Most of us have experienced the overwhelming grouchiness that takes over when we’ve gone too long without food. Turns out, there’s some science to explain why this happens. Here’s what you need to know and how you can help your clients cope when hanger strikes. The official definition of hanger is “a feeling or showing…
Sleep has the potential to help people lose weight, but not just any sleep will do. It’s important to get an adequate amount of deep sleep every night, as it is the most restorative, providing both mental and physical recovery benefits, which supports the weight-loss journey. Most research indicates that less than 7 hours of…
The push-up has long been used to develop strength in the arms, shoulders and chest. However, the push-up is also a great core exercise. During the exercise, the trunk and hips should remain as stable as possible to create a lever for the working muscles. The deep core muscles, such as the transverse abdominus, become…
Health and exercise professionals use different types of verbal instruction to effectively communicate and instruct their clients to move efficiently and to successfully perform an exercise. Verbal instruction, in the form of cueing, has shown to help improve motor control and learning, while attempting to optimize motor performance (Benz et al., 2016; Makaruk et al.,…
One of the most effective, researched and frequently used exercises in the world of fitness is the squat (Rusin and DeBell, 2019; Schoenfeld, 2010). A fundamental movement pattern, the squat is the subject of much debate, from “proper” squat technique to its effectiveness in sport or clinical settings (Schoenfeld, 2010). One factor health and exercise…
Pain is a very personal and subjective experience. Modern pain science no longer views pain as a sensation; rather, pain is viewed as an experience that results from an amalgamation of inputs that are physical, psychological, emotional and social. These inputs must be viewed interdependently, because they all directly affect one another and the overall…
Should you have your clients squat to a depth where their thighs are parallel to the ground, or should they go deeper? As is the case with so many health- and fitness-related questions, the answer is dependent on several factors. Aside from pain, which is outside the scope of this article, let’s take a closer…
As a health and exercise professional, you may already be comfortable with the notion that relapse is common. Perhaps you have regularly witnessed your clients stray from their stated wellness goals. In my everyday work, I see clients waver in their commitment to lifestyle changes, especially in the realms of weight loss, smoking cessation and…
By Len Kravitz, PhD, Zachary Mang, MS, Juliet St. Germain, BS, and Cedric X. Bryant, PhD. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2020) presently recommends that everyone wear a cloth face covering (mask) in public settings, where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain in order to slow the spread of COVID-19….
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently published a Call to Action Statement on COVID-19 Considerations for Sports and Physical Activity. Here is what ACE Certified Professionals need to know to put these recommendations into practice when working with clients. While there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to COVID-19, we…