Archive for March 2002
Curbing the Chatty Cathys in Your Classes
Q:What do you say or do when two (or more!) people in your class keep talking during the workout? These magpies are nice people, but they have no clue how irritating their conversation is to everyone else in the room. What can I do to retain class control without looking like a control freak?
Read MoreStrength Training Class Warm-Ups
Once upon a time, group fitness instructors started their strength training classes with a relatively static warm-up that consisted of single-joint movements, such as head circles, shoulder rolls backwards and forwards, and hip swings side to side. As the industry progressed, warm-ups became more varied and we branched out—maybe too far out! Today’s warm-up options range from no warm-up at all to 10-minute, low-impact cardio warm-ups, with many variations in between.
Read MoreYoga for Sports Performance
Just a few years ago, fitness enthusiasts had few options
Read MoreWorld Beat: Guatemala
Indoor cycling, kickboxing, boot camp, strength training, step classes, yoga and water fitness classes are all popular in Guatemala, a country with nearly 13 million people. Men especially enjoy kickboxing, indoor cycling, boot camp and yoga classes. Classes that use equipment such as the Body Bar™, rubber bands and stability balls are also well liked. Since Guatemala has a tropical climate, popular activities outside of fitness facilities include triathlons, mountain biking, jogging, football, swimming and baseball.
Read MoreFirst-Ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers
You’re never too young to be physically active! The National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE) recommends that infants should be encouraged to be physically active from the beginning of life. NASPE warns that confining babies and young children to strollers, playpens, car seats or infant seats for hours at a time may delay physical and cognitive development.
Read MoreSleepless in the Gym?
April is National Sleep Awareness Month, and with nearly 70 million Americans affected by sleeping disorders, it’s likely that fitness professionals will encounter clients struggling with insomnia. Promoting the link between exercise and sound sleep may both wake up a new market and enhance the exercise benefits of current clients. For clients seeking to improve their sleep, keep in mind the following tips when designing an exercise program:
Read MoreMoving Beyond Roadblocks, Client Handout
You want to exercise regularly, but you keep encountering roadblocks—those persuasive excuses you come up with for not sticking to your plan. To make exercise part of your life, you need to identify your roadblocks and find ways to move beyond them. Sherri McMillan, MSc, co-owner of Northwest Personal Training & Fitness Education in Vancouver, Washington, and 1998 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, offers some help:
Read MorePhysical Activity: 10 FAQs and Answers
Every day, fitness professionals are faced with a multitude of questions that range from losing weight to rehabilitating injuries. While it is difficult to know all the answers, providing clients with ready responses can be a testament to your professional credibility. This article addresses some of the more popular questions clients ask and provides the information you need to answer them quickly.
Read MoreResearch
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently published its current Position Stand on “Appropriate Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults” (Jakicic, J.M., et al., 2001, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33 [12], 2145-56). This evidence-based position paper updates existing guidelines, including those pertaining to the quality and quantity of exercise necessary for weight loss.
Read MorePhysiological Factors Limiting Endurance Exercise Capacity
What are the physiological limitations of the human body? How much are your clients capable of doing?
Read MoreCurbing the Chatty Cathys in Your Classes, Problem Solver
Curbing the Chatty Cathys in Your Classes
Q: A:
What do you say or do when two (or more!) people in your class keep talking during the workout? These magpies are nice people, but they have no clue how irritating their conversation is to everyone else in the room. What can I do to retain class control without looking like a control freak?
Marina Aagaard, Roende, Denmark
other participants will …
Read MoreThe Right Mix
Subject: Debi Lander, MEd
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Company: Healthwise Fitness
Experience: 12 years as a trainer and business owner; IDEA Master Personal Fitness Trainer
Maverick Strategy: By mixing lifestyle coaching techniques and phone coaching into her training repertoire, Debi has developed a successful personal training business.
The Power of Probiotics
While bacteria get a bad rap, not all bacteria
are bad. Our digestive system alone is home to more than 400 species of bacteria, both good and bad. Ideally, we want to cultivate good bacteria, leaving less room for enemy invaders like E. coli and Salmonella to set up camp and weaken our defenses. Catherine Reade, MS, RD, owner of HealthFull Living in Littleton, Colorado, explains how probiotics may improve your health.
Contemplating Trends
Every year we look forward to the outcome of our Personal Training Trendwatch survey. In this issue, you will find the results of Trendwatch 2002,
our fifth consecutive poll of successful trainers from all over the United States. The Trendwatch poll offers an interesting perspective because it allows us to
ask specific questions to selected personal training businesses. The results of
the poll can differ depending on the business models of the trainers interviewed.
Readers Respond
While I contend that there is a
need for more (or at least some) peer-reviewed research on this type of training, I believe that the issue central to this debate is time under tension (TUT). TUT is simply the amount of time (in a repetition, set or even a workout) a muscle is required to generate tensile force. Load assignment (% of 1 RM) also affects TUT, but it is negatively correlated to TUT. Thus, to increase TUT, you must decrease load assignment.
Pilates and Personal Training
Laugh Yourself Fit
First, you hear a collective deep breath as arms are raised toward the sky; next, peals of laughter and the sound of hands clapping in rhythm. What is this, you ask? A boisterous crowd at a baseball game doing the “wave”? An audience at the local comedy club? Surprise: It’s
a meeting of the Laughter Club in the middle of a laughter yoga session!
Marathons Tough on the Ticker?Beans Benefit the Heart
Beans have been a source of jokes for years, but new research shows that their potential heart protective properties are nothing to laugh at.
Read MoreDon’t Forsake Fat
Dieters try their hardest to avoid it, product manufacturers try to take it out of foods, and yet, on the whole, Americans consume entirely too much of it. In the battle of the bulge, fat has always been a very bad word. Recent research shows, however, that a moderate-fat diet, such as the Mediterranean diet—as opposed to strict low-fat diet—may result in more long-term weight loss.
Read MoreFitness Facility Growth Continues
The total number of health clubs in the United States grew to a record 17,807 facilities in the second half of 2001, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).
From January 2001 to January 2002, 869 new clubs and fitness centers opened their doors—an increase of
5.1 percent in that period. The increase represents the fourth consecutive year that the number of fitness facilities in
the United States has grown; since 1992, the number of clubs has increased by
41 percent.