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The scope of practice for personal trainers is to enhance the components of fitness for the general, healthy population. The basic components of fitness include muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Other components such as speed, power, balance, etc. may also be addressed. The general population are those people from 18–45 years old for men, and 18–55 years old for women. The definition of health is this sense is an absence of disease. If someone is outside the scope of practice (younger, older, has a disease) they should be referred to a doctor before they work with a trainer.The emphasis on personal training should come from the personal trainer's understanding of what works best for their client and an understanding of human movement. It is not just about pushing someone hard, but more about working out at an effective level to achieve their goals. A few people need only one session to get them on the right track, ensure their program is balanced, and answer their questions. Others prefer to work with a trainer for several months to get in the habit of exercise and to see actual results. And still others who can afford the price prefer to work with a trainer indefinitely because they feel that they will get better results and have more fun working with a trainer then working alone.
Personal training is fast moving away from the image of having a personal trainer stand next to the athlete shouting at him/her to work faster/harder, without consideration of the wealth of variables that can be tweaked to ensure quick results. There are many personal trainers who offer their clients a range of services from exercise testing to postural exercises to helping with habitual behavior change.
The average personal trainer should only work with so called "healthy populations". While this line is not distinct, it is certainly the case that no personal trainer that is not accredited by NCCA should be working with certain populations. Some higher-level certifications, such as ACSM Health and Fitness Instructor, are able to deal with certain diseases, but it is always best to consult your doctor. Exercise Physiologists are legitimately able to deal with individuals with chronic and complex diseases.
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