Sample Workouts/Program Design Articles

Are you interested in exploring moves but not ready to teach an entire class of them? Cool-downs are a great opportunity to introduce mindful exercises to students. The following movements will increase flexibility and help students feel relaxed as they head back into the “real world” outside the group exercise room. Connection TransitionThe cool-down slowly...

Regular participation in a pre/postnatal exercise program has many benefits for a woman. Research has demonstrated that pregnant and postpartum women who exercise at a mild to moderate intensity at least three times per week experience increased cardiovascular fitness, improved well-being, reduced constipation, fewer leg cramps and a quicker return to prepregnancy weight compared with their non...

I Training Among the Tulips exercise rx Encourage clients to pick up a trowel and try this garden workout. I have a brown thumb. So I was a little concerned when I began working with Jolene Dodson nearly two years ago. When she hired me she had just joined Weight Watchers and wanted to start an exercise program. She weighed close to 300 pounds and didn't feel comfortable exercising at the gym. ...

exercise rx By Donna Burch, MA One-to-One Water Training How can trainers work with clients in aquatic settings? W hat if you discovered a personal training medium that offered endless creative possibilities for working with all types of clients, provided smooth and variable resistance for nearly every muscle group and incorporated both cardiovascular and resistance training? What if you knew...

movement By Paul Chek Big Bang Exercises our participants rush to the gym in the early morning, during their lunch hour or after work, desperately trying to stay fit, keep the fat off or simply feel better about their bodies. Pressed for time and wanting results, many exercisers are after something new--an exercise that delivers more or is better than other exercises. As a fitness instructor, yo...

exercise BY BILL BEJECK, CSCS, CCS sk fitness professionals which part of the body clients want to improve the most, and the abdominal region is always one of the top choices. As professionals we need to balance our clients' desire for "great abs" with training that will enhance abdominal function and well-being. Why is it so essential to strengthen the entire core region? For our aging populatio...

Training the core requires an exercise regime that goes beyond a simple “abs and back” workout. A strong base of support at the core of the body allows for better transfer of forces to the extremities. The human kinetic chain is able to transfer load optimally because of the relationships of two functionally integrated musculoskeletal groups known as the inner unit and outer unit. The inner core muscles assist in stabilizing the spine and pelvis, whereas the outer core muscles are the movers of the spine.

Kristi Peacock, a 23-year-old account executive in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was preparing for her first marathon. The intense training was strengthening her body but also taking a toll. As the miles racked up, so did the strain to her iliotibial band, Achilles tendons and back.

Want to look and feel younger? While everyone will age, regular aerobic exercise can decrease your biological age by 10 years or more (Shephard 2008).