Introduction: Past and Present Health-Club Members and Goals

The Past Until the 1980s, predominant health-club users were "fit" male athletes with personal agendas. Their goals were to enhance their sport performance or simply maintain an attractive physique and good health. These athletes had little need for personal trainers because their work in the gym was designed only to augment their sport or recreation. In addition, daily movement through sport, recreation and job left little need for body fat reduction. People with "weight-reduction" goals didn't patronize "gyms" primarily because they felt uncomfortable being around the fit members. Consequently, there were very few practicing personal trainers. Those who did make a career of personal training were usually working with entertainers or other high-profile individuals who were looking for a "rent-a-friend" more than a serious, science-based workout plan. The workout and diet plans used by these trainers were the same programs used for their own workouts The Present Due to our sedentary environment and the compulsion to eat, 50 percent of today's American adults are overweight, with more than 25 percent clinically obese. More individuals are turning to health clubs to meet their body-composition goals and to personal trainers to help them achieve those goals. A recent news release from IDEA stated that personal training has experienced a 55-percent growth rate in the last year, making it one of the fastest -growing careers in the fitness ind ustry. This raises an interesting question: Are personal trainers prepared to deal with the overweight and/or inactive member and are they providing that member with all the information and instruction necessary to meet this specialized demand? To explore this issue, we must first understand today's health-club member. Today's Member Modern health-club members are older and more sophisticated, with less capacity for daily movement. More than 50 percent are female. Their goals are primarily cosmetic (body-fat reduction) and health-oriented, which would normally result in the "conventional" personal trainer prescribing sufficient intensity and volume of cardiovascular and resistance exercise to meet their needs. However, studies show that inactivity resulting from the typical lifestyle of today's society produces a person with a diminished functional ability that isn't properly addressed by the "typical" workout programs of most trainers. Additionally, it has been shown that exercise alone does very little to reduce body fat. Proper nutrition is the component that creates the reduction while proper exercise maintains the muscle and increases function.