Welcome to the exciting world of exercise prescription! As a health and fitness coach, you have the privilege of helping individuals achieve their fitness and health goals. However, prescribing exercise is not just about throwing together a random set of exercises and calling it a day. It is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the principles of exercise, a code of ethics, pre-screening and health assessment, fitness testing, programme design, exercise selection, effective coaching, and progression and regression.
In the first half of this module, the focus will be on learning the fundamentals of exercise prescription, including fitness components, training principles, and exercises. You will learn how to perform a needs analysis to assess what your client or what athletes need in their training to reach their goals.
In the second half of this module, we aim to equip you with all the necessary skills and knowledge to become a competent exercise prescription coach. You will learn how to interact with clients, conduct pre-screening assessments, develop fitness programs tailored to individual needs, select exercises that are safe and effective, and provide effective coaching to help clients achieve their goals., the focus shifts to programme design and how to set up training sessions and programmes for client. Make sure to read through this topic thoroughly, including the important note underneath the Assessments section below.
The module is designed to provide a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, allowing you to develop the necessary skills to prescribe and coach exercise to individuals with different health and fitness goals.
Here is what we will cover specifically:
- Fitness components
- Training Principles
- Needs Analysis
- Pre-screening
- Fitness Testing
- Warm up and cool down
- Programme Design Fundamentals
- Putting it all together.
The fine print
By the end of this large module, working through the content, and completing and achieving the assessment, you will have shown an ability to do the following:
- Apply knowledge of anatomy and physiology to adapt and deliver safe and effective exercise programmes to individuals.
- Adapt programmes for apparently healthy people and common at-risk groups using exercise science and testing.
- Apply motivational and communication techniques to enhance individual participant commitment to a personalised exercise programme.
To break this down further, you will have shown that you can:
- Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of muscle structure and function when developing safe and effective programmes. This will include safe and effective demonstration of common resistance training techniques and knowledge of the key muscles targeted.
- Analyse a sport or physical activity with regard to the fitness components used.
- Screen client level of risk in exercise participation; carry out general assessments of body dimensions, body composition and flexibility
- Identify and describe methods of training, fitness components and related principles
- Review and update exercise plans or programmes
- Design exercise programmes to attain client goals
Let's check how much you already know about exercise prescription.
Is there an area that you are already feeling confident with? How about a topic you may need to allow for extra study time?
