Fitness Professionals – Page 19

Foundations of Wellness and Lifestyle Coaching

Dr. Michael Arloski/2 December 2021/ All MFN blog/

Having a foundation in coaching skills equips fitness professionals and wellness professionals to help their clients succeed at lifestyle improvement.

MedFit Classroom’s upcoming course will provide you with a thorough overview that enables you to be much more coach-like in your work with clients.

In the Foundations of Wellness Coaching course, authored by Dr. Michael Arloski, you’ll…

Learn how to help your clients go well beyond just goal setting and make use of behavioral change methodologies that create real progress.
Gain the skills needed to help clients mobilize their motivation to make positive lifestyle changes and accomplish goals they never thought possible.
Become proficient in having The Wellness Coaching Conversation, a conversation that demonstrates understanding while eliciting and empowering the client to choose an active role in their own health.
Through the use of select coaching skills training videos and demonstrations you’ll learn about the use of Active Listening Skills and Powerful Questions to help your clients assess their own wellness and develop a Wellness Plan for growth and change.
Gain accountability and support skills that ensure progress towards lasting lifestyle improvement.
Explore the use wellness and health coaching models and how they can be implemented in your setting.

This course is ideal for the fitness or wellness professional looking to either integrate the skills and methods of coaching into their own professional work, or to serve as an introduction to the path of learning how to become a health and wellness coach.

Dr. Arloski is a pioneering architect of the field of health and wellness coaching. He and his company, Real Balance Global Wellness, have trained thousands of health and wellness coaches worldwide. His book, Wellness Coaching for Lasing Lifestyle Change is a foundational book of the field, and his new book Masterful Health and Wellness Coaching: Deepening Your Craft takes the field to a new depth.

Creatine: The athlete’s supplement of choice can boost anyone’s fitness plan and health goals

Dr. Naomi Alberston/30 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

Long trusted by athletes and bodybuilders to help improve athletic performance, the muscle strength supplement creatine remains either unknown or shrouded in myth among the wider population. But increasingly creatine is being recognized by the medical community for the benefits it can bring beyond just athletic performance. From assisting in injury recovery to helping reduce the risk of falls in the elderly, creatine is a natural, safe, and effective tool all of us can use…

Sometimes It Hurts and Sometimes It Doesn’t: Information Set Theory of Pain

Jessica Cahen/29 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

Pain is an elusive concept. Sometimes chronic pain or discomfort occurs in muscles and joints without having injured the area where they’re feeling the pain and discomfort. Why? Why do some people who have structural damage to a muscle or joint (as shown by MRI or other test) have no pain in the damaged area, but . . .

Kick up the Cardio

Dr. Stephen A. Black/19 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

Currently, health clubs offer a variety of cardio and strength options. They offer a plethora of equipment and classes yet attrition remains high. By combining the science of cardio and strength training with a motivated and energetic instructor new programming combining….

The Three R’s: Reset. Reload. Reinforce.

Leanne Wylet/18 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

Before you can begin checking the boxes off above a baseline needs to be established. What is the best way to set a baseline that isn’t time-consuming? A Physical Therapist can test physical capacity, but will that give them the total picture? What if you are a health care provider such as a Massage Practitioner or a Chiropractor, or a doctor of an individual who wants to start an exercise program? How do you set-up a baseline of indicators to capture dysfunction at the level of the movement pattern, not just muscles/tissues that are weak or injured?

The quickest and easiest way I know of is a Functional Movement Screening and a Movement Assessment Screening. It is a ranking and grading system to measure asymmetries. If there is a pain in any of the movement patterns the activity is stopped and a referral is made. As a Functional Movement Specialist, I can do the movement screening with a printed report and corrective strategy exercises to reinforce quality movement patterns. This establishes a baseline to work from and retesting is done periodically.

The way this effective approach works: Each box needs to be checked off before you move to the next box.

