Trainer Helps Town's Seniors Focus On Fitness

Natalie Loisou carries an entire gym in her car. A personal trainer, who also teaches classes for seniors at the Lynnfield Senior Center, Natalie brings everything her clients need to work out with her. “I wanted to do something active and physical, and that helps people,” Natalie said of her career choice, “I love working with people, it’s a good fit.”

An Athletic Background

Training came naturally to Loisou, who as always been active herself. Originally from the Vancouver, Canada area, Loisou eventually spent some time overseas, where she met her husband and later moved to the area with him.

Loisou holds many certifications for personal training and is nationally accredited through the National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association. Loisou explains that some trainers will take shortcuts to get certification, however, clients should look for a trainer that has undergone a full program and is recognized by the aforementioned association. “Trainers need a really good understanding of anatomy, form is everything,” Loisou said, “I am a stickler about that and am constantly correcting my clients.”

When she first moved to the area, she built up a full-time clientele at a gym in Woburn. However, after a bad fall, Natalie struggled to lift heavy weights and had to shift her focus.

Shifting Clientele

Loisou works with all ages, but sticks with female clients. However, Loisou decided to also specialize more in the elderly population, where there would be less lifting of heavy weights.  She also limits her private personal training to women, with a larger focus on weight loss and general health than building muscle. After her injury, she found her own exercise program helped her more than the rehabilitation she went to, and it also gave her great experience in terms of what to do and what not to do after a serious fall. She has been able to use this experience while working with clients.

Before working with the elderly population, Loisou had to expand her knowledge on working with this particular population. “When working with the senior population, there are different ailments to be concerned with,” said Loisou, citing medications people be taking, the aging process, high blood pressure, pulmonary effects of a heart attack, stroke and more. For a trainer, it is extremely important to have knowledge on and consider these different factors before designing a work out program.

Class At Lynnfield Senior Center

Loisou teaches classes twice a week at the “At just about the time I was looking to work more with an older population, I saw a posting and applied,” she said. Loisou said she is also in the process of setting up classes at the Danvers Senior Center as well.

In Lynnfield, classes are on Monday from 10:00-10:30am and on Thursday from 9:00-9:30am. The classes are pay as you go, at $3 per class. All the exercise is done while seated and is low impact, making it great for people with knee, back, and sciatic problems. “It’s challenging, fun and safe,” Losiou, who has now been teaching the Lynnfield class for almost two years, said.

Classes are kept very similar week to week so that clients feel comfortable with the routine and there are not a lot of new movements to learn. “We have fun and laugh a lot in class,” Loisou said, “originally it was just one class, but they requested a second so we added it.”

Personal Training

Personal at home training takes a different form from the classes at the Senior Center. To begin personal training, clients would start with an hour long assessment/initial evaluation. In this session Loisou would be looking for information about the client’s health history, whether clearance from a doctor would be necessary and additionally, she would conduct some cardio tests, strength tests, range of motions tests and calculate the target heart rate. The schedule for workouts would then depend on the client. Some clients ask her to come once a week, while for others she might come twice a week or more.

In addition to training, Loisou will talk to clients about nutrition and help with meal preparation if requested. “I am not a nutritionist,” Loisou emphasized, “but I do know a lot about getting into a healthier lifestyle; nutrition is a huge part of weight loss.”

If you are interested in contacting Loisou, she can be reached at nataliezfitness@gmail.com.