Programming
Safe and Effective Outdoor Workouts
Exercising outdoors offers numerous benefits, including fresh air, varied terrain, and exposure to natural light. However, outdoor workouts also present unique challenges and risks. As a fitness professional, it’s crucial…
BLinG-Health™: Black Leadership in Girls’ Health
Training adolescent black girls as peer physical activity leaders in high school promoted health, fitness and community, according to a small, qualitative study published in Journal of Healthy Eating and…
Question of the Month
What programming are you finding is in most demand among your clients? For example, do they seek cardio training programs, specialized sports programs, overall conditioning programs that combine resistance, cardio,…
Cycle Barre
Cycle barre combines two very accessible forms of exercise, with formats that are easy to start at any level of fitness.
Circuit Training Solutions
This circuit training workout offers endless options for exercise selection, sequencing and timing to keep your students motivated.
HIIT Cycling With a Side of Strength
A well-rounded program includes cardio and resistance training, so how do you bridge the gap? Try HIIT cycling with strength.
A New Meeting of Mind, Body and Soul
Here’s a peek into that world where the mind can explore new ways of approaching classic formats; where your imagination can stretch along with your body; and where your spirit can soar through pure and powerful inspiration that nourishes the soul.
Boost Intensity With a Body-Weight Ladder Workout
If you’re looking for a way to improve endurance and fitness without equipment, this body-weight ladder workout is a perfect option.
Mobility Workout
Adding a mobility workout to the cooldown may kickstart the parasympathetic nervous system. Try the following sequence.
Fit to Travel: Exercises for Seniors
Programming exercises for seniors is more important than ever, especially now that travel is opening up again, but your clients may not have kept up with their workouts over this last year. Here are some great ways to prepare your active agers for more adventure.
Stretches After Sitting All Day
Encourage your fitness class participants to use these simple stretches after sitting all day to help their muscles return to a relaxed state.
Sample Class: Slam It!
This exercise class utilizes sand bells, sandbags or slam balls and incorporates elements of strength, agility, core work and mobility.
Sample Class: Quick Conditioning Circuits
This quick conditioning circuit class includes all the ingredients necessary to help people reach their fitness goals, cycling between strength and cardio.
Indoor Rowing Recovery
Indoor rowing is having a well-deserved moment. It’s both low-impact and intense, and no matter which brand of machine your facility uses, a well-instructed experience will fatigue the same muscles and make participants glad they showed up. While it may be low-impact, rowing does include repeated spinal flexion and hip and knee extension; it’s therefore important to weave in stretches that counteract imbalances.
Sample Class: Band Blast!
If you want to keep participants engaged and challenged, this high-energy class will do the trick. Break out the exercise bands and add targeted strength moves to high-intensity intervals. This format includes three phases, each consisting of one Tabata round followed by four resistance exercises. Bands are safe, easy to use and portable, making this a great class to offer in any location.
Sample Class: Seated Exercises for Older Adults
Older adults are more susceptible to deficits in cardiovascular fitness, muscle mass, strength and power, which may ultimately lead to losses in physical function. The following chair-based format focuses on improving outcomes for older participants, especially those who may need the support of a chair during exercise. Ready, Set, Sit! offers the variety of three 15-minute training segments (cardiovascular, high intensity and strength/power), while targeting important components that boost overall function.
Complex Training: Pairing for Power
If you work with athletes, you’ve likely run into the challenge of how to incorporate power components into their already-packed training schedules. Whether you’re working with a clutch outfielder, a center or a lineman, your client’s athletic skills need refinement, and power is one aspect that requires attention. Trainers typically program resistance training to develop strength and plyometric drills to improve speed.
Sample Class: Every Minute on the Minute
If you enjoy teaching (and doing) high-intensity classes, this workout is for you! The “every minute on the minute” (EMOM) protocol is fun, fast-moving and challenging. You start a predetermined number of reps at the top of a minute and rest for the time you have left until the next minute begins.
Gamify the Fitness Class Cooldown
There are 5 minutes left in your class, the energy is high, and everyone is sweating and having a great time. As you wrap up the last set, participants cheer and exchange high-fives to celebrate another awesome workout. You turn the music down to prepare for the cooldown, then you look up—and notice that people are packing up and leaving.
Sample Class: Tabata for Every Rider
This indoor cycling routine introduces Tabata-inspired intervals that provide a great workout for both beginner and advanced cyclists.