As a personal trainer, choosing and prioritizing your certifications decides your career. One option is senior fitness, which is a rewarding experience for both you and the client.
Senior fitness is fitness designed for people over the age of 55 that improves their quality of life and helps them exercise safely.
As the Baby Boomers age, they will be prioritizing fitness more than any other senior group because of the fitness mentality that permeated American culture in their youth. They were fit and active throughout their youth and they wish to keep their independence. This prioritization should matter to a personal trainer because it means that Baby Boomers will want to seek out someone who can help them stay in shape—especially if they haven’t exercised for a few years or want to learn new techniques. It is an opportunity to help a generation maintain their health.
You can work as a senior fitness specialist in programs at such places as:
With these locations, you can broaden your place of employment and not be limited in your choices. This large scope is beneficial to personal trainers because it allows them to serve the wider community. For example, if you choose to offer your services at a college, you can offer budget-friendly fitness classes or volunteer your time if the college holds a fitness event.
As we age, our bodies require different forms of exercise to keep fit and healthy. By exercising, seniors will be able to maintain and even improve their quality of life and independence. Exercising and staying fit will help seniors:
These benefits matter to personal trainers because if clients come to you and see no results, they will most likely leave to find another trainer. As such, they may also spread the word that you are ineffective and don’t seem to care about your clients, which can harm your business. Respectfully caring for your senior clients and helping them see positive results will say a lot about you and the services you offer.
When seniors come to a personal trainer or a fitness center to exercise, they may have never exercised before or have not done so for many years. Personal trainers need to help seniors exercise safely because the technique may be new to the seniors or they may have trouble doing the exercise. Helping and teaching senior fitness clients to exercise safety will minimize the chance of injury, which with seniors, could potentially be devastating to them. Safe exercise ensures their well-being and overall health.
To get certified to specialize in senior fitness, you will need to take additional classes and tests in addition to courses as a personal trainer. Of course, you will need to decide which fitness certification program you wish to get your certification in, like the American Senior Fitness Association. While you can get certified at any credible program, it may be a good idea to look into a program that specializes in senior certification so you can get all of the additional education you need.