Research/News
Yoga for the Back
Updated on June 17, 2021. According to the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University, about 16 million adults in the U.S. have persistent or chronic back pain and are limited in…
Fit to Travel: Exercises for Seniors
Programming exercises for seniors is more important than ever, especially now that travel is opening up again, but your clients may not have kept up with their workouts over this last year. Here are some great ways to prepare your active agers for more adventure.
Group Exercise May Help Older Adults Combat Loneliness
Group exercise not only boosts physical health but, for older adults, may also support mental well-being by reducing feelings of aloneness.
Stretches After Sitting All Day
Encourage your fitness class participants to use these simple stretches after sitting all day to help their muscles return to a relaxed state.
Prep the Shoulders Before Play
As fitness instructors, we can help prevent injuries in our participants by giving the shoulders plenty of attention during the warmup.
Tips on Teaching Virtual Fitness Classes
Discover how other group fitness instructors have forged the way to virtual fitness classes, and learn from their insights, tips and mistakes.
Safety Tips for Outdoor Group Exercise
The following tips from the San Francisco Department of Public Health will help fitness professionals take training outside to promote health and safety.
Savor the Experience!
Reflect on the last time you taught a group fitness class. Can you recall one positive experience that stood out? Try savoring.
IDEA World 2020 Fitness Awards
The IDEA World Fitness Award recipients and finalists each have a tale to tell. Here, all the honorees share their journeys, strategies and triumphs.
Group Fitness and the Stages of Behavior Change
Learn how to notice the stages and inspire participants from where they are within the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM).
Group Exercise Instructors Make an Impact
Group exercise instructors, take heart: Your leadership skills significantly influence participants’ attendance and effort. Australian researchers conducted a study to examine how an instructor’s ability to create a sense of community and group identity among class members affected both effort and attendance. The study examined 249 participants and instructors across a variety of group formats.
Unleash Your Greatness and Build a Career That Inspires
Jack Welch, American businessman and former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” This is the reason the IDEA World Convention exists—to bring together some of the brightest people in the fitness industry so they can grow into greatness and inspire that growth in clients, students, athletes, co-workers and staff.
Comprising more than 330 sessions led by top coaches, entrepreneurs, and fitness, nutrition and wellness professionals, IDEA World offers the full spectrum of education you are seeking for instant and ongoing career growth, regardless of your position in the industry.
What Are This Year’s Top Fitness Trends?
To be “well” means seeking a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Wellness is a lifelong effort, and fitness is a part of the quest. There are multiple dimensions of wellness—including physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, social, and occupational. It turns out that when you work out, you’re not only boosting your physical wellness but other dimensions as well. As part of the Mindbody Wellness Index, we asked more than 20,000 Americans from 50 major U.S. cities about their fitness habits. We learned which cities are most dedicated to fitness, how often they’re getting their sweat on, and what forms of exercise they want to try next.
Resistance Training and Weight Loss
Did you know that resistance training does much more than build strong muscles and bones? Research in the past few years has confirmed that lifting weights changes your metabolism in ways that improve health and well-being. That’s good news for people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol levels.
IDEA Member Spotlight: January 2020
Michael Taylor Member Since 2010 :: Los Angeles “I am a Jedi,” says Michael Taylor, with a smile. And once you know him, the idea isn’t at all far-fetched. Taylor…
Add Competition to Boost Benefits of Wearables
If you use wearables with clients, consider adding competitive challenges to improve results. University of Pennsylvania and Deloitte Consulting LLP researchers found that simply giving wearables to people in the workplace did not increase physical activity; the key was to add fun and competition.
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.
Social Media Gives Insight on Training Patterns
Walking was the most popular activity. Western women and Midwestern men did more intensive exercise than those in any other region. The South had the biggest gender gap in exercise intensity
Any Amount of Exercise is Good
Another study adds to growing evidence that any amount of physical activity is linked with living longer and that prolonged sitting is bad for health. Study authors support the message to “sit less—move more and more often” to promote health.