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Joy in the Journey

Carol Murphy is known for her precise
execution of movements in well-designed
classes. The knowledgeable owner and fitness
director of FitLife in Rochester, New
York, is a continuing education specialist
and the national programming director
for Resist-A-Ball®, among many other
things. Her vision for success in the fitness
industry can be stated in two words: helping
others. …

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Creating a Coaching Lesson Plan

Every great trainer and/or coach who thrives in his or her business has a plan. In my early days of personal training, I learned that giving clients too much information too soon was overwhelming and often led to failure. Gradually, I discovered I needed a repeatable plan—a plan I could follow to support clients in attaining their goals in a successful, esteem-building manner. My ba…

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Identifying, Understanding and Training Youth Athletes

Who will be the next Tiger Woods, Mia
Hamm, Michael Jordan or Venus
Williams? Many parents believe that,
given the right amount of training,
coaching and perseverance, it could be
their child. There is a certain mystique
about talented athletes, whether they are
amateur Olympians or professionals,
because of their sports mastery and the
skills they display. It is not an easy path…

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Exercise and Menopause

If you’re in the middle of menopause, you
may be experiencing challenges such as
weight gain, hot flashes or fatigue. Ugh!
The good news is that exercise can make
a positive difference.

Although there is much more to learn
about exercise research and menopause,
what we do know supports physical activity
as a means to help manage menopausal
consequences and protect…

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Fat Facts

Weight management programs abound,
and they employ countless strategies and
approaches. But all these programs
should include three principal components:
(1) an exercise plan that incorporates
cardiovascular and resistance
training to increase caloric expenditure and
maintain muscle mass; (2) a lifestyle/
dietary approach that emphasizes balanced
nutrition and decreased caloric …

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GYROKINESIS® Exercise

Soft-spoken but with adynamic, powerful,
almost lyrical undertone, Juliu Horvath, creator
and founder of Gyrokinesis exercise and
the Gyrotonic Expansion System®, begins
instructing his Level 1 Gyrokinesis class: “Sit
up straight; gather your energies, straight but
soft, so that your spine is like a child’s,
slightly wobbling, so the flesh of your body
can relax on the top of your bones. E…

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Dealing With Divas

Regardless of their locale, schedule or
member profile, group exercise programs
share one thing in common: the diva factor.
The “diva” instructor is one of the
most difficult to manage. She presents
herself as “untouchable” and doesn’t see
the big picture. She refuses to uphold the
mission of the program or club and is far
from being a supportive team player. She
sees just one pi…

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Tricks of the Trade

Reaching a full client training schedule
can be a mixed blessing for a personal
trainer. It’s great that you are full,
but if you can’t physically work any more
client hours, how do you continue to
boost your bottom line?

I struggled with this concept for a time.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, I looked
at what successful colleagues were doing,

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Kenneth Cooper, MD, MPH: Man on a Mission

When Dr. Ken Cooper talks, you’d better
listen. Closely. Because he will rattle off
statistics on health, fitness and disease
prevention so quickly it will make your
head spin, or at least make you want to go
out for a run to get all the exercise benefits you can.

The man known as “the father of aerobics”
is just as determined to change the
world now, at the age…

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When Your Friend Becomes Your Supervisor

The workplace is often where we end up
meeting our greatest friends. In fact, some
people spend more hours per day interacting
with co-worker friends than with
their own families. Tight bonds can form
between peers, but what happens when the
fitness friend you have been working with
for years gets a promotion and is now,
gulp, your supervisor! What if you also interviewed
for tha…

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Sample Class: Body-Mind Fusion

Fusion classes typically combine two or
more formats, equipment choices and
training methods. Sometimes these cross-
training opportunities can yield more benefits
than practicing a single discipline. This
sample class draws from the influences of
yoga, Pilates, tai chi and the Feldenkrais
Method®. Feel free to replicate the class exactly,
or use it to stimulate your creative

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Magic in the Moment

When approaching the warm-up for a
kickboxing class, many instructors think
of it only as a way to physically prepare the
body. But what about warming up the
mind? You can also get your students
mentally prepared and in the moment.
This helps them benefit maximally from
the workout and is an essential ingredient
in the recipe for kickboxing success. By
taking th…

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Think Like an Athlete

Today’s athletes have all the resources
needed to perform their best. Many college
campuses are outfitted with athletic
complexes that provide all the necessary
staff and “stuff”: the right atmosphere, an
appropriate learning space, the best training
equipment and the latest technology,
as well as skilled nutritionists and tutors.
A built-in support system defines practice
days and hours,…

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The Personal Trainer Headhunter

Subject: Trina Lambe

Company: Train by Trina

Messages in the Malt. After finishing a career
in professional figure skating, Trina
Lambe changed directions and went to
work for a local brewery in Toronto. “It
was my first …

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Too Much of 2 Good Things?

The overall landscape of training methods and individuals who participate in recreational exercise is vast and varied.Who are these individuals, and what do they do? Let’s use “David” as an example. This fictional recreational-exercise client is an avid basketball player for an all-men’s league.
His team plays twice a week, but David still wants to stay conditioned and maintain his strength. Ther…

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Do Ergogenic Aids Help or Hinder Athletic Performance?

Almost daily, people ask fitness professionals
about the latest and greatest dietary supplements
that claim to enhance physical performance.
Although it is outside the scope of practice of personal
trainers and fitness instructors ever to recommend
a particular ergogenic aid to anyone,
clients want to know if these products produce
the results promised in the ads. There is no denying
that …

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Classes That Pop!

IDEA member Nancy Trock, director of
T-Renegade Fitness in Oak Park, Illinois,
created Stress Busters Experience. The offering
enables her to share her academy
martial arts training with women who
might not otherwise have the opportunity
to get to know their “inner warriors.”
The class warms up with basic calisthenics
and Pilates mat work to challenge and
prepare the entire body fo…

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Always on the Line

As a child, IDEA member Sonya Bruton,
who lives in Apex, North Carolina, distinctly
remembers buying clothes from
the “chubby” section at Sears department
store, and how painful it was. Today, people
have a tough time imagining Bruton
as an overweight little girl, but she is the
same person who listens so well and
offers sound fitness advice. It is because
Bruton spent so many years devel…

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