Is Weight Training a Collision Sport? Can a Fitness Trainer Make it Safer?

   There is a certain element of risk involved with sports and fitness activity. Collision sports such as football are responsible for frequent severe injuries and even deaths. However, even non-contact sports can be dangerous.
   Activities such as bicycling hold inherent risk because of issues of speed, balance, hazardous terrain, and  inattentive or hostile car drivers. Runners and walkers must also be wary of traffic as well as the threat of domestic dogs that turn into junkyard mongrels at the sight of bony human legs in motion. You could argue that any activity carries risk. Swimmers can drown! Skiers can fall!  Canadian women soccer players seem to brush off soccer wounds but in other parts of the world even a slight, unseen bump can leave a male player writhing in pain on death's doorstep! It must really hurt.
   How about some of my former avocations?

• Hockey - a high speed collision sport! Even as I graduated to old-timers, non-contact hockey the hurts were there. You just weren't expecting the hit when it came.
• What about my beloved amateur wrestling? Well, a basic set up move is to use a slapping motion to snap your opponent's head forward and down. Need I say more?
• Slow-pitch recreational softball - Someone once forgot the base bags and I blew out my ankle sprinting to 1st base. 
• Track and field - I was a middle distance runner. Okay, a scrawny miler isn't going to instill fear in your heart as he elbows you for position, but a wound from a track shoe spike can do damage. Field events such as high jump can make for a scary landing. There is a discussion about mandatory helmets for pole vaulters You don't want to misstep on a hurdle. Don't even think about wandering through the infield when a javelin, discus or shot put implement is flying through the sky. In high school crowds would migrate to the steeple chase water pit during a race to watch the potential train wreck.

   An outsider might presume that a weight room would would be a haven for hazardous happenings.
Iron is flung about with ferocious force! Muscle bound behemoths are suddenly distracted by spandex princesses in mid-lift. (Okay, maybe that was more in the 1980's. Spandex is passe now.)
Medicine balls are tossed around with grunting force. Muscles are manipulated to the max!
There must be an accident lurking behind every Nautilus machine!
   Actually in all of my time in the weight room, I have only witnessed 3 accidents of note.

1. One lifter was doing seated front barbell presses. He dislocated his collarbone. He wailed like a banshee until an ambulance carted him away.
2. A wandering muscle man was casting side glances at a nearby women's aerobics class when he walked eyeball first into the handle of a lat pull-down machine. He shook it off as he shouted blasphemous slogans to all 12 apostles. Mr. testament mouth wound up with a severe shiner and some wounded pride.
3. Somehow a woman got her fingers jammed between the weight plates of a machine. She too screamed to the heavens and went to emergency. Fortunately, no digits were severed.

   It should be noted that the 1st incident could have been preventable with proper technique or the guidance of a Fitness Trainer. The 2nd and 3rd incidents were due to lack of attentiveness. Always be aware of what is happening around you in a weight room setting!
   Now, I will not deny that there is risk in iron land. Three exercises in particular can be hazardous:

1. Bench presses can be hard on shoulder joints and deadly on the neck. Never lift heavy without a spotter. I've been stuck and it's scary.
2. Barbell squats to the front or back can be hard on the spine. If you blow out a knee, the weight can collapse on to you.
3. Certain types of seated calf machines are designed so that it is difficult to rack the weight at full contraction.

With all three exercises, either use a weight well within your range or have an assistant present to spot you.

For Fitness Trainers, safety is crucial at all times. You do NOT want an accident to happen to a client under your watch! Always take the following precautions:

• Watch your client like a hawk during training.
• Avoid distractions while working with a client.
• Ensure proper lifting technique at all times.
• Follow proper safety standards.
• Always watch to be sure that the environment is free of potential hazards.
• Know the safety protocol at whatever facility that you are using as your base.
• Keep your own first aid and CPR current and updated.
• Use common sense.
• Avoid the following;.....Distraction, Inattentiveness, Showboating.

   There seems to be a trend in newer fitness centers to have rules forbidding any ballistic lifting.This basically rules out any Olympic style lifts which should  form the backbone for any sports related training. (Conversely, a breed of clubs such as Cross Fit have done the opposite and focused on ballistic lifts.) The fear is that ballistic training is dangerous and is not worth the risk.
The risk can be mostly nullified with proper supervision. A good compromise is to set aside a corner of the facility for ballistic lifting. Proper equipment and flooring would be a must. Members should be instructed in proper technique and procedure. The section must be properly watched by knowledgeable staff. Unfortunately many fitness centers set membership sales as their sole priority. Setting up a properly monitored area

Distraction!   Inattentiveness!  Showboating!
Accidents can happen if you're not careful!

 for Olympic style lifts is usually low on their wish list.
   Remember, think safety first in the weight room! It does not have to be a dangerous place.

Until next time,........keep fit! 

