What is a Fitness Evaluation?
Article written by Cassandra Govan
Govan Fitness & Training
November 5, 2008
What is a Fitness Evaluation?
Govan Fitness & Training (Govan Fitness) has posted a new video at www.govanfitness.com , Try Before You Buy (TBYB) that encourages prospective customers to review a fitness evaluation prior to trying or committing to a fitness program at their facility.
In the video, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Govan Fitness, Kevin, takes prospective customers through a face to face written and physical fitness evaluation. The video addresses, in simulated format, everything that a customer should experience when obtaining a personal trainer, specifically at Govan Fitness.
The purpose of an evaluation is not to "push you to purchase services", instead it should educate you on the current status of your health and offer you solutions for improvement if necessary. At your evaluation appointment, personal information will be collected such as your name, address, and age, areas of concerns, goals, health history, current/past medications and other applicable information. The evaluation allows Govan Fitness to acknowledge whether or not you should begin a program without seeking authorization from your medical practitioner in order to prevent further illnesses, injuries or even death. At the completion of the fitness evaluation, your signature is required in order to document that the
information discussed with you is true and correct.
There are a series of questionnaires and tests involved in the evaluation process as well. Some of the questions asked will be about fruit and vegetable intake, issues eating excessively, healthy protein consumption, and healthy ways to manage weight. This consultation will provide Govan Fitness with an in depth understanding of your habits and allow them to make suggestions on improving your health positively.
The reality is that nutrition, which includes what and how you eat and supplementation, combined with proper rest, results in 80% of your gains or losses so do not take this portion of the consultation lightly. Truth is that being dishonest during your consultation will only hurt you and our job is to promote change for the better.
After consenting to continued evaluations or training, the customer begins their physical fitness examination by first having their Resting Heart Rate calculated. Normally this test should be performed as soon as one awakes as it's a fair indicator of cardiovascular health; however, results may vary depending on living habits and a number of other factors such as quality of sleep, stress level and eating habits.
Weight, another test taken by a scale, can not determine if the weight managed, gained, or lost is contributed to losing body fat or building and developing muscle ; therefore, this is a component of testing to be kept in your file and referred back to during reassessments
One set of testing all trainers should use is girth also known as measurement particularly of your bicep, abdomen and thigh. It's best to take these measurements on bare skin so they are more accurate; however, if you're uncomfortable with being measured on your bare skin, feel free to keep these areas covered and your trainer will adjust the measurement results accordingly. Unlike weight, measurements are recorded more often but they are a "sure-tell" sign of how you're doing in your training program.
In addition to girth, calculations of your body fat percentage, using a caliper, are key to identifying chances of cardiovascular disease, preventing or decreasing obesity, toning muscles, managing weight, and achieving other goals. By pinching the tricep, abdomen and thigh for women OR chest, abdomen, and thigh for men, the caliper can measure how much of your body weight accounts for fat. Normally, three readings from one area should be taken and the trainer will keep the average measurement for each site.
After girth and body fat percentages are calculated, the evaluation process ends with the 3 minute step test which assesses your cardiovascular recovery capability. Our trainers will monitor you closely during this test and will check you often for balance issues, fatigue, red face or shortness of breath. Five to ten seconds after completion of the step test, you will be asked to sit down and your heart rate will be taken for 1 minute to determine how quickly it reverts back to its resting heart rate. The higher your heart rate is immediately following the test, the more likely it is that you are putting yourself at risk to serious cardiovascular failure or disease.
At the conclusion of the physical fitness evaluation, all results are tallied and input in a computer system and printouts of the findings are provided to you for your convenience and review. If the evaluation pleases your taste buds, you'll love the programs we offer. For questions regarding this article send an email to tbyb@govanfitness.com.
Cassandra Govan writes fitness articles for Govan Fitness & Training
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
