Most skiers loathe the chairlift on a chilly day. The muscles get stiff and the body cools down quickly. Dynamic stretches are an excellent solution for this problem. Keeping the body moving strategically enhances performance and prevents injuries. Skiing recruits hundreds of muscles. Practicing smaller, isolated movements is a type of corrective exercise, challenging specific…
The art of creating great group fitness classes comes when you understand how to put just as much attention to the beginning and end of the workout as you do to the middle portion of the class. Use the following tips to create fully comprehensive and complete classes. Creating Active Warm-ups It’s time to take…
It’s an exciting time for the fitness industry in general, and for health and fitness professionals in particular. Overall, the industry is doing well and many businesses, from studios to equipment manufacturers, experienced success in 2017. Furthermore, over the past 12 years the fitness industry has experienced a net growth of 36%, as measured by…
2017 is winding down and it’s almost time to flip the calendar to 2018. This is the perfect opportunity to gaze into the future and attempt to predict what will happen in the fitness industry over the coming year. Based on wide-ranging research and numerous conversations with colleagues working for health clubs, equipment companies and…
This time of year signals the advent of cold weather in many areas of the country. During a typical winter, it is not uncommon to hear about cardiac-related deaths linked to physical exertion—namely snow shoveling. What is it about the combination of cold weather and physical exertion that places a person at risk for a…
Have you ever met a baby with back pain? How about a toddler with tight hips? Considering these and other ailments seem to be a common side effect of aging, do infants and toddlers hold the secrets to being forever supple? It’s important to note that many factors make infants and children so mobile and…
From counting steps to logging personal records, physical activity-tracking apps are among the most popular ways for people to track their progress as they work toward their fitness goals. But not all apps are created equal. In a sea of downloads, it’s hard to tell which app will have the right features for a particular…
Every year, the IDEA World Convention brings together thousands of exercise professionals and health coaches who share a passion and enthusiasm for getting people moving. Of course, it’s educational, with sessions led the most knowledgeable and experienced industry leaders. But, in many ways, the convention is also a celebration – a place for exercise professionals…
To borrow from the late efficiency expert Stephen Covey, no one ever plans to fail, they simply fail to plan. While originally offered as one of his legendary Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, this concept also applies directly to exercise; specifically, how to design an exercise program. Without proper planning and preparation to enhance…
What is the best time of day to exercise? Simply put, it’s whatever time you can commit to and be consistent. That being said, your daily rhythm and choices affect your motivation to exercise, your recovery from exercise and, potentially, the results you get from exercise, so there is no single “best” time to exercise…