Friends of AFAA

Whether you're an athlete or an octogenarian, balance training is a significant addition to training protocols. Its ability to help increase foot/ankle and hip stability and strength, as well as its applications to sport and life, makes it a valuable addition to every workout. However, balance training is often overlooked in application because it hasn't been thought of as challenging enough. Join 2022 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year Rick Richey for an appropriately intense workout that will open your eyes to the many benefits—and challenges—of balance training. 

Small balls are a light, versatile training tool designed for clients of all ages and abilities and are a great addition to one-on-one, small-group and large-group training sessions. They help build body awareness by increasing balance challenges and dynamically stabilizing and strengthening the core. Come to this workshop to learn small ball core moves that build in intensity and complexity and can be mixed and matched for endless variety. You'll learn creative cuing techniques and modifications that make these moves a perfect addition to any training protocol. 

Sitting is not quite the new smoking, but sedentary lifestyles and smoking have much in common regarding morbidity and early mortality. Research shows that being sedentary throughout the day is so bad for you that even a daily hour-long workout won’t save you from many chronic diseases if you are inactive for the other 23 hours! In this session, we will review the research on being sedentary and how lifestyle changes beyond—and sometimes instead of—an hour in the gym can help save so many of our clients, family and loved ones from pathologies rooted in being rooted to our chairs. 

Are you looking for some new ideas for your core work? Look no further! This session features exercises that train all three planes and the local and global muscular systems. The phrase "stabilize before you mobilize" is often used in terms of movement. That's our focus. With small equipment, get ready to learn and experience fresh stability and mobility movements to use with every client or class participant.

Clear communication between the fit-pro and the client is essential. It is a science that comes with experience. However, inadequate communication can lead to a variety of pitfalls. In this session, we discuss the proper forms of communication like verbal cuing, augmented feedback and auditory learning to avoid disconnects. You will leave this session with practical examples of communication that prevent confusion and frustration within the relationship. 

Our level of emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in our personal and professional relationships. When we build our emotional intelligence skills, we can better make sound decisions, manage stress, regulate our emotions and overcome adversity. Building emotional intelligence is equivalent to self-awareness strength training, and that's what this session is all about. You'll gain personal insight, learn the core competencies of emotional intelligence and walk away with healthy strategies to communicate effectively with others. 

This session is for active participants with poor posture. Keeping one’s posture in good form is vital for activities of daily living, proficient functional movements and athletic performance. Find how Pilates exercises help correct postural imbalances, strengthen underactive muscles and increase the flexibility of overactive muscles. Learn a systematic approach to cuing your participants to be taller and more capable versions of themselves.

As a newly certified fitness trainer, it is easy to become overwhelmed with everything you need to do and know to get started. One common concern is developing client exercise programs that you feel are safe and effective. If you struggle with program design, this session is for you. You will learn a step-by-step process that will assist you in building ability-appropriate programs for all your clients. From warm-up/movement prep to the cool-down, this plug-and-play system will eliminate your anxieties about whether your clients have the correct programming.