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Change, Challenge, CHARGE!

The IDEA team has navigated through a period of exciting change over the past 18 months. Staying true to our professional values and our drive to Inspire the World to Fitness®, we have assessed each turn, innovated adroitly and charged forward. Big thinkers in all walks of life and business intuit that change equals opportunity. When we fail to welcome transition and, with it, some measured risk, we passively and perilously expose ourselves to becoming irrelevant.

The Best of Times Are Yet to Come

Anytime Fitness CEO Chuck Runyon helped to revolutionize the fitness industry when he and Dave Mortensen co-founded the juggernaut brand in 2002. Now massive in scale and influence, Anytime's success grew by focusing on a model of smaller neighborhood gyms that emphasized convenience, affordability, quality equipment and personable service in friendly, nonintimidating facilities.

“How do you handle the situation when a client comes in sick or with an obvious medical condition such as open sores?”

I ask the client to obtain a medical clearance from a doctor before we can train. I explain that this is precautionary for his or her own health. Why do I ask for medical clearance? When clients are ill, exercise is most likely not going to benefit them. When a client seeks medical clearance, the doctor usually reinforces my original concerns.

Bill Ross

Owner, Bill Ross Fit and

Holistic Life Forever

Denver

Fitness Prescription Works!

Praise for IDEA Personal Trainer Institute™ East

I am the health and wellness coordinator for the City of Bloomington
Parks and Recreation Department in Bloomington, Indiana. I’m writing to
tell you about the Bloomington Walking Club. This informal group meets
for a guided group walk on the paved trails surrounding Olcott Park
every Thursday evening, weather permitting, April–October. Walkers of
all ability levels are welcome, and participants choose their own pace.

Question of the Month

Have you given up gluten? Are you currently on a Paleo regime? Vegan? Vegetarian? More people than ever seem to be on restrictive diets with formal “rules” about eating. What food tribe do you belong to and why? Do you think these diets are sustainable in the long run?

Share your story with [email protected].

Social Media Love

Diving Deeper Into the Affordable Care Act

The article by Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD, FAAP, on components of the Affordable Care Act was informative and valuable [“10 Things Fitness Pros Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act,” November–December 2014]. A few additional considerations for fitness professionals entail working with physicians and insurance providers.

“The Magazine Alone Is Worth the Membership Fee”

For years I have encouraged fellow
personal trainers and group fitness instructors to join IDEA, telling them the magazine alone is worth the membership fee. Your January issue has more than proved my words true. It was simply outstanding. I especially enjoyed the articles by Stuart McGill, PhD (“The Painful Lumbar Spine”), and Ellen Langer, PhD (“If You Don’t Mind, It Really Does Matter”), but the entire issue gave me a great deal to think about. Thank you so much for the continued excellence.
Janet Weller, RN, CES

A Powerful Take-Home Message

I was reflecting last night as I fell asleep that I was at cross-purposes of the very message I was supposed to be absorbing here. In my earnestness to do a good job and capture all I could for readers, I was missing the moment—or at least I wasn’t fully present for many of them.

REALITY CHECK; America’s fittest city? Well, maybe not

We’re fit! We’re fat! We’re kind of sweaty.
Huh?
It’s hard to say where San Diego stands when you read the myriad rankings that stack us up against other cities. Case in point: Men’s Fitness picked San Diego as No. 9 on its fittest list in 2005. For the last two years, the same magazine put us at No. 21 — on its fattest list.
Yikes! That’s quite a weight gain. Had you n…

Invading My Personal Space, Problem Solver

What do I do if a class participant does not appreciate the fact that I have set boundaries around my personal life? Most of my participants understand I am their instructor, not their counselor, best friend or mom. But every so often someone comes along who asks intimate questions, waylays me when I work out, comes early and stays late to chat about personal troubles, or queries other staff and members about me. In one extreme case I even had a client who developed an obvious crush on me and became a major nuisance.