Howdy Crew. I’m going to be honest, I’m a bit fired up about today’s post. I’ve mentioned quite often my frustration that there are no formal oversight procedures on personal trainers in the United States. For those of us practicing who take safety seriously, though, our training has failed us in another way.
Let me elaborate. Human physiology is quite complex and before you can even get to all the changes the body undergoes during exercise, it is important to have a good grasp on the starting point. Then, throw in that different types of exercise (i.e. cardiovascular training vs strength training) have a different effect on baseline physiological function and of course personal training courses need to condense info. Even in cases like mine where the trainer has a four year degree or has worked through a fair number of continuing education courses, we often don’t get a full picture unless we search it out.
I’m talking about special populations. Special populations are those whose physiology, or internal metabolic processes, work differently than the base population. The base population is the group of people that are most often used in scientific studies. If a given population isn’t in the scientific test groups in large enough numbers then the findings can’t always be generalized.
In exercise related research the base population are biological males, aged 18-50. Any woman who has been to a doctor in her life isn’t surprised by this info as we fight to have our conditions properly diagnosed or our pain acknowledged. Our physiology is different. Thanks estrogen.
At the end of the day, we metabolize fuel (carbohydrates vs. fats) differently than males. Females switch over to fat quicker as a general rule. Our relatively lower levels of testosterone also means we build muscle at much different rates. This is me putting that misconception of getting bulky from strength training to rest for good. If you see a woman with some rocking biceps, it is not from dabbling in weight lifting. It’s on purpose and a result of a lot of hard work. On the other hand, our higher levels of estrogen (at least until menopause) help us recover faster.
Fifty isn’t exactly old age. In fact, it’s firmly middle aged by most metrics. However, the body ages quickly from a physiological perspective. I mean, most of us are at our peak flexibility at 20. But after 50, we don’t break down carbohydrates and glucose as efficiently as in our younger years. It’s also probably not a surprise that we aren’t our quickest at this point in our lives either.
It’s also important to note that under eighteens, and especially young kids, function quite differently, too. A child’s body’s main job is to grow. They prefer to burn carbohydrates for fuel and are built to go hard for short bursts of activity, recover, and go again. Strength training requires a solid ability to map movement which young brains are still learning to do.
These are the physiological differences that science has begun to understand in the last 30 years. This doesn’t even touch the differences in trans individuals or anyone who is dealing with a chronic condition. Diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, arthritis, and multiple schlerosis are all chronic conditions, but each of these will affect the body’s internal processes and ability to recover very differently.
And, back to my original point: trainers aren’t taught this unless we seek it out. The majority of our training is based on the science of 18-50 year old males. In fact, during my six years in school (4 years of undergraduate and 2 years in grad school), I took one course on special populations. And it was an elective.
The same thing happens with continuing education. Course after course will review this info and gloss over the fact that females may have slightly different muscle attachment sites or kids may experience may soreness during growth phases. If you want to learn about different populations, you have to choose to do so.
These gaps result in trainers who may not have the knowledge or skills to work with clients. And industry data indicates that women and individuals with special medical needs are more likely to seek out personal trainers. In other words, there are a large number of underqualified trainers working with populations that may need special care and attention.
This is truly part of the purpose behind the guides I am working to publish throughout the course of this year. As I have worked over the last two decades, I have purposefully sought out some of this training and I want to share it with other trainers and exercisers alike. Exercise can be one of the most powerful tools for health and everyone should have access to the information they need to participate safely.
If you have questions, feel free to reach out any time! Until next time, move well friends!
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