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Fitness Assessment
Leg Trackers Improve Accuracy
Researchers have developed a system of leg trackers, in contrast to those worn on the wrist, that’s more accurate at monitoring activity.
Virtual Training Assessments
Virtual personal training isn’t new, but the business aspect is growing, thanks to increased demand and improved technology across the board.
Posture Correction for Static Damage
The word posture tends to evoke the image of a schoolgirl standing perfectly erect with a book on her head. More accurately, static posture refers to the way in which a person holds his or her body or assumes certain positions, such as sitting, standing or sleeping. The cumulative effect of the time spent in certain positions can lead to prolonged static-posture damage to both the musculoskeletal and myofascial systems of the body.
Are You Ready For Smart Workout Clothes?
A research breakthrough increases the likelihood that sensors in smart workout clothes will soon provide valuable performance data.
InsideTracker: So Much More Than A Blood Test
If you’re a coach or trainer, getting your clients’ blood tested with the personalized performance platform, InsideTracker, is a no-brainer.
New Era of Wearable Technologies
Innovations in soft and wearable electronics will soon make personal fitness monitoring possible in all types of conditions.
Wearables That Monitor Heart Rate Now Colorblind
Some people with darker skin tones have experienced inaccurate heart rate readings when using HR monitors.
Improve Common Posture Deviations With Yoga
Yoga can be strategically used in concert with exercise physiology tenets to identify common postural issues that cause movement limitations for clients. Learn how taking a biomechanical approach to yoga offers an understanding of the interrelationships among joint structure, muscles and movement and how yoga postures can release tension, restore mobility, enhance stability and rebalance the body.
Training Needed by Army National Guard
As previously covered in this column, the Army is requiring a new, more rigorous fitness test, starting October 1, 2019. All soldiers will be required to pass the test to qualify for their military jobs, effective October 1, 2020.
To meet this challenge, the Army National Guard is looking for nearly 5,000 fitness instructors and buying approximately $40 million in workout equipment in the next 7 months.
Tracker Information Motivates
With the abundance of activity trackers on the market, deciding which product to choose can be overwhelming. New research suggests that the most important criterion may simply be how easy it is to access the data the device provides. Recent research conducted at the Atlantic Sports Health Research Department of Atlantic Health System in Morris?¡town, New Jersey, shows that people who wore a device and accessed data via an app were more active daily when compared with those who did not access the activity information.
UK Med School Includes Physical Activity Education
Lancaster Medical School in Lancaster, England, has been acknowledged throughout the United Kingdom and by the World Health Organization Europe for being the first medical school in the U.K. to integrate guidelines on how to prescribe physical activity. The initiative is referred to as the “Movement for Movement.”
Motivational Interviewing: Talking Their Way to Health
Do you want to be a wrestler or a dancer?
This question stands at the center of motivational interviewing (MI), which emerged more than three decades ago to assist people in making difficult changes like overcoming addiction. Health coaches can use MI to help people stop harmful behaviors and start helpful ones. Consider a likely scenario:
Most Adults Misjudge Their Physical Activity Levels
A recent cross-cultural study shows that most adults do not accurately estimate their physical activity levels and that Americans tend toward extremes when assessing their behavior. Researchers from the U.S., the U.K. and Holland collaborated on the study to compare self-reported levels of activity by adults aged 18 through older adulthood against actual data harvested from activity trackers.
Question of the Month
dietary apps or food trackers to your clients?
Please share what apps you’re working with, whether you prefer one app or device to another, and any successes you’ve had with clients.
We want to hear from you! Email executive editor Joy Keller, [email protected]
The U.S. Army’s New Fitness Test
In October 2018, the U.S. Army began field testing a new gender- and age-neutral Army Combat Fitness Test that it plans to put into effect October 2020. The test consists of six trials:
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.
How Fast You Walk May Affect How Long You Live
Want to outwalk the grim reaper? Pick up the pace, say researchers. A new study from the United Kingdom suggests that quicker walking may add years to your life.
The study’s primary aim was to examine the impact of walking pace and volume on all-cause mortality. To determine this, researchers looked at mortality records for 50,225 individuals from Scotland and England who had self-reported their walking data via interview.
Question of the Month
When you offer training advice to clients, are you discussing the significance of sleep? If yes, are you using sleep trackers and monitoring results? Please describe how you are educating clients regarding the role of sleep in effective training and weight management and share any success stories you have had.
Share your responses with executive editor Joy Keller, [email protected]
Equal Calories Burned ≠ Same Results
Many people fixate on the number of exercise calories they burn. New research, sponsored by Les Mills International, shows that even when two group fitness activities (indoor cycling and a resistance workout) were matched for duration and caloric expenditure, they did not have equivalent metabolic effects—which could influence long-term training results. Lead study author Nigel Harris, PhD, said, “The type of exercise used to burn those calories . . . impacts the long-term positive effects that exercise has on the body.”
Tennis: Reduce Pain, Improve Performance
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. In the U.S. alone, there are almost 18 million players, with another 14 million expressing interest (TIA 2018). Unfortunately, the dynamic, forceful twists and turns of the game pose ever-present injury risks to players (Roetert & Kovacs 2011).
If your fitness clientele includes people interested in playing this sport, you need to understand the causes of tennis-related injuries. This will help you develop strategies to improve movement function, reduce pain and keep clients on the court.
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