Programming
Most Popular Club Activities
The three types of workout equipment used most often in health clubs in 2016 were treadmills, resistance machines and free weights, according to the IHRSA 2017 Health Club Consumer Report. Among group exercise and training programs, yoga topped the list, with 36% of members reporting participation. Stretching (24%) and calisthenics (23%) ranked second and third.
All Types of Exercise Prevent Depression
Regular exercise of any intensity for as little as 1 hour per week can prevent depression in people of all ages and genders, according to findings by an international research team led by the Black Dog Institute in Randwick, Australia. The study monitored exercise levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression in 33,908 Norwegian adults for more than 11 years.
Body Image and the Fitness Industry
A look at why the fitness industry does indeed have a body image problem—and what we can do about it, starting now.
The Anatomy of Functional Training Risks
Many clients can’t seem to get enough of workouts that meld functional movements with high-intensity resistance training. Indeed, workouts using dynamic, high-intensity, full-body movements are great for strength and health—provided the body functions properly and exercisers use correct technique.
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.
Cultivate Joy Through Mindfulness
It’s a busy, technology-dominated world—and most of us are continually spinning, twisting and turning in an effort to “get things done” and “produce.” We work, we raise families, we have countless responsibilities. The truth is, this is distracted living, and it raises stress levels, lowers productivity and interferes with our ability to focus. When we live this way, we fail to cultivate a sense of contentment and joy.
Personal Experience Inspires Client Success
client: John | personal trainer: Tony Phillips, president, Custom Fitness Solutions | location: Cookeville, Tennessee
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.
The Secrets to Building a Successful Business and a Prolific Career
When Jake Trione, owner of TriAffect Fitness, Health and Wellness in Houston, thought about what he wanted to do after 13 years of active duty in the United States Coast Guard, he knew he’d become a personal trainer. “I thought to myself, ‘If I am serious, I should find the most successful professionals in the business and spend time with them,’” he says.
Water Fitness Magic: Method, Modeling and Music
Something magical happens when you mix exercise with water. The pool can transform physical activity into something more enjoyable, safe and effective for people of all ages and fitness levels. Buoyancy is a boon to individuals with musculoskeletal issues or other health considerations; it reduces the effects of gravity on weight-bearing joints and provides a supportive, low-impact environment for improving body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, and muscular strength and flexibility, among other health parameters.
Sample Class: Sweat, Strength & Stretch: S3
Keep participants engaged and active with this cardio, strength and yoga fusion workout.
Group fitness fans love creative total-body workouts, and this class perfectly fits the bill by combining 3-minute intervals of cardio, strength and yoga into one fun, balanced experience. Customize this template to play to your strengths as a teacher and get people moving!
Partner Up to Warm Up
Have you noticed the latest trend? Instructors are incorporating partner work to add intensity, motivation and a sense of community. Prepare your class for success by teaming people up during the warmup. Below are a few full-body exercises that hit the upper body, lower body and core in a coordinated movement pattern. Before you start, get everyone in the “sidekick spirit” with these tips:
Cue participants to find a partner as they enter the room.
50 Ways to Cut Calories
For the first time ever, overeating is a larger problem than starvation among the world’s overall population (Buchanan & Sheffield 2017). Losing weight—and, perhaps more importantly, not regaining it—is a challenge facing millions of people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1975. Further, 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight in 2016. Of these people, more than 650 million were obese (WHO 2017).
Lose Weight, Save Money
A new report from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests
that people who are overweight or obese could potentially trade weight for cash.
Authors of the report produced a model linking body mass index, health outcomes and associated costs at various points in an adult’s life. For example, for a 40-year-old, having obesity (vs. normal weight) adds $15,024 in lifetime third-party payer costs, $16,400 in lifetime productivity losses and $31,447 in societal costs. For a person of that age, being overweight (vs.
Get Up, Stand Up—For Your Health
We know that sitting long hours is a health hazard that can lead to early death. What’s been unclear is whether frequent breaks in sit time can reduce that risk even if total sit time remains the same. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center looked into that question.
Millennials Prefer “Activacations”
According to a recent survey produced by Hotels.com, most millennials prefer to lift weights instead of piña coladas while on vacation. Savvy fitness professionals can leverage this
information when marketing and promoting programs to this demographic.
Muscle Activation During Kettlebell Exercises
Understanding how different exercises affect the body is a prerequisite for designing optimal training programs. In a study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2017; 31 [9], 2363–70), scientists looked at muscle activation during three kettlebell movements.
On This Day in Fitness History
The first-ever Winter Olympics were held January 25–February 5, 1924, in Chamonix, France. The event involved eight sports and just over 250 athletes.
Weight Disparities in Children Worldwide
When it comes to childhood health, lots of emphasis is placed on the risks of being overweight or obese—and an estimated 124 million kids worldwide were in those weight categories in 2016, a tenfold increase since 1975. While this is of great concern, a new study has found that in the same year, 192 million boys and girls were moderately or severely underweight. The researchers believe that family income levels may play a role in a child’s weight.
Olympic Support Coach Talks Winter Games
In February, thousands of athletes from around the world will descend on PyeongChang, South Korea, with dreams of stepping onto a podium. Among them will be members of the U.S. speed skating team, who have received support from the Under Armour Performance Team.
Dan McDonogh, 2012 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year and UA senior manager of performance training, knows what it’s like to ready the athletes for competition: