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Tag: Paul Holbrook

Top 10 Reason I Like Training Older Adults

Years ago, it wasn’t cool to be an older adult trainer. But times are changing, for many reasons training older adults is becoming a “cool,” thing to do. Here is a list of my top 10 reasons that I shared with my trainers a few weeks ago as to why I like training older
adults.

1. It makes a huge difference! The older we get the need for strength and power is critical! As a younger person, it really doesn’t matter as much to navigate some of the simplest demands of activities of daily living.

2. I like the hours better in which to train them. Early morning and throughout the day but not late into the evening. Training younger people is a schedule of early morning, not so much in the middle of the day, and then heavy training again after five o’clock
and and possibly late into the evening.

3. Not into it for the esthetics. Older adults have more of altruistic view of fitness. For them it is more about health and function and less about vanity.

4. Get to experience living history! I love hearing from our clients there early skiing experiences such as taking the first chairlift in existence at Alta, Utah. Just this January, a client reminded me that her first years skiing were on skies without metal edges, only the edge of the wood skies. Or, a client who was given the assignment from an entertainment organization to scout an up and coming musician in New York City, and reported back to her boss that it wasn’t worth pursuing. That newcomer was Billy Joel. And her response to me with laughter was, “oops missed that one!”

5. Being with an aging community on a daily basis keeps me connected with the aging process and is a constant reminder about my own choices about aging.

6. Built in retired consultants as your clients from all professions who still love to engage! They are eager to share their knowledge and utilize their skills to help.

7. Right livelihood. Our profession really helps people in so many ways as we all know. But I think working with population has a little special value to it as a helping profession.

8. Appreciation factor. Older adults simply appreciate the physical improvements they experience.

9. Unique individuals. I learned in one of my gerontology courses that, “the older we get the more unique we get.” Two infants at birth share very similar experiences but throughout the years of living and experiences people get more unique!

10. Job Security. The 55 group controls the three-fourths of America’s wealth. They have 3 times the net worth of younger generations. The 50+ group have 2.5 trillion in annual income.

If you are considering specializing in this area I don’t think you can go wrong. Do what you can to learn about older adults, not only in terms of fitness but all the other dimensions of wellness. The Functional Aging Specialist certification is a great way to enhance your career skills and opportunities!

Paul Holbrook, MA, CSCS
FAI Advisory Board Member
Owner, Age Performance

For Mature Clients, Power is the Glass

Dan John in his book “Never Let Go,” uses a “glass” as an analogy to illustrate how strength serves as a foundational modality
comported to others. He suggests that strength should be the glass and all other physical modalities are what go into the glass. For
example, flexibility, power, mobility, balance, speed, cardiovascular, core are all things that support the foundation of
strength. Interestingly enough, when real strength is achieved then all of the other physical aspects occur. Lets look at the Front Squat
or Goblet Squat for strength. If you focused on that one move with real intent to improve strength then you will increase strength in
your core, improve hip mobility, anaerobically, power, speed and balance.

I believe that there is a second glass just as important if not more important than strength when training older adults. Because we
lose Type II muscle fiber at twice the rate as Type I muscle fiber it is imperative that we target Type II muscle fiber in our training.
Stephen Sayers found that with two different groups of older adult strength training groups had different outcomes related to speed of
movement. He used an automobile simulator to test the foot braking speed of two groups. One group, slow-speed strength
training, lifted weights with a traditional 2-3 seconds in both directions, concentric and eccentric at 80% of 1RM. The other
group, high-speed power training, performed an explosive move as quickly as they possibly could on the concentric phase and then a
eccentric phase count of 2-3 seconds with a 40% of 1RM.

High-speed power training and traditional slow-speed strength training both improved peak muscle power after 12 weeks of
training; however, high-speed power training increased velocity compared to traditional strength training. Two interesting findings
were that muscle strength was not comprised in the high-speed power training group, and more importantly, the breaking speed,
foot on accelerator to break, was faster with the high-speed training group.

The improvement of our movement speed becomes critical the older we become. A young person can function just fine with their
speed of movement but because of the rapid decline in our Type II muscle fiber over the years, recapturing our ability to move quickly
is imperative and should be a foundation piece of older adult programming.

FAI’s Functional Aging Specialist Certification teaches trainers how to incorporate power training exercises into the exercise routines of mature clients.

Paul Holbrook, MA, CSCS
FAI Advisory Board Member

Helping older clients with their depression

Although depression is not considered a normal part of aging, this illness is common among
older adults. According to the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry 15% of adults ages
65 and above experience symptoms of depressions that cause them distress and make it
difficult for them to function.

Depression also influences the physical and mental health of older adults, say researchers from
the University of Washington. Their study of the healthcare costs associated with depression
shows that mature adults with significant depressive symptoms had healthcare costs about 50%
higher than older individuals without depression. According to the researchers, this increase
was seen for every component of healthcare costs and was not accounted for by an increase
specialty mental healthcare.

Currently depression is the fourth leading cause of premature death and disability worldwide
and is expected to become the second leading cause by 2020, according to the World Health
Organization.

Many studies in the last decade have looked at the effects of exercise on depression. This
research has found that exercise enhances self-esteem, improves mood, reduces anxiety
levels, increases the ability to handle stress and improves sleep patterns. In addition, a recent
study suggests that exercise many be an effective antidote to major depression.! !
Investigators from Duke University Medical Center tested exercise against an antidepressant in
156 outpatients ages 50 and older who met the criteria for a major depressive disorder. The
team discovered that both treatments had about the same ability individually (or combined) to
reduce or eliminate symptoms. Exercise also did a better job of keeping symptoms from coming
back after the depression lifted.

Being a Personal Trainer puts you in an excellent position to help older adults who might be
suffering from depression. You can help depressed clients feel better by helping them through
physical activity and through giving them your full undivided attention.

Physical activity breaks down emotional barriers, freeing older adults to express their feelings or
talk about the distresses in their lives. It’s important for you to be fully engaged and listen when
your clients feel safe enough to open up more in their conversations with you. If you listen
authentically and with clear intention you’ll draw your mature clients out and encourage them to
express their emotions.

You can promote these interactions by selecting exercises that help you maintain good eye
contact. For example, avoid using any exercise at the moment in which your eye level is higher
or lower than the clients, such as lying on the floor. This particular position can discourage the
free flowing interaction between the individual and you. Constantly assess your position,
adjusting it when necessary by standing or kneeling to keep eye-level contact.

Here is a list of helpful ideas for listening to older adults.

1. Stop talking. Resist giving advice and limit your talking. You can’t listen while you talk.!
2. Empathize. Try to put yourself in the older adults place so you can see or understand the
person’s perspective.!
3. Don’t give up too soon. Be patient, don’t interrupt.!
4. Concentrate on what the client is saying. Actively focus your attention on words, ideas
and feelings related to the subject.!
5. Look at the person. Focus both eyes intently on ONE of the client’s eyes, rather than
shifting your focus from eye to eye. You’ll be amazed at what you will see and learn.!
6. Leave your emotions behind. Try to push your worries, fears and problems outside the
interaction.

By using the right exercise intensity levels, you will help break down barriers and crate open
communication between you and your clients. Then, with your best effort and intention, you can
engage them with your full attention, utilizing this two pronged approach helping your clients feel
less depressed, better about themselves and better able to think more clearly about issues at
hand.

Paul Holbrook, MA, CSCS
FAI Advisory Board Member
Owner, Age Performance

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