Little Bobby Strong









Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com


 

Canadian Cyclist Admits to Doping

It doesn't seem to shock me anymore! About a month or so ago another professional endurance bicyclist has admitted to doping. This time it was a Canadian - the best Canadian male cyclist of the last decade. Ryder Hesjedal was outed in a book written by former Danish pro cyclist Michael Rasmussen called 'Yellow Fever'  ('Gul Feber' in Danish).  Rasmussen claims that he observed Ryder Hesjedal partaking of endurance enhancing doping products when they were teammates.
   Ryder Hesjedal. came out and admitted to the allegations - in a way. He claims that he tried performance enhancing substances for a short time about ten years ago. He then realized the error of his ways and has not doped since then. This may be a partial truth! It's like the mayor of Toronto admitting that he did smoke crack - but only once while under the seductive influence of the Rum Goddess.
   Like the party-loving mayor, Ryder H. may be confessing but only to the sins that have been discovered. Only the tip of the iceberg appears above the water. There is much lurking down below in the darkness of the deep.
   Let us look at the facts:

• Ryder Hesjedal. won the Giro d'Italia in 2012.
• Ryder Hesjedal. was contending in the Tour de France the same year. He had to drop out due to injury. The Tour de France is the summit event of professional endurance bicycling.
• Ryder Hesjedal won the Lionel Conacher Award in 2013 as Canada'a best male athlete.

   Are we to believe that Ryder Hesjedal. only took performance enhancing drugs 10 years ago. Eight years later he has his best year ever in endurance cycling. Sorry, but it just doesn't work that way!
Ryder Hesjedal was also a member of Lance Armstrong's Discovery team a few years back. I suppose every one else on Lance's team was dirty except him!
   Don't get me wrong. I like the guy. He seems humble and personable. He is also trying to succeed in a sport in which the culture of doping runs deep. I suspect that a Tour de France aspirant isn't going to make the team without chemical enhancement. You either join the program or quit!
    I remember a triple jumper from Edmonton, Alberta failing a doping test in the early 1990's. He was a heck of a nice kid. He was a perennial Canadian Champion but he kept missing out on making World Championship or Olympic teams. The standards were too tough. The standards, of course, were based on the results of the world's top triple jumpers.Many of them were likely juiced and helped drive the qualifying standards to an impossible level. My triple jumping acquaintance finally got sick of working his butt off and missing out. He got on the program and made the World Championship and Olympic teams. Then he got busted. To his credit, he admitted to it all - not just some of it.
   What I don't like are these partial truths. Olympic sprinter Marion Jones didn't juice before 2000. A Rod only took P.E.D.'s one winter in the Dominican Republic at the urging of his 'cousin'.  Give me a break!  Love him or hate him, at least Jose Canseco admitted to a long history of PED use.

   For many years the Canadian bodybuilding gurus, Joe and Ben Weider, petitioned to have bodybuilding admitted as an Olympic sport. The reason for rejection was usually said to be that posing on a stage was more art than sport. However, the rampant use of steroids at bodybuilding's top levels probably scared the International Olympic Committee the most. Yet other sports continue to operate under dark clouds of suspicion. Track and field, endurance cycling, and weightlifting endure scandal after scandal. Amateur wrestling runs mostly scandal free but got dropped from the Olympics before finally being reinstated!  I don't get it! This brings up some points of debate:

• Could there be an argument to allow these Performance Enhancing Drugs and hire a multitude of doctors to try and keep the risks minimal?
• The users usually seem to be a step ahead of the testers
• Spectators and fans want to see the phenomenal performances no matter how they were achieved.
• There are those who will protest this point of view for moral, ethical and medical reasons.
• Would you rather have your legal age kids on steroids and doing sports at a high level or doing narcotics and hanging with the riff raff? 
• I like track and field, cycling and weightlifting as a fanatical spectator. I don't want them dropped. I love watching them! There are many like me.

I don't have the absolute answers. I just like to provoke a discussion on a topic that seems to have no conclusion in sight!

One other thing. If you are a Fitness Trainer and get involved in the world of Performance Enhancing Drugs you are hovering like a fly - waiting for the windshield on the freeway!


Until next time,...........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

Professional endurance bicycling has a long history of  tainted  performers and unscrupulous handlers overstepping the boundaries of fairness with questionable substances and illicit elixirs !

 Links
schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

    

Did the Jolly Fat Man Hire A Convicted Steroid Dealer as a Fitness Trainer?

Yes you read the title right. We'll get back to that later. It's all connected. I figured that it would get your attention.

   Suppose that you are a potential client. What should you look for in a Fitness Trainer?
How should you screen out Fitness Trainers that may not meet your expectations so you don't wind up like the jolly Fat Man with a Fitness Trainer of a dubious past?
 
