Barbara L. Syler - AFP spotlight - Brief Article

American Fitness, Nov-Dec, 2001

Barbara L. Syler has been involved in the fitness industry and a member of Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) since the early 1990s. While attending Texas Tech University, she worked as a physical therapy aid and later assisted Kerry Wimberly A.C.T., L.A.T. and Robert H. Ico P.T. with exercise prescription at the Sports & Industrial Rehab Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Syler discovered the AFAA Fitness Practitioner[R] (AFP) program while working as a recreation therapist for Texas Tech Health Science Center, J.T. Montford Unit. The AFP program provided the fitness expertise she could readily implement into exercise prescriptions for the maximum-security psychiatric prison population. To complement her B.S. degree in Exercise & Sport Sciences from Texas Tech, the AFP curriculum provided the organizational tools and specific resources needed to personalize exercise prescriptions for special population groups. With the support from the Recreation Therapy Director, Page Heinrich M.S., C.T.R.S., Syler was able to utilize AFP courses in group sessions for inmate/patients with medical conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, arthritis and lower back pain. Through the AFP training, she was able to precisely address the physical aspects of treatment required in the Recreation Therapy program objectives.

Currently, Syler is vice-president of the Teddy Roosevelt Numismatic Galleries and enjoys training at Apple Swim & Fitness, a family oriented health club in Tyler, Texas. She plans to continue her involvement with AFAA and the AFP department. Her future goal is to provide special population groups with personalized training expertise through her own business.

PRACTICE PROFILE/Barbara L. Syler

Practice: Exercise specialist, consultant and trainer.

Formal Education: B.S. in Exercise & Sports Sciences, (CIF), AFAA Fitness Practitioner, Weight Training, Personal Training and Primary Aerobic Certification (AFAA).

Current Challenges: "assisting people who have been discharged from physical therapy, to recover strength in order to avoid relapse."

What Makes Her Practice Unique: "I enjoy working with [the elderly] and home visit accommodations."

Favorite Communication Tool: "Cordless telephone with headset, e-mail, `to do' lists and `in person contact.'"

Top Client Education tool: "All books required for AFP certifications and Excel for exercise update forms."

Best Professional Attribute: "Compassion and genuine care for individual recovery. Each visit is not about my time, it's about the client's health."

Key Elements For Wellness: "Injury prevention, increasing health coverage costs and not having to live a life dependent on others."

Favorite Pastimes: "Spending time with my two daughters (ages four and three) and my husband of seven years. I also enjoy cross-stitching, baking and scrap booking."

Can't Live Without: "I can't live without my vitamin/mineral supplements and a 15 minute time-out after lunch."

Next Big Project: "Starting my own business, `Syler Fitness 1-2-1,' to meet the needs of those who are returning home from hospital care and need someone for continued exercise training to avoid relapse."

Motto: "Step by step."

The AFAA Fitness Practitioner[R] (AFP) is AFAA's highest level of certification--a degreed professional dedicated to providing a full range of fitness education services such as assessment, nutritional education and one-on-one training and counseling. For more information regarding prerequisites and course curriculum, call (800) 446-2322, ext. 231.