The following is an assessment for a client scenario that was described before writing. The way I would apply these holistic approaches to a diverse population, is through continuous testing. Being able to assess our clients before and during a workout regimen can be used diversely between all demographics. Taking “Whole-istic” approaches to almost every client can make it easier for them to become “Whole”, and obtain a great sense of self-love and admiration.
Self-Assessment
In today’s exercise world, we have several different assessments that can determine a person physical ability, and what they need to work on the most. Of course, most practitioners want to complete these assessments with their clients at the beginning, and throughout the duration of their progress. They can determine if what they are doing is moving them into progression through their workouts. Some of the assessments that are out there are the Rockport Walk Test, Pushup Test, Sit and Reach Test, Body Mass Index (B.M.I.), and the Waist to Hip Ratio. These are the assessments that we are going to focus on, between my own testing, and what I evaluated for my client, Jennifer.
I do not have any limitations in completing these assessments, which turned out to be a fun activity. With that being said, there wasn’t any modifications I had to make for myself, but with the sit and reach test, I just used a tape measurer and a toolbox which made it seem to be accurate enough. Not having the actual test box for this sort of thing made it hard to accomplish accurately. With the Rockport test, I just walked half a mile from my house, and turned around to complete the full mile. I have a smart watch that was able to track my distance and heartrate throughout the duration of the test.
The Rockport Walk Test is a test that is conducted by the person walking at a brisk walk pace as fast as possible without jogging. This test is administered to determine cardiovascular fitness which is aimed at determining your VO2 Max. According to Wendy Bumgardner, your VO2 Max is that amount of oxygen your body can process during a workout, measured in milliliters per kilograms per minute (ml, kg, min) (Bumgardner, 2020). The pushup test is evaluated for cardiovascular strength as well, with showing how many pushups the client can do without pausing (exrx.net, 2020).The Sit and Reach Test is done by sitting the client on the ground in front of a box with legs outstretched. With 15” hanging off the box towards the client’s chest, while parallel with their legs. They need to overlap their hands and with a straight back, reach as far as they can towards the box while evaluating the distance they cover in that short jolt with the best out of three attempts (exrx.net, 2020). This is done to establish a person’s flexibility at the beginning of their regiments, and throughout them as well. Body Mass Index takes the individuals age, height, and weight to establish their body mass. This is done through a calculation of the three to see if the person is at a certain level in weight, whether overweight, underweight, or average. With the final assessment, the Waist to Hip Ratio is done by measuring around the smallest part of the waist, as well as the biggest part of the hip area. Figuring the difference between the two, while hoping the be the closest to a solid One ratio. This helps determine a person’s risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes (exrx.net, 2020).
My physical testing was all average or above average. Though I haven’t done a set of pushups like this in a while, it surprised me with the amount that I did until pausing. On the Rockport Walk Test I walked the mile in 15:05 burning 73 calories and finishing with a heart rate of 103 BPM. My population average was 44.3 and I scored a 74 with an overall good rating. Like I said, the pushup test caught me off guard since I used to be able to do 77 pushups in two minutes. I was only able to complete 36 reps until I took a slight pause, as well as a 33-population average and an average rating. The sit and reach test is something I have always been proficient at. I was able to press 21.5 inches with a 15.25 population average and a score of 87 that put me in the excellent bracket. With being a long-time combats sports individual, I need to remain as flexible as possible. My BMI has always said I was overweight, ever since I was young. Being 6-foot 2-inches tall and 197 pounds now I scored a 25.3 BMI with the population average being 25.9, whilst being overweight. On the waist to hip ratio I scored a 0.886666 [repeated] and my population average was 0.89. I was set at a moderate risk for coronary heart disease and diabetes, which is a good thing.
Overall, I was satisfied with my scores, all besides the pushup test. As I stated earlier, I used to be able to do 77 pushups in my boot camp assessment that I used to conduct. In my defense, throughout that whole boot camp experience I was doing nothing but body weight workouts. Now that I am doing more heavier lifting on bench press, I feel as though my muscle endurance has diminished. I want to be able to get back to that muscle endurance I used to have, instead of being as big as I am. This is something that I have already been working on, since you can’t really be a big bulky boxer, because the sport calls for more endurance. The Rockport test is something I like to assess with my clients at the beginning of their regiment, and every month their after, especially if we are focusing on losing weight.