   Let's start with the qualities and criteria that an interested fitness buyer should focus on:

• Credentials - Ideally you want a Fitness Trainer that has the education, certification, and experience that would make them a good investment for your money
• Insurance - Confirm that the Fitness Trainer or the Fitness Center has liability coverage in case something does go wrong and you wind up injured or in cardiac arrest because of potential negligence.
• Affordability - You may need to get fit but not at the cost of going into financial debt. Insist on signing up for shorter term contracts that will not break you. Don't get sucked in beyond your means.
• Convenience - The Fitness Trainer should be able to schedule you in at reasonable hours. if you are skipping off work early to make sessions you may wind up looking for another means of employment. If you are compromising family time to make sessions you may wind up getting a cold shoulder from a significant other. This is another reason to insist on a short beginner's contract as a trial before signing n long term.
• Safety - You want to ensure that your well being will be a priority along with your fitness.
• Compatibility - Your fitness sessions will be more palatable if the trainer is more in tune with your personality type. A dead serious client with absolutely no sense of humor would be best served by someone other than me as their Trainer.
• Individual Customization - The Trainer must be willing to tailor the fitness sessions to what YOU personally need to succeed in your fitness goals. A generic cookie cutter fitness program is not the answer to what will work for you.
• Initial assessment and fitness evaluation - If the prospective Fitness Trainer wants to jump right into training without this step walk away fast!
• Get references if possible. Ask around with other clients.

   You may note that I did not include appearance. For some prospective clients this may be very important. I suppose that a sloppy demeanor could be a warning sign. However a Fitness Trainer may look somewhat casual or be less that physically buffed  but be a very knowledgeable and effective practitioner. Conversely someone else may be very professional in appearance and athletically built but be a disaster as a trainer. Try to look beyond the superficial!  

Watch out for these red flags:

• Vague or questionable credentials. 
• Less than stellar references
• Lack of professionalism, e.g. tardiness, lack of attentiveness, acting like they are too busy for you, poor preparation, no fitness studio or fitness club to work out at (believe me - it happens),  bullying mannerisms. 
• Suggestions of inappropriate behavior. Women clients especially, but not exclusively, should be cautious about one-on-one sessions at the Trainer's house, a secluded private studio, or a visit to your own home to train.  Do your research! If possible get references and trust your instincts. Unfortunately there can be some sleazy people in this profession. Also be wary of a Trainer wanting before and after pictures of you wearing something like black lingerie. Trust me- I've heard of such stories!
• Fitness Trainer's that make you feel like a cash cow and constantly cajole you to purchase extra features apart from the Fitness Trainer package or purchase fitness sessions beyond your means. Some Fitness Trainers may be always pushing you to shell out money for costly food supplements.

   This last point brings us back to my title. A small minority of less than scrupulous fitness trainers have been known to push supplements that may come from the shadier side of the periodic table.

Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, has broken a story that the Jolly Fat Man has decided to lose weight. That's a good thing! The bad thing is that it is rumored that the jolly Fat Man may have obtained the services of a Fitness Trainer with a past history as a steroid dealer. Say it ain't so Saint Nick! 

   Wait a minute. We're not talking about Saint Nicholas who gives presents out at Christmas time.

We're talking about the other Jolly Fat man.  The honorable mayor of Toronto is also a Jolly Fat Man who has been known to make poor choices in the

Be wary of prospective Fitness Trainers or Fitness Centers that
treat you as though you are a money tree.
Your pockets likely aren't as deep as those of a certain Jolly Fat Man!

 people that he associates with. His camp denies that the Mayor has obtained the services of this
 particular Trainer. If he has obtained these services, this Trainer may have moved on from his past mistakes..It may be a positive partnership.

 Kudos for the mayor for having decided upon the path of active living!
Better that he should be sucking for oxygen  on a step machine than sucking for sickly
smoke from some street sorcerers stem of a pipe!

Here is the link from the Globe and Mail. It's a good read.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/11/20/rob-ford-fitness-consultant-a-convicted-steroid-trafficker-banned-from-coaching-in-canada/

Until next time, ...............keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

Fitness Breakthrough - A Pill in Place of Exercise?

   I came across something quite astonishing in the internet recently. The Salk Institute of Biological Studies is currently working on a pill that may have a groundbreaking effect. Supposedly the human body can be altered so that it will increase endurance and burn fat without resorting to exercise. Thus far, it has worked on lab mice. Scientists have been able to turn on the genetic machinery to enable the mice to automatically burn fat to create energy. The verdict is still out on whether or not this works effectively with humans. The studies suggest that it will.  This could turn the world of exercise science upside down! It could also have important implications for Fitness Trainers!
   This physiological manipulation increases the mitochondria of the slow twitch muscle fibers. More mitochondria means more fat burning and better oxygen utilization. More fat burning means a leaner body down the road.
   Think of what this could possibly lead to in the future:

• People with chronic issues that inhibit exercise may be able to get fit.
• The severely obese may be able to fast track their way to a healthier body without the stress of their weight on their joints.
• There may be benefits for AIDS or cancer patients.
• Endurance athletes could obtain superhuman stamina. 
• Sofa slugs can lose weight without leaving the sofa.

   On the negative side, there could be some potential pitfalls.

