Archive for December 2006
Yoga May Benefit Patients With Epilepsy
A new pilot study offers hope that yogic meditation may benefit patients with epilepsy. Doctors who care for these patients continue to seek new treatment approaches for several reasons:
Antiseizure drugs have strong side effects.
Many patients become nonresponsive to drug therapy over time.
Uncontrolled seizures are extremely disruptive to the perso…
The Ongoing Journey
It’s hard to tell which is more pronounced, Carrie Ekins’s smile or her penchant for creativity. Her zeal for exercise and wellness has inspired her to create and participate in many programs over the years. Ekins understands how physical limitations can challenge someone, because she has overcome them herself. In 1993 she underwent a total hip replacement. In 2001 she develop…
Read MoreMovement Menu
Les Mills International has added BODYVIVE™ to its range of group fitness programs. Geared for Baby Boomers, BODYVIVE™ is a low-impact, 55-minute class that incorporates cardiovascular activity, strength, stability, stretching and mobility work. Sessions incorporate balls and bands to exercise the body in different ways and with various intensities…
Read MoreAcupuncture Relieves Back Pain
Do you have clients with persistent back pain? A growing body of research continues to support acupuncture as an alternative pain-relief method
without the risk of side effects common to pharmaceutical drugs. The largest acupuncture study to date has shown that treatments plus routine care ease chronic low-back pain. The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (2…
Conduit for Greater Consciousness
Subject: Brian Buturla
Company: Brian Buturla Private Studio Personal Training, Norwalk, Connecticut
Metamorphosis. Brian Buturla’s journey into health and wellness began in his teenage years. “I was in sad shape—malnourished, overweight, socially isolated and bewildered,” he says. “I knew I needed help so I joined a health clu…
Read MoreFitness Products Services Guide
Find What You Need!
Apparel, Accessories & Swimwear
www.active-you.com
(888) 442-2284
www.bodyaddictionusa.com
(703) 624-1483
www.aquarelafitness.co…
Read MoreQigong for Health: a Research Update
Mind-body fitness is rapidly becoming a valuable and profitable service for fitness professionals to offer clients in clubs, gyms and private settings. While yoga and Pilates are hot favorites, the gentle art of qigong (pronounced chee kung)—a Chinese practice dating back several thousand years—is also finding its way into mainstream American culture. As consumers discover…
Read MorePodcasting
Have you ever had the feeling that your clients need more than an hour or two a week with you to gain all the benefits from your fitness expertise? Maybe you have seen new club members wandering around the facility with their exercise guidelines in hand, unable to locate the right machines or remember the movements they are supposed to perform. Perhaps you are interested in maintaining or…
Read MoreTraining Clients with Heart Disease
They say that 50 is the new 30, but that may not hold true for all your Baby Boomer clients. In fact, more than 50% of Americans 55 or older already have some degree of heart disease, according to the latest calculations from the American Heart Association (2006). Worse still, this percentage is expected to grow significantly in the future as the Baby Boomer generation nears retirement ag…
Read MoreExcited About Education
As a certified professional in health and fitness, I am constantly seeking new avenues to expand my capabilities and diversify my experience. In so doing, I frequently delve into industry research and education. I attend numerous industry-based events, seminars and workshops annually, striving to maintain and increase my knowledge base for myself personally and for …
Read MoreMeditation Alters Brain’s Response to Pain
Transcendental meditation (TM) may reduce the brain’s reaction to pain, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine, who used neuroimaging to monitor the brains of longtime TM
practitioners and of a control group who did not practice TM.
“Prior research indicates that transcendental meditation creates a more balanced outlook on life and…
Case Report: Pilates Training Helps Runner
If you have a client who loves to run but is stymied by hip or pelvis problems,
Pilates might help.
A functionally based Pilates intervention program that focused on restoring
correct lower-extremity alignment returned running ability to an experienced
high-level female runner. In the case study, health professionals at the University
of Connecticut School of Allied Health…
Demoting High-Fat Snacks in Schools
The William J. Clinton Foundation recently announced that it has partnered with the American Heart Association to encourage food manufacturers to make school snacks healthier. The foundation, established by the former president, reached an agreement with several major food companies, including Kraft Foods Inc., Mars Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Groupe Danone SA and PepsiCo. Inc., to voluntari…
Read MoreComputerized Weight Loss
Several studies have shown that e-mail counseling can improve weight loss attempts among users of self-directed Internet diet programs. Some people think that computer-tailored feedback might even replace one-on-one human counseling in the future.
To test this theory, researchers divided 192 adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 32.7 (plus or minus 3.5) into three study groups. O…
Hypnosis May Reduce Certain Hair Loss
Mind-body strategies may reduce hair loss without risk of adverse side effects. Alopecia areata is a type of patchy hair loss associated with psychological factors such as stress, trauma or negative family circumstances. Researchers chose to evaluate hypnotherapy as a possible treatment for this condition because hypnosis has already proved effective in reducing stress and anxiety related…
Read MoreRemembering a Forgotten Population
For weeks, IDEA member James L. Bertram had gently tried to encourage Ann to join one of his exercise classes. “I’m too old to exercise,” she’d inevitably reply. But Bertram, who lives in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, didn’t want to give up on the 83-year-old. He knew from experience teaching other assisted-living residents that his program would enliven her…
Read MoreThe Right Rehearsal
When I started in group fitness almost 20 years ago, I was taught that the warm-up offered many benefits and was a mandatory segment of a properly designed class. Even so, I took warm-ups for granted and saw them as an obstacle I needed to overcome in order to get to the “good stuff.” It took me years to figure out that a fun, effective warm-up could set the tone for the entir…
Read MoreOpening the Doors Wider
Programs: Leverage Your Existing Programs to Reach Out to and Attract People With Disabilities.
Read MoreWhen and Why Do You Set New Goals For Your Personal Training Career?
Because I’m self-employed, I find it easy to get wrapped up in current projects and forget about planning for future months. However, I know that unless I have specific goals and targets set for myself and my business, I won’t be as productive or successful as
I could be. Even if I’m busy today or this month, without targets and planning I could be extremely slow next …
Celebrating IDEA’s Silver Anniversary
Take a brief walk into the past with us to gather perspective.
It was 1982. Ronald Reagan was president. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was around 795 points. M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues and Magnum P.I. were the hot prime-time television shows; Late Night With David Letterman aired for the first time. John & Yoko topped the charts with their Double Fa…