FUNCTIONAL TRAINING
• Deconditioned or elderly customers can feel intimidated by the gym – but by offering appropriate exercises, functional training zones can be comfortable spaces in which to start
movement, with both the range and the speed of the exercise able to be steadily increased. The low row, meanwhile, improves posture and arm strength, with clients able to start with low weights. Natural movements that mirror the
activities of daily life are important, and the Kinesis Stations Step/Squat station can be used to replicate movements such as lifting shopping bags and walking up steps. To begin with, it can be used without the cable – which adds resistance – with users also able to hold the support arm if required. As a progression, resistance can be introduced in low intervals. “Many customers come from other
Halo sites to use Kinesis,” says Gwynne. “I think the biggest rewards we are seeing are the customers with walking aids, and OAPs with limited abilities and compromised ranges of movement, being able to access the stations with ease. We currently have five new wheelchair users on the GP scheme using Kinesis.” Staff need to be at least Level 3 on the
REPs register for the Halo GP referral scheme, and trained in fall prevention.
SEVERELY DECONDITIONED TRX has been successfully used at Fareham Leisure Centre – operated by Everyone Active – to bring overweight and obese patients into exercise via a GP referral scheme.
64 Take part in the Health Club Management reader survey:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/NQDN2R6 TRX allows progression of simple
movements over the 10-week programme, starting with exercises such as assisted squats and chest presses. “The kit is easy to use and easy to understand, so it’s well suited to people who haven’t exercised for a long time,” says Cathie Bolwell, exercise referral manager at the centre. “Not only that, but deconditioned people often feel self-conscious when they’re new to the gym – the functional zone allows them to build confidence in a quieter space.” The programme, which has been
running since January 2008, sees a healthy conversion rate of participants to members: 67 per cent complete the 10-week programme and the centre has 160 members who joined after their GP referral scheme. In 2011/12, 14 per cent of referrals became members. One of those members, Ted Azulay,
has cut down his insulin and blood pressure medication as a result of exercise. Among the functional training exercises he did as part of his programme were assisted single squats to increase core engagement, balance work, and whole body movements – such as a woodchop – to awaken core muscles. The chest press was also used, as a simple move that’s easy to progress as strength and fitness improves. “Eighteen months ago I weighed 18.5
stone and had a 48-inch waist,” says Azulay. “Now I’m 13.5 stone and my
January 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
© YURI ARCURS/
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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