Equipment – Group Fitness
Virtual Reality and Indoor Cycling
Indoor cyclists who wore virtual-reality headsets experienced less leg-muscle pain during brief, high-intensity intervals than cyclists who wore headsets showing static images, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2019; 51 [10], 2088–97).
January 2020 Question of the Month: Equipment and Activity Trends
What activities or equipment-based program trends are you seeing in the new year? Are you boosting promotion of any particular programs like high-intensity interval training, indoor cycling, yoga or barre? Or are you offering shorter class times or opportunities for virtual training? Please share your success stories.
Cultural Appropriation in Yoga
Yoga teachers will already be well aware that the yamas are one of the eight limbs of yoga. According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the word yamas can be translated as “abstinences”; in other words, these are things yogis should avoid doing (Satchidananda 2012).
High-Cadence Cycling and Recreational Cyclists
A recent study supports indoor cycling instructors who urge students not to pedal at a cadence above 90 revolutions per minute. Researchers found that at 90 rpm and beyond, pedal forces exerted by recreational cyclists decreased, heart rate increased by 15%, and exercise efficiency and skeletal muscle oxygenation declined.
The study appeared in the International Journal of Sports Medicine (2019; 40 [5], 305–11).
Overcoming Pain to Stay in the Fitness Game
More and more people choose exercising at gyms and studios to stay healthy. The trend is occurring across the age spectrum, from baby boomers to millennials. Americans choose the convenience, expertise, and comradery found at gyms and studios to stay at their fitness best.
Get Your Fitness Business Ready for the Holidays
Whether you’re getting your first frost warnings or temps have dropped from 100 degrees to a balmy 95 where you live, summer is just about over.
That means it’s time to plan for the holidays at your fitness business and the ensuing new year’s rush.
Sample Class: Tabata for Every Rider
This indoor cycling routine introduces Tabata-inspired intervals that provide a great workout for both beginner and advanced cyclists.
Minimalist Shoes and Stronger Foot Muscles
Minimalism is trending in many areas of life, including athletic shoes, with many fans touting numerous benefits. But does the evidence support the hype? Yes, according to research findings published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2018; doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001751). Walking in minimalist shoes is as effective as foot-strengthening exercises and may result in better compliance than doing specific exercises.
Improve Common Posture Deviations With Yoga
Yoga can be strategically used in concert with exercise physiology tenets to identify common postural issues that cause movement limitations for clients. Learn how taking a biomechanical approach to yoga offers an understanding of the interrelationships among joint structure, muscles and movement and how yoga postures can release tension, restore mobility, enhance stability and rebalance the body.
Retention: 5 Tips for Group Fitness
If you’ve been teaching group fitness classes for any length of time, you’ve likely experienced the dreaded student walkout. It’s the end of class—and time to stretch—and a portion of the class members start putting away equipment and heading for the door. Participants in certain classes are guiltier than others (cycling instructors, are you nodding in agreement?).
2019 IDEA® World Convention: Igniting Passion With Purpose!
Purpose, passion and people! The fitness industry is all about forging relationships that lift others up. Fitness professionals have energy to spare, and they are dedicated to mentoring new generations of pros, networking with peers, and motivating clients and participants every day.
Indoor Cycling: Safe for Prenatal?
You’re helping participants get set up on their bikes in your 6 p.m. cycling class when someone taps you lightly on the shoulder: Is it okay to ride if she’s pregnant? To your knowledge, you’ve never had a pregnant participant in class, and you don’t know how to respond.
Standing the Test of Time
“Returning to Pilates has changed my life,” says Linda Arroz. That’s a powerful affirmation, but Linda’s journey with trainer Jillian Hessel has power to spare. Their story extols the virtues of focusing on health over weight and building connections that stand the test of time.
The Foundation of a Lasting Partnership
It began in 1994. Hessel, a multicertified master Pilates teacher, remembers her first meeting with Linda.
The Science of Pilates Research
When Victor Sanakai was playing tennis for the Auburn University Montgomery National Championship team, he thought he was going to need rotator cuff surgery. But first he sought the advice of Michele Olson, PhD, a Pilates researcher who works with student athletes.
Olson, a senior clinical professor of sport science at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, suggested Sanakai try Pilates exercises for the shoulders, upper back and abdominals.
A Great Start to Indoor Cycling
The best indoor cycling instructors get it: The workout isn’t about you; it’s about the people you’re coaching. Your class is an opportunity to shine a light on others and help them feel successful. It’s a forum for building confidence, inner strength and community.
An engaging start is like a handshake; it introduces you to the riders. It’s your time to capture your audience by rolling out the carefully constructed plan you’ve created especially for them.
Two of a Kind
When Colleen Evans wanted to improve her strength while healing from Lyme disease, her doctor knew exactly who could help her: fellow patient and personal trainer Shona Curley.
Like Colleen, Curley had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and was coping with its symptoms.
Variable Resistance Training With Deadshifts and Deadlifts
It’s 2 a.m. Your 3-month-old son is screaming at the top of his tiny lungs, waking up everyone in the household. Begrudgingly, you get out of bed and zombie-walk over to your son’s crib in the next room. Your body aches, you haven’t slept in days, and now you must bend over to pick up a squirming child in the dead of night. Unfortunately, your son’s not a great strength coach and doesn’t allot enough warmup time to prepare your body for a deadlift.
Have a Ball Workout
This fun format incorporates exercise balls into cardiovascular and strength intervals. Each 8-minute round uses either a stability ball or a medicine ball, 4 minutes of high-intensity cardio training (combined), and about 4 minutes of strength-focused work (combined). For those who also enjoy a core challenge, this class delivers.
Kickin’ Cooldown: Post-Kickboxing Stretches
Kickboxing is an empowering class that builds confidence and improves balance, cardiovascular endurance, proprioception, strength and dynamic flexibility. It’s an effective total-body workout, especially when taught correctly, with key tenets in mind. Some say kickboxing is on the downswing; however, it’s possible that any decline in popularity is due, not to the format itself, but to how it’s being taught (or mistaught). It continues to be a staple in many facilities.
Pilates Helps Adolescents
6-week Pilates program improved core muscle endurance and hamstring flexibility among adolescents between 9 and 19 years with a history of back pain. Research findings from a preliminary study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2019; doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.01.006) showed that a 6-week Pilates mat exercise program with two 55-minute sessions per week can improve conditioning in both young males and young females.
