Archive for February 2012
Diaphragmatic Breathing & Neck Pain
Everyone from elite athletes to average clients can benefit from learning more about breathing or reprogramming the way they breathe. More specifically, by teaching them techniques that emphasize diaphragmatic breathing, you will help them meet their exercise goals.
Read MoreCoping With Crohn’s Disease
client: Ryan
personal trainer: Tony Cress, owner, Tony Cress Personal Training
location: Las Vegas
About Crohn’s disease. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. People with Crohn’s experience mild to severe symptoms that include fever, abdominal pain, fatigue and more. The disease is also associated with loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss.
Read MoreMaryland Athletic Club Wants to Shed Some Weight
The Maryland Athletic Club & Wellness Center (MAC) in Timonium has big plans for 2012. MAC has set its sights on helping 1,000 people drop weight, get healthy and reduce the current percentage of citizens who are overweight or obese. “As we celebrate our 15-year anniversary, we pause to remember our mission—to create a health club where everyone could come together to get healthy and fit,” said MAC owner Tim Rhode. “Fifteen years later, it saddens us to see the obesity epidemic continuing to escalate—now at an alarming 66% in the state of Maryland.
Read MoreMedicare to Add Obesity Counseling Coverage
A press release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that more than 30% of men and women who receive Medicare are considered obese. Medicare will begin offering those individuals obesity screening and counseling as part of a preventive services package under the Affordable Care Act. Primary care physicians administer the screening and then refer eligible individuals for counseling. A referred individual will receive once-
Read MoreIDEA Helps First Lady Shatter Record
On October 11, 2011, you may have felt the earth shake—and it had nothing to do with a natural seismic event.
As part of her Let’s Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity, First Lady Michelle Obama urged all Americans to join her in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people performing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. And they did it! The previous record was set by 20,000 people. An astonishing 300,265 people across the nation helped Mrs.
Read MoreFitness More Important Than Weight for Mortality Risk
According to a recent study in Circulation (2011; 124, 2483–490), when it comes to reducing the risk of death, physical fitness plays a bigger role than weight. The study included 14,345 men with an average age of 44 years. Each participant’s BMI and estimated metabolic equivalent of task (MET) were measured at least twice over 6 years. Also included in the study was an 11-year follow-up. By the time of that follow-up, 914 all-cause and 300 cardiovascular deaths had occurred among the subjects.
Read MoreIncentives to Improve Client and Member Motivation
When executed properly, clever contests and incentive plans can provide effective means for keeping customers focused on their goals. That means greater success for clients—and a healthier bottom line for you. Here are some contest and incentive success stories from your fellow IDEA members:
This year the most successful contest I ran at the worksite was the Make It Happen Team Activity Challenge. The Make It Happen team could be 3–5 people who had to exercise for at least two 15-minute bouts a day to receive 1 point—or 30 minutes or more once a day.
Read More150 Minutes to Better Sleep
According to an article on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website, at least 40 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep
disorder (www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm). Inadequate sleep can lead to a host of medical problems, interfere with work performance and degrade quality of life. The article also reported that medical costs associated with sleep disorders add up to about $16 billion per year. But there may be a solution: exercise.
Top Tips for Training Success
While definitions of success may vary, we can all agree that success in the fitness industry is measured by number of lives changed. The question is, How do you reach all those people when clients have so many choices? How do you differentiate yourself so that you stand out from the pack? Here are four tips for success in 2012:
Read MoreEurope’s Obesity Statistics
Much attention has been focused on obesity rates in the United Kingdom (UK). But what about the island’s many neighbors? According to the European
Health Interview Survey—published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU)—obesity rates across continental Europe continue to rise. The survey included 19 EU member states whose citizens were considered obese if they had a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30. Here is the breakdown of the states with the highest number of obese inhabitants, as reported in 2008 and 2009:
Endurance Exercise Linked to Heart Damage Risk
Several reports have emerged over the past few years linking endurance exercise with heart problems. Most recently, researchers from Australia and Belgium studied 40 trained athletes who were to participate in one of four events: an endurance triathlon, alpine cycling, an ultra triathlon or a marathon. The athletes presented with no known heart problems. The researchers obtained magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from each athlete 2–3 weeks before the race, 1 hour post-race and 6–11 days postrace.
Read MoreHelp a Challenged Athlete Get Into the Game
For many years, IDEA has been a supporter and an advocate for the Challenged Athletes Foundation® (CAF). Several of our Inspiration Award recipients through the years have been CAF people whose stories of determination and triumph have moved and inspired us incredibly.
Read MoreCapturing the Essence of Energy for Exercise
Exercise professionals devote fervent attention to learning the intricate mechanisms of muscle actions and understanding how the contractile proteins (such as myosin and actin) create force to do an array of exercises. But the source of that force—the biochemistry of energy—often remains a mystery. This column will discuss recent explanations that help demystify the processes happening at the molecular level, where cells channel energy from food into the work accomplished by exercise.
Read MoreFunctional Training for Mature Adults
I want to express my gratitude for the thoughtful and thorough review of training for seniors in “The Significant 7: Principles of Functional Training for Mature Adults” (January 2012) by Cody Sipe, PhD, and Dan Ritchie, PhD. They nailed some of the salient features of errant training concepts and methods that I have seen by trainers who just don’t understand the needs of the elderly.
Read MoreContinuing Education Quizzes
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Read MoreThe Anatomy of a Successful Job Interview
As an ambitious exercise entrepreneur, you know you need great staff for your fitness business. However, finding top talent can be a real trial. Moreover, in today’s troubled economy, many would-be employees send off stacks of resumes without strategic focus, potentially wasting your valuable time.
But the unique challenges of hiring in an employer’s market can be overcome. Discover tactical and time-efficient job interview strategies, and learn to easily separate the diamonds from the duds.
Part 1: Determining the Candidate’s Motivation
Read MoreIDEA FitnessConnect: Horizon Report
For almost 30 years, IDEA has held the belief that trained, certified fitness professionals are key to helping individuals get positive results, remain highly engaged and become “inspired to fitness.” The August 2010 launch of IDEA FitnessConnect, the free online fitness directory, made this philosophy more transparent.
Read MoreThe Exercise–Brain Connection
Did you know that your brain is incredibly dynamic? It can change its structure and function by adding new neurons, making new connections between neurons and even creating brand-new blood vessels, all in response to exercise.
Jeffrey A. Kleim, PhD, associate professor in the Arizona State University School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, shares the following insights on how exercise impacts the brain.
Read MoreNutrition Scope of Practice Revisited
As an ACE-certified group fitness and personal training professional, I found “Food and Nutrition R/Evolution” (Warm-Up, November–December 2011) fascinating. I have recently earned my MS degree in nutrition, and I am currently working as a dietetic intern in Chicago as I prepare to become an RD. I am an avid reader of your journal, especially the nutrition-related portions. I want to share a few thoughts regarding questions posed in the editorial.
Read MoreMindfulness Practice: Empowering Fragmented Teens to Become Whole
When 18-year-old K. attended an Insight Meditation Teen Retreat, she was seeking answers, reaching for help, trying to make sense of her pain and suffering. A college-bound Caucasian student from a comfortable middle-class suburban setting, K. had begun self-harming. Knowing it was wrong and starving for guidance, she immersed herself in an intensive 4-day residential mindfulness meditation program.
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