Skills/Tools for Group Exercise Instructors
The Value of Plain Language
Many web articles and other written resources promoting physical activity are too difficult for the average U.S. adult to understand, per findings by Oregon State University researchers in Corvallis, Oregon.
Pilates and Fall Prevention
As many as one-third of all adults over 65 years old fall each year, with consequences that include serious injury, limited activity and significant costs. Researchers at California State University, Northridge, conducted a study that shows that Pilates reformer training—as little as once per week—can effectively reduce these risks.
Do We Have Gender Equity in Fitness?
Who are the top bosses at the fitness clubs or companies where you spend your time? Is the CEO a woman or a man? Thinking about your own job, are you paid a comparable wage to others whose work is the same as or similar to yours? How would you know for sure?
Game-Changer Events for Fitness Pros
Your purpose as an impassioned personal trainer, manager and owner is to deliver life-changing fitness experiences for your clients. It is also up to you to invest in yourself so you can become the fitness leader your community deserves. The best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who have already succeeded and can show the way.
Elevate Your Career and Live Your Passion
Your purpose as an impassioned personal trainer, manager and owner is to deliver life-changing fitness experiences for your clients. It is also up to you to invest in yourself so that you can become the fitness leader your community deserves. The best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who have already succeeded and can show the way.
A New Approach to Food Labeling
Maybe graphic health messages on food and beverage packaging like those that adorn cigarette boxes could steer people toward better eating habits.
An Australian study published in the journal Appetite asked participants to rate healthy and unhealthy foods and choose which they would like to eat at the end of the experiment. Next they were shown negative and positive health messages: Some were text only; others had pictures. Study participants then had another chance to rate their desire for the foods.
Find success for your personal training business
If you want to know how to become a successful personal trainer and influential leader to your clients, you need to invest in yourself as a professional. How? Seek out resources, people and a personal training business plan that will enhance your career. The good news?
Elevate Your Career and Live Your Passion
Your purpose as an impassioned personal trainer, manager and owner is to deliver life-changing fitness experiences for your clients. Education is the key driver to success. Here are five tips from fitness professionals.
1. Recovery is critical.
Health News: True or False?
Reviewing health and fitness news on the internet can produce a minefield of misinformation. Anybody can open a social media account, build a polished website with DIY templates, and set up shop as a self-appointed health and fitness expert. And people who do this can lend their work an air of authority by mimicking the design and presentation of authoritative health-news sources.
Kickboxing Safety: Back to Basics
Kickboxing classes may not be as popular today as they were in the late 1990s, but people still love to hone their skills with this effective cross-training option. Whether you’ve been teaching for several years or you’re just getting started, it’s always a good idea to review the foundational concepts that make up this total-body workout.
Gender Equity in Fitness: Are We There Yet?
Is there an issue with gender equity in fitness, where women represent more than half the frontline workforce? Let’s investigate.
Snowboarding: Injury Prevention & Performance
Over the past few decades, snowboarding has quickly become one of the fastest-evolving and most popular winter season sports. The impressive combination of power, velocity and technique make this activity appealing to both recreational riders and high-level competitors. But speed, terrain, gravity and the unique snowboard stance also create the potential for injury.
East Meets West
If you read this column last month, you know that our team jetted off to Shanghai just weeks after the IDEA® World Convention to host the inaugural IDEA China, August 16–18. This absolute first for a major U.S.-Chinese fitness education event was a sold-out success! Over 1,500 enthusiastic Chinese fitness professionals packed every session over 3 days to absorb the most edgy and practical fitness information available today from a faculty of 28 standout IDEA subject-matter experts.
Use Stress to Fuel Peak Performance
You’ve been training for a 10K. You’re ready, but when you show up on race day, your heart is pounding and you feel panicked. What should you do to lower your stress? Some people might say, “Take a deep breath.” We all know that deep breathing to calm the nervous system is a go-to strategy for dealing with stress. But is it always the best strategy?
A Setup for Successful Subbing
If you teach an ongoing group fitness class, inevitably you’ll need a sub. Odds are also strong that you’ll be a substitute at times throughout your teaching career. Whether you are subbing out or subbing in, you want the experience to be the best one possible—for your class, the other instructor and yourself.
Obesity Boosts Melanoma Risk
Add this to the list of dangers associated with obesity: New research from Sweden suggests obesity is a risk factor for developing skin cancer, and weight loss—in this case via bariatric surgery—could reduce the risk of malignant melanoma skin cancer, in particular, by 61%.
The study included 2,007 bariatric surgery patients and 2,040 nonsurgery controls whose skin cancer incidence was monitored for 18 years. Aside from the significantly lower risk of developing malignant melanoma, the surgery group saw a 42% reduction in skin cancer risk in general.
Cutting Facebook Lowers Stress Levels
Need to cut some stress out of your life? Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia say that taking breaks from Facebook can help.
Their study included 138 active Facebook users who were asked to either take a 5-day fast from the social media platform or maintain current usage. Each person self-reported on their well-being and stress levels and underwent salivary cortisol tests before and after the intervention.
Too Little Or Too Much Sleep Poses Health Risks
National University College of Medicine in South Korea warns that sleeping more than 10 hours a night might be worse.
The Optimal Amount of Exercise for Heart Health
Arterial stiffness, which increases with sedentary living, is associated with higher risk of heart disease. It’s well known that exercise can help, but how much—or how little—is enough?
“While near-daily, vigorous lifelong (>25 years) endurance exercise training prevents arterial stiffening with ageing, this rigorous routine of exercise training over a lifetime is impractical for most individuals,” noted the authors of a new study, which aimed to determine the least amount of exercise necessary to reduce arterial stiffness.
Volume Is Key Factor In Building Strength
The secret to increasing strength and muscle mass may have more to do with how much training you do than how often you do it, according to a new report.