Altering the Course—Permanently >>
By Sandy Todd Webster
The IDEA World Fitness Convention® has always been an event that stirs fitness professionals to the depths of their hearts and inspires their passion to help others. This year’s gathering (July 25-29 in Las Vegas) fed and revved the estimated 5,000 attendees’ engines with educational rocket fuel and kept that tradition vibrant.

When Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee walked onto the stage at the convention’s opening ceremonies to accept the 2006 IDEA Health and Fitness Inspiration Award... >>

By Amber Lewis, MBA
It’s important for fitness professionals to remember that many clients have to make major sacrifices in order to afford a personal trainer. In most cases, lowering fees would make training unprofitable, so as the owner of Café Physique In-Home Personal Training in Smyrna, Georgia, I’ve developed other ways to provide extra value to my clients.

Check In
Call or e-mail clients the day following a really tough workout. Let them know they did a great job and that you’re just checking in to see how they feel...>>

Training Through Your Travel Schedule >>

By Shirley Archer, JD, MA
Long-term practice of tai chi can improve muscular strength in the lower body, particularly for muscles around the knees and ankles, as much as long-term jogging, according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2006; [40], 50-54). This is good news for older adults looking for gentle movement alternatives that provide powerful conditioning benefits.

Researchers recruited 61 participants, including long-term tai chi practitioners, long-term joggers and inactive individuals. Assessors measured the isokinetic strength of muscles at the knee and ankle joints and the endurance of knee flexors and extensors in all subjects. Slight differences in conditioning resulted from the nature of the different activities. For example, comparing joggers with tai chi practitioners, the former developed slightly stronger concentric strength in the knee extensors and flexors, whereas the latter attained greater muscular endurance in the knee extensors. The benefits of both jogging and tai chi on lower-body muscular strength and endurance were clear—and significantly better than no exercise... >>

By Natalie Digate Muth, MPH, RD
Whether for kids or adults, all personal training programs are not created equal. To make your youth program stand out, follow these suggestions from The Physician and Sportsmedicine:

• Offer group training, but work with no more than 10 children or teens at a time. Group training is ideal for children because it allows greater opportunities to incorporate a fun factor into the program and highlight each child’s strengths. It helps teens develop relationships and social support so they can continue exercising outside the training session.
• Use kid- and teen-friendly equipment and weights available in 1- to 5-pound increments... >>

By Valerie Applebaum, MPH, CHES
In the constant hunt for new members, you may be overlooking a profitable group: pregnant women and new mothers. By meeting the needs of this often-underserved market through prenatal and postnatal services, your fitness facility can grow membership, gain long-term loyal customers and ultimately play a beneficial role in the health of pregnant women and new mothers.

Unlike other fitness regimens, the purpose of prenatal and postnatal classes is not to improve athletic performance or participate in competitive activities. Instead, the fitness goal should be to exercise in moderation to maintain physical fitness while focusing on maximum safety.
Prenatal exercise classes should focus equally on cardiovascular fitness, strength training and flexibility. Excellent examples include low-impact aerobics, water-based exercises and swimming, yoga and stretching...>>