Assessing the practice of pre-exercise screening among gym goers in Kampala

Abstract

Pre-exercise screening is a comprehensive scientific method conducted by an appropriately trained health fitness professional that possesses a certification equivalent to the ACSM or higher which helps to ascertain whether an individual is fit enough to participate in exercise program and also whether the exercise equipment is appropriate for the individual. The study was carried out to assess the awareness level about the importance of pre-exercise screening in gyms, observe the actual pre-exercise screening measures done before every gym session and suggest ways of improving pre-exercise screening amongst clients in gyms. The purpose of this study is to assess the pre-exercise screening practice among gyms in Kampala. The researcher will use the descriptive research design to help access and describe the practice of pre-exercise screening among gym goers in Kampala. The researcher will use simple random sampling to deal with the gym goers where they will all have a chance of being of being selected. It will lead to generalization of results which will also be free from bias. The sampling size the researcher is dealing with will include the women (20) and men (25). The researcher will make use of questionnaires which will have close-ended questions to guide the subjects into answering questions. This will have boxes were the subjects can tick in the area of preference. Most of the subjects were employed whilst a few were unemployed and no student participated in the study. The youth were most collaborative in their age category and largely resided in Kampala. Clients had prior knowledge of pre-exercise screening but their exercise professionals hardly discussed it with them. They are very active gym goers and follow scientific methods of training of which their exercise professionals seek their consent prior to any decision making. There are no medical units reported. Exercise professionals were noted to be certified to conduct their work. Based on the findings, the researcher concludes that pre-exercise screening is rarely conducted in gyms. The managers are aware of the necessity of conducting pre-exercise screening but choose to forfeit the practice only using skills of observation, mental judgment and physical readiness to train the clients. . The recommendations are 1) The Ministry of Health should ensure that as a law, all gyms must have a medical unit constructed within the confinement of the gym and there should be a qualified and recognized doctor to diagnose the clients on an ongoing process, 2)The Ministry of Education and Sports should ensure that all exercise professionals possess a certificate/diploma in gym training. The ministry should establish a center where all training will be conducted and only graduates from the center will be allowed to train clients.