Helping my friend Hank lose over 100 lbs was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It was life changing for Hank and life changing for me. An overweight person has to ready to become a client. If an overweight friend reaches out to you because they know you are in the fitness field, jump on the opportunity. What you will learn will
Training the Overweight Client
9 years
Developing ConfidenceObese clients need to be confident that you won't hurt them and confident that they won't hurt themselves. Proper exercise choices will increase confidence.Fancy things like single leg exercises should come much later. Remember, with overweight clients there is a huge psychological component.It's like hooking a big fish ( no pun intended). You need to keep it on the line. How do we develop this confidence, by encouraging success. Avoid floor exercises. Getting up and down from the floor
Training the Overweight Client
9 years
Last but, certainly not least, single leg work. Again a basic building block of our programs fails the common sense test. The first thing an obese client needs to do is learn to squat on two legs and, handle his or her bodyweight. I want to throw myself out the window when I see the things they do on The Biggest Loser. I'm worried about doing a proper squat and they have these people running sprints and doing box jumps.
Training the Overweight Client
9 years
The same goes for core work. More prescription for failure. Core work for the overweight client should initially be a by-product of exercise choices rather than direct.Planks etc. can be extremely difficult for heavy clients. Remember in many of our basic functional exercises the resistance is bodyweight. For a 375 lb client this is a detriment verses a benefit.
Training the Overweight Client
9 years
Static Stretching? Same idea. Overweight clients are generally not nimble ballerinas. It can be a huge amount of work (no pun intended) just trying to get an overweight client in position to stretch. Never mind what happens if the client loses balance and falls. The truth is beginning with stretching and rolling can make a client feel awkward and like a failure from the get-go. I want success. I
Training the Overweight Client
9 years
basic building blocks of your programs". Amazingly, you are right. However, we need to be able to adapt to the needs of our clients, not vice versa. As I always say, I'm not married to any concept. Foam rolling for an overweight client is like working out. I think the effort needed to foam roll can seriously detract from the actual workout. Besides, just the process of getting up and down from the ground adds to the difficulty and embarrassment factor. One thing I realized quickly after watching how difficult it was for Hank to get up
Training the Overweight Client
9 years