• There could be physical side effects. The studies are not that far evolved yet. Cancers or other bodily malfunctions could be a consequence of using the magic pill.
• Competitive endurance athletes may want to obtain this pill to cheat. The Salk Institute has actually collaborated with the World Anti Doping Agency to help identify this substance for testing.
• The sofa slug may lose weight and gain endurance but without a lifestyle change, the sedentary lifestyle will still leave them susceptible to other physical dysfunctions and ailments.

   As a Fitness Trainer, I always try to forecast how such potential breakthroughs may affect the profession.

Could such a future fast track to fitness mean a drop in demand for fitness professionals?

Fitness Trainers have managed to survive in spite of the availability of muscle building drugs such as anabolic steroids and Human Growth Hormone. An optimistic view would be that Fitness Training could survive and adapt to a fat burning stamina pill. Besides, the people that seek out Trainers also want things such as muscle tone, strength, health and well being.

    I strongly believe that Fitness Trainer's should not just be providing personal guidance to get fit. They should be providing an enjoyable, physically invigorating session of positive reinforcement. This sort of personal touch doesn't come in a pill.
  Treat your clients as though they

A pill for fat burning. No need for vigorous exercise.
The television remote will do the trick!
Will it be that easy in the future?

 are important!

This should help you weather any  
 potential scientific storm.

Until next time,.........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

   








Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

Fitness Trainers - Choose Your Entry Level Jobs Wisely

   Image is crucial for a Fitness Trainer!  Whether it is right or not, you are often judged by your professional demeanor. Curious and watchful eyes are sizing you up. How you present yourself in whatever fitness environment that you operate in is important. Your time spent working with a client or doing your own workout is also an opportunity for self-marketing.

   People notice if you are inattentive, lackadaisical, or impolite while plying your trade. 
Doing your own workout while dressed like a slob, reeking of body odor or dropping f-bombs, can reflect on your image. A successful Fitness Training colleague used to contract extra clients to me. He kept telling me to avoid parking my rusted bucket-of-bolts car at the very front of the fitness center. I initially thought that this was a petty thing to worry about. Now I realize how right he was. People may not perceive you as being successful if you drive around in a wreck. Fitness training can be an image focused business.

   There was a Fitness Trainer at a club where I used to work out. This club had a section for higher paying exclusive members.This exclusive section had extra amenities such a T.V. lounge, a steam room and free shaving cream, razors and skin lotions. This Fitness Trainer did not have a full slate of clients so he put in extra hours as an attendant in the exclusive member's section. He hoped that the extra personal contact with the higher tier members would boost his Fitness Training prospects.   He was industrious and put in an honest day of hard work. He tried to establish a rapport with these exclusive club members. The carry over effect was negligible. He was perceived as the towel boy or cleaner.
It did not enhance his image as a professional Fitness Trainer!
   There are professions in which you can work your way from the mail room to the upper echelons of the organization. Fitness Training may not be such a profession! Potential clients may not envision you as the person to lead them their new body if they see you doing other labor.
   If you have your own fitness studio and you do your own cleaning, do it during down time. Don't be cleaning toilets when the next client arrives.
   I am not an career snob. I have worked as a cleaner and as a weight room attendant. You do what you can to survive until you can establish a clientele. My advice is don't work these jobs at the same location  that you expect to ply your Fitness Training craft. You want to be perceived as an expert in Fitness Training, not a jack of all trades. People's impressions can be easily and unfairly swayed.

Honest work and I've done it too.
However it may not help your image as a Fitness Professional!

You want to be seen as a fitness
 professional. 
Always keep that in mind.

Until next time,...........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong 










Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

Fitness Trainers - Don't Go Beyond Your Scope

   I used to work security in the oil sands of northern Alberta in Canada. Our security mandate was to;
ensure access control, deter trespassing, enforce camp rules, and observe and report violations.
   We were not police officers. We had neither the training nor the resources for actual law enforcement. We were to call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police if crimes or major felonies were committed at the camp. Major felonies did occur - including the occasional homicide !
  We had one security co-worker who thought we were cops. He was always wanting to make citizen's arrests or shake down the seedier-looking camp workers. Management finally had to remove him from the site before the security company got sued for false arrest or one of us security staffers got gang beaten by oilfield ruffians. The northern tar sands can be an unforgiving place!      
   Never go beyond your scope! This rule can apply to Fitness Trainers as well as wannabe camp cops.
A  Fitness Trainer can be many things. A Fitness Trainer can provide exercise guidance, inspiration, encouragement, and positive reinforcement. A Fitness Trainer should know the boundaries that they should work within. Straying out of bounds can lead to potential trouble. It's worth keeping in mind the following points:

• A Fitness Trainer can make healthy eating suggestions but they are not a  nutritionist. (Some Fitness Trainers may also be certified nutritionists so they have more leeway)  The worst case scenario: a Fitness Trainer suggested a supplement to a client. The client was allergic, almost died, and sued the fitness club and the Fitness Trainer. This actually happened.
• A Fitness Trainer should refer a client that they suspect of having an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa. This can turn into a major medical issue if not dealt with properly.
• A Fitness Trainer should refer a client that they suspect of steroid use. They should NOT supply such substances to a client!

