves with different courses in this field are always at the upper hand as compared to others.
So, make sure that you are trainer is always up to date with the latest trends in the fitness industry. He/she can do this by reading different publications, research articles, or journals in the field.
Apart from this, if you are hiring a personal trainer for an elderly person, then you can also look out for certifications in the senior fitness field.
These certifications and qualifications show that this individual had taken additional steps to care for the needs of the senior citizens.
3. Should Have Experience Working with Senior Citizens
Having certifications and formal qualifications in the field of training for seniors is a basic requirement. But besides this, make sure that your personal trainer also has experience working with older people.
No matter how much your prospective trainer boasts about his/her skills, theoretical knowledge can never compete practical training.
4. Targets Your Dynamic Requirements
No two individuals are exactly alike. As a senior citizen, you may have different kinds of chronic health conditions or medications when compared to others.
These conditions can cover anything from Diabetes and hypertension to low back pain or osteoporosis. However, a good trainer can handle your dynamic requirements and tailor a program that is specific to your needs.
So always make sure to ask the prospective person if he or she can help you achieve your fitness goals and improve flexibility while dealing with these health risks,
5. Soft Skills and Personality
You can vouch for the technical skills of your prospective fitness trainer through his or her qualifications and certifications. But at the same time, your fitness trainer needs to have soft skills that can be verified from his or her personality.
Individuals may use a disciplined and strict approach or a flexible and dynamic approach.
Many times, senior citizens do not want people being behind them all the time. In these situations, the flexible and dynamic approach may work better.
Older people may also have different rates of progress. So, do not hire a person who is impatient and loses his/her mind when the senior citizen has not achieved the goals.
Rather, focus on hiring a person who is instead willing to motivate the client patiently through all ups and downs.
6. Should Know About Nutrition to Improve Overall Quality of Life
Dietary and nutrition plans complement fitness regimens. So, when you hire a personal trainer for an elderly person, make sure this person knows the basics of nutrition.
High-protein meal ideas, pre and post-workout nutrition, and dietary plans can complement your fitness goals. However, physical trainers do not have any license to give supplements to their clients.
But they can provide you necessary information that will complement your fitness regime.
7. Focuses on an Evidence-Based Approach Fitness Training
People in the fitness industry may promote various concepts without any basis for research. Here comes the importance of an evidence-based approach.
Make sure you choose a personal trainer who keeps up with the industry trends and supports his/her facts with research.
If such an individual provides you with information regarding fitness or nutrition plans, ask which scientific journals or research articles support these claims. Just Googling the facts isn’t a professional way.
8. Try Before You Pay for a Personal Trainer
Once you have conducted your research and selected the best personal trainer for senior citizens, you must schedule a free consultation. This consultation will provide you an opportunity to verify the technical as well as soft skills of the trainer.
During the session, you can learn the teaching style of the trainer and see if their techniques align with your fitness goals.
Since you are going to spend a lot of time with this person, make sure he/she addresses your chronic conditions and medications as well.
Conclusion
Hiring a fitness trainer for a teenager, an adult, or an elderly person requires different tips and tricks. This person has to provide personalized training while keeping in mind your different chronic conditions and medications.
Otherwise different exercise and workout techniques may clash with your chronic conditions and lead to adverse effects.
Moreover, when you hire an individual, make sure you book a trial session so you know his/her personality. Thus, this is all you need to know before choosing a personal trainer for a senior citizen like your parents or a loved one.
Good Luck!