{"id":28759,"date":"2022-01-10T09:25:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T17:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/?p=28759"},"modified":"2022-01-05T13:26:42","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T21:26:42","slug":"are-you-asking-the-right-questions-of-your-geriatric-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/are-you-asking-the-right-questions-of-your-geriatric-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Asking the Right Questions of Your Geriatric Clients?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the world of medical and mainstream fitness, assessment methods and tools abound.\u00a0 We like to pre-test and post-test and record our findings to show positive change toward the betterment of our clients\u2019 general health.\u00a0 But what about their well-being?\u00a0 Are we asking them how they are <\/span>really <\/span><\/i>doing on that day and in general?\u00a0 Should we probe further or would that be invasive and make our older client feel uncomfortable and possibly interrogated?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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These are the questions we need to ask ourselves as trainers before we begin our journey with 65-plus clients.\u00a0 We need much more information than just the basic anthropometrics and test performance baselines to be successful in coaching and educating for positive outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We must find out what motivates them, what holds them back, and what they value in life.\u00a0 This is the foundation from which we begin facilitating successful change toward better health, vitality, and optimal aging.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Before a training program is ever developed, we must know who we are working with on a biopsychosocial level.\u00a0 <\/span>This model of questions and assessments\u00a0is based on the\u00a0biopsychosocial\u00a0model proposed by Dr. George Engel in 1977. According to Engel’s model, a person’s biological, social and psychological factors are all intertwined and these factors also influence general well-being. In other words, a person’s body and mind are not separate entities. What we understand about mind set and self-efficacy applies to the geriatric<\/a> population more than any other demographic.\u00a0 These clients must be <\/span>intrinsically <\/span><\/i>motivated toward change. They will make better choices and comply to commit to regular exercise and healthy nutrition more eagerly when they feel compassionately \u201cunderstood\u201d from the inside out. They know very well that they are not just a physical body under the forces of biological aging and functional decline.<\/span><\/p>\n

With decline comes fear.\u00a0 With fear comes doubt.\u00a0 Doubt can inhibit progress or even prevent someone from starting at all.\u00a0 If they are having these feelings you need to know, and it\u2019s ok to gently ask.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Asking the right questions opens the door to answers that will reveal the doubts and fears that have been holding them back, and this paves the way to exploring for solutions.\u00a0 We cannot change what we do not acknowledge.\u00a0 We must address the psychological issues and adjust the protocols to suit the needs and desires of the older adult first. This builds client\/trainer trust<\/a> and this partnership is a powerful motivator toward making better choices and lifestyle changes that can improve the older adults\u2019 health and well-being.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Often our older adult clients don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know and proper interviewing leads the way to addressing their unique needs and circumstances.\u00a0 Asking the right questions early in the training process helps trainers help their clients establish a sound WHY or purpose for change, and is one of the most effective techniques a trainer can implement when getting started with a new geriatric client.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finding a good set of questions to gather this critical information can be challenging. There are several examples to draw from that follow the biopsychosocial model.\u00a0 One resource that is very comprehensive is the <\/span>EASYCareTM<\/sup> Assessment Questionnaire found online.\u00a0 It is quite lengthy. However, it shows a diverse sampling of questions, and can be a useful guide for trainers wanting to develop their own questionnaire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So we must ask the right questions in the beginning in order to set the tone, tailor the program, and address the needs of the client.\u00a0 It should not stop there.\u00a0 The communication should be ongoing throughout the programming to allow the trainer to adjust as needed to create the best experience possible for geriatric clients every time they meet with us.\u00a0 This in turn will create positive outcomes both physically and emotionally and foster a happy, healthy, and optimally aging adult.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fitness Pros: Expand your services as a Geriatric Fitness and Lifestyle Specialist<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s estimated that 80% of the older population has one chronic disease and 77% have two or more. This means millions of people over age 65 looking for guidance from fitness professionals who are knowledgeable in exercise, nutrition and lifestyle principles that can help them improve functional mobility, while also preventing and managing chronic conditions to live their highest quality of life. The Geriatric Fitness and Lifestyle Specialist online\u00a0 course<\/a> will give you insights, strategies and tools to be a successful health professional in this rapidly growing market.<\/p>\n

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\n

Holly H. Benson<\/i><\/b> is a veteran in the Recreation and Fitness industries with over 35 years of administrative and technical experience. She has developed thriving fitness programs for special populations and has passionately focused her career on the much older adult.\u00a0 She currently owns and operates Moving Strong Medical Exercise, LLC in Lakewood, Colorado and provides in-home and virtual fitness training to older adults and persons with chronic medical and orthopedic conditions.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the world of medical and mainstream fitness, assessment methods and tools abound.\u00a0 We like to pre-test and post-test and record our findings to show positive change toward the betterment of our clients\u2019 general health.\u00a0 But what about their well-being?\u00a0 Are we asking them how they are really doing on that day and in general?\u00a0 Should we probe further or would that be invasive and make our older client feel uncomfortable and possibly interrogated?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":360,"featured_media":25982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[198,29,193],"class_list":["post-28759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-geriatrics","tag-healthy-aging"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32294,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28759\/revisions\/32294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}