“MEASURING fitness isn’t just about ripped abs, carrying heavy weights or length or speed of an individual’s running time,” said Jerry Diaz, a certified National Academy of Sports Medicine personal trainer.
He said an individual must determine one’s fitness level and match it with a set of exercises that can enhance the individual’s all-around performance.
“Prior to providing fitness programming to individual clients, it is important to review the person’s health record and assess his or her physical fitness to determine the right level of exercise, its intensity and load,” Diaz said.
He checks the individual’s heart rate, strength, endurance, conditioning, flexibility and range of motion.
Diaz then comes up with an appropriate workout approach for the individual.
He said an individual must also know their fitness goal. This will help determine the type of exercises that can match their current fitness level.
The individual, for example, must find out if he or she can run a mile or perform proper push-ups, Diaz said.
The individual can progressively increase the intensity of their training difficulty, but the wrong intensity can lead to unnecessary injury, he added.
As an individual masters different levels of exercise, which include being aware of the proper posture while performing lifting movements and increasing flexibility to enhance bodyweight movements, then they will be ready for new exercises that are more intense, Diaz said.
For professional fitness inquiries, contact Jerry Diaz through Instagram at @BBJ_Athletics or Facebook.
Dr. Maria Hy performs a dynamic core exercise at BBJ Athletics Studio.