The meaning of the three Rs is…

Reset

When a patient/client goes into a Physical Therapist for treatment, or Massage Practitioner for manual manipulation of muscles/tissues, or Chiropractor for a muscular skeletal adjustment. After the procedure the next step is usually, rest, ice, maybe some stretches and to review or start an exercise program. Ok, if this is the standard procedure followed, what is missing from this picture?

Reinforce

This next step is where I as a Fitness Trainer am highly effective, first with myself and now others. I took my twisted muscular-skeletal frame from a seat belt injury and started retraining the correct movement patterns by reinforcement. It takes about 7,000 repetitions of a movement pattern before it becomes spontaneous. What do I mean by reinforce? Reinforce means you either go back to what you were doing with the same faulty movement pattern and setting yourself up for needing another reset, instead of going in for a maintenance appointment. Keeping the cycle of dysfunction and asymmetries going that lead to dysfunction, pain and injury.

Reload

A combination of corrective exercises and conditioning work, such as using supersets to establish better hip hinging and then doing deadlifts, and then maybe add some kettlebell swings.

Reload the frame with the right resistance that maintains the right movement pattern exercises. I use a wide variety of tools based on the client’s needs and preferences.

Reset, reinforce and reload can be applied to both rehabilitation and exercise. In rehabilitation, Physical Therapist/Health Care Provider is working with pain and dysfunction. Exercise professionals work with dysfunction by setting up a baseline and reinforce correctives and conditioning to help prepare the individuals to return to a full active life.

I have successfully retrained my body after a seat belt injury that caused asymmetry imbalances, and now successfully use these remedial corrective strategies with my clients. I give my clients enough practice to learn how to move efficiently, and believe in open communication, taking after hour calls and making home visits.

Move well, move often, stay fit, live!

The Kettlebell Lady – Leanne Wylet, BA, ACE -NCCA, specializes in Orthopedic Exercise, Functional Movement, Hard Style/High Intensity Kettlebell Fitness, Silver Sneakers FLEX & Tai Chi Instructor works with the aging population. She has come back from a seat built injury that left her disabled and two major illnesses; her body is now restored. Taking the skills she’s developed, plus academic training, she works with individuals in all walks of life from youth to those in their golden years. Visit her website, kettlebelllady.com

The Case for Fitness & Healthy Aging

Nicholas Prukop/11 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

An important principle that has emerged throughout my writing on “healthy aging” has been the issue of fitness and the role being fit plays in preventing illness and injury, yielding a fulfilling and vibrant life – a “life well lived”. The point of healthy aging is to be in a position as we grow older “to do what we want when we want without getting hurt”. I have always believed that my level of fitness would yield positive results as I got older emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually – and so far I have been proven right in my own life. The “fitness lifestyle” is a consciousness issue just as healthy aging is as well. I make choices everyday that are designed to enhance my ability to live the way I choose. This always includes high intensity, focused training which will (hopefully) prepare me for the challenging years ahead.

Speaking, traveling, teaching, program design, consulting, writing and other activities that I wish to do in my future will require focus, high energy, inspiration, imagination, and physical stamina and endurance. The ability to train the way I am now will translate into the future actions that will yield the result I envision for audiences in the years ahead. Planning for a future that requires me to be prepared to do my work at a high level will also demand that I be as fit as I can be in order to give me the strength to help as many people as I possibly can – while I can. This is my mission – and my purpose.

This article is about something I think about EVERY day. Each of my actions, decisions, and thoughts are applied to the outcome that I seek with every step I take in becoming stronger, faster, quicker, more powerful, balanced, imaginative, flexible and skilled. My purpose is to be able to PERFORM at a high level even as I approach my 70’s and this is the point of my plan – and these articles in this series. How fit are you today for the future you envision for yourself? Does your vision inspire you to reach beyond your grasp? Does it “pull you forward” so that you will take the actions necessary to enable and empower you for the journey ahead? Only you can answer this question! Do it now!

