Vital Statistics
Saturday, June 19th, 2010After years of failed attempts, you’ve made a decision. You know what you want in him, how he should behave, what you’d like him to tell you, and how you want him to say it. And you have found The One. You’ve spent time talking on the phone, and emailing each other back and forth. You’re ready to meet for the first time.
And he’s bringing a deluge of forms requiring your complete honesty and signature. Now is not the time to be coy, shy or save your deepest, darkest secrets until you’re farther along in your relationship.
You are about to embark on a relationship with a personal trainer, and this time it will be different. This time, you’ll see results. But only if your honest from the get go.
Any personal trainer who has been certified by a reputable certifying organization requires all clients to complete a series of health screenings before creating a customized workout routine and schedule. If you’re not completely honest, not only are you risking setting yourself up for failure, you might also be putting your health in danger. Specifically, the following conditions may negatively affect your training and should be discussed with your new personal trainer.
Cardiovascular Disease/Heart Disease
One of the body’s major muscles is the heart. Cardiovascular disease, or heart disease, is a generic umbrella term used to encompass everything from angina (chest pain), to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries as a result of cholesterol build up). If you have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease by a physician, chances are your arteries are having trouble getting blood flowing to your heart. If you’re already having trouble getting an appropriate amount of blood to your heart, think how much more trouble you will have with an accelerated heart rate from exercise.
Does this mean cardiovascular disease patients cannot exercise? Absolutely not! But it is imperative that you work with your physician closely to get approval to exercise, to learn which exercises to avoid, and to determine how intense your workout should be. Likewise, any medication you are on can also affect your training, so be sure to fill your personal trainer in on all prescription and non-prescription medications you are currently taking.
Also, if you haven’t been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease but have any of the following known risk factors for heart disease, you’ll need to tell your trainer:
- Family history: Heart disease and/or death from heart disease in your father (under age 55) or other first-degree male relative (such as a brother or son), or in your mother (under age 65) or other first-degree female relative (such as a sister or daughter).
- Cigarette smoking: Current or if you’ve quit within the past six months
- High blood pressure: Above 140/90
- High cholesterol: Total cholesterol above 200 mg/dL, or an LDL level above 130 mg/dL
- Impaired fasting glucose: Above 110 mg/dL
- Obesity: BMI above 30, or waist measurement above 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women
- Sedentary lifestyle: If you don’t exercise on a consistent basis, you’re officially a target for heart disease.
If two or more of the above apply to you, you’ll need a physician’s approval prior to beginning your new workout program.
Respiratory Diseases
Bronchitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are all conditions that affect the way your lungs extract oxygen from the air and transfer it to your blood. Because it is crucial your muscles are constantly bathed with oxygen during exercise, you’re personal trainer needs to know if you have any conditions that limit the transfer of oxygen to your bloodstream. Likewise, your trainer needs to know the medications you are currently taking, and your physician will need to clear you to exercise.
Musculoskeletal Conditions
Any previous injuries to your muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments should be disclosed to your personal trainer. These conditions more than likely will not require a doctor’s consent to continue, but your trainer will need to be aware of any potential weaknesses you are bringing to your training. Often times, a personal trainer given all information about a previous injury can help you improve the injured area.
Metabolic Disorders
Diabetes and thyroid disorders both affect metabolism, and should be disclosed to your personal trainer, who will most likely ask your physician to approve you for exercise. With these conditions, regulating metabolism is a daily battle. Any additional exercise will stoke the flames of your metabolic rate and can significantly affect your current treatment regime.
In addition to the above conditions, be sure to thoroughly discuss with your trainer any medications you are on, if you have a hernia or might be pregnant, and lifestyle information asked of you (such as family support, stressors, career, dietary patterns, hobbies, interests, etc). All of this information helps your trainer understand you more, and determine what workout regime will work best with you.
If you’ve gotten through that first date with your trainer and he didn’t ask for any of the above information, he’s just not that in to you, and more than likely, is in to him instead. Drop him, and find that one trainer out there for you.
Because in this relationship, it is all about you.
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