Sonja Silva

HES 332f- Weight Training

Exercise Program Design Project

November 28, 2014

I) Description of Individual

a) Name: Henrietta Fisher

b) Age: 75

c) Conditions: Sarcopenia, Lower Back Pain, Underweight

d) Motivation Level: High

e) Prior Experience: The client has no resistance training experience, but reports light

exercises such as walking, stretching, and various household activities.

f) Brief Medical History: The client has been generally in good health, but has frequent

aches and pains in joints. She has poor balance and has been admitted to a hospital

once for falling.

II) Goals

A) Long-term: Improve bone and muscle density related to sarcopenia and improve

balance.

B) Short-term: Meet desired intensity and repetitions for the exercises included in this

program.

III) Program Design

a) Description: This program is designed to use resistance training to improve overall

balance, joint and muscle strength. It will focus on specific muscle groups (Legs,

Back/Core, and Arms). There will be three main exercises for each muscle group, and at

least one of the exercises will focus on balance in that muscle group. The client will be

tested on the ability to perform repetitions, hold weight bearing positions and positions

that require balance. Exercises will be low impact, since the client is elderly and has

weak joints.

b) Cycles: The client will go through a cycle starting with a warm up that will include light

cardio exercise such as a five minute jog or fast walk, then she will progress to lower

body exercise (Squats, Lunges, Bosu Ball calf raises). Then we will focus on the lower

back and core areas with Planks, Superman, and Exercise Ball Twists. Then we will move

to arm exercises including Bench, Curls, and Dumbbell Lifts increasing in repetition and

intensity as we progress by month.

c) Legs:

Squats- start with ten reps, using a bar with weight set to where the client can easily do

ten reps, two sets

Lunges- ten reps, two sets

Calf Raises on Bosu Ball- ten reps, two sets

i) Rationalization: These exercises will reach all of the desired muscle groups in the

legs, starting with a weight that the client can handle.

Back/Core:

Planks- front plank and both side planks, hold for thirty seconds each to start (increase

by five seconds per month)

Superman- hold for twenty seconds, two sets (increase by five seconds per month)

Exercise Ball Twists- touch down each side ten times (increase by five times per month

until plateau)

i) Rationalization: These exercises will strengthen the lower back and core while

working on balance.

Arms:

Bench- eight reps starting with amount of weight that client can lift eight times with

little difficulty

Curls- ten reps on each arm, starting with weight that client can lift with little difficulty

Saggital Dumbbell Lifts- ten reps per arm, using same weight as curls

(two sets)

i) Rationalization: These exercises will work the chest, biceps, and triceps,

strengthening the upper body muscles.

d) Assessments:

Before- The client will be tested on the initial number of squats and lunges, along with

the amount of time she can balance on a bosu ball with heals slightly raised. We will also

test the amount of repetitions she can do of each arm exercise.

During- The client will be tested on all things listed above as we progress. The bar will be

raised higher each month until plateau.

After- The final test will be to see how many repetitions of each exercise can be done.

e) Progression: Starting with leg exercises, the client will do fewer reps and more sets. As

the months progress, the client will be pushed to do more repetitions and fewer sets to

save time. With core exercises the client will be asked to hold five seconds longer per

month, progressively doing fewer sets as the holds become longer. With arm exercises

the repetitions will increase every week until plateau. The weight will increase every

month according to the client’s ability.

f) Example 1-day Work Out (include one exercise, proper form, plane of motion, muscle):

A routine workout for Henrietta starts with a warm-up cardio exercise. Today, she chose

to jog for five minutes. We transitioned from jogging into ten walking lunges. Lunges are

done standing upright, taking a step forward and lowering the body until the back knee

is just above the ground. This is along the saggitall plane and works the quadriceps,

glutes and hamstrings. We then moved to a squat station. Henrietta started with a 30

pound bar for squats and did ten of them. We then transitioned to the bosu ball. She

stood on the ball and did ten calf raises, using me as support when needed. We

repeated each exercise once more. We then moved to core exercises. We started with a

front plank for thirty seconds. We then did a 30 second plank for each side plank.

Henrietta then held the superman position for two repetitions of 30 second holds. Using

the exercise ball, she touched the ground ten times on each side for the exercise ball

twists. Moving to upper body, we started with eight reps on the bench press with 30

pounds. We then moved to curls and she did ten curls per arm with an eight pound

weight. Then we did ten dumbbell lifts with each arm. We repeated all the upper body

exercise once more. At the end we did a short stretch of all the muscle groups involved.

g) This program is designed toward strength building of the individual to improve balance

and strengthen joints to reduce pain and muscle wasting. Weight bearing exercise is

important for this, and with low impact, is appropriate for this individual.

4) Plan to improve or maintain motivation: Motivation can be spurred by periodic tests in balance and

endurance. The client will be self- rewarded when she reaches a goal of repetitions for certain exercises

or can hold a position longer than before. At the end of the program, the client will receive a certificate

stating accomplishments such as amount of repetitions or time held doing a certain activity listed on the

certificate. This will encourage the client to shoot for the best of their abilities.

References

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