Research/News
Muscle Cramps? Find Out Why
Muscle cramps can stop athletes in their tracks. Although they usually self-extinguish within seconds or minutes, the abrupt, harsh, involuntary muscle contractions can cause mild-to-severe agony and immobility, often accompanied by knotting of the affected muscle (Minetto et al. 2013). And cramps are common; 50%–60% of healthy people suffer muscle cramps during exercise, sleep or pregnancy or after vigorous physical exertion (Giuriato et al. 2018).
Myths About Meal Timing and Frequency
Which is better: eating five or more small meals or fasting for 16 hours a day? There are a lot of opinions about the optimal timing of meals. Whether your clients are trying to lose weight or gain muscle, chances are they have heard of meal frequency and meal timing, which are common terms used interchangeably to talk about dietary eating patterns. However, all the talk has created a mythology around the “right” way to eat. It’s time to separate myth from reality by looking beyond opinions and focusing on the science.
Put Down the Phone While You Grocery Shop
It’s not a good idea to be a distracted driver when pushing your shopping cart. A study with modern-day relevance found that people who used their phones for “shopping-unrelated” tasks—like scrolling through a social media feed or volleying text messages with a friend—purchased more unplanned items than people who didn’t use their phones while grocery shopping. And were those items a head of broccoli or a pint of blueberries? No, the purchases were mostly nutritionally poor, packaged foods.
The REAL Scoop on Protein Powders
Protein powders, especially the whey variety, have long been glorified in fitness circles for their muscle-building benefits. “Pump some iron and chug back a protein shake” is a preferred muscle-making formula.
Alternative Pain Relief by Incrediwear
How much do you think your clients spend on pain relief? It’s a rhetorical question, but statistics show that the annual cost of healthcare due to pain ranges from $560 billion to $635 billion in 2010. This is in the United States alone, which combines the economic and medical costs to disability days, lost wages, and productivity.
Increase Income by Diversifying Services
Do you worry about the financial impact of getting sick or injured? Does taking a vacation mean a financial loss for you? As a studio owner or fitness entrepreneur, you have only so many hours in the day to market and run your business and focus on your own professional education and development.
Switching to Poultry From Red Meat May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
A new study on meat consumption among women suggests that eating red meat raises the risk of breast cancer, whereas eating poultry is linked to a lower risk of the disease. The findings were published online August 6 in the International Journal of Cancer.
Investigators analyzed information on meat consumption and cooking practices among 42,012 women, who were followed for an average of 7.6 years.
Meet an IDEA Team Member: Nate Hidinger
If you’re ever lucky enough to get Nate as your inspired service specialist when you call IDEA with a question or need assistance at an IDEA event, there’s no doubt you’ll finish the encounter feeling like your day just took a leap and a bound. This man walks a positive path, lives by the golden rule and sincerely gets pumped when he witnesses the good nature of others. “I love seeing or hearing about acts of kindness for those deserving or in need,” Nate says.
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.
Warmups to Get Wrist-Ready!
Body-weight training remains popular because it improves functional strength and is really accessible—it requires no equipment and can occur anywhere. For various reasons, however, many participants can’t handle the load that body-weight training places on the wrists. While you can certainly offer plenty of modifications, such as doing pushups from the knees, why not focus on preparing the wrists during the warmup?
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.
What We Aren’t Eating Is Killing Us
Bad diet choices lead to more deaths worldwide than any other risk factor, including smoking and obesity, according to the Global Burden of Disease study reported in the April issue of The Lancet. The problem is not only that people around the globe are eating too many unhealthy foods; it’s also that people aren’t eating enough nutritious options. In 2017, there were 11 million deaths in 195 countries from health issues attributable to dietary factors (those issues include heart attack and cancer).
Advice on Salt Targets Heart Disease
While sodium is rampant in fast food, pizza and deli items, it can also be hiding in surprising amounts in everything from bread to ketchup to cereal. As a result, the average sodium intake of Americans is about 3,400 milligrams daily, mainly from commercial sources like restaurant meals and packaged foods. The latest advice on limiting salt intake comes in a new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that ties lower sodium intake to less risk of chronic disease.
Eating Sugar Is Not Such a Rush After All
People may want to rethink eating that donut to power through a 3 p.m. energy slump. The “sugar rush” trope appears to be a myth, and, in fact, consuming too many sweet carbs can make you feel worse, not better. That’s the conclusion of a research paper published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, which pooled data from 31 previous studies involving 1,259 participants. The data showed that individuals who ate sugary foods reported feeling more fatigued within an hour of consumption than those who abstained.
Women Need Protein, Too
For years we’ve heard that people who regularly lift weights can benefit from eating higher amounts of protein than the general population. There’s just one glaring problem. Most of the research behind this advice was conducted on men, with little focus on women. Now, a study in the April 2019 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise has shed light on the specific protein needs of this understudied demographic.
The Market for CBD Products Is Booming
Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill opened America’s doors to hemp agriculture, from which cannabidiol (CBD) is derived. Since then, there has been a flood of CBD-infused foods and beverages hitting the market. (CBD that is extracted from other cannabis plants, including marijuana, is technically illegal on a federal level.) Everything from coffee to sparkling water to protein powder can now be found with CBD, and a recent survey reports that roughly 40% of U.S. adults ages 21 and over are willing to give these products a try. In 2017, U.S.
IDEA Member Spotlight: September 2019
Susanna Gayedon
Member Since 2008 • Los Angeles
In 1979, Susanna Gayedon, inspired by a kinesiology class—and the movie Flashdance—became a fitness instructor. But she was no flash in the pan, going on to earn her AFAA certification, become registered with Yoga Alliance and make a difference in the lives of hundreds of clients as both a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor.
Evening Cardio Training and Hypertension
In another clinical trial examining the impact of time of day on training effects, researchers found that cycling at moderate intensity for 45 minutes three times per week in the evening decreased clinical and ambulatory blood pressure in 50 middle-aged sedentary men with hypertension more than either morning training or stretching (the control group).
Evening HIIT and Sleep
The time of day your male clients train may affect their appetite and performance.
Self-Selected or Fixed-Duration Rep Speed
A small study addressed the question of whether one gets better results from performing resistance training reps at a self-selected pace or at a fixed rep duration (2-second concentric phase, 2-second eccentric phase). Researchers from universities in S?úo Paolo recruited 12 resistance-trained men and evaluated exercise volume, muscle activation and time under tension.