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This is Julian...
He works at Complete Fitness as a Personal Trainer. An important part of Julian's duties includes conducting pre-exercise health screening sessions and fitness appraisals and then monitoring clients throughout their exercise sessions to ensure they stay healthy and don't get injured. As part of these tasks, he is required to have a broad knowledge of exercise science principles and how they impact on programming.
Do you need to have formal medical training to apply exercise science principles?
No, but you do need to have a good knowledge of how anatomy and physiology work in relation to exercise and fitness. The various organ systems within the body can be quite complex, especially the neurological system and the muscular system, but it is beneficial for us to know the essential scientific principles, terminology, and potential risk factors. We do make it clear to our clients that we are following standard guidelines, using industry-approved templates and only providing general advise. If they have any specific conditions, queries, or concerns we always refer them to an appropriate medical or allied health professional.
What do you use your knowledge of anatomy and physiology for?
Conducting pre-exercise health screening, this can include taking accurate body measurements, asking health-related questions, conducting basic tests such as blood pressure or heart-rate monitoring, and recording all the information using appropriate terminology and directional terms.
I am also able to explain to clients how their muscles, heart and lungs work, how exercise can help with their health and how long adaptations will take to be noticeable. My skills and experience also help me to monitor clients, recognise when an incorrect technique is being used and what the ramifications might be if it is not corrected, or to provide first-aid if required.
How do you maintain your knowledge so that it is current?
I read a lot of fitness magazines and online articles, especially ones with a scientific basis. I find anatomy and physiology fascinating. My workplace also has quite a few resources such as manuals, charts and brochures that I like to read between my client appointments. We are also required to do professional development which may be attending a workshop or listening to a guest speaker, sometimes these sessions are related to exercise science.
What is the most common health-related problem that you tend to encounter?
It's usually conditions that are associated with leading a sedentary lifestyle and being overweight and unfit. These factors have an enormous effect on the human body, causing conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Poor Posture, among others. If the client is also a smoker, which is thankfully declining, it can make all of these health problems much worse. Luckily a lot can be done just by healthy eating and increasing physical exercise, that's where I can help.
Are there any people who should not exercise at all?
If someone is currently ill or has an acute injury they should not participate in exercise, unless their doctor has specifically recommended it. In these situations we always seek the guidance of the medical or allied health professional in charge of their care, quite often they are able to start a low-intensity, low-impact program as soon as they recover from any acute symptoms or dangers.