Senior Fitness and Assessment

Senior Fitness
Your name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
Date of Submission
1 In your own words, define the term "assessment" as it is used in the fitness field. Include examples of the assessments you would use to help design a program for an older client. Explain why you chose those assessments and how you expect the results to affect program design.
In the fitness field, assessments are used to quantify the strengths and qualify the attributes of a client. The results of the evaluations are analyzed to have excellent exercise or training strategies that best fit the client. Here, all the variables present in the client are taken into consideration to optimize well-being without compromising health and safety. In older adults, the assessments that are necessary to help the trainer design an appropriate program include the two-minute step test, chair stand test, arm curl test, and up and go test.
The basis for choosing these tests is the client’s activities of daily living. Often, older adults are at a disadvantage when in the community setting due to decreased strength, balance, and flexibility. Hence, the focus of the program should be on these factors.
The two-minute step test is designed to measure the individual’s endurance (Bohannon & Crouch, 2019). Chair stand and arm curl tests measure the strength of lower and upper extremities, respectively (Jones, Riklui, & Beam, 1999; Dunsky, Ayalon, & Netz, 2011). Last, the up and go test is designed to quantify an individual’s balance, speed, and agility (Shumway-Cook et al., 2000). Generally, older adults score lower than in these tests. Hence, the results can be the basis for the adjustments of the program.
2 Use the Karvonen formula to calculate the target heart rate at 65% intensity for a 70-year-old client who has a resting heart rate of 80 beats per minute. Discuss why it is important to be able to accurately predict training and maximum heart rates for your clients.
Karvonen Formula= [(MHR-RHR) x 65%] + RHR
= [(150-80) x 65%] + 80
= 125.5 or 126 bpm
Predicting the maximum heart rates of clients, especially of the elderly, is essential in training since intense exercises may cause mortalities secondary to exhaustion, possible cardiac arrest, fatigue, or sudden stroke. Moreover, this is also essential in judging whether the client is underperforming or overperforming. The maximum heart rate serves as a guide if the client is experiencing an adequate challenge that stimulates his aerobic capacity. When the heart rate does not increase, the workout is less challenging. However, when the heart rate increases up to almost the maximum, then the training program is overwhelming and it may deplete all the energy of the client (Nikolaidis et al, 2018).
1 In your own words, describe how and when you would use the Borg RPE scale. Describe training situations where using RPE values would be more appropriate than a predicted maximum heart rate.
The Borg RPE scale is intended to reflect the self-perception of the clients on the difficulty of the work. It should be used during training sessions to guide the trainer or physical therapist on how to progress or increase the intensity of the exercises. To use the ...