Breaking barriers to exercise - My client experiecne

Did you know an alarming 27% of the UK population are meeting the physical activity recommendations? This inactivity is becoming an increasing problem and affecting the longevity of people’s lives whilst also rising the prevalence of chronic diseases (NICE,2014). Exercise has been suggested to be a power tool to reduce and prevent chronic diseases. Exercise referral schemes have been developed to reduce sedentary behaviors and improve the health of individuals with medical conditions, however numerous research has reviewed that adherence levels to the exercise referral schemes are dropping and drastically need to be reversed (Pavey, Taylor, Fox, 2011).

Solent University we hold an Exercise referral clinic for those patients in need of a kick start to improve their health and overcome any barriers they may have. The scheme duration is 12 weeks, for each client we devise a personalized exercise programme tailored to suit their needs.  My client was a 52-year-old female, she had been diagnosed with obesity, diabetes type 2, depression and asthma. At first it seemed like it was going to be really challenging to help her, to be honest I was extremely nervous about training a client with lots of serious medical conditions, but I knew being thrown in at the deep end is the best way to learn. Research states that diabetes type 2 and obese patients usually show numerous barriers to exercise including, lack of time, physical pain and being overweight (Egan, Mahwood, Fenton, et al., 2013). A 1 to 1 consultation with the client allowed me to find out a little bit more as her as an individual what she liked what she didn’t liked and most importantly how I was going to help her change her current sedentary behaviors. The major barrier to exercise she had was her weight, at 108kg even daily tasks such as stairs, picking things up were even difficult I could tell that this was the leading factor making her depressed. We began by setting some achievable goals, the first was to find a type of exercise that she enjoys and secondly to learn some basic exercises that she can do at home. A few weeks in to the programme and I realized gym based exercise wasn’t working for my client, we changed sessions to an upbeat aerobics/circuit style session with her daughter. Exercise type can have a big impact on a person’s adherence to physical activity it must be enjoyable and maintainable (Morgan, Battersby, Weightman , 2016). Also having the company of her daughter also made her feel much more confident and comfortable and she would be less likely to miss a session because she wouldn’t want to let her daughter down. The 12 week programme flew by lots of progress was made including a decrease in her blood pressure, decrease in body fat and most importantly improved mental well-being. These 12 weeks was only the beginning of her journey but it shows how exercise referral schemes can be effective at helping individuals with medical conditions make that first step back to a healthy lifestyle.

Are you struggling to get out of your sedentary lifestyle here’s some tips 

1. Talk with your doctor – With and medical / chronic condition ensure you talk to your doctor before starting any kind of exercise to make sure your fit to exercise and additionally to determine exercise intensities you can work at and what types of exercise would suit you. Personal trainers are helpful in these situations as they will be aware of your condition and can create personalized programmes according. 

2. Choose activities you enjoy? – Whether it be swimming, yoga, gym training or tennis pick something that you enjoy and will stick to. Having an exercise buddy will also make training a lot more fun and having someone else there will definitely boost your confidence. 

3. Start slowly and build up – Don’t go full on, start slowly, learn the basics first. Get a fitness professional to give you a gym induction so you know how to use the equipment safely and properly. Most exercise referral schemes will send you to a personal trainer to create you a personalized programme to suit your needs. 

​References NICE, 2014, [Physical activity: exercise referral schemes viewed on 28/03/18], available from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph54This Pavey, Taylor, Hillsdon, Fox, Campbell, Foster, Moxham, Mutrie, Searle, Taylor, 2012, Levels and predictors of exercise referral scheme uptake and adherence: a systematic review, Journal of Epidemiology and community health, Volume 66, issue 8 Egan, Mahwood, Fenton, et al., 2013, Barriers to exercise in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, A international Journal of Medicine, Volume 106, Issue 7, pp.635-638  Morgan, Battersby, Weightman, Searchfield, Turley, Morgan, Jagroo, Ellis, 2016, Adherence to exercise referral schemes by participants – what do providers and commissioners need to know? A systematic review of barriers and facilitators, BMC public health, 16:227