Design an Exercise Program for a Special Population

For the Final Project in this course, you will act as a Certified Fitness Specialist who will design an exercise program for a special population of your choice. You must choose one of the special populations discussed in the course text. Review the Required Resources for Week Five prior to completing this assignment. (Assume your client has been cleared by his or her physician to participate in an exercise program; therefore, you do not need to complete a preparticipation health screening for the individual).

Part I

Create your client for this assignment, providing demographic information (i.e., gender, age, height, weight, and health history).
Identify the compromising condition of your special population.
Compare and contrast the compromising condition of the human body in your special population to those without this compromising condition. (For example, compare and contrast the function of the human body in an individual who has arthritis compared to someone who does not). Why does this condition make the individual compromised in regards to physical activity/exercise?
Explain the chronic physiological and psychological benefits of exercise specific to your special population and health condition.

Part II

Choose a cardiovascular health-related physical fitness test described in the text that you would use to assess the beginning fitness level of your client. Pretend to complete the fitness test on the individual and provide results from the test to use as a baseline to create the individualized exercise program.
Design an individualized cardiovascular fitness program for your client using the FITT-VP principles. Clearly define intensity levels by the MET level method, Heart Rate Reserve (HRR), or Rating of Perceived Exertion.
Integrate basic nutrition guidelines that your special population should follow along with his or her exercise regimen (i.e., daily caloric intake, fat intake).
Develop a chart to show the progression of the exercise program for the initial week and two additional weeks to demonstrate how you would progress the client. (Progression is not necessary in each of the FITT principles. Some clients, especially special population groups, may only be able to increase their frequency or time in the first few weeks before improving their intensity).

You may Utilise the following resources:

Required Resources
Text

American College of Sports Medicine. (2018). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (10th ed.). Retrieved from https://redshelf.com/

Chapter 6: General Principles of Exercise Prescription
Chapter 7: Exercise Prescriptions for Healthy Populations
Chapter 9: Exercise Prescription for Patients with Cardiac, Peripheral, Cerebrovascular, and Pulmonary Diseases.
Chapter 10: Exercise Prescription for Individuals with CVD Risk Factors.
Chapter 11: Exercise Testing and Prescriptions for populations with Other Chronic Diseases and Health Conditions
Websites

Centres of Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Perceived exertion (Borg rating of perceived exertion scale)
(Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/exertion.htm

This website provides a description on what a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale is and how to use it to determine exercise intensity. A sample RPE scale is provided.
Accessibility Statement
(Links to an external site.)

Privacy Policy
(Links to an external site.)

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2015). Dietary guidelines
(Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/

(Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/

This website provides information about dietary recommendations for Americans. It provides tips and resources, such as recipes, for the general public so that a healthy lifestyle can be achieved.
Accessibility Statement
(Links to an external site.)

Privacy Policy
Article

Edwards, M. (2014, Nov. 21). Working with special populations
(Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from https://www.acefitness.org/blog/5177/working-with-special-populations

This article reviews some of the special considerations of working with clients with special needs such as those who may have a chronic disease. This website also discusses that modifications to exercise programs may be necessary to meet the special needs of the client.
Website

American Physical Therapy Association. (2015). Physical fitness for special populations: Suggested readings
(Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from http://www.apta.org/PFSP/SuggestedReadings/

This website provides a list of articles on working with special populations including diabetics, obese patients, and metabolic syndrome.
Supplemental Materials

American College of Sports Medicine. (2010). ACSM’s certified news
(Links to an external site.)
, 20(1). Retrieved from http://certification.acsm.org/files/file/ACSM_CNEWS_20-1.pdf

This file provides information on working with special populations such as frail individuals and cardiac patients. It also discusses how to create exercise prescriptions using the FITT principles.

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. (n.d.). FITT principle of cardiovascular fitness
(Links to an external site.)
. Retrieved from http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/health_fitness/gln_health_fitness_zone/pdf/heart_rate_monitor_activities/cardiovascular_fitness/cardiovascular_fitness_activity_1.pdf

This document provides an overview of aerobic exercise, FITT principles, and target heart rate.
The Final Project
Must be a minimum of eight double-spaced pages in length (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style.
Use APA headings throughout the assignment.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of project
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least four scholarly sources in addition to the course text.