“Keep Moving Forward, Forge Your Own Path.”

~ Jarick X. Horne

*Consult a physcian prior to training and when cleared, train around your contraindications.

Obesity, deconditioned

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Low-impact exercises like walking, cycling. 
  • Avoid high-impact exercises. 
  • Gradually increase intensity and duration.
  • Lightly exercises to build a foundation before progressing to more intense workouts.  
  • Begin with light exercises, short durations, emphasize, and emphasize proper form/technique. 
  • Use Machines → Bodyweight exercises
  • Frequent breaks to manage fatigue and prevent injury.
  • Modify exercises to fit the client’s abilities and limitations. 
  • Monitor heart rate and blood pressure throughout the workout. 
  • Be prepared and watch for hypoglycemia- low blood sugar episodes. 
  • Be on the lookout for quick fatigue, joint pain, poor posture, and difficulty with basic movement patterns. 
  • Avoid repetitive lateral movements.
  • Listen to your body. 
  • Positive reinforcement tactics. 
  • Remember: You can’t outwork unhealthy nutrition.

Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, psychosis

  • THERAPEUTICAL CLEARANCE!
  • How are you feeling?
  • Importance of social support whether that be through gym friends or a personal trainer.
  • Start with low-impact activities (walking, swimming, yoga, light resistance). 
  • Be very mindful of limitations. 
  • Flexibility is key – adapt to your mood and energy on any given day. Try not to be too hard on yourself when you train.
  • Set attainable and achievable small goals. 
  • Prioritize positive reinforcement. 
  • Open communication is crucial – regularly check in with support system.
  • Monitor for signs or distress. 
  • Never underestimate the value of eating healthy.

Cancer, tumor

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Stay familiar with side effects of cancer treatments. 
  • Strive for 150-300 minutes of moderate activity each week. 
  • Stretches 2x days per week; Resistance 2x days per week. 

Pregnacy

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Avoid prone positions, of course. 
  • Adjust weights accordingly. 
  • Alternate between more and less intense exercises each week. 
  • Consider aerobic/interval training. 
  • Ensure warmups and cooldowns.
  • Eat well and allow cravings. 
  • Stay cool, avoid overheating,and stress hydration. 
  • Maintain good posture. 
  • Keep workouts controlled and not too strenuous. 
  • Avoid holding breath– use of valsalva maneuvers. 

Coronary heart diseases, hypertension

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Start slow, progress gradually-short light exercises, gradually increasing duration and intensity. 
  • Prioritize low-impact, moderate intensity exercises. 
  • Monitor blood pressure throughout the session. 
  • Avoid overly-strenuous exercise that could significantly raise blood pressure beyond control. 
  • Emphasize breathing techniques to better manage blood pressure. 
  • Posture awareness – optimizes blood flow. 
  • Sieze the workout if any of the following occurs:
    • Unstable angina. 
    • Resting systolic blood pressure exceeds 180mmHg 
    • Any indication of chest pain or angina-like symptoms (ie. chest pain/pressure/squeezing, feeling faint, shortness of breath, weakness, sudden fatigue, spreading pain throughout upper body region). 
    • Any drops in systolic blood pressure falling below pre-exercise measurement (RHR) by more than 10mmHg during any increase in exercise intensity. 
    • Excessive elevations in blood pressure where SB exceeds 250 mmHG or DBP exceeds 115 mmHg. 
    • Visible signs of unusual or excessive fatigue, shortness of breath, or a wheezing type of breath that is not typical of intense exercise. 
    • Visible indications of poor blood supply to the head and face, often indicating light-headed or nausea, exhibiting pale skin or bluish coloration around the mouth or having cold and clammy skin. 
    • Evidence of increased uncoordinated movements, dizziness or confusion, or a sudden, temporary loss of consciousness; all of these are usually attributed to a lack of adequate oxygen supply to the brain. 
    • The presence of sharp leg pain or cramping that would generally disappear when exercise stops. 
    • Strong instinctual urge to stop.

Strokes, brain trauma, anerysm history

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?

Intermittent claudication/peripheral arterial disease

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?

Diabetes, hypoglycemia

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Hydration is important. 
  • Low-impact activities. 
  • Proper form. 
  • Blood sugar monitoring – before, during, and after workouts to ensure safe ranges. 
  • Utilize RPE monitoring. Basically rate how strenuous the exercise is on you.
  • Nutrition guidelines and meal timing around workouts. 

