Seniors represent the fasting growing segment of the fitness industry. The sad part is that far too many seniors begin a program, but do not make it a permanent part of their life.
There are two primary reasons why elders drop out at such a high rate. As a personal trainer who qualifies as a member of the “elder” category, I run into both reasons on a consistent basis.
The first reason is that a trainer pampers them. After a few workouts they do not feel challenged, are seeing no results, which they should not expect in only a few workouts or they are feeling no differences.
In the second case the trainer starts them off at too fast a pace. The become embarrassed at not being able to keep up or they suffer a legitimate injury. In either case, they return to the couch.
Interestingly, the solution to the two dissimilar problems is the same. The trainer needs to begin with a detailed interview, AFTER the prospective client has been cleared by their doctor to begin an exercise program. The doctor will have identified any issues which the trainer should take into consideration in planning an “appropriate” program. Having the medical report and knowing that the trainer has studied it and intends to follow it, closely, gives great comfort to the new trainee.
Once that is done the trainer needs to understand in detail what the trainee hopes to accomplish. They need to understand the degree of commitment they need to make to achieve those goals. Many trainers do these things, but the client still quits because of the failure to PROPERLY PERSONALIZE the program.
In many cases, the trainer goes WAY too easily with the client and they become bored, see or feel no results and walk away. I have found that most elders can handle more short- term intense training than they are offered. Giving them this challenge inspires them to reach down further to meet ever increasing goals. The key to doing this properly is to KNOW the health condition of the client and to push them to meet their personal limits within those health parameters.
In other cases, the trainer makes the opposite mistake and pushes a client beyond their personal limits causing injuries OR pushes the client beyond a pan threshold they do not want to exceed.
In my experience, I see more trainers failing to push new trainees adequately rather than making the mistake of pushing them too far. The key for trainers is to make sure you KNOW your client. The key for an elder just starting a fitness program is to be totally honest with your trainer. They cant help you reach your REAL goals unless they know what your REAL goals are.
Happy training!!
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