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Business of Group Fitness

Pilates Equipment Liability and Safety, Part 1

Pilates continues to be among the fastest-growing exercise trends in the United States. All signs indicate that the Pilates fire will continue to spread. Typically, Pilates is practiced under a qualified instructor’s close supervision, and this has helped limit the number of Pilates-related accidents.

A Ball for All

The stability ball has been used by physical therapists for years, and the fitness industry has fully embraced this tool for group exercise and private training. The stability ball creates an unstable surface and can be used for strength, balance, coordination, agility, core work and flexibility. Some of my favorite exercises challenge both balance and core strength. For review purposes,…

Mom, I’m at the Gym Doing Homework (Really!)

IT is 5 p.m. on a Tuesday and Victor Cal and Suliman Sharif, both 14, have already taken Overtime Fitness in Mountain View, Calif., by storm. They hopped wildly on the flashing lighted squares of an In the Groove dance pad, rode stationary bikes, shared cellphone pictures, chatted with a personal trainer and played a rousing game of table tennis. The pair, friends since seventh grade, once spen…

Latest Trends on Health and Fitness

IDEA Health & Fitness Association, the leading membership organization of health, wellness and fitness professionals worldwide with more than 21,000 members in over 80 countries, has announced the findings of its annual IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey. In its 12th year, the survey revealed an increasing range of activities and gear that are specially targeted to meet the diverse n…

AEDs Required in California Fitness Facilities

It’s been 3 months since all
fitness facilities and studios in California were required to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) program in place (the implementation date was July 1). If this requirement applies to you, are you up to code? If you don’t live in California, visit www.ncsl.org/programs/health/
aed.htm to see if your state
requires …

Meeting the Challenge: Variety, Activity for All

A major component of the fitness professional’s job is to inspire people to become more active and to continue a program of activity throughout their lives. As obesity and hyperkinetic disease rates continue to climb, we are constantly challenged as an industry to promote and motivate healthy living.
The 12th IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey shows that the fit…

Survey Finds Personal Training on Top; Aerobics on Decline

SAN DIEGO-Personal training still is the most successful program for retaining newcomers, according to a survey by IDEA Health & Fitness Association.The survey showed a growing trend toward putting people first before choosing the mode of exercise, which is reinforced by the variety of programs now available to meet a wide range of consumer needs regardless of age or physical condition, say…

Suspension Training: How Risky Is It?

NAVY Seals are legendary for their tiptop physical condition, but have you ever wondered how they stay fighting fit out in the field?Aaron Baldwin, 43, who retired in December as a master chief in the Seals, used to make barbells out of nothing more than plastic milk jugs, fresh concrete and a sturdy tree branch. "We'd make one weight and use i…

Fitness Products Services Guide

Find What You Need!
Apparel, Accessories & Swimwear

www.active-you.com
(888) 442-2284

www.bodyaddictionusa.com
(703) 624-1483

www.aquarelafitness.co…

Totally Taken Care Of

San Diego–based exercise equipment manufacturer and IDEA World Fitness® exhibitor efi Sports Medicine has been lending its muscle to men and women in the armed forces by donating more than 150 of its Total Gym machines to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Luke Paulino, Private First Class with the U.S. Army 2nd Platoon, 792nd Chemical Comp…

IDEA Data Show Business Is Booming

Trainer Survey
By Patricia Ryan, MS

IDEA Data Show Business Is Booming
New data reveal the expansion of training into new skills and new opportunities.

PERSONAL TRAINING GROWS INTO SMALL GROUPS
% of respondents offering program
Total of All Respondents Health Clubs and YMCAs PFTs in Client Homes PFT Gyms

n (number) personal training (one-to-one) personal training (2 clients share) personal trai…

Operation Organization

Synergistic Systems
By Kay L. Cross, MEd

Operation Organization
Don’t wait for spring to make a clean sweep of your working environment! If someone peered into your car, file cabinets, kitchen pantry, laundry room or closet, what would they assume about you? Would they guess that you are always in a hurry, loaded down with too much stuff and barely holding your act together in the public eye? Or …