Many of you are probably wondering what exactly is a Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer? After deep reflection, here is my best answer to describe what I am and what Holistic Personal Trainers are all about.
A Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer is very different from the traditional babysitting, rep counting personal trainer that we have all seen at the local health clubs. The Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer understands all the kinesiology and program design curriculum that the traditional personal trainer knows. However, the Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer digs much deeper into the science of internal medicine by looking at the functional, biochemical and corrective deficiencies that an individual may have. The Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer explores the cause and effect of discovered musculoskeletal disorders, and/or health related issues by following the root cause of the symptom. In other words, looking at the medical history and chain of events leading up to the current problem. The majority of Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainers that I have known, including myself, come from medical backgrounds, such as Physical Therapists,Occupational Therapists, Osteopaths, Dentists, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners or Registered Dietitians. Training to become a Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer is long and arduous and must be mentored by a Master HLC who has applied Holistic Lifestyle Coaching successfully on numerous clients. Unlike the standard personal trainer, some Holistic Lifestyle Coaching Programs take 5 years and thousands of hours of studying to complete.
A CHEK Institute Holistic Lifestyle Coach follows and applies 6 foundation principles to heal and balance out the human body. These foundation principles are:
- Hydration –
- Sleep –
- Nutrition –
- Breathing –
- Thinking –
- Movement –
A Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer is better equipped to handle complex clients and their intricate health issues with high tech assessment and interventions. By not delving inside the human organ systems, you cannot effectively heal and rebuild the human body. The human body is very complex and requires substantially more intervention than simply telling someone to workout at a gym three days a week, and eat a high protein diet. This one shoe fits all mentality is a recipe for failure and disappointment.
As most of us are aware, STRESS is a big contributor to a host of debilitating health conditions worldwide. These health stressors are all verifiable by numerous peer reviewed research studies. The basic list of secondary health issues due to stress include, psychic issues, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, cardiopathy, digestive disorders and musculoskeletal disorders. Each and everyone of these medical maladies are often mismanaged with pharmaceuticals, which in turn leads to secondary health issues. The Holistic Health Personal Trainer approaches the health problems differently. They begin working with the client to identify what in particular is contributing or adding to their stress funnels. Is it sleep deprivation stress? Chemical stress; electromagnetic frequencies (EMF); perhaps nutritional stress deficiencies affecting the gut microbiome? Is there a Psychic/Emotional stress that is leading to anxiety, depression and a secondary spinal cord dysfunction?
The Holistic Health Personal Trainer is also a trained Life Coach. Communication and the ability to progress the individual in a timely manner is important. The Trans-theoretical Model of behavior change is the Holistic Health Personal Trainers approach to psychological barriers. Since stress has such a big impact on peoples physical and emotional health, the health and fitness professional must render a laser focused solution that works!
The application of musculoskeletal conditioning programs on individuals who are dealing with underlying body stressors is unacceptable. This is the approach of the traditional personal trainer. See my post about Scottsdale Personal Trainers
The individual must be taught to “Work In” before “Working Out” can be of any benefit. “Working Out” activates the sympathetic nervous system, and summons the steroid hormone glucocorticoid. This hormone further stresses the body to the state of catabolism. By addressing only the musculoskeletal conditioning aspect of health, a chemical stressor when added to the exisiting stress funnel, only exacerbates the current health condition. Conversely, “Working In” activates the autonomic nervous system which down regulates catabolic stress hormones and promotes healing. A good example of “Working In” are certain forms of Yoga which promotes inner and outer health.
The human body is very complex. Our culture has been brainwashed to believe that diet and exercise is the solution to perfect health. This is furthest from the truth. There are so many other factors that are interconnected to the success of diet and exercise. These factors dictate how the body will respond to a given new stimulus and if it will be productive or destructive. Science has given us a new insight to the human body and how the Exposome around us truly dictates the future of our health. Without a clear strategy to heal the human body as a whole, the chances of success are greatly limited. I hope my lengthy description of what a Holistic Lifestyle Personal Trainer has opened your eyes to the modern way of managing your health and wellness.
About the Author: Rivak Hoffman is the owner of Every Bit Fit Arizona. He is a Licensed CHEK Exercise Coach/Practitioner and CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach. He has successfully designed and implemented hundreds of fitness and nutritional programs for clients since 1999. For greater detail or to submit an detailed inquiry, please visit Every Bit Fit AZ website. Rivak provides first class service to residents of Scottsdale, Phoenix and Mesa Arizona.
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