Power, speed, quickness, strength, endurance, balance & flexibility: the “core” of healthy aging and growing old – not old.

I think of training in terms of performance and so much of fitness today is “gimmicks” – programs designed for the “few” in America who are NOT the obese, overweight, poorly trained, seniors, and youth. The “fatting” of America does NOT include practical programming on TV, the internet – or anywhere for that matter – that appeals to the average, untrained individual struggling just to live a ‘moderately’ happy life. I see this huge “hole” in our society everyday when I go out into the world where the “connection” between being fit and “regular” people is NEVER being made. To most of the world, fitness – or becoming fit – means acquiring a gym membership with all the “hassles” that implies and THAT isn’t healthy or inspiring at ALL!

I worked in the Nautilus and Bally’s systems as a trainer for over ten years and I never once saw the effort being truly made to help people “realistically” ACHIEVE anything. The world outside the gym is a giant “blank” for over two thirds of the population. The only thing I see that is visible today is elementary lifestyle “advice” on Dr. Oz and other related sophomoric network shows that really change nothing. The other major factor in the sales “pitch” to America on fitness comes in the form of “infomercials” that literally “sucker” people into buying USELESS stuff that will never really help them – EVER! The latest gimmick is the “abdominal belt” that will ‘melt” fat away with just 10 minutes a day! This is just the latest in the same old scam – “sell them anything and make a buck in the process!” What a disgrace and a shame that we have resorted to “hucksterism” in this country in order to sell the virtues of being fit! Jack Lalanne’s legacy has almost been completely forgotten today and I want to make sure I play my role in carrying the work he started so long ago forward with me. At least he TAUGHT simple exercises to people of all ages in the 50’s and 60’s with passion AND led them every step of the way during his shows. Those days are long gone!

When we think of helping people to become fit and healthy, we must always remember to train ourselves FIRST so that we can inspire others to do the same. I will not TELL anyone anything because for each of us our understanding and perspectives are different – just as each of us is different. I will always side with “being the example of the change I wish to see in the world” – the theme of my first article in this series. How do I retain my skill level with the “seven keys” of fitness highlighted above? I maintain them – and will elevate myself to higher levels of performance in the future – through my weekly weight training program, running 40 to 50 miles a week, stretching, and meditation. This dedication to fitness will hopefully allow me to do what I want, when I want, without injury and live with joy the active future of service I am envisioning for myself. I believe that with each passing day we are ALL falling ‘behind the fitness curve’ in life – whether we are training or not – and it is imperative that we translate our passion for being fit to others through our example. If we CAN’T DO IT, WE SHOULDN’T BE TEACHING IT!

Conclusion

My primary commitment to myself each day is to NEVER GIVE UP. If I am not sick or injured, I am training – training for my life to come and the role I have chosen for myself as “an agent of change in the world”. Each of us MUST decide what it is WE STAND FOR so that others can be inspired by our example. Jack LaLanne taught me through his example – as John Wooden did – that it is WHO WE ARE on the inside that will be the ‘key’ to inspiring and encouraging others to reach beyond their current grasp and strive for more than they ever dreamed possible. I am convinced every day by what I see in the world that what we have to offer the ‘many’ is desperately needed now more than ever. If we do not take up this challenge, who will? When will the REAL change come? It will only come when we change ourselves (on the inside – healthy aging is an inside job, remember?) and that is the greatest challenge that we will ALL face in life. It is worth fighting for this principle every day of our lives. Will you take it upon yourself TODAY and join me in this “journey of change” – and touch millions of lives in the process? I hope your answer is a resounding YES!

Article reprinted with permission from Nicholas Prukop.

Nicholas Prukop is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer & a Health Coach, a fitness professional with over 25 years of experience whose passion for health and fitness comes from his boyhood in Hawaii where he grew up a swimmer on Maui. He found his calling in writing his first book “Healthy Aging & You: Your Journey to Becoming Happy, Healthy & Fit” and since then he has dedicated himself to empowering, inspiring and enabling people of all ages to reach for the best that is within them and become who they are meant to be – happy, healthy and fit – and be a part of a world where each person can contribute their own unique gifts to life.

