United States Sports Academy
America's Sports University^®

An exercise prescription is a key component to a client/athlete’s success. A trainer’s ability to create a program and systematically update that program can be simplified prior to the commencement of an activity by meeting client/athletes to become fully aware of their situations, personal goals, limitations, time frame, and starting base-line of fitness and health. With this information, the trainer can prescribe a program that addresses client/athletes’ needs, improves their abilities, motivates them, and creates a fun atmosphere.

Progressive resistance training dates back to ancient Greece. Legend states that wrestler Milo of Croton trained by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until it was fully grown. Resistance training involves the use of elastic resistance rather than gravity, whereas weight training provides the majority of the resistance at the beginning. Elastic resistance provides the greatest resistance at the end of the motion, when the elastic element is stretched to its fullest capacity (Todd, 1995).

Strength training is not a modern invention. Egyptian tombs show pictures of lifting bags filled with sand and stone swinging and throwing exercises. These types of things were also popular in early Germany, Scotland, and Spain. Weightlifting competitions date back to the early Greek civilization. These events led to the origination of games that later became known as the modern Olympics. The pioneers of these events did not have the sophisticated equipment that we have today or the research on training and physiology to back up the exercises, but they did have the most important thing — the desire to lift something heavy for fun, sport, and physical health.

Exercise is a critical component in managing diabetes. Aerobic exercise can decrease the requirements of insulin and increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Exercise can also help to attain and maintain ideal body weight and decrease the risk for hypertensive diseases, including cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease, while slowing the progression of diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage).

Introduction

We have found that the critical weakness with training and nutrition programs today is that everyone is treated as though they were all exactly the same, which quite simply is an oversimplification of complex physiological processes. At any given point in time, two powerful forces intersect to determine who we are and shape our individual differences: our genetics (DNA) and lifestyle. Appreciating the impact these forces have in creating those individual differences will help empower you to build a high performance-fitness lifestyle

As a result of staggering rise in medical costs, many organizations, are beginning to realize that keeping employees healthy costs less than treating them once they are sick. Pro-active thinking companies are finding that an investment in their employees’ health may translate into substantial dividends to their bottom line.