Communication Articles

A data-driven approach to fitness has pitfalls. As a fitness and wellness professional, you can teach your clients to recognize and address them.newsletter_teaser: My client Mary walks into the gym and I ask her how she is feeling and whether she has stayed active. With a sigh, she tells me she’s made her step goal every day. I applaud her accomplishment, but when I look closely at her tired face, I see that she is not doing as well as her steps might indicate.

It’s 11:00 pm and cold outside. Mary taps her wrist and sees she is 1,000 steps short of her daily goal. For the last month she has been diligent about hitting her daily activity target. Even though her knee hurts and her body feels drained, she puts on warm clothes and goes for a late-night stroll around her neighborhood.

Conflict in the fitness workplace is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be harmful. Healthy conflict exists in relationships based on trust and respect, and without conflict, teams may be unable to make effective progress or create a shared vision of the future.

One of the ways that I establish pro- fessional boundaries is by keeping the training sessions about the clients. When they ask, “And how are you?” I answer with a genuine “Great!” and leave the conversation at that.

The Internet offers plenty of opportunity to share helpful, positive content. However, it’s also a hotbed of negativity, especially when it comes to discussions on weight. A study facilitated by researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland, wanted to understand the types of conversations that are taking place on this subject. Using a commercial Web-crawling tool, the investigators explored popular social media sites and pulled posts that included fat, obese/obesity and/or overweight. The process lasted 60 days and culminated in 1.37 million posts.

Mobility can be an issue for adults with obesity, and exercise can help. But is there a preferred method for improving functional capacity in this population? Researchers may have the answer.

In a recent "Tricks of the Trade" column, IDEA asked some of its members how they establish relationships with and get referrals from medical professionals. Here are a few of their answers. How do you establish relationships with and get referrals from medical professionals? Share your answers in the comment box below.

It’s annual review time again, and you feel the tension in the group fitness studio. Regardless of experience level, instructors tend to become anxious around “judgment day.” It’s a nerve-racking experience to have a supervisor watching your every move and jotting down notes. newsletter_teaser: It’s annual review time again, and you feel the tension in the group fitness studio. Regardless of experience level, instructors tend to become anxious around “judgment day.” It’s a nerve-racking experience to have a supervisor watching your every move and jotting down notes.

Knowing the client. When Jessica Storm, owner of Storm Fitness, meets with a new client, the assessment process begins immediately—often without the client realizing it. Storm first assesses emotional readiness. “You need to know where clients are starting from and get a clear understanding of how they could be motivated so that you can guide them in the appropriate direction,” she explains. Storm conducts this assessment through casual conversation—usually via telephone initially and in the first in-person meeting.

By now you know it is to your distinct advantage to set up a profile in the IDEA FitnessConnect online directory. Whether or not you use all the features, it at least ensures you one more point of contact for potential clients. Why not take things to the next level and maximize how you promote yourself and your business? Here are 10 ideas (plus a bonus tip) on doing just that.