The Commodification of Medicine and Fitness: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Greg Mack/4 November 2021/ All MFN blog/

The need for medical and fitness services/products continues to grow. In the United States, and around the world. The corporate and industrialized delivery of medical and fitness products/ services continues to grow to meet increasing demand. Innovations in medical diagnostic technologies, surgical procedures, biomaterials, and medicines help individuals live longer, and with a higher quality of life. Technology and scientific research are propelling fitness product/service innovation with digital activity monitoring apps . . .

Choosing Appropriate Music for Mind/Body Classes

Robyn Kade/26 October 2021/ All MFN blog/

When creating mind/body fitness classes, we are never told which type of music is most useful or how to appropriately choose our music. An instructor will usually choose music for the sound that is pleasing to them. There is nothing wrong with this, and in fact, music is very subjective to everyone. Not everyone will like the same music that is chosen for the class. Some class participants may ask where you purchased your music, but you cannot please everyone with the music selection. You may be wondering how the brain picks up these frequencies and synchronizes them with its brainwaves. The brain can differentiate each sound frequency as it enters the brain through the ear. You may not know, however, that each frequency has it’s own specific purpose. For example, white noise is commonly used for helping individuals to get to sleep as well as calm the sound of Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears). Once you understand how frequencies work you can choose music that will produce a certain outcome. (National Institutes of Health, 2018)

Music and Stress

According to the University of Nevada, music can be a powerful stress reliever as well as help the mind to be more focused. (4) Choosing the right type of music for each class is critical in helping you to achieve the objective of somatic movement classes. It is known, for example, that faster music can make participants feel upbeat and be better able to concentrate. A slower beat can help you to quiet the mind and your class participant to de-stress. The University of Nevada says that music that is 60 beats per minute can cause the brain to synchronize with the beat, causing alpha brain waves to initiate. This relates to sound frequencies that are 8-14 hertz or cycles per second. Alpha brainwaves are present when we are relaxed and conscious. Delta brainwaves are dominant at 5 hertz. Stanford University found that certain sounds tend to relax us more; they are Native American, Celtic, Indian stringed instruments, drums, and flutes. There is a song called “Weightless” by Marconi Union, which is said to be the most relaxing song in the world. They ask that you not listen to it while driving in the car. The specific purpose of the song is to help lower the heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and reduce levels of the hormone cortisol. You can play the song on YouTube for a thoroughly relaxing experience and then record how you felt in your journal. It is noted that individuals should listen to this type of music for at least 45 minutes to obtain full benefits.

Psych Central says that nature sounds are very beneficial in decreasing stress levels because of the external focus it provides. When playing nature sounds for somatic movement classes, you want to use real sounds of nature. Artificial sounds draw the participant into themselves and can have the opposite effect. Listening to nature for 30 to 40 minutes three times a week can profoundly decrease stress and cortisol levels. (5) When choosing music for the Mindful Stretch or NeuRoll Calm™ class, we ask that you use primarily natural sounds mixed with soft music. Isochronic tones can be used as well, depending on the goal of the class you are instructing. (3)

Nature sounds help you to focus internally

Nature and soundscapes are widely used for meditation, but the question is which sounds are best for our group exercise class or small group training sessions. As the instructor, you are setting the objective for each class, and you can choose the music accordingly. Both of these types of music have frequencies or noise colors, and each color can be used to elicit specific meditative responses. The colors are white noise, pink noise, blue noise, grey noise, violet noise, red noise, green noise, and black noise. According to audiology.com, the most common noise colors used in meditation are white noise, pink noise, and brown noise. You can tell the difference in the noises by listening to them one at a time. White noise has a higher frequency and is perceived to be louder than it is; think of a water fountain. Pink noise has a more resonant sound than white noise and has more of a balanced sound; an example would be a calm ocean, and brown noise sounds like a soft rumble like thunder or a rough ocean. (2)