• A Fitness Trainer can provide a physical service that elevates the mood but they are not not a mental health professional.  A good workout can blow away a mild case of funk but a severe depressive or anxious state may require medical intervention.
• A Fitness Trainer knows about muscular injuries but is not a physiotherapist. Some Fitness Trainers may be qualified to work with special populations such as injured people. (For example Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists - Certified Exercise Physiologists) However this should be done in collaboration with the physiotherapist or physician.
• A Fitness Trainer knows anatomy and physiology but is not a medical doctor. Exercise doesn't fix everything. If in doubt, refer the client to the proper medical professional.
• A Fitness Trainer can be a good listener but is not a marriage counsellor or a therapist. Moral support is allowed but be careful beyond that. Reality shows where celebrity trainers psychoanalyze their clients to the point of tears may make for dramatic viewing but can be treading on risky turf!  Bullying a 'Biggest Loser' contestant to break them down to admit to some childhood trauma should not be held up as a standard tactic! You try making your clients cry in a crowded weight room and see what that does to your marketing ability.

• A Fitness Trainer  CAN be a good conversationalist. However they should keep the advice to topics related to fitness or friendly banter about sports, cars, and the weather.

"Now Mr. Soprano, tell me more about those childhood dreams."
A Fitness Trainer is certified to consult on fitness and prescribe and monitor prescriptive exercise programs.
A Fitness Trainer is not licensed to psychoanalyze patients as is a Doctor of Psychiatry or Psychology.

Stay within your scope of practice. Don't jump into unknown water or water that you only think you know.!
If your determine that your client may have issues that could be problematic -
refer that person to the proper professional!

Until next time,......keep fit!  

Little Bobby Strong!

Links

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

AudienceBuilder.ca

www.fitnwell.com

Invasion of the Mall Walkers

   I spotted the first one at the crack of dawn. At first, I thought it was only a stray.  The second one appeared moving with the same vigorous and forceful gait. Then I spotted a third followed by a paired couple. These were no strays! They were everywhere! The mall was filling with walkers.They were all over the shopping mall.  Some of them carried walking poles. Many were dressed in golf attire and shod in running or walking shoes. This was an invasion!
   I was on my way to an early morning fitness seminar at an adjacent hotel. I was taking a shortcut through the shopping center just after the doors opened. That's when I saw them - the mall walkers. 
This is becoming a growing trend - seniors getting exercise by walking the shopping malls before the stores open in the morning. Some of them will then reward themselves at the food court with coffee from the kiosk beanery.  I see this as a positive thing.Seniors are getting active with exercise and getting out of the home for awhile. This is active living unfolding before our eyes.
   Walking is a super exercise for most people. The benefits are numerous.

• Walking invigorates the cardiovascular system.
• It stimulates the often neglected musculature of the lower body.
• It can be safer than some of the more intense forms of exercise such as running. There is less stress on some of the more vulnerable joints such as knees, hips, and ankles. 
• It can be good physical therapy. I used to find that a brief walk can ease a lower backache. Yes, fitness trainers can get sore backs too.
• Walking can help the brain release endorphins and elevate the mood.

   My bias has always been that  cardiovascular exercises such such as walking, running, and biking be done out in the fresh air. Many feel more comfortable indoors. For many seniors, practicality trumps my personal preferences.There are many reasons why walking malls may be the way to go for this demographic.

• Outdoor weather includes rain, snow, slippery ice, and hot and cold temperature extremes.
• Falls are the number one cause of injury to seniors.
• The indoor environment is mostly constant.
• The fresh air of the great outdoors isn't always that fresh with car exhaust and other pollutants.
• The is liitle to no danger from dogs in the mall.
• There is the potential danger from automobile traffic outside. I suppose in the mall seniors still have to beware of electric carts and runaway Segways.
• There may be greater risk of being victimized by crime out in the streets or urban parks. Malls  have security staff and video surveillance which lessens the chance of being mugged or swarmed. While mall food courts can be hangouts for groups of wayward youth, they are rarely around in the early morning hours that seniors prefer.
• Walking outdoors is often a solitary activity. Mall walking often has a unique social component.  The walkers often socialize and even have a coffee in the mall after their walk. It beats staying isolated at home.

      Okay, it`s settled then. Mall walking is a great activity for seniors! However, walking by itself may not lead to overall fitness Walking does not address issues of upper body strength, postural imbalances, or flexibility. Seniors would benefit from weight training and core conditioning.

   This aging demographic is a potential windfall for Fitness Trainers. Seniors who have taken up mall walking are already into the action phase of fitness .How can you, the Fitness Trainer, get them to take that extra step towards total fitness?

