Don’t Forget the Job Description

If you’ve ever asked an employee to do something pertinent to her job only to have her counter, “That’s not in my job description,” you know how important it is to outline the position in advance. According to the United States Small Business Administration, job descriptions provide the foundation for job training and future evaluations and should include the following basic elements:

• Job title.
• Objective or overall purpose statement, which should include the general nature, level, purpose and intent of the job. This summary should describe the position’s broad function and scope and be no longer than three to four sentences.
• List of duties or tasks performed, item by item. This should include principal duties, continuing responsibilities and accountability. It should also include every essential job duty or responsibility. Start the list with the most important functional and relational responsibilities and continue down in order of significance.
• A description of the relationships and roles within the company, including supervisory positions, subordinating roles and/or other working relationships.

For more information, visit www.sba.gov.

According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), elliptical trainer usage has increased 158% over the past 5 years. The 2005 IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey echoes this finding. Elliptical trainers were among the top three “most essential” pieces of equipment named by respondents answering an open-ended question in the IDEA survey. Of the 264 respondents, 74% said their company provides elliptical trainers and 68% said usage was growing.

When designing strength training programs for young athletes, many personal fitness trainers maximize training volume. But a study in the August issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, (2005; 19 [3], 689–97) suggests that submaximal volumes produce better strength results than high-volume training.

The study examined the effects of resistance training volumes on maximal strength in the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the squat. Subjects were 51 experienced (at least 3 years) male lifters (average age, 16.5 years) who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: low-volume (LV), moderate-volume (MV) and high-volume (HV). Participants trained 4–5 days a week and accumulated 3,030 (HV), 2,481 (MV) or 1,923 (LV) repetitions during a 10-week periodized program. Results showed that short-term, moderate-volume resistance training produced the best strength gains and may have “important practical relevance for the optimal design of strength training programs.”

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