Engaging in an active lifestyle is one of the best ways to promote health and well-being in the elderly. Aside from helping ward off ailments, regular exercise can also offer substantial physical and mental health benefits. For instance, it could improve endurance, strength, flexibility, and mobility, as well as lower anxiety, depression, and negative mood. Plus, working out regularly may even enhance cognitive function.
All of these factors, in turn, can significantly raise a senior’s quality of life, enabling them to live their golden years to the fullest. And to make the most out of physical exercise, you may want to seek the services of a competent personal trainer – one who is qualified and trained to work with an older adult.
In this article, we’ll give you a rundown of the top advantages of hiring a personal trainer for seniors.
Top Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer for Seniors
Nowadays, more and more people are starting to recognize the importance of being physically active, especially its pivotal role in health and well-being. Unsurprisingly, this has increased the demand for personal trainers in Canada and several other countries.
Hiring a personal trainer for seniors offers a plethora of benefits. The most obvious one is that they will receive a workout routine that is tailored to their needs, preferences, and unique situations. Second, the elderly will also be under constant supervision, ensuring that they are performing the exercises safely and correctly at all times. This way, they can realize their fitness goals without compromising their health.
Related article: Why You Need to Hire a Personal Trainer
1. Health- and Age-Appropriate Exercises
Personal trainers understand that seniors have very particular fitness needs, especially in light of their age, existing medical conditions, and overall health. As a result of these factors, older adults face unique challenges that younger individuals typically won’t have to deal with. It means that a workout routine for a 20-year-old may not be suitable for a 60-year-old suffering from joint pain.
A capable fitness coach will take the client’s age and medical history into account, and come up with an exercise program catered to the specific needs of seniors.
2. Safe Workouts
2. Safe WorkoutsRegular exercise can do wonders for a person’s health and well-being – there is no question about that. But if an individual performs exercises improperly or uses gym equipment the wrong way, they run the risk of getting injured. Working out, in such cases, can do more harm than good.
A fitness coach will be present every step of the way, ensuring that seniors are doing each exercise with the right form and technique, as well as teaching them how to use the gym equipment correctly. They may also tweak the workout routine to better accommodate their client’s needs and current fitness level.
3. One-on-One Attention
One of the most compelling benefits of hiring a personal trainer is that seniors will be able to get personalized training and individualized attention. It is a far cry from group training sessions, where the trainer has to divide their time and attention between several participants.
In personal training, the fitness coach is right there with the senior for the entire duration of the workout session. They will tell their client what to do, show them exactly how to do it, and immediately correct their mistakes. Along the way, the personal trainer may also increase or lower the workout intensity or modify the routine. In other words, the workout program can easily be adjusted to meet the senior’s changing needs.
Related article: The Qualities of the Best Personal Trainers for Seniors
4. Clear, Detailed Instructions
Fitness can be intimidating for many people, regardless of their age. Some are under the impression that executing the exercises is difficult. The fact that there are so many things that need to be learned – including coming up with an effective workout routine and developing a healthy meal plan – can certainly be off-putting.
Hiring a personal trainer removes all of the guesswork. First, the fitness coach will deal with the grunt work and provide seniors everything they need to get started and make progress in their fitness journey. Plus, they act as a goldmine of information, helping the elderly make smarter decisions about their health and everyday activities.
5. Motivation and Consistency
As previously mentioned, seniors have entirely different needs than someone in their teens, twenties, or forties. Interestingly, one thing remains constant regardless of which age group they belong to – the difficulty of staying motivated and consistent in their exercise routine. Hiring a reliable personal trainer, in this case, can keep the senior accountable and more likely to show up to their workout session.
6. Long-Term Guidance
Hiring a personal trainer is not necessarily cheap, but it won’t burn a hole in your wallet either. If it is within your budget, we recommend committing to a personal senior training program over the long haul – or at least until the senior develops enough skills, knowledge, and motivation to exercise effectively on their own. A personal trainer can help clients stay focused on their goals, cue them on their progress, provide science-backed fitness advice, and give much-needed support and encouragement.
Related article: What Is the Cost of a Private Personal Trainer in Toronto?
7. Disease Prevention
A sedentary lifestyle has been associated with multiple health risks, including the increased likelihood of cancer, heart diseases, metabolic disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and even death. Every year, approximately 3.2 million deaths are attributed to a lack of physical exercise all over the world.
Unfortunately, this has become an even more pressing issue in industrialized countries like Canada, where the life expectancy is high. While it means that people are living longer, it also means that seniors are finding themselves physically inactive for long periods, making them more susceptible to chronic health conditions. To avoid this, experts stress the importance of regular exercise.
The health benefits of physical activity are well-known, especially when done for the long term. Specifically, it could prevent chronic diseases like:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Obesity
- Heart diseases
- Cancer
- Osteoporosis
- Osteoarthritis
- Depression
- Premature death
By hiring a personal trainer, seniors will be more likely to commit to an exercise routine, giving them access to a powerful disease prevention tool.
8. Enhanced Mobility
8. Enhanced MobilityA well-rounded workout routine will contain the right combination of aerobic, strength, stretching, and balance exercises. Aside from improving heart health, regular exercise can also help seniors build muscle strength and enhance their flexibility, stability, and coordination. Consequently, these can dramatically improve their overall mobility, enabling them to move and carry out daily activities with greater ease and comfort.
9. Increased Independence
Improved mobility will make seniors more confident and more capable of navigating their homes and performing their day-to-day tasks. This, in turn, will give them a renewed sense of confidence and, more importantly, independence. In other words, hiring a personal trainer and exercising regularly will allow the elderly to learn life-long skills that can enhance their quality of life.
10. Stay Fit and Healthy
This last point may seem obvious, but it is worth pointing out. Hiring a personal trainer will help seniors reap all the benefits of exercising, allowing them to stay fit and helping them lead overall healthier lives.
Personal Training Is Highly Beneficial for Seniors
Hiring a personal coach is not only limited to gym buffs and fitness enthusiasts. Everyone can benefit from the guidance, support, and encouragement of fitness trainers – and that includes seniors.
Physical activity is a valuable tool for promoting health and well-being in seniors, especially when it comes to preventing the onset of chronic diseases. It also boasts other physical and mental perks that could help raise the quality of life of individuals in their golden years. And by hiring a personal trainer, the elderly could take full advantage of the fantastic benefits of regular exercise, enabling them to live the life they want and spend more quality time with their loved ones.
Gera is the Founder and Head Trainer of First Class Personal Training with over 20 years of professional experience, not only as a personal trainer but also as a nutrition and wellness counselor and a post rehabilitation specialist.
