Archive for March 2012
10 Pilates Tips for Posture and Alignment
Assessing clients’ posture or alignment can sometimes be overwhelming for both novice and experienced Pilates instructors. Even with all our knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, movement and injuries, it can be hard to know where to start. A useful approach when assessing movement patterns is to focus on footwork on the reformer. It’s powerful to see the transformation that occurs in clients with each repetition. More important, clients walk away with a better sense of how their bodies move.
10 Tips for 10 Toes
Read MoreBoot Camp, Nutrition, Core: Trainers Find Purpose
How good does it feel when your clients start seeing results? An educated personal trainer who knows how to put together the perfect program is a metabolic magician. When clients see and feel they are manifesting their goals, the impact of your program design is apparent. The best personal trainers work at their craft, constantly learn new concepts and upgrade their expertise. This pays off with powerful, purposeful, client-focused sessions that make a lasting impression.
Read MoreSample Class: Jump Rope Circuit
Jump rope training is a tried-and-true form of exercise that has been around for many, many years. Relatively easy to do, it improves cardiorespiratory fitness and overall health. It’s lower impact than many other activities, and jump ropes themselves are inexpensive–even in bulk!
Jump Rope Circuit Details
Read MoreHip Pain: What Helps, What Hurts
Hip pain. Clients of all shapes, sizes and ages complain about it. Hip issues can be as simple or as complex as each individual, and a good personal trainer knows how to assess for mobility and function and when to refer out to a physician or physical therapist. Recently there has been a lot of buzz in physical therapy and sports medicine circles about a “new” dysfunction of the hip called femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).
Read MoreDynamic Group Reformer Harmony
Maintaining safety and control can be tricky in any group exercise class. Keeping sessions fresh, motivating and unintimidating is equally challenging. Add in a moving carriage, loaded with springs, and sometimes a box and a multitude of other props and you see why linking exercises efficiently is critical when teaching a group reformer Pilates session. In addition to understanding the objective and muscle focus of each exercise, generating flow through proper sequencing can be imperative for an effective workout.
Read MoreCreative Ideas That Inspire
Students go on an intense ride in Tabata Trek Spin, offered by the Boston College Flynn Recreation Complex in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. This class “combines intense intervals of work with intervals of rest that challenge every cell in your body,” according to the online description. Participants are encouraged to push to their absolute maximum, which is followed by a “complete rest for a metabolizing boost to your system.”
Read MoreSample Class: Flash Mob Dance!
Imagine you’re shopping in the mall when you hear Beyoncé’s girl-power anthem “Single Ladies” over the house speakers. One by one, dancers—whom you thought were shoppers like yourself—begin mimicking the moves from the infamous video until nearly 100 people of all shapes and sizes are performing en masse. You can’t help but smile, and you’re dying to join in!
Read MoreRhythmic Water Warm-Up
If your current water warm-up is lacking excitement, it’s time to add some variety. An effective warm-up is light-to-moderate intensity, moves through all three planes of motion and focuses on large muscle movements. This prepares the body for higher intensity by raising the heart rate and core body temperature.
Read MoreThe Core of Creativity
For years, group exercise instructors have been debating the topic of creativity. The controversy usually arises when facilities license preprogrammed classes. Some instructors argue that preprogramming limits creativity. They feel that “free-style” classes are more creative and are better suited for advanced participants, who “crave complex movements.”
Read More“What book have you read that has most profoundly impacted the way you do business?”
A few years ago I was introduced to The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber (Harper Business 1990). This book has revolutionized how I do business today. It taught me to systemize my business and encouraged me to approach it like a franchise. The author believes that franchises tend to be the most systemized and efficient…
Read MoreThe Late Bloomer
Dynamic Group Reformer Harmony: Web Extra
Ask the RD
Answer: The Paleo Diet suggests that we should model our way of eating on the hunting and gathering techniques of the Paleolithic period. The diet recommends sticking with animal protein, fruits and vegetables, while staying away from dairy, grains, legumes, high-glycemic fruits and veggies, salty foods and refined sugar. It is a high-protein, lower-carb diet that is also promoted to athletes as a way to enhance performance.
Read MoreVibration Training and Improved Performance?
Have you ever wondered if whole-body vibration (WBV) techniques could pass as a viable warm-up protocol? Researchers wondered, too.
Read MoreTransit Agencies Consider Wider Seats
As waistlines continue to grow, public transportation providers have begun considering whether to adjust their regulations to improve safety and vehicle efficiency.
Read MoreIs Exergaming Better for Older Adults Than Traditional Exercise?
Video games may be primarily the domain of the younger set, but scientists are suggesting that older adults go virtual to help preserve brain function. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2012; 42 [2], 109–19), a recent study of 102 participants aged 55 and above, found that exergaming may be more effective than traditional exercise at improving cognitive function. The participants were separated into two groups: a cybercycle group and a recumbent cycle control.
Read MoreSigns Encourage Stair Use
Could a simple sign encourage individuals to take the stairs instead of taking the elevator?
Read MoreJoin or Start a Walking Club
Do you want to encourage your clients to walk more so they can live longer? According to an American Heart Association (AHA) press release, “Regular walking is one of the most effective forms of physical activity that delivers substantial health benefits and improves heart health.” To make it fun and easy to get moving, the AHA has created the opportunity for walking clubs. The organization has a website where interested individuals can join or create a walking club in their area.
Read MoreCraft the Perfect Query
Fitness industry experts often suggest diversifying revenue streams and services to maintain career longevity and make more money. One way to achieve these goals is to get published. Having your work published can also help to elevate your status in the industry and your community. But it takes more than a good idea to attract the attention of your local news outlet’s editor.
Read MoreThicker Thighs = Improved Health?
In a world where thin is in, scientists are suggesting that thicker thighs could mean better health. A study published in the Harvard Men’s Health Watch newsletter (www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mens_Health_Watch/2012/January) involved 2,816 apparently healthy men and women aged 35–65. Each participant was measured for height and weight and for thigh, hip and waist circumference. Subjects were tracked for 12.5 years on average.
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