Archive for April 2014
Multilevel Marketing Programs: Pros and Cons
When you hear the term “multilevel marketing” (MLM) or “network marketing,” what is your first response? Do you want to turn and run? Or are you immediately ready to plunk down the startup cost and start selling and recruiting?
Let’s explore the nuts and bolts of MLMs and hear insights and opinions from fitness professionals on both sides of the fence.
MLM Defined
Read MorePro-Aging: How the Fitness Industry Is Setting a New Standard
Some fitness professionals aren’t fans of the term anti-aging. Why? If you’re anti-aging, you’re anti-living. We’re all aging every second of every day—some of us on a faster track, yes, but the point is: Aging is natural and healthy. Why fight it? Pro-aging, on the other hand, connotes a positive approach to birthdays.
Read MorePilates for Overweight Clients: Teaching Tips
Pilates is a great tool for every body and provides many benefits for the overweight. Ten years ago my naturopath, Carol (who was obese), asked if I would teach her Pilates. I told her I had never worked with anyone so large, and that I would no doubt make many mistakes, but if she would…
Read MoreThe Science of Fat Burning
Creative Ideas that Inspire
NewVo, a dance fusion class offered at Being Fit Gym in San Diego, combines Middle Eastern dance and cardiovascular training for a total-body workout. The instructors offer multiple movement approaches to make this class challenging and appropriate for all fitness levels, according to the online description.
Read MoreThe Rib-Shoulder Connection
About 2 million people in the U.S. visit the doctor annually for rotator cuff problems (AAOS 2008), and at least 3% of adults will experience adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder (Manske & Prohaska 2008). Multiple exercises can help prevent or postpone surgery, but what if they don’t seem to work? When regular shoulder exercises don’t help your client improve, or if they hurt too much, it’s time to start looking beyond the shoulder girdle.
Read MoreObesity and Older Adults
Does Texting Clients Work?
Editor’s Note: In the February Food for Thought section, we asked if personal trainers use texting as a behavioral or weight loss intervention method with clients. One IDEA member shared the following:
Read MoreEmbracing the Self-Care Model
Michol Dalcourt is an internationally recognized expert in human movement and performance. He is the founder and director of the Institute of Motion, inventor of the ViPR™ fitness tool, and cofounder of Personal Training Academy Global (PTA Global). An international lecturer and educator, Dalcourt has written numerous articles on human design and function, and he has developed a widely used model for high-performance training.
Read MoreFlexitarian Eating
Have you been tempted to become a vegetarian, but the thought of giving up barbecues or your mom’s meatloaf seems too daunting? Thankfully, you can obtain many of the same benefits of vegetarian living without forgoing meat completely. You just have to become a “flexitarian.”
Read MoreSample Class: Sports Conditioning Rebounding
Running, jumping and throwing are integral to most sports. A rebounder, also referred to as a fitness trampoline, is a sometimes-forgotten sports conditioning tool that trains all three. In fact, it provides a multidimensional and multifaceted environment. The rebounder is a perfect playground for a multitude of training options, including plyometrics, high-intensity interval drills, explosive movement patterning, balance work, throwing sequences and more.
Read MoreA Break From Intensity
There’s no denying the growth and popularity of high-intensity interval training. HIIT classes— which also ride on the coattails of CrossFit®—sometimes use fast paced, complex movements against external resistance. While this type of training can yield impressive physical and mental results, it can also lead to injuries and burnout. Why not end your sessions with a mind-body-cool-down designed to calm the nervous system and potentially lessen the chance of injury?
Read MoreSimple Group Assessment in Seconds
Group exercise remains a popular option at fitness facilities, and instructors are being stretched to teach in smarter and more strategic ways. In one class you may have a multitude of experience levels, physical abilities and personal motivations. While this generates a unique energy, it also creates a challenge—and may make it more difficult to provide a safe, effective environment for everyone.
Read MoreRecipe For Health: Kale Pesto
These days, when many chefs are sourcing locally and seasonally, and abiding by sustainable practices, they may believe they are cooking healthy meals, says Emmanuel Verstraeten, founder and CEO of SPE Certified® (see related item). “While [sustainability] is an appropriate first step, it is not sufficient to close the loop on delivering nutritionally balanced, great-tasting dishes. What is missing is a culinary approach to nutrition whereby dishes are created to deliver the maximum in nutrient density, while retaining every ounce of deliciousness and taste.
Read MoreAsk The RD
Question: Can you please help me understand the characteristics that distinguish a macrobiotic diet from other diets, especially a vegan diet?
Read MoreFamily Meals May Beat Obesity
Family meals and their rituals might be an underappreciated battleground for fighting obesity, say Cornell professor Brian Wansink, PhD, and coauthor Ellen Van Kleef, assistant professor at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Their study appeared online in Obesity on October 1, 2013.
Read MoreSPE Certified® Delivers Health Through Food
With new evidence demonstrating that certain foods could be as detrimental to our well-being as cigarettes, consumers may find comfort in knowing instantly and unequivocally that a menu item they are about to select has been bestowed with a health halo by a trusted, independent source.
Read MoreHow Would You Change Food Labeling?
It has been widely reported that, for the first time in two decades, the FDA has proposed a major overhaul of nutrition labeling on food packages (see the mockup of the proposed new label).
Among the most significant changes in the potential redesign are
Read MoreWhen Sugar Isn’t Sweet
Now there’s another reason to encourage clients to limit their sugar intake: Eating added sugar is associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to a study published February 3 online in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study focuses on sugar added in the processing or preparing of foods, not naturally occurring sugars in fruits and fruit juices.
Read MoreWhat is Your Favorite Method of Heart Rate Monitoring?
I don’t use the rating of perceived exertion scale for my clients because I think that method is better suited to a clinical setting. I have been using Mio watches and a couple of other similar brands for many years. They are inexpensive and easy to use. I use them for fitness assessments, especially when I have my clients do the 1-mile Rockport Fitness Walking test because I need their heart rate and time in order to calculate their aerobic capacity and get the most accurate results.
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