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3 Ways to Target the Core from Different Angles

Essentially, any exercise that uses the anterior and/or posterior muscles to stabilize the spineโ€”and is performed in a coordinated fashionโ€”works the core. Itโ€™s important to include some kind of core moves in all classes, particularly those in which core training might not be emphasized. Try the following exercises in one of your next classes.

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Conditioning for Kayaking

Did you know that 13 million people participated in some form of kayaking in 2014, making it one of the most popular flatwater sports (Outdoor Foundation 2015)? If youโ€™re a kayaker, you know that the main challenges are building upper-body strength for paddling and maintaining a strong lower back to avoid back pain.

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Product Showcase

Nutrition By The Book
The Endurance Training Diet & Cookbook (Harmony 2017) by Jesse Kropelnicki is both a cookbook and a training nutrition manual. Kropelnicki shares his personal program of optimized nutrition, including 70 recipes that put his concepts into practice. The book provides nutrition information for distance runners, cyclists and triathletes and explores guidelines for what to eat pre-workout, post-workout and during recovery. Thereโ€™s also a game plan for race-day nutrition.

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7 Ways We All Can Bridge the Gap

Over the course of writing this column, Iโ€™ve had the opportunity to interview 60-plus experts from a variety of fields, including medicine, nutrition, exercise science, fitness and psychology. In this, the final installment of the series, I highlight major themes and key insights that professionals across the healthcare continuum use to help clients bridge their personal gaps and challenges.

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The Care and Feeding of Superheroes

Youโ€™ve heard it often: Your people are your greatest asset. But as author Rodd Wagner points out in his book Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If Theyโ€™re Real People (McGraw-Hill 2015), โ€œYour people are not your greatest assets. Theyโ€™re not yours, and theyโ€™re not assets.โ€

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2017 IDEA World Fitness Award Finalists

In setting after setting, from Europe to Southern California, from online videos to on-campus fitness rooms, in adversity and in action, the finalists for the 2017 IDEA World Fitness Awards exemplify all the diversity and excellence that exist in the world of fitness and health. Join us in recognizing the achievements of these nine personal trainers, fitness instructors and program directors.

2017 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year

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Inspiring the World to Fitness for 35 Years!

If IDEA Health & Fitness Association co-founders Kathie and Peter Davis had it to do over again, they likely wouldnโ€™t change much on the storied journey of what grew from a fledgling association and a small annual gathering of fitness professionals into a powerful trade association and the massive IDEAยฎ World Convention. IDEA has come to this exact moment in time as a sum of all the parts, moments, people and happenings since the companyโ€™s founding in 1982.

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Does Foam Rolling Really Increase Blood Flow?

One claim about the benefits of foam rolling is that it initiates an increase in blood flow to the treated area. But do those claims hold water? A study published in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2017; 31 [4], 893โ€“900) aimed to find out.

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Exercise Mitigates Stress-Related Weight Gain in Kids

School work, social situations, family challengesโ€”young kids are faced with a great deal of pressure and perhaps lack the proper outlets to handle it. And as previous research has shown, stress and weight gain sometimes go hand in hand. A new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2017; 49 [3], 581โ€“87) shows that exercise may help kids manage stress and prevent weight gain.

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Music Listening, Meditation and Brain Fitness

Older adults may be able to enhance memory and brain fitness by meditating or listening to music, according to preliminary research findings reported in the Journal of Alzheimerโ€™s Disease (2017; 56 [3], 899โ€“916). West Virginia University researchers in Morgantown, West Virginia, conducted the study to determine whether simple mind-body practices could boost cognition or improve perceived memory loss among older adults with cognitive decline.

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Bike to Work, Live Longer

Hereโ€™s another way to keep the grim reaper at bay: According to experts, ditching the car or bus in favor of active commutingโ€”especially bikingโ€”to work may reduce the risk of early death.
Researchers looked at the records of 263,450 participants (mean age 52.6 years) in the United Kingdom and logged information about how they regularly commuted to work. Five years later, the study assessed hospital visits and deaths among subjects.

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Treat & Reduce Obesity Act of 2017 Gains Momentum

Efforts to help people with obesity may get a little more support. In April, pertinent new legislation was introduced in both the House and the Senate.
The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2017 aims to provide healthcare professionals with more funding and better treatment options for obesity. If the legislation passes, it would improve counseling, intervention and drug treatments for patients.

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