White noise is a collective frequency of all noise and can block out or mask other sounds. Some individuals use a fan, for example, to help them fall asleep at night. White noise is the go-to sound for masking sounds that come from within. Tinnitus sufferers use white noise to mask the constant sounds in their ears. Tinnitus can sound like a heartbeat, swooshing noise, or many other sounds within the ear. Other benefits of white noise are improved concentration and sleep promotion. (2)

Pink noise is a popular alternative to white noise, and some individuals prefer it because of the more gentle, relaxing sound it makes. We recommend changing up the music because not everyone will always like the music you choose. Like white noise, pink noise also includes the whole sound spectrum, but it has a less harsh sound. An example of pink noise is rushing water or heavy rain. Pink noise is also used to block out other sounds and help with improved focus, alleviating headaches, and promoting sleep. (2)

Brown noise was actually discovered by Robert Brown, a botanist in the 1800s, who calls this Brownian Motion. Brown takes the low frequency of pink noise lower, so it sounds like a buzz. Brown noise sounds like rushing water with a low roar. Brown noise is used to help with relaxation or meditation, improved focus, and reading comprehension, as well as sleep promotion. This is also known as Brown noise because the change in sound signal is random.(2)

Noise Color Chart

Adapted from: Gulf Coast Audiology. “White, Pink or Brown: Which Noise Helps You Sleep Better? – Hearing Aids Hearing Loss: Pascagoula: Biloxi, Mississippi: Gulf Coast Audiology.” Hearing Aids Hearing Loss | Pascagoula | Biloxi, Mississippi | Gulf Coast Audiology, 10 Feb. 2016,

Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are another type of music that can be used by clients at home or whenever they feel stressed. The sound produced is relaxing as long as the hertz or cycles per second are within the right cycle per sound. Individuals usually listen to binaural beats through earphones to achieve the best outcome. Each ear typically has a different frequency than the brain is listening to. The frequency should be no more than 30 hertz apart for the brain to synchronize the soundwave. The only known side effect of binaural beats, when listened to through headphones, is seizures. If anyone chooses to listen to binaural beats on their own with headphones, it is recommended to consult with their physician first. If you are using binaural beats in class, it does not have the same effect. It is relaxing, but the brain can only synchronize the sound and pick up brainwaves through earphones. For now, we know that binaural beats can help with anxiety, memory, mood, creativity, and attention. The different brain waves are Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Delta brainwaves are synchronized with a hertz of 0.1 to 4, Theta brainwaves are noticed at 4 to 8 hertz, Alpha is 8 to 13 hertz, Beta is 13 to 30 hertz, and Gamma is 30 hertz and higher. (1)

Psychology Today says that individuals have decreased cortisol, increases in melatonin, and decreases in DHEA when listening to binaural beats. This therapy is also being looked into as a possible treatment for anxiety and pain reduction. It is essential to stay within the hertz ranges that are provided below. If you go higher than the recommended Herz range, the individual could end up with the opposite effect of what the goal for the class originally was. For example, someone who is looking for stress relief could become anxious instead. Music that pre-mixed already follows these guidelines. (1)

Isochronic Tones

Isochronic tones are single notes of tones that are spaced evenly to create a rhythmic beat type of sound. You do not need to wear earphones for Isochronic tones to be useful as they are a singular beat, and the brainwaves produced can be measured by an EEG test. Many Isochronic tones are mixed with soft music or nature sounds. According to Healthline, Isochronic tones may promote better quality sleep, focus, and attention, decrease pain, help with declining memory, meditation, and a more positive mood. Isochronic tones follow the same brainwaves as Binaural Beats. It is recommended to use isochronic tones when instructing mind/body classes. (1)

Binaural Beats and Isochronic Tone Brain Waves Chart

Adapted from: Booth, Stephanie. “Brain Health With Binaural Beats”. Healthline, Healthline Media, 14 May 2019.

