Archive for November 2007
Postpartum Exercise
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…
Read MoreHappy, Healthy Holidays
The holiday season, now upon us, is a time of celebration and abundance. Teeming with tasty temptations (not to mention tons of stress!), the holidays can present challenges to clients trying to maintain healthy habits. Each festivity or social function can create anxiety for the calorie-conscious struggling to maintain weight as co-workers serve sugary treats at the office and hectic sch…
Read MoreFranchising Your Fitness Business
Until recently, franchises were most commonly associated with convenience stores and coffee shops, not gyms and fitness programs. Now a new crop of highly successful fitness franchises has entrepreneurs sizing up franchising as a viable and lucrative venture. Franchised businesses generate jobs for more than 18 million Americans and account for nearly 10% of private-sector economic…
Read MoreFocus and Rhythm
Fitness Through Conscious Movement® is just one of many classes Stephanie Herman’s Esprit de Danse® offers to help people get in touch with their inner selves. This particular format “introduces breathing and Pilates techniques, alignment, balance [and] choreographed sequences” for a workout that “lengthens and strengthens.” According to the company’s website, the class is spec…
Read MoreFlex & Relax
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…
Read MoreBridging the Great Career Divide
Think for a moment of the most successful personal fitness trainer you know. Now think of the most loved group fitness instructor you know. Did you think of the same person for each? When choosing a trainer, you probably thought of someone who has great technical knowledge, the credentials to show for it and the people skills to connect with clients. When choosing an instructor wh…
Read MoreInjury Prevention for Triathletes
Are you intrigued by the idea of participating in a triathlon, but concerned about injuring yourself since you’re new to the sport? If so, consider these suggestions from Catherine Logan, MSPT, a physical therapist, certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor at Sports and Physical Therapy Associates in Boston. 1. Appropriate Preparation To wa…
Read MoreGoing From Foodie to RD
Would you ever turn down a new client for training?
I will turn down a client under only two conditions: when it is physically and logistically impossible to accommodate him based on scheduling conflicts, and when a prospective client’s goals and expectations are unrealistic. The first is pretty straightforward: if my schedule is fully booked, I have a waiting list and will contact the prospective client when a time slot becomes…
Read MoreThe Scoop on Running Injuries
Running places extraordinary demands on an athlete’s body. Injuries can happen in many places, including the feet, shins, knees and hips. Designing a program that helps runners avoid or recuperate from common injuries is a great way to market your services. This month’s column will focus on three injuries that runners frequently encounter: iliotibial band syndromeli…
Read MoreScreening With Meaning
Group fitness instructors are key players in building a successful fitness center. They touch more members in 60 minutes or less than any of your other staff. This quality time can set a strong foundation for program growth, increased revenue, new-member attraction and, most important, member retention. When you consider an instructor’s impact on member experience, the need for a comprehensive …
Read MoreBuilding the Bridge: A Career in Medical Fitness
At last, the importance of physical activity and regular exercise is on the healthcare radar. With obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and myriad other chronic health conditions epidemic throughout the United States and the rapidly growing number of Medicare-eligible adults expected to reach 71.5 million by 2030 (Administration on Aging 2004), demand for disease prevention and cost-e…
Read MoreBody Circuit
Do you work at a facility on a tight budget, or are you just looking for a creative new way to teach a challenging class? Don’t forget that your own body can be a valuable piece of equipment for both cardiovascular and strength training. Used effectively, body weight can provide optimal functional resistance for anaerobic interval training. Anaerobic training is an essential compon…
Read MoreYoga Boom!
Whoever isn’t focused on capturing Baby Boomers over the next two decades isn’t focused well on the future. In the coming 20 years, boomers will inherit estates worth over 10 trillion dollars—that’s more than the value of the entire New York Stock Exchange today. And every year, 4 million Boomers turn 50 and 4 million turn 60. So what does this huge, affluent, aging populati…
Read MoreAn IDEA that caught on
Twenty-five years ago, in the days of pink leg warmers and “Go for the burn” motivation, the fitness industry was professionally out of shape. There were no ethical standards, few safety guidelines and minimal organization. A buff bod and perky personality were the only prerequisites for aerobics instructors, and a typical exercise class meant jumping on concrete floors, countless …
Read MoreDance the pounds away
HERE'S AN EXERCISE class with no pushups, squats or crunches. There are no sets or reps. Instead, hips shake, shoulders shimmy, bodies twirl and feet step-touch to the beat of funky music pumping through a workout room at the Health Quest fitness club in Flemington. No groans of protest are heard from this group of mostly women, some of them pushing 45…
Read MoreDance exercise provides a solid cardiovascular workout
Gazette News Service Here’s an exercise class with no pushups, squats or crunches. There are no sets or reps.
Instead, hips shake, shoulders shimmy, bodies twirl and feet step-touch to the beat of funky music pumping through a workout room at SWAT Fitness Club in Oshtemo Township.
The class, which ranges in size from 10 to 30 people, uses a combination of different types of musi…
REALITY CHECK; America’s fittest city? Well, maybe not
We’re fit! We’re fat! We’re kind of sweaty.
Huh?
It’s hard to say where San Diego stands when you read the myriad rankings that stack us up against other cities. Case in point: Men’s Fitness picked San Diego as No. 9 on its fittest list in 2005. For the last two years, the same magazine put us at No. 21 — on its fattest list.
Yikes! That’s quite a weight gain. Had you n…
Insomnia and Alternative Therapies
More than 1.6 million U.S. adults are estimated to use complementary and alternative therapies to treat insomnia, according to the results of a national survey published in the September 18 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a theme issue on sleep.
Read MorePilates for Obese Clients
In a previous issue of Inner IDEA Body-Mind-Spirit Review, we asked: What types of challenges do you face when working with overweight or obese Pilates clients and what solutions have you found?
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