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Personal Trainers Guide Clients to Healthy Lifestyles at Loyalist College

May 06, 2008

The Fitness and Health Promotion students are in the process of actively applying the skills and training they have learned as they take on the role of personal trainers for students and staff members at the College. It is a three-fold process. The client identifies the personal fitness goals that they would like to reach. Following a physical assessment, the trainer determines the health goal they feel the client should be working toward. The personal and health goals are aligned and, through discussion with the client, a fitness plan — or prescription — is developed that empowers the client with realistic, measurable objectives that will help them fulfill their objectives.

The one-on-one relationship is spread over a ten-week period during which the client follows their health and fitness prescription with guidance and encouragement from their trainer. The primary components of the prescription are safety, a realistic workload for the client’s abilities, and efficacy. This practical component of the Fitness and Health Promotion students’ training provides credit toward their National Certification for Personal Certified Trainer with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

“The program offers a winning situation for both the trainer and trainee,” said Monica Chokly, second-year Fitness and Health Promotion student. “I have the opportunity to use my new training skills in a safe environment and the fitness programs we set up are reviewed by our professors. As a trainer, my goal is to improve the quality of life for individuals. This includes physical fitness, but also other components such as eating well, reducing stress, and helping people feel good about themselves.”

Derek Arsenault graduated from the Fitness and Health Promotion program in 2003 and currently works at One To One Health and Fitness Centre in Belleville as a personal trainer and conditioning coach. “My experience in the role of personal trainer while I was in the program was vital. I worked with students in the Social Service Worker program. It not only helped them discover ways to better their own personal health, mental attitude and physical fitness, but they also shared their experience with their classmates and had me speak to their class. One of these clients was a young mother, and by having the opportunity to work with a personal trainer, she came to understand the importance of good overall health and wellbeing for herself and her child. By the time I graduated I felt confident, excited and knowledgeable in my position as a fitness professional. I cannot imagine jumping into this rapidly growing field without prior experience with clients.”

Now, with five years experience in his field, Derek’s passion for his career continues to grow. “My experience within the industry has only added to my belief that personal trainers are vital health professionals. We fit perfectly within the health and fitness industry. It is a profession that complements other health professionals such as doctors, physiotherapists and nutritionists. I only hope that the public’s education regarding the role of a fitness professional continues to grow, so they will gain a better understanding of the most magnificent machine out there – our body.”

For more information regarding the Fitness and Health Promotion program at Loyalist College call (613) 969-1913, ext. 2204 or click here.

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