Archive for July 2011
The Top 5 Truths of Best-Selling Trainers
One of the best sales lessons I ever learned came from watching an amateur 10K race from the finish line. The winning runners made excellent times, easily cruising across the finish line while barely breaking a sweat. The next group had obviously undertrained and overpushed, stumbling to the race’s end flushed and sometimes physically ill. Last were those who clearly embraced the joys of strolling and socializing, but who seemed unconcerned about how well they finished.
Read MoreStarting From Scratch: Creating an Identity for Your In-home Personal Training Business
Building an in-home personal training business from scratch can be fun, exciting and just a little bit scary. To take as much fear out of the equation as possible, it is extremely important to do all the necessary foundation work so that when your official “start date” rolls around, you feel completely prepared. How do you do that? By joining me in the second of this five-article series.
Read MoreEase Low-Back Pain During Cool-Downs
How many times has one of your class participants complained of low-back pain? It’s a common problem—and one you probably hear about whether you teach indoor cycling, step, strength fusion, yoga or hip-hop. As an instructor, you’re in a unique position to help participants reduce and prevent discomfort in the lumbar spine and hip musculature. Use a few basic tools to bring the body into balance. The cool-down is the perfect time to do it because the body is warm.
Stretches
Read MoreProgramming for Profit
As the health and wellness industry has developed, so has the understanding of what constitutes fitness “product” in the minds of consumers and facility operators alike. Nowadays, a company’s product is more than a tangible “thing.” It includes every aspect of fitness: personal training, group exercise, kids’ training, the facility, staff training and development, studio-based classes, floor layout and, above all, member experience.
Read MoreIDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: personal Trainers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Ethical Practice Guidelines for Personal Trainers
Read MoreIDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Group Fitness Instructors
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Read MoreIDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Owners and Managers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client. I will provide facilities and staff for effective exercise and lifestyle programs; ensure that staff maintains the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; uphold fair business practices and safety guidelines; and use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Ethical Practice Guidelines for Owners and Managers
Read MoreWinners Tell All
FFitness professionals often use success stories and client testimonials to strike an emotional chord with potential clients. Personal trainers who incorporate these elements into their pitches (often via “brag books”) may find them powerful during new-client interviews or business development meetings, according to Derrick Wilburn, MBA, IDEA presenter and director of education for Achieve Fitness USA (Wilburn 2010). But what if potential clients or business partners do their initial research about you over the Web?
Read MoreSafely Training Cancer Survivors
I have been an IDEA member for 13 years and look forward to receiving IDEA Fitness Journal every month. I read the news item “Weightlifting and Lymphedema Debate Continues” (Making News, April 2011) with interest and would love to add an additional perspective as an ACSM personal trainer with a primary focus on working with cancer patients and survivors. My training and experience in this area are through the University of Northern Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Center, where I received a cancer exercise specialist title.
Read MoreFAQs About Posture
PPosture is an important consideration in all activities of daily living (e.g., walking, lifting objects and driving). Keeping good posture can make a difference to the long-term health of your spine. Many postural problems are detectable at early stages, regardless of age. If not corrected, these issues will become more pronounced.
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