I spotted the first walker. A stray.
I knew there would be more! An invasion was coming!
Note the suburban mall fitness center.

   Is it a coincidence that many fitness centers are located in shopping malls?  If you work in such a fitness center, perhaps your greatest potential  client base is there in the mall. If you have your own training business maybe it might be an idea to try and mine that vein. Research the shopping center`s policy on advertising your services with poster or see if you can set up a booth. Focus on marketing to the mall walkers. The future is out there.
Follow the walkers!

Until next time,............keep fit!     

Little Bobby Strong!

Links

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

AudienceBuilder.ca

www.fitnwell.com

The Little Bobby Strong Audio Interview - Revised

Faithful readers,....there was a minor glitch in the link to my audio podcast interview.
Sometimes the link would go to a warning site. This may have scared readers away.

No one needs to live with the fear of being lured to a site showing me
singing a Miley Cyrus song and twerking on You Tube.  Gadzooks!!!!!!

I have finally resolved the issue with the warning site.

Sorry for the delay.
I'm a cardio geek -not a techno geek!

Here is the new link......

AudienceBuilder.ca


Until next time,.....keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

Links

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

The Little Bobby Strong Interview

  A day of reckoning for internet blogging has arrived!
I was recently interviewed by Dan Carle, a digital media consultant with Dan the Audience Builder. I usually hate listening to recordings of my voice. I think I sound like a blathering, babbling buffoon. However thanks to the editing genius of Mr. Carle, I actually sound lucid.
   Dan Carle, and I go back twenty years, to a wrestling bus trip from Edmonton, Canada to Phoenix, U.S.A. A well behaved group of University of Alberta wrestlers stopped in Calgary to pick up an unruly but combative crew of University of Calgary wrestlers. The Calgarians brought their spiritual leader, a world class wrestler known as the Mad Dog. The bus then departed for for a series of wrestling tournaments with some southwest U.S.A college teams. I met Dan Carle, a University of Alberta Sports Information Director. The trip was a milestone of sports and fitness history!
   To hear the interview requires only 3 clicks of the mouse.
1. Click on the link below
2. See right column reading Recent Posts and click first item - so you want to be a fitness trainer (If you happen to go to a warning site just click on 'proceed anyways'. The site is safe. You will NOT wind up at a site showing me prancing about in leather.) I will try and work out this glitch. 
3. Scroll to bottom and click on the audio...only 13 minutes long
Don't worry about computer viruses. I just had my flu shot!

AudienceBuilder.ca              

Wallow in the verbal eloquence...or...cover you ears and shout at the top of your lungs
"Madness! Bloody Madness!"

Until Next Time,...Keep Fit
Little bobby strong

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
www.fitnwell.com
AudienceBuilder.ca

Incorporate your Fitness Training Business

   Many Fitness Trainers come to the eventual conclusion that accumulating a clientele and running your own show is their preferred business plan.
My last two posts suggested three options for running your own Fitness Training enterprise.

1. Be a sole Proprietor
2. Form a business partnership with other fitness colleagues
3. Incorporate

   Option 3 is the one to seriously consider if your client base is showing potential for significant growth and you want to call the shots without a partner. Incorporation demonstrates that you are serious about building your Fitness Training empire. 
   A corporation is a separate legal entity that has been registered with a legislative body. The word is derived from the Latin word Corpus which can mean a body or a body of people. (Wikipedia)
   Becoming a corporation means that the business is distinct from the owner. This affords a certain amount of legal protection. Trust me - as your business grows this is an extremely important factor.
    There may be some inconveniences in becoming incorporated:

• There is a fee to register as a corporation. 
• You will need to obtain the services of a lawyer.
• You will need a professional accountant.
• You are no longer a stripped down operation. You must now deal with government regulating agencies at the municipal, provincial (or state) and federal levels.
• You must now pay personal taxes plus business taxes if there is money left in your business account at the end of the year.
• You have to draw a salary from the business earnings. You no longer have free access to the finances. 
• Even if you are still a one person operation, once incorporated you are theoretically responsible to shareholders and a board of directors. In this case, YOU will be the shareholder and the board of directors. Think extra paperwork!

   Becoming a corporation means that you sacrifice a certain amount of flexibility. However if the Fitness Training business that you operate is building financial momentum it may be the sensible way to proceed. Here are the positives:

• Personal assets are PROTECTED from financial liability of creditors.
• Personal assets are PROTECTED from legal liability in the case of injured clients (see Picture).
• Your business can now add the professional title of 'incorporated' to the name. Clients deal with a business instead of an individual. This enhances your status in the fitness world. 
• Potential clients may consider the business to be a viable enterprise rather than some 'fly by night' operation.
• In Canada employers of a corporation pay into the Canada Pension Plan. Stateside it may be Social Security or an individual pension fund. YOU NEED AN ACCOUNTANT! Paying into a pension plan is a future bonus for when you retire to that senior's boot camp in Belize.

