Endless Summer

The warm weather of what I hope turns into endless summer has prompted a lot of reminiscing about my childhood in Illinois. We were a swimming family, so my mom would drop the four of us kids off at Willow Swim Club in the morning for practice and she’d come back in the late afternoon to pick us up after the PM workout. Swim in the AM; swim, play, bedevil lifeguards, and eat popsicles and grilled cheese all day; and then work out again before going home, eating dinner and collapsing. Rinse and repeat all summer long! It was the ’70s and it was a pretty idyllic and active way to grow up.  

So much has changed. For one thing, no parent in their right mind would leave kids under 10 unsupervised at a pool all day. We live in a fraught, changed time. And frankly, I think it’s the rare kid who’d actually rather be out running around, exploring and creating their own adventures vs. sitting inside the Metaverse playing video games on a slick gaming console all day. No judgement, not bad, just different. In fact, if my parents didn’t make us get out and swim or do another sport every day, I would have gladly rotted in front of the TV watching Gilligan’s Island, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family.

In any case, I’m longing for those carefree days and looking forward to some endless summer fun with family and friends after IDEA World Convention is wrapped up. Hiking, biking, rafting and horseback riding are all on my punch list for the trip. How did your childhood summers shape your fitness path? What are your memories and traditions of summer? Drop me a line at editor@ideafit.com to share. Several of you have written to me and I love connecting, so please keep reaching out.  

If you’re not able to join us in Las Vegas at IDEA World in just under 3 weeks, I wanted to point you to other compelling resources IDEA has to keep you connected to the pulse of what’s happening in the fitness industry. My colleague, managing editor Judy Minich, has crafted this wonderful article that points you to all the different ways you can consume IDEA content for your own learning pleasure and for CECs/CEUs. 

I’d also like to draw your attention to the spanking new batch of 17 newly released video courses recorded and produced from 2022 IDEA Personal Trainer Institute. Thanks to IDEA’s stellar online education team of Linda Morreale and Jordan Leeds for this new cache of the most popular topics, latest programming trends and current research to keep you a few steps ahead of the game. As an IDEAfit+ Member, these courses and all the CECs that go with them are FREE to you as part of your member benefits. If you’re looking for something different, browse the more than 1,000 other courses in our library. 

With that, I’ll bid you a very happy and safe July 4th weekend. If there’s anything we can do to make your important work as a fitness professional easier or more productive, please get in touch with me or the content team at content@ideafit.com to tell us what you need. We look forward to serving you every day. 

Until next time, keep inspiring!