So You Want to be a Fitness Trainer: Fitness Training : Top Ten Signs That You May Be Getting Older!

You no longer care about getting stronger. You're too worried about getting gradually weaker!
You stop chasing the leaders in the local running road race. You are too busy staying ahead of the stragglers.
There is no such thing as a 'mild' head cold.
You wake up in the morning and think "Gadzooks! I feel awful. I'll never do that again.!" Then you realize that you didn't do anything.
People insist on offering you their seat on the bus.
When you bench press, the bar is pushing down harder than you're pushing up.
Backaches used to come and go. Now they come but they don't go.
If the lat pull down machine at the fitness center is broken it's a minor inconvenience. If the hot tub is broken it's a major emergency.
The abs are still there. They're just shy.
You hold a door open at the fitness center for for a woman member and she says "Thank you sir." SAY WHAT! I'm not a sir! Sir was what I called my Dad when he was out of smokes and I brought home a less than stellar report card!

As a Fitness Trainer you should be able to read your body as age affects your capabilities.

That doesn't mean that you should give up the ghost as wear and tear and physical limitations

become more noticeable. It does mean that you adjust and adapt!

I no longer run due to hip joint issues. I bicycle, walk and swim to compensate. I have had to shut down squats, dead lifts, and leg presses for various reasons. I have replaced them with stair workouts and hard intervals on the stationary bike. My shoulders won't hold up for full range of motion bench presses. Instead I perform half lifts on a chest press machine.

Life goes on and hopefully the exercise and movement continues!

A Fitness Trainer working with seniors or a demographic of the Baby Boom generation should be aware that a decline in mobility or physical function can be gradual or sudden and may often be irreversible. The Fitness Trainer must adjust and tailor the exercise program to the specific needs and capabilities of the client. Also remember that any serious dysfunction may require a referral to the appropriate medical practitioner! You may be required to work as a team with a physician

or a physical therapist.

Remember, getting old is not the end! Instead it is the beginning of a smarter more functional exercise program.

Until Next Time,....Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong

There are those who accept aging as a natural physiological process.
Then there are the less accepting types!