Scoliosis, osteoporosis

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Avoid exercises that put stress on the spine. 
  • Proper form is paramount. 
  • Avoid excessive bending, twisting, or compression of the spine. 
  • Start slowly and progress gradually. 
  • Activities that promote balance. 
  • Utilize weight-bearing aerobic activities – walking, jogging, cycling, stair stepping. 
  • High-velocity resistance training. 
  • Strength, balance, flexibility training. 
  • Strengthen core muscles without excessive movement or stress on the spine. 
  • Stretches and exercises that target the curvature of scoliosis (Schroth method). 
  • Focus on bodyweight exercises; pilates, yoga poses, light resistance without stress on the spine. 
  • Utilize breathing techniques. 
  • Consider a personal trainer to help closely monitor movements to ensure proper alignment throughout the session.

Asthma, smoking history, lung disease

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Awareness of exercise induced asthma(EIA): usually shows symptoms 5-15 minutes, up to 30 minutes after the end of gym sessions. Caused by loss of heat or water from the airways, especially in an environment where they are breathing on dry or cold air.
  • Hydration.
  • Have an inhale (full) prior to the start of workouts.  
  • Low-moderate intensity. 
  • Exercises that improve flexibility. 
  • Avoid exercises that focus mostly on the upper body such as machine full-bodyrowing. 
  • Gently advance in workout progressions if they feel they can. 
  • Extended warmups necessary- can take longer for their heart rate and breathing patterns to become more relaxed and controlled. 
  • Interval training – short bursts less than 2 minutes. 
  • If client shows up to gym wheezing or particularly suffering with allergies then they should avoid training for that day. 
  • Be especially alert with cold air; episodes can trigger in colder temperatures rather than warm temperatures. 
  • For smokers lungs- breathing techniques like pursed lip breathing and deep diaphragmatic breathing is necessary.
  • Low impact cardio; light resistance. 
  • Monitor RPE effort level via talk test. 
  • Listen to the body’s signal of fatigue/shortness of breath. 
  • Prioritize rest and recovery. 
  • Encourage regular stretching. 

Arthritis, senior

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Regularly incorporate a range of motion activities and reduce stiffness. 
  • Progress slowly. 
  • Understand that the first several weeks you will experience more pain, stiffness, and swelling in the process of increasing ROM, but by the third week you’ll feel better. 
  • Understand that regular activity/exercise helps reduce pain, which is why you shouldn’t avoid it. Exercise doesn’t make stiffness, flare-ups, or inflammation worse, it helps with it in the long run.
  • Focus on functional movement exercises. 
  • Emphasis on stability and mobility: start with lumbar spine, on to hips and thoracic spine, then on to distal extremities. Meaning prioritze core building exercises first, then exercises for strengthening hips (lower body resistance) and exercises for strengthening the thoracic region (chest, back, and shoulders) second, and last prioritze distal extremities like the neck, arms, and legs.
  • Limit exercise during flare-ups and inflammation. 
  • Stop the exercise session if the client is experiencing severe joint pain. 
  • Warmup/cooldown necessary for 5-10 minutes. 
  • Ergonomic clothing. 

Fractures, sprains, tears, surgery, or other injury history

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Review details of injury/surgery from a medical professional to understand the injury details; nature of injury 
  • Add assistive devices/techniques. 
  • Focus on corrective exercises. 
  • Consider circuit training for endurance. 
  • Warmups/cooldowns encouraged. 
  • Modify exercises to accommodate limitations. 
  • Pain management assessments through range of motion around area of injury/affected area. 
  • Gradual progression. 
  • Cardiovascular conditioning – something to maintain fitness levels. 
  • Strength training for muscles supporting injured areas to promote stability and healing. 
  • Flexibility stretches. 
  • Proprioceptive training (balance and coordination) to help retrain the nervous system. 

Paralysis, amputations

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Focus exercises you’re well capable of

Youth

  • MEDICAL CLEARANCE! Open communication with physcian doctor to discuss concerns or adjustments needed to the exercise programs. 
  • How are you feeling?
  • Focus on bodyweight exercises and avoid heavy weights. 
  • Don’t forget the fun!