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How Can the Government Slow Obesity?

Praise for IDEA Personal Trainer Institute™ East

Editor’s note: At the end of a Making News item titled
“World Obesity Federation Shares Worrisome News” (January 2016, 13 [1],
10), we asked for reader feedback on the following question: “In what
ways do you think government should intervene to avoid further increases
in the number of people who are overweight or obese?” A few of your
responses follow.

I have these thoughts:

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Building a Better Brand on a Budget

What is a brand? According to BusinessDictionary.com, brand means a “unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in [a] crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value.”

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Sun Salutation for Functional Fitness

Advancing your sun salutation offers participants variety and challenge, while allowing individuals to choose the right options for them. When you select two or three foundational movements to progress, it gives students a chance to explore their limits without being overwhelmed. Read on to find out how it works.

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Workplace Workouts

How can fitness professionals help desk jockeys boost their daily activity levels? Perhaps it’s time to change the message. Instead of focusing on the risks of inactivity—which hasn’t made much headway —maybe we should appeal to career-oriented sensibilities and explain how even 5 minutes of movement can make people more successful at their jobs.

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Yoga and Pilates for Men

Use a three-pronged approach to help frail participants move better, get stronger and improve their balance.

John Manrique, co-founder of Revolutions Cycling Studio in Jupiter, Florida, knew he ?needed to work on his flexibility, and ?he was interested in yoga. His first yoga experience was in a combination indoor cycling and yoga class. After taking the class, he felt the immediate benefit that yoga provided to his cycling. He now attends a yin yoga class weekly, making it an integral part of his training.

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What’s the Best Activity Tracker for Your Clients?

As a fitness expert, you’ve likely had at least a couple, if not dozens, of fitness clients/participants ask you about activity trackers: how they work, which ones are best, what features to look for. Do you feel 100% confident answering these questions? You’re not alone if you say no.

Of the fitness pros recently surveyed by the American Council on Exercise, 72% reported that their clients consistently asked for insight and feedback about tracking devices. However, only 51% of respondents felt prepared to answer those questions (ACE 2016).

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A Simple, Attainable Action Plan

Jinger S. Gottschall, PhD, earned her doctoral degree in integrative physiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and furthered her academic career as a postdoctoral fellow in neurophysiology at the Emory University School of Medicine. She is currently an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, with a research focus on the effectiveness of various exercise regimes.

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Sample Class: HIIT The Highway

High-intensity interval training is still enjoying a wave of popularity,
thanks to its ability to stimulate results in less time than other
formats. Help attendees stay focused, engaged, and motivated to meet their
fitness goals as you mix it up with HIIT the Highway. This class features
dedicated 40-second work efforts followed by 20-second recoveries. One
unique aspect of HIIT the Highway is that it uses athletic drills that
relate to running and power, for a nice combination that truly

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Creative Ideas That Inspire

Shaka Fitness® in Cleveland puts a new twist on an old favorite with

SUP Pool Yoga.

While yoga on a standup paddleboard is not a new idea—especially in locations where people have access to ocean or lakes—this offering utilizes an indoor pool. This allows participants to experience the core-strengthening and balance-training benefits of yoga on the water year-round. Even better, the predictability of indoor weather conditions allows the facility to maintain a consistent schedule.

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Preparing for Life and Activity

This generic warm-up targets muscle groups that tend to shorten with life’s habits and patterns. Currently, the general population is trending toward more sedentary lifestyles, making the seated position dominant for most Americans. While instances of unilateral dysfunction and tightness will need special attention, these general corrective strategies will help most attendees and prepare them for your customized class.

Balancing Act

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Clinch Your Coaching Style

You look across the hall at Popular Instructor’s class and marvel at how she packs the house day after day, week after week. You’ve studied her style and tried your best to emulate her music, cuing, choreography—even the way she dresses—but your numbers are shrinking instead of growing. What are you doing wrong?

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“What business book are you reading, and how has it impacted your business?

I read at least one business book a month. Right now I’m reading

Rework,

by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, and

Rising Strong

by Brené Brown.

Rework

has helped me simplify. I thought I needed to attach myself to as many opportunities as possible, but everything became too complicated.

Rework

reminded me that the best businesses are based on simplicity and on solving a basic need. I work with women with diastasis recti, and I need to be consistently serving that population.

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Avoiding Payroll Tax Problems

The Internal Revenue Service can be tough on collecting income taxes, but it’s even tougher where payroll taxes are concerned. Mistakes in withholding and paying withheld taxes can be expensive, even when a third-party payroll service is involved, as the IRS recently revealed (TIGTA 2015).

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Independence Training for an Older Adult

Last resort.

Daniel Yakupka, owner of Fit for Life Fitness in Alexandria, Virginia, remembers the first time he met Arthur. ?“He shook my hand, looked right in my eyes and said, ‘Daniel, I need some help. ?You are my last resource. Can you help me?’”

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The New Personal Trainer

The personal training industry is in its third decade and is stronger than ever, with an expanding base of diverse clients and multiple ways to reach them. Personal training ranks sixth among the American College of Sports Medicine’s top 10 fitness trends for 2016, and it has ranked in the top 10 for the past 9 years of the survey (ACSM 2015).

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