Group Fitness
Sample Class: Every Minute on the Minute
If you enjoy teaching (and doing) high-intensity classes, this workout is for you! The “every minute on the minute” (EMOM) protocol is fun, fast-moving and challenging. You start a predetermined number of reps at the top of a minute and rest for the time you have left until the next minute begins.
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.
Meet an IDEA Team Member: Rebecca Garity
One of the magical attributes of a great dancer is the ability to convey supremely tough athletic feats as graceful, artistic and seemingly effortless movement. It’s no wonder, then, that IDEA’s director of event programming, Rebecca Garity, seems to glide through the annual creative challenges of programming 100+ sessions for IDEA’s Personal Trainer Institute and more than 350 sessions for the IDEA® World Convention.
Flexing the Muscular System
As a fit pro, you are all too familiar with training muscles to build strength, mass and better movement in your clients—by now, you might consider it muscle memory!
Yet, as a major system present throughout the body, the muscular system is vast and intricate with plenty to explore. After all, muscles produce every movement, from the basic, like digestion and respiration, to the complex, like running, dancing and weightlifting.
Men’s Health Research Review
Men: Are you exercising and eating healthfully but not losing the weight you want? The good news is that there are more benefits to these two habits than just weight loss.
Megan Senger, professional fitness writer/editor and fitness instructor based in North Carolina, has summarized a few studies that center on men’s wellness, with comments on what the findings may mean for you.
Gamify the Fitness Class Cooldown
There are 5 minutes left in your class, the energy is high, and everyone is sweating and having a great time. As you wrap up the last set, participants cheer and exchange high-fives to celebrate another awesome workout. You turn the music down to prepare for the cooldown, then you look up—and notice that people are packing up and leaving.
Sample Class: Tabata for Every Rider
This indoor cycling routine introduces Tabata-inspired intervals in a friendly, nonthreatening ride that provides a great workout for both beginner and advanced cyclists. The intervals—20 seconds of all-out effort, alternating with 10 seconds of rest—help to increase both aerobic and anaerobic capacity and may keep metabolism elevated for a longer time period when compared with low-intensity, steady-state training.
6 Ways to Grow Your Fitness Classes
Instructors can follow these six suggestions to grow their group fitness classes and increase participation numbers.
IDEA Member Spotlight: October 2019
Ammar Zoubi
Member Since 2017 • Naim Village, Israel
Ammar Zoubi says he lives “on the other side of the world,” but his story really hits home. After years as a bodybuilder, he became a certified personal trainer, eventually getting hired at the gym where he was a member.
October 2019 Question of the Month: Fitness Misinformation
How do you or your facility handle the issue of health and fitness misinformation? Since client education is critical in setting realistic expectations and achieving fitness and wellness goals, we want to hear how you’re tackling this issue,what creative solutions you’re using and how your efforts are being received. Please share your success stories.
We want to hear from you!
2019 IDEA® World Scholarship Recipients
In rising to meet major challenges and needs—from overcoming cancer, a staph infection and even a four-story fall inside an elevator, to serving reservation residents and low-income individuals in high-crime neighborhoods—the 2019 IDEA World Scholarship recipients have shown character, determination and a commitment to helping others.
Are 10,000 Steps Necessary?
Are some of your clients obsessed with achieving their step counts every day? While 10,000 steps is a popular marker, it turns out that taking as few as 4,400 steps per day is associated with a lower risk of death for women with a mean age of 72 years.
“Clearly, even a modest number of steps was related to lower mortality rate among these older women,” said principal investigator I-Min Lee, MBBS ScD, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Morning Exercise and Cognitive Fitness
There may be something to the adage “The early bird catches the worm,” and it’s good news for those who love early-morning workouts. Not only is sunrise training an invigorating way to start the day; it may also stimulate adequate blood flow levels to the brain throughout the day, even during lengthy periods of inactivity.
Childhood Activity and Midlife Brain Fitness
Here’s one more solid reason to inspire kids to exercise. The secret to maintaining cognitive fitness later in life may lie in getting active while young and staying active throughout teen, young-adult and middle-aged years.
Sitting Increases Health Risks Independent of Exercise
It’s likely you have many clients who work sedentary jobs. Encourage them to simply move as much possible because, according to research,
people who sit for many hours, regardless of whether or not they exercise regularly, are at increased risk of higher liver-fat levels, a leading contributor to type 2 diabetes.
Maternal Weight and Pregnancy Complications
Encourage your pregnant clients (if cleared by their doctors) to keep working out with you. A new study shows that maintaining a healthy weight before and during pregnancy is a key factor in avoiding pregnancy complications.
First-Time Marathon Training Has Anti-Aging Effect
Here’s a good reason to encourage your midlife clients to try an inaugural running event. First-time marathon runners who trained for 6 months saw a 4-year reduction in arterial age, according to study findings presented at EuroCMR 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
Caffeine—An Equal Opportunity Ergogenic Aid
Caffeine is known to increase performance when taken before endurance activities, but more than 80% of studies have focused on men. A recent randomized, double-blind, crossover study out of Queensland, Australia, aimed to determine whether or not gender affects ergogenic responses to caffeine.
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.
Social Media Influencers Give Inaccurate Health Advice
Have you been frustrated by bad health and fitness advice doled out by social media influencers? You’re not alone, and if you sense that much of the popular online health information is wrong, you’re right! A recent study of key U.K. social media influencers’ weight management blogs—presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Glasgow, Scotland, in April 2019—showed that most influencers were not reliable weight management resources.