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People are seeking yoga practice for health benefits, and science is documenting its effectiveness. In the United States, 9.5% of adults—about 21 million people—reported that they practiced yoga as a complementary health approach in 2012 (Clarke et al. 2015). Yoga practitioners noted greater health benefits than adults who tried other complementary health practices. Reasons cited for doing yoga included wanting greater wellness, feeling better emotionally, exercising more, eating better, and cutting back on alcohol and cigarettes. These objectives reveal a relationship between interest in yoga and a desire for healthy lifestyle habits (Stussman et al. 2015).
Ongoing research continues to reveal many associated health benefits. Here’s a snapshot of current research highlights and examples of practical applications.

The high-intensity interval training wave is still cresting, thanks to its positive metabolic effects and its ability to elicit results. HIIT raises the anaerobic threshold and creates excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or oxygen debt. Simply put, metabolism stays elevated for longer after an intense workout than it does after low-intensity exercise.
Tabata™—one of many HIIT protocols—alternates 20 seconds of very hard work with 10 seconds of all-out rest, repeated eight times for a 4-minute set. The metabolic workout presented here is inspired by the original concept, created by Izumi Tabata, and combines intense cardio with strength supersets, which serve as active rest.

Clients want to see results, and you want this, too. However, you’re with them a limited number of hours per week; you have little control over what they do when they’re not with you. What if you could provide additional tools that would help people reach their physical goals while also helping them make new neural connections?

Weight training or cardio? For older clients who are trying to slim down, pumping iron might be the way to go. A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University suggests that weight training combined with a low-calorie diet preserves much-needed lean muscle mass that can be lost when the diet is paired with cardio workouts.

What can you do to help clients avoid shoulder damage so they can exercise regularly, enjoy daily activities, and reach their health and fitness potential? Start by learning about common shoulder problems and reviewing a range of exercises to keep the shoulders strong and ease the sting of shoulder pain.

To stay competitive and stand out with the content you post on social media, you’ll likely need the help of one or more mobile apps. According to one survey, visual marketing content performed 4.4 times better than text-based content, highlighting the importance of dynamic images and design (Chute & Digiday 2015). Respondents to another survey cited “great production quality” and “compelling image” as the top two factors that make visual content successful when you’re marketing online (Lewis 2016).

Melis “Mel” Edwards, MS, creator of the H.I.T. Method™ (Hydrofit Interval Training), has spent the past 20 years promoting water fitness training both for athletes and as an athlete herself. Edwards, group fitness instructor and director of admissions at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, has trained both professional and recreational athletes. . . .

Many indoor cycling instructors are not sure of the best way to combine strength and cycling without compromising either component. Rock and Ride provides the perfect mix of both while infusing a little fun with rock ’n’ roll music.

Are you tempted to become a vegetarian, but the thought of giving up barbecues or your mom’s meatloaf seems too daunting? Thankfully, you can obtain many of the same benefits of vegetarian living without forgoing meat completely. You just have to become a “flexitarian.”

Eager class participants want to tap into their highest potential, and group fitness instructors have been acknowledging this by offering workouts that are more explosive, more powerful and fuller in range than ever before. However, intense, dynamic workouts demand a warmup that truly prepares the body. Specifically, you must target the hips—hip flexors, piriformis, glutes and hip rotators—to avoid possible tweaks from all those lunges, squats and burpees (not to mention repetitive stress from cycling and running).

Early in my career as a personal trainer, I was confused as to why my client base was growing at a glacial speed. After all, I had spent years preparing, applying principles, learning program design and getting certified so that I could have a career that would change people’s lives for the better.

I wanted to be busy. I was prepared to sign as many clients as possible. To accomplish my goal, I attended every social and networking event I could. At these events, I was proud to tell people I was a personal trainer.