Mind-Body / Recovery
Benefits of Brisk Walking for the Brain
In a study on the benefits of brisk walking, researchers found that aerobic exercise can improve the integrity of connective brain tissue.
Celebrating Inclusive Holidays
The holidays are a great time for fit pros to reach out to members and build community by celebrating inclusive holidays.
Stress Physiology
We all intuitively understand the growing and widespread impact of stress on mental health, but stress physiology is just as deleterious.
Breathwork Research and Application
An overview of what scientific evidence supports, common breathing dysfunctions and a sampling of effective breathwork exercises.
Exercise, Life Purpose and Happiness
Exercise, life purpose and happiness are a trio of ideas that enhance each other in meaningful ways. While your clients might not agree about the happiness part when they’re in the middle of a set of burpees, linking all the beyond-the-biceps benefits together can provide motivation and greater success.
Coping Through Stress to Flourish
Have hope and take heart: We can learn to regulate our stress levels with a practiced approach to prevent it or manage it well through behavioral shifts and coping strategies.
Transform Your Fitness Facility
The traditional fitness facility has typically been viewed as a place to work out and play sports in order to change one’s physical appearance. However, this has shifted. Wellness—which includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness—has become the buzzword of the decade, and today’s fitness facilities have begun offering a myriad of services, hoping that people will view these locations as the local wellness center. To cover the full wellness spectrum, however, you need to combine forces with other health modalities.
Exercise and Sleep
Physical activity can mitigate the risk from poor sleep. This insight on exercise and sleep is according to new research findings.
Tai Chi for Weight Loss
There may be benefits of tai chi for weight loss. Researchers investigated whether tai chi effectively reduces belly fat in older adults.
Meditation Basics
What Is Meditation? Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way fitness is an approach to training the body. Someone with no knowledge of fitness tools…
Research-Based Yoga for Seniors
If you’d like to elevate your fitness services, adding yoga for seniors will set you apart and help your older clients even more.
The Connection Between Sleep and Gut Health
Do you have trouble sleeping? You may want to consider the link between sleep and gut health to understand how eating habits impact sleep.
The Benefits of Social Connections in Fitness
Discover more about the advantages of social connections in fitness spaces and how you can make them more available to your clients.
Exercise and Mental Health During the Pandemic
An online survey of people during the pandemic shows a relationship between declining exercise and mental health outcomes.
Get Your Biz in Shape! Success Secrets From MELT
The vast majority of you are not only fitness professionals—you’re entrepreneurs, too. That’s quite a balancing act depending on your knowledge and comfort level when it comes to building, marketing…
The Benefits of Pilates for Athletes
Studies have examined the many qualitative benefits of Pilates practice. How do these benefits come into play with Pilates for athletes?
Exercise Boosts Neuroplasticity, Helping Depression
In studying physical activity’s effect on depression, researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany found that exercise simultaneously lifts mood and boosts neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change. It is neuroplasticity that…
Experience MELT: The What, How and Why of MELT
If you’re wondering what a MELT class is like, it’s not a silly question. Chances are MELT will feel familiar but also unlike anything else you’ve done before. We use a soft roller, but MELT is not foam rolling. We’re moving our bodies, but it’s not stretching and we don’t even consider it a workout. So no wonder there’s a bit of mystery around what it’s actually like.
Breathe More Efficiently and Effectively While Exercising
Breathing is something we do every minute without actively or consciously thinking about it, but it’s a fascinating process that is essential to life. Here we look at some of the different breathing techniques and explain how you and your clients can harness the breath to calm the mind, fuel the body and gain a competitive edge.
With Gyms Open, Are Clients Ready?
With many gyms open again—some after long closures—IDEA put three questions to five fitness pros from around the country: Are you now operating at full capacity? How are clients adapting as…