Technology
Why Fit Tech Changes Everything
If you’re not already harnessing the power of fitness technology to run your personal training business and make a difference in the lives of your clients, you should be.
How Do You Manage Your Clients And Leads?
In a recent “Tricks of the Trade” column, IDEA asked some of its members how they manage their clients and leads. Read on for Raleigh, North Carolina, member Karin Singleton’s ideas. How do you manage your clients and leads? Please share your answer in the comment box below.
Screen Time Weakens Boys’ Bones
Here’s more incentive to encourage boys to minimize computer use. A new study presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, in Seville, Spain, in April, draws a link between screen time and diminished bone mineral density.
The research, published in Osteoporosis International With Other Metabolic Bone Diseases (2014; 25 [s2]), included 1,038 Norwegian boys and girls aged 15–18.
How to Market Your Business With Facebook
Facebook is often used as a means to market products and services. However, updated algorithms have made it much more difficult to spread the word. Learn tips and tricks to make sure your audience gets the message.
What 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.
Ownership of Certain Devices Linked to Obesity, Diabetes
Perhaps it’s no surprise that people who own computers, televisions and cars tend to be less active and may be more vulnerable to obesity-related diseases than people without these possessions. Now, researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada and more than 20 other institutions around the world have collaborated to determine the level of risk that ownership of certain devices presents.
Battling Big Media
The frustrating thing about these headlines is that, to the letter, they are not untrue. To date, there have not been any large, randomized studies that have shown that reducing sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day (as is advised for certain special populations) has a positive outcome. But it is clear that the majority of Americans are getting far more than the 2,300 mg per day that has been found to correspond with certain disease risk factors.
Announcing the IDEA Workout Builder
IDEA members asked, “Can you create a tool for us to put together workouts, with videos of each exercise online?” Yes! You asked for it; you got it! The new IDEA Workout Builder.
The IDEA Workout Builder allows you to quickly customize, save and share workouts—with over 1,000 videos at your disposal! The videos IDEA pro- vides show top educators progressing and regressing exercises to make them appropriate for most of your clients.
The IDEA Workout Builder gives you the ability to:
How to Prioritize Your Schedule for Greater Productivity
If I asked you how you are doing, what would your answer be? Crazy? Busy? We all have managed to fill every minute of every day with a task, a chore or an obligation. But that doesn’t mean we’re truly productive. Now ask yourself the following questions: Do you spend your days the way you want to? Or is most of your time spent reacting to the influx of emails, social media and people who want your time? Do you book your days from wake to sleep with appointments, and leave no time for yourself or for growing other parts of your business?
The Best Social Media Platforms for Business Owners
Pros
Cons
Facebook has lots of active users.
Generating good content can be time-consuming.
There are many useful features, like event management, special tabs and the ability to schedule posts.
Social Networking for the Pilates Pro
In this age of social networking, it is imperative to connect with clients outside your facility via the Internet. Gone are the days of relying only on fliers and posters to tell clients about your offerings and events—now it’s all about engaging with clients on your blog, your Twitter feed or your Facebook page.
Breathalyzer Signals Fat Burn?
Have you ever wished for a quick way to test whether a client is burning fat? Scientists from Researchers Laboratories in Yokosuka, Japan, believe they have found an answer—in the form of a portable breath analyzer device.
The researchers developed the device to measure acetone, “a metabolite derived from fat-burning [and] produced in the blood, that is expelled through alveoli of the lungs during exhalation.”
Self-Monitoring on the Rise
According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, health- and fitness-related self-monitoring is a popular practice among U.S. adults.
The survey, which included data from 3,014 respondents nationwide, found that 69% of adults use some form of tracking for themselves or someone they love.
Here are a few other survey tidbits:
“Digital Distractions” Feature Earns Applause
Shirley Archer, JD, MA, has written another high-quality article (“Digital Distractions,” June). The piece had a thoughtful premise; it had a clear research focus; it was well-organized; and it provided stimulating discussion as well as a variety of insights and perspectives.
Three Easy Ways to Build Your Own Website
The Internet has given consumers one of their most powerful resources: the ability to research a product and poll their friends about it online before making a purchase. Not having a website means that you are potentially missing out on that online search traffic. As a personal training business owner, not only do you need to be online, but you’ve got to present yourself in the best light possible.
Using LinkedIn for Financial Success
LinkedIn calls itself the world’s largest professional network. Launched in 2003, it has over 225 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. LinkedIn can be a very effective marketing and networking tool for your business if you follow these basic steps.
Develop a Client-Focused Profile
Virtual Reality and Weight Loss
Can watching a virtual-reality avatar help someone lose weight? Scientists from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, in Washington, DC, think so.
Protect Your Online Reputation
It’s great when a client or a member tweets a positive comment (that gets retweeted!), or when you get new business thanks to good reviews on Yelp. Unfortunately, however, that isn’t always the case. Angry or otherwise unhappy customers use the Internet as an instant outlet for their gripes.
Are Video Games Good Medicine For Seniors?
Your older clients are no doubt interested in complementing a fit body with a fit mind. Well, new study evidence suggests they can slow cognitive impairment by playing a few hours of “brain fit” video games designed to speed up and improve mental processing.
As the human brain ages, its executive function skills—which include perception, attention, memory, abstract thinking and problem solving—tend to diminish. Since many of us are living longer lives, scientists are motivated to identify ways to prevent this loss.