A fraudulently injured ex- client
plus - a strip mall, ambulance-chasing lawyer
equals -  Potential Legal and Financial Trouble !
If you are incorporated they can only go after your business assets.
Your personal assets are legally protected.

There is also an issue of whether to become a publicly or privately held corporation. Fitness Trainer businesses are usually small enterprises and will qualify as a private corporation.

It can be confusing - that's why you need a business lawyer!

To sum it up, incorporation is a sensible option for Fitness Trainer's who intend to run their own business on a full time basis. Legal protection is important!  However there can be a trade off with the laissez - faire nature of     how a sole proprietor can operate.
You will have to decide on what works best for you.

Until next time,.......keep fit

Little Bobby Strong

Links

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

www.fitnwell.com

AudienceBuilder.ca

References

1. The Business of Personal Training Scott O. Roberts
Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. 1996
2. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business - Third Edition
Edward Paulson    Alpha Books  MacMillan USA Inc. 2000
(I guess I'm not an idiot because the book confused me...Little Bobby strong))
3. Greg Harvey Proprietor of Fit'N'Well Personal Training Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.fitnwell.com       greg@fitnwell.com 

Fitness Training : Forming a Business Partnership

In a previous blog I stated that a Fitness Trainer who wants to operate their own business can do it 3 ways:

1. Be a Sole Proprietor
2. Form a business partnership
3. Get incorporated

If you choose option number 2 you will no longer be working on your own. However you will probably be working with other fitness aficionados which can make for a positive work environment.  Forming a business partnership can have certain advantages:

• As in being a sole proprietor, the start up costs can be low
• It is a simple business to initiate
• The partners share the expenses
• You have a greater potential to attract more clients
•  Different Fitness Trainer personalities can appeal to a broader base
•  A Fitness Trainer partnering with a Group Exercise Specialist can cover a wider spectrum of needs of the fitness demographic

   According to Greg Harvey, owner of Fit 'N'Well Personal Training Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  "If you form a business partnership you will need to be either an incorporated partnership or a limited partnership. A partnership can't operate as a sole proprietor. Once in a business partnership you will need an accountant to take care of taxes and a lawyer to file the minutes each year. " 

The fact that it will not just be about you and your clients can also raise some issues. You will now be legally bonded to another person. You likely know couples living common law that decided to make it legal and tie the knot in marriage. Many will concede that the moment they signed the documents their relationship changed. It was no longer just for fun - it was now a serious relationship. Think of a business partnership in a similar vein. The parameters can change significantly. Business Partnerships can run into potential problematic scenarios:

• Fitness Trainers who socialize in and out of the fitness center may find that their interpersonal relationship changes when money becomes a variable
• One party may feel that the other party is not pulling their share of the work load 
• A client complaint against one Fitness Trainer may reflect badly on the others
• Issues of dishonesty or fraud by a partner can be disastrous to the business relationship 
• Someone you once got along with may turn out to be difficult to deal with in a work setting
• Your goals for the business may start to differ from those of you partner
• Your partner's financial problems could become your problems

   Should you decide that a business partnership is the correct route, do it wisely.

1. Ensure that you and your partner(s) share common goals 
2. Draw up agreed upon rules and guidelines. Consult with your lawyer
3. Document all financial transactions.
4. Use a competent professional accountant 
5. Be prepared for reasonable compromises.
6. Don't let divisive situations fester. Clear the air with discussion and diplomacy

Dishonesty or fraud within a Business Partnership can be disastrous!

  Operate your business as a professional operation and not like some back alley chop shop and success may follow.

Until next time,...keep fit

Little Bobby Strong

       schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

References
1. Greg Harvey    Fit 'N'Well Personal Training Inc.  Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
greg@fitnwell.com 

2. The Business of Personal Training  Scott O. Roberts, Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. 1996

Fitness Training -Being a Sole Proprietor

   Anyone contemplating a move into a career as a Fitness Trainer would be prudent to research the business aspect of this field of occupation.
Basically, aspiring Fitness Trainers have two usual choices if they want to be legitimate.

1. Work as an employee for a Fitness Center or a recreation complex.
2. Work on your own with your own clientele or for a Fitness Complex as an independent contractor. 

If you decide on option number 2, then you will have to decide:

1. Should you be a sole proprietor?
2. Should you form a business partnership?
3. Should you incorporate?

 Do your research! I looked through an old college manual about the business of Fitness Training.
There were 2 paragraphs on each of these topics; sole proprietorship, business partnership and incorporation. Obviously you must go beyond the offered fare of the fitness courses to get fundamental knowledge. Business books and the internet should help you educate yourself. If you feel that you need to consult a business expert - do it! It may be well worth any fee.
   Your decision on how to operate may depend upon how far advanced you are in your Fitness Training business. During the early process of building your business, cash flow may be meager. Incorporation fees can be costly. Sole proprietorship may be the initial route to take.
  A proprietor is someone who runs a business that they legally own. A sole proprietorship business is owned and operated by one individual. Anyone that sells a service or product with the hope of some profit is a sole proprietor by default. They need not fill out any official forms to attain this status. They will be expected to pay taxes on the income but they can also claim business expenses against such income. It is a great option for newcomers!
 There are some advantages to sole proprietorship such as:

• Less hassle or cost in starting the business.
• The sole proprietor makes the business decisions.
• The sole proprietor gets the sole profits.
• The sole proprietor only has to answer to his clients - not to a fitness center manager.