Client-Assessment
With Jennifer being a single mom, it seems as though she is really self-less, which isn’t a bad attribute by any means. Taking care of three boys would be a handful on a daily basis for sure, but I am sure that they have a lot of pent up energy that could be released. She does state that she takes the boys to their daily activities, but without specifying what those activities are, it is hard to say if they are reaching their 60 minutes a day of physical activity that is recommended. On her fitness tests, I don’t see any modalities that she would have had to do since her doctor cleared her for exercise due to the regulatory taking of her blood pressure medication. Even though her doctor cleared her, she would still need to take caution when getting her heart rate to an elevated state.
With the tests that she performed, they all vary in participation and the reason for them being done. The Aerobic test she did for running for 12 minutes as fast as possible, is used to see how much distance she can cover in that time. This is to assess her VO2 Max, and how well her aerobic ability is while putting her cardiorespiratory system to the test. The YMCA Bench Press Test is conducted through bench pressing 35 pounds to the rhythm of a metronome. Once the individual breaks the rhythm, they document how many repetitions the person performed. This tests muscle strength and muscular endurance (exrx.net, 2020). The half sit up test is performed by placing the individual on their back with arms laying down to the side and knees bent up in a 90-degree angle. Two pieces of tape are placed at the fingertips, and another one 12 cm. away from that one. They set a metronome to 40 beats per minute and after the first beep, the client performs as many sit-ups in that fashion as possible, then they document that. It is used to evaluate core strength and endurance (exrx.net, 2020). The sit and reach assessment was just like the one that I performed with legs laid out in front, with a box that has 15’’ hanging off towards the client. With hands on top of one another, they reach as far as they can with the best out of three tries. This is used to evaluate flexibility.
With her body composition being 5 foot, 6 inches tall at 175 pounds her BMI rating is 28.3 with a population average being 24.9. This does put her in the overweight classification. On the 12-minute run test, she ran 1.1 miles in the 12 minutes, and she scored a 17 with the population average of 33.3850 [repeated] giving her a fair rating. Her VO2 Max was 28.280525 and METS rating was 8.0801558. She did 12 repetitions on the YMCA Bench Press Test yielded a score of 27, which is a population average of 19 and a fair rating. On the YMCA half sit-up test she did 31 repetitions which gave her best rating yet at an average rating, a score of 45 and a population average of 33. Finally, with the sit and reach test, her best trial was 13 inches giving her a fair rating, a score of 21, and a population average of 17.45 (exrx.net, 2020).
Her scores weren’t the best, especially from someone that is overweight and is sitting in front of a desk 8 hours of the day. I would recommend that she sacrifice a little bit of sleep in the mornings to go for her walks, even if it is for 30 minutes, it will start her metabolic rate at a higher level throughout the day, helping her lose weight. She also could incorporate her boys into it in the evenings as well. Getting out and playing with them in the yard or going for walks will be beneficial for all of them. I am assuming that the boys can participate in some sort of physical education class in school, so they can reach more physical activity time. Even participating in some yoga classes can enhance her flexibility and clear her head of stress. Being able to take time for herself from time to time would be a great stress reliever, which in turn would help lower her blood pressure.
I am a huge advocate of physical activity, and I attempt to get everyone around me to be a little bit more physically active. I have influenced many people across my personal life, business life, and even my fellow church goers. I love being able to help people reach their health, fitness, and personal goals which may take some time, but I am able to reassure them that taking at least one step towards that direction can help them in the long run. Peer motivating my clients and family members helps drive them to a point of being able to self-motivate themselves on a weekly basis. That is my main goal in life now, is to be able to help as many people as I can through physical activity, education on nutrition, and just being a well-rounded good role model to everyone.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Exercise Prescription on the Internet (2020). Fitness Testing Calculators. Retrieved from: https://www.exrx.net/Calculators/
Bumgardner, Wendy. (Jan. 4, 2020). Rockport 1-Mile Fitness Walking Test Calculator: Self-Administered Test to Measure Your Fitness Level. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellfit.com/rockport-fitness-walking-test-calculator-3952696#:~:text=The%20Rockport%20walking%20test%20is,ml%2Fkg%2Fmin).
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