In Germany, fitness studios have changed over the past 20 years in the wake of the "people's fitness movement". The "Muckibuden" once located in backyards have become prestigious fitness, health and wellness temples. As part of this development, customers' expectations of individual fitness studios have also changed and are now no longer limited to the desires of "good looks" or "improved fitness".
Health-oriented objectives are also increasingly important to members. This change in the expectations of individual members can certainly be attributed in part to a change in the age structure. After all, if we look at the age of customers, it is striking that of the approximately 9.5 million members of German fitness studios in 2015, around half were aged 40 or older.
Studies and surveys conducted by various health insurance companies show that, in addition to being more aware of their own health, people over the age of 40 are more likely to be affected by diseases of the musculoskeletal system, the cardiovascular system or neurological disorders. Conversely, this means that among the approximately 4.5 million members of German gyms who are 40 years or older, more and more people need special attention when creating a training plan due to existing illnesses or injuries.
This group of members in particular has a need for especially well-trained trainers who have additional qualifications from the field of medical fitness training have. But what exactly is "medical fitness training"? Often the term "medical fitness training" (MFT) is confused with rehabilitation or health sports. Or it is used synonymously with MTT, or "medical exercise therapy."
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Trainers - not therapists
It is important to clarify in this context that trainers who have a qualification in the field of medical fitness training are not therapists. No forms of therapy are applied and no patients are treated on prescription. Rather, customers are cared for under health-oriented aspects by specially trained fitness trainers with the possibilities of fitness sports in a fitness studio.
This means that the responsible studio trainers know which exercises and which training methods are suitable for customers. And they know what is contraindicated under certain circumstances - for example, if the customers may already have had a slipped disc, tore their anterior cruciate ligament some time ago or suffer from mild high blood pressure. This also applies to other physical limitations that have a negative impact on the current quality of life and that the customer would like to take action against on his own responsibility.
So the customers are not people who visit the gym for therapeutic reasons. They are people who want a logical and consistent continuation of a completed therapy on their own responsibility. They are people who strive for a health-conscious approach to their own bodies. In this context, medical fitness training is often referred to as the extended arm of therapy. It combines therapy and fitness.
This view is reinforced by the fact that more and more doctors and therapists are recognizing the importance of physical activity and fitness training as a follow-up and supplement to existing therapy, and are recommending that their patients train in a fitness or health studio.
Preventive component
No one doubts the positive effects of exercise and physical activity anymore. In addition to addressing symptoms, exercise can, in some cases, address the root causes of disease. For example, in type 2 diabetics, physical activity has a positive effect on the transport of sugar from the blood into the cell. As a result, the daily insulin dose can be reduced in many patients. In some cases, the medication can also be discontinued in consultation with the doctor.
Also in the case of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system, internal and mental illnesses, various studies have shown a positive effect of physical activity and sports on the health of the individual. However, medical fitness training should not be considered only for the care of elderly clients after - or in parallel with - therapy. Medical fitness training is more:
It is also aimed at children and adolescents, as well as middle-aged people with no known physical ailments. In fact, medical fitness training also takes a preventive approach to our typical civilization diseases such as overweight and obesity. Both develop mostly from an inactive way of life in connection with a wrong nutrition.
Whether the objective is preventive or rehabilitative, medical fitness training pays particular attention to the customer and his or her individual prerequisites and needs in the course of a medical history interview and a detailed initial examination. Questions are asked about previous lifestyle, possible illnesses and any injuries. As a rule, the trainer then conducts an extensive inspection and assesses the following on the basis of various endurance-, strength- and flexibility tests the status quo of the customer. The individual training goals are then defined together. If there are medical recommendations or rehab training plans already completed by the customer, these are included in the training planning.
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Taking health into your own hands
Based on his in-depth knowledge of human anatomy and physiology combined with knowledge of the various diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, the trainer can then decide which exercises and training methods are recommended for the client and where caution is advised, if necessary. However, medical fitness trainers are also distinguished by the fact that they focus their attention not only on the training plans and support in the studio, but even more on the customer and his lifestyle when taking care of the customer.
In addition, they give tips on nutritional design and motivate the customer to take responsibility for their own health and well-being even more consciously into their own hands. In order to be prepared for the work as a medical fitness trainer, interested studio trainers must have completed a corresponding further training or additional qualification, in which the existing knowledge of a fitness trainer is supplemented and deepened by the knowledge of selected aspects of human pathology and various therapeutic concepts.
Training Tip
There are several study institutes and academies that offer such advanced training courses on the market. When selecting the appropriate offer, however, interested parties should pay attention to whether the desired further education is publicly certified and whether with the successful completion of further education as a medical fitness trainer, a further qualification, for example, as an "exercise instructor in rehabilitation sports" is possible.
Source: shape UP
Published on: 19 September 2017