How in shape do you have to be?

[pumpkinpatch]

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I have already been accepted to the school I want to go to (NIU! Woohoo!) and I feel pretty good about how I will do there, academically speaking. I have a nagging concern though, which is that I've never been especially athletic, and it seems like most PT's I've encountered are. I'm in OK shape, I'm a healthy weight for my height and I work out regularly (although nothing intense). I worry that this is not enough, though, both in terms of not having the same knowledge base as someone with an athletic background, and also for working with larger patients. I'd be interested to hear what people's thoughts are on this!

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

Congrats on NIU! I know a current first year there (I used to work with him), and he seems to like the program. Enjoy Dekalb!

And no, you should be fine...we have plenty of non-athletes in our class, I've seen PTs of all shapes and sizes...no worries!

 

[dizzy88]

Congrats!

And don't worry about that too much, not all PT's are athletic or in tip-top condition. Definitely keep in shape, though. It's hard in school, but it's good to keep yourself strong so you won't hurt yourself. To be honest, most of your work out will come from the job anyway haha. We just finished our lab on transfers and boy were we exhausted after doing all that lifting!

 

[johncronejr]

I have always felt that no matter what you're doing, there is never a downside to being stronger.

If you don't feel comfortable with catching a 250 pound man by the belt while walking him, then work at getting stronger. I would make sure to increase hand/forearm strength since it is fairly easy to fatigue these areas when you are working with them a lot.

It's nothing I would "worry" about, but as I said, more strength never hurts. As the old adage goes..."It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".

 

[Spidey134]

Hi everybody! Well what about the athletic or sports background? Do you really have to be a sports nut? Or is it good to have at least a love for some sort of physical activity? I'm sure it helps though so you can relate to patients and what not. Would it really hinder you though if you didn't have an extensive background in sports?

-Spidey

 

[BlueBlue8]

There are all types of body shapes. Believe me when I say that not everyone is sporting six pack abs. I would suggest weight training specifically in your legs. We're taught to weight shift and to power through our legs to help with transfers/etc. Right now I am currently struggling moving someone up in bed with a drawsheet. So I plan to focus on training my legs as well as overall body.

Hope that gives you a better idea.

 

[callmecrazy]

Hi everybody! Well what about the athletic or sports background? Do you really have to be a sports nut? Or is it good to have at least a love for some sort of physical activity? I'm sure it helps though so you can relate to patients and what not. Would it really hinder you though if you didn't have an extensive background in sports?

-Spidey

It may be helpful when coming up with treatment ideas if you have done some of it yourself through training. However, it is in no way critical. Sports PT is also just a small part of what physical therapy is. To be honest, in all the patients I've seen throughout 4 clinicals, I don't think a single one considered themselves an athlete. There is such a wide variety of settings you can work in as a PT that if you don't have an interest in sports, you still have so many other options. I would say it's much more important to have a passion for overall wellness and physical health.

 

[pumpkinpatch]

Thanks for the replies! This makes me feel a lot better! I'm taking cardio kickboxing and weight training this semester, both of which should kick my butt in shape anyway. 🙂

 

[Coach Hoski]

Advice for applicants:
Let's just say if you're not benching at least 300 for you 1RM or leg pressing 500 for 10RM, you better hit the gym. Now.

 

[markelmarcel]

Advice for applicants:
Let's just say if you're not benching at least 300 for you 1RM or leg pressing 500 for 10RM, you better hit the gym. Now.

Ha. I'm a far cry from that but I'm not completely useless. I teach Spinning 4x a week, go to BodyPump 3x a week and BodyCombat 2x a week... That's just Mon-Fri-- I hit the gym regularly on the weekends too. But I'm not at 300 or 500- that's a bit insane.

 

[Coach Hoski]

Ha. I'm a far cry from that but I'm not completely useless. I teach Spinning 4x a week, go to BodyPump 3x a week and BodyCombat 2x a week... That's just Mon-Fri-- I hit the gym regularly on the weekends too. But I'm not at 300 or 500- that's a bit insane.

Sounds like you are more than in shape!
I was being completely facetious, I do think core strength and control are important to be a PT, though there are some obese folks in my class who are doing fine. However, I think without proper body mechanics and core muscular activation, anyone would run into troubles eventually. It is a moderately physical job.

 

[aggiecjg11]

I agree. I feel like as health care professionals we should be setting good examples of health and fitness by taking care of ourselves and staying in good shape. It's almost another part of the job!

 

[markelmarcel]

I agree. I feel like as health care professionals we should be setting good examples of health and fitness by taking care of ourselves and staying in good shape. It's almost another part of the job!

It's the primary reason that I became interested and decided I wanted to go to PT school. I really enjoy working out, helping people meet their fitness goals and I'm completely fascinated with how the body works.

Since I'm not planning on moving to Hollywood to become a big time trainer and around Pittsburgh an exercise phys degree gets you nothing, I thought it would be great to combine my love of teaching and my love of the body into PT! 🙂

 

[goyo1010]

haha, you don't have to be all muscular, or toned, or cut, sporting six pack abs. You should have good core strength and try to at least stay healthy. as others have said, you will be doing lifting (people, equipment, etc) and setting a good example is always best. if your patients have an overweight practitioner and that practitioner is lecturing him or her on diet and exercise well... what would the patient think? lol

 

[CJonesrun]

If you're really worried about working with larger patients, go into pediatrics. I did most of my observation hours with kids with CP, and it was incredibly rewarding and lots of fun. And the kids work very hard--great patient compliance! And since medicare has the Wii as an approved therapy code, there is a lot of motivation there for them.

 

[markelmarcel]

If you're really worried about working with larger patients, go into pediatrics. I did most of my observation hours with kids with CP, and it was incredibly rewarding and lots of fun. And the kids work very hard--great patient compliance! And since medicare has the Wii as an approved therapy code, there is a lot of motivation there for them.

That is really cool! I am hoping to get at least one clinical with peds, as my first degree is in earlychildhood and elementary education. I think that dual-degree combined with a DPT would make me a very strong candidate for a position with peds somewhere... (Although I do have other interests and am leaving the door wide open right now, since so many people "love peds")