Sole proprietorship may have some disadvantages such as:

• The sole proprietor has total responsibility (or blame) for the business.
• Business liability issues. The sole proprietor is personally liable for business debts.
• Legal liability issues. A sole proprietor can be sued for his own personal assets - not just for business assets. 

Those are some significant disadvantages. There is a certain amount of physical risk involved in this occupation. You want to protect yourself to the maximum in case of an injured client.

Look, I get it! Too many expenses in the beginning can handcuff you. If you are Fitness Training as a second job you also want to keep it simple.

If you are just a small dog in the fitness training kennel, you may want to
work as a sole proprietor. If you grow into a big wolf, you may be wise to
consider incorporating your business.

Sole proprietorship provides greater flexibility and easier decision making!

    Once you start to approach a time where you are making a decent living at it it might be the time to consider incorporating. This requires a level of commitment and administrative work beyond sole proprietorship.
 If you work with other Fitness Trainers you might also consider forming a partnership but then you have someone besides your clients to answer to.
   If you don't feel a need for these extra constraints then
staying lean and mean as a sole proprietor may be the right business model for you! 

(Read more on Fitness Training business options in my next two blogs.)
                                                           
Until next time,.......keep fit!  

Little Bobby Strong                          
                                               
                                                              schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

References
1. The Business of Personal Training    Scott O. Roberts
Human Kinetics 1996

2. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business- Third Edition
Edward Paulson  Alpha books - MacMillan USA Inc. 2000
(Publisher's Note: You expected me to read an MBA level book on Economic Capitalism....
Forget That!)

The Poor Unwanted Musclehead

   There is a troubling trend in the world of fitness these days. Some of the newer big box fitness  center chains started it. Now a business marketing itself as the small neighborhood workout club has jumped on the bandwagon. This trend is a fore handed slap at the plate-pumping, pectoral-protruding,  personal pride possessed pioneers of pulchritude. These swollen-armed, sinewy-veined, thick necked demigods that strut chest first across weight room floors are under attack.
   The trend that I refer to is a policy to refuse memberships to the extremely muscular bodybuilding or powerlifting types. The neighborhood workout club that I referred to discourages any muscular males weighing over 200 pounds from joining up.
This almost verges on being a human rights violation!
   Many fitness centers seem hell-bent on making muscleheads obsolete by getting rid of their favorite equipment. Platforms for powerlifting and Olympic style weightlifting are scarce or non-existent in many new facilities. State-of-the-art machines are replacing traditional benches for free weights. Squat racks are scarce and futuristic hybrids of leg machines are the new normal. Olympic bars are hard to find..
   Sure, some of these muscleheads can be boors! I've seen many examples of less than stellar weight room etiquette. Some of this behavior can border on the outright barbaric such as:

• Loud grunts while lifting
• Dropping weights that land heavily on the floor
• Giving off wicked gas emissions due to the fermenting pre-workout protein shake
• Great propensity for a crude oath starting the sixth letter of the alphabet 
• Hogging more than one machine or weight station while they do supersets
• Rich manly odor emanating from their favorite unwashed training wardrobe

   There's no question about it. Some of these muscular mammoths can be crude and intimidating. Many of them show the hyper-aggressive mood and  skin acne known to be symptomatic of steroid use. Psychologists might analyse them as insecure guys hiding behind false egos of bravado - little men playing at big men!  However, that doesn't mean that we should paint all serious 'big boys' with the same brush.
   On the plus side, these guys can be faithful members. Many of their former haunts, the hard core gyms, have given up the ghost.  These jacked-up gym giants need some joint in which to joust.
  They can also be a source of inspiration. I can remember many times being in the weight room and feeling apathetic and lazy about my workout. Watching a Musclehead hit the iron with a manic zeal would brush off and get me enthused again. Muscleheads love their weights and their passion can be contagious.
   My plea to these exclusive fitness centers is "cut the muscleheads some slack!  Give them their own side room with heavy plates and Olympic bars where they can be away from the general population.  Don't shut them out! Stick up for the muscular minority. They represent an old tradition of muscle beach, bulging biceps and dungeon-like gyms. Just don't stand downwind of them when they're refueling with liquid protein.

"Step aside little man. Treadmill aerobic training is for girly geeks! True warriors hoist heavy iron!"
No doubt that Muscleheads can be brutes and boors.
On the plus side, their passion and intensity for lifting weights can be an inspiration.
Cut them some slack!

Until next time,..........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong                          schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Bruce Jenner - The World's Greatest