What to avoid for senior clients -Personal Training-

There are some things you should avoid when you are relatively older.  However, strength training is more important for seniors than young adults.   Just careful with some stuff and you are always good to go!

The previous related post here



What to avoid rather than what you want to do

I am always asking myself  “Am I giving exercises to my clients based on what I like?”.  It’s so important that you make a program for each client’s needs.  Also be level headed and descriptive.  My one laziness of not explaining fully may cause their injury.  I try to extra focus on our sessions.



Isometric exercise

Holding the breath for too long can raise blood pressure to undesirable levels and is not recommended for olders adults.  Isometric training may be avoided altogether or encourage them to breathe while doing so. 



Lateral step

I am not talking about lateral lunge or lateral step up or crab walk. In fact, I do give those exercises to my senior clients.  I am talking about a dynamic one. Forward dynamic movement is more controllable than side one.  If a senior client trips while doing a dynamic side step, injury may happen and unfortunately I have seen it.  We should know dynamic side step movement requires some sort of athletic skills and not for every age.

example of ladder side step



Ballistic movement

Ballistic movement is out for all ages to me unless you need the movement for sports specific reasons.  Even if this is not good for all ages, then why even bother giving this kind of movement to senior clients?  Instead, you should focus on movement that he / she can control nicely.



Not putting away equipment

This sounds so simple but so important when training seniors.  They may trip on dumbbells on the floor or bosu or even mat.  If you are done, just put them away or keep them in the corner.  Be proactive and you can avoid unwanted accidents for them.