Dance-Based
Dance Fitness for Older Adults
Older adults will reap myriad mind-and-body benefits—long after they sashay out of your dance fitness classroom.
Warm Up With Rhythm
Dancing is a great workout that delivers as many smiles as it does full-body benefits. To share those benefits with participants, however, you don’t need to teach a whole dance class. A dance-inspired warmup will help patrons prepare for specific movements while setting a perfect tone for class.
In general, a good warmup includes
How to Help Participants Find Flow
For a moment, think about your own workouts. Tap into that feeling of being completely absorbed in your favorite fitness routine. Everything else fades away, and your entire focus is on the present moment. You feel confident in your body’s abilities, you’re challenging yourself, and you find great meaning in what’s happening now. You’re in the zone. Before you know it, your workout is over, and you can’t wait to do it again.
How (and Why) to Host a Family-Themed Indoor Cycling Class
Every Thursday morning, my cycle studio fills with an array of participants, ranging from accomplished Ironman® finishers to preschool moms trying to maximize their minutes—and Nora, a 92-year-old great-grandmother. Together we pedal like maniacs, laugh, sing a few refrains and walk out soaked through with sweat. In the cycle studio, participants of all ages and abilities can be motivated by being in a group, but riders can still slow down when they need to without sticking out. In fact, my own cycling journey began when I was pregnant and in search of a low-impact workout.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
KONGA®, at Funk & Twist Fitness in Basingstoke, England, is a high-intensity offering that incorporates elements of boxing, cardio, dance and sculpt. The program vibe is fierce and wild, and sessions are set to upbeat music designed to inspire and motivate. The class is updated each month with fresh choreography so that participants don’t become bored or hit fitness plateaus. It’s appropriate for all levels, from beginners to seasoned fitness enthusiasts.
Learn, Connect and Thrive at the IDEA® World Convention
Education is the foundation of the IDEA World Convention, but this fitness event offers plenty more than stellar instruction. For Jonathan Bernath, publicist-turned-personal-trainer, it’s where he discovered the “fitness family” that would guide him in his new career.
Primed to Squat
Why is it that so few people can squat correctly, yet my 8-year-old son squats perfectly? I’ve never taught him how to squat; he innately learned how, just as he learned to roll over, crawl, pull himself up and eventually walk. He simply needed the freedom to allow his body to move. Movement before strength is key.
Sample Class: Functional-Impact Fun!
Get participants jumping with a combination of functional fitness movements and plyometric exercises that create an intense and enjoyable interval workout. The functional moves build strength and coordination, while the plyometric drills focus on muscle power and cardiovascular fitness. Together, they provide a total-body conditioning workout.
Functional-Impact Fun! Details:
Goal/emphasis: total-body fitness
Total time: 45–60 minutes
Creative Ideas That Inspire
Camp 4 at Mountain Challenge in Maryville, Tennessee, is an outdoor fitness facility inspired by Yosemite and created to counteract the obesity and inactivity epidemic. Once a week, Mountain Challenge’s backyard is open for recreational exercise and includes access to climbing, bouldering, group fitness classes and a yoga deck, as well as resistance bands and kettlebells for customized workouts. Student interns from the local college’s exercise science and physical education departments oversee the activities and help design programs.
Cultivating a Home Yoga Practice
Find out why a home yoga practice can benefit your students, how to encourage them to create the space, and what will help them sustain it.
Turn Negatives Into Positives
I was a new group fitness instructor taking someone else’s muscle-toning class. “You’re not going low enough,” the instructor yelled at me from across the crowded room. As flames of embarrassment burned my cheeks, I dropped lower into the Romanian dead lift even though I had just come from teaching my seventh cycling class of the week and my body was spent. But this was what the class required, I rationalized, and I was fit—I should be able to keep up.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up, and as a result, I gave myself a nagging lower-back injury.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
H.I.I.P. Hype (High-Intensity Interval Painting) in New York challenges body, mind and creativity. Ninety–minute sessions begin with a warm-up followed by short intervals of high-intensity body-weight exercises interspersed with periods of painting. The energy participants generate while exercising helps them express themselves more freely when they paint, according to organizers. The last 15 minutes of class are reserved for a cool-down, as well as painting presentations. Mats and art materials are provided.
3 Rowing Workouts to Boost Strength, Endurance, and Aerobic Capacity
Don’t forget about the rowing machine—it’s a perfect tool to help client improve all areas of fitness.
Creative Ideas that Inspire
Barrelesque at Rock in Opposition, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a mash–up of various dance styles, Pilates and yoga. It includes barre techniques, but it also spices things up with burlesque–style dance movements. Open to all levels, this class provides a dynamic workout in a playful environment.
Games at My House Fitness® in Winter Springs, Florida, is a school recess–inspired experience for adults.
Buddy Boot Camp
A thriving business is not built overnight, but you can beef up your bottom line and spark new energy in just 14 days. Learn the nuts and bolts of running a simple, 2-week Buddy Boot Camp that can be a slam dunk in your personal training or fitness business. Discover how to execute this program, which you can tailor to the size and strengths of your business model. Get ready to jolt your revenues and wow your current and prospective clients.
Our Story
Creative Ideas That Inspire
Shaka Fitness® in Cleveland puts a new twist on an old favorite with
SUP Pool Yoga.
While yoga on a standup paddleboard is not a new idea—especially in locations where people have access to ocean or lakes—this offering utilizes an indoor pool. This allows participants to experience the core-strengthening and balance-training benefits of yoga on the water year-round. Even better, the predictability of indoor weather conditions allows the facility to maintain a consistent schedule.
Ballet, Body Control and Balance
Do you have clients who want to improve their balance and body control? Encourage them to try ballet. A study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology (2015; doi: 10.1152/jn.00758.2015) found that individuals who regularly practiced the dance form had better muscle coordination.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
At several City Surf Fitness locations in Texas and Louisiana,
City Surf
offers participants the benefits of surfing—even though there aren’t any waves nearby. According to the website, the class is taught on SURFSET® RipSurfer X boards and features “fun surf-inspired movements, utilizing surfer-specific muscle groups.” Classes are open to every fitness level, and instructors provide modifications for more or less intensity.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
While not exclusive to men, Yo-Bro YOGA at RIO Pilates & Yoga
Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a high-energy class that allows
practitioners to explore their physical limits. Catering to the
masculine energies of both men and women, the program offers
techniques for strength building and endurance—as well as opportunities
for arm balances and inversions. Participants are rewarded for their
efforts with craft beer at the end of class.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
At multiple locations throughout the country, Equinox offers
The Pursuit,
an indoor cycling experience that combines video game technology and visuals to create a competitive and interactive ride. There are two class options available—
Burn,
which aims for maximum calorie expenditure, and
Build,
suited for cyclists who focus on distance and endurance.