The music for class should be either natural soundscapes with soothing music blended with it or Isochronic Tones-based, which you can find online. Isochronic tones can be sold as a full album or a single song. We suggest starting the music before class to help calm class participants and prepare them for Mindful Stretch™. The instructor should also use a natural voice and no microphone. A natural voice helps to elicit the relaxation response and enables participants to connect with you. Keep in mind that breathing from the diaphragm helps instructors not to strain their vocal cords. The volume of the music being played is essential as well. It should be just loud enough that everyone can hear but soft enough that you can safely talk over the music. If you feel that you are straining your voice, lower the music to a level that is comfortable for you. (3)

Robyn Kade is the Founder of The Stress Management Institute for Health and Fitness Professionals. She has 20 years of experience in medical-based fitness.

References

Booth, Stephanie. “Brain Health With Binaural Beats.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 14 May 2019,
Gulf Coast Audiology. “White, Pink or Brown: Which Noise Helps You Sleep Better? – Hearing Aids Hearing Loss: Pascagoula: Biloxi, Mississippi: Gulf Coast Audiology.” Hearing Aids Hearing Loss | Pascagoula | Biloxi, Mississippi | Gulf Coast Audiology, 10 Feb. 2016.
Kade, Robyn. Mind/Body Medicine Specialist Manual. 4th ed. / USA, Stress Management Institute for Health and Fitness Professionals, 2020.
University of Nevada Reno. Releasing Stress through the Power of Music, 2020.
Collingwood, J. “The Power of Music To Reduce Stress”. Psych Central, 2020.

What if I told you fitness is simple? Would you believe me?

Chris Stevenson/22 October 2021/ All MFN blog/

Health and fitness are, in fact, simple, just not easy. What you must do; move more, make better choices with food, stretch, strength train, etc. is really not complicated. However, making it a part of your lifestyle can be quite challenging. How do we deal with this? By helping clients to develop the proper mindset.

Like any aspect in life, if you have the right mindset, you dramatically increase your chance for success. Health and fitness success is no different. While there are many components that go into creating the proper mindset, I wanted to share a quick strategy that I have found to be effective for staying on track. I call it S.T.A.T. Not only is this a great acronym, but it also means to hurry and do something!

The “S” stands for schedule overview. Look at your schedule every week to see where you have the time to move more, strength train, stretch or prep some healthy snacks.

The “T” stands for time blocks. After you review your schedule, commit a few blocks of time to doing those activities and lock in the times. The more consistency you have in those blocks of time from week to week, the better.

The “A” stands for action plan. Once you have committed to time blocks, create a specific action plan for what you will do. As cliché as it may sound, failing to plan is planning to fail. Making the most of the time blocks is essential. What exactly will you do to move more? Jog, do a band workout, participate in a yoga class, etc.? Where will this happen? Are you at a gym, the park, or at home? Be very specific.

The final “T” stands for track your progress. Find metrics that are important to you and track those every four to six weeks. Metrics can include weight, body fat, body measurements, energy levels, blood work and more. The key is finding a metric which is personally motivating. When you track metrics, you either make progress or you don’t. If you see positive progress, it confirms the investment of time is worth it, which helps with motivation. If you don’t see progress, you can plan which adjustments need to be made to improve your results.

The S.T.A.T. technique is very powerful and can help cultivate a mindset conducive to taking those simple aspects of fitness and making them a bit easier to incorporate into your daily routine.

Join Chris for his webinar to learn more, Creating the Mindset for Change in Your Clients.

Chris Stevenson – former Power Ranger stuntman – is the founder of Stevenson Consulting, a full-service consulting firm based in Westlake Village, California. Chris’s current focus is to help businesses and entrepreneurs of all types maximize potential. His expertise stems from his 20 years of hands-on experience in all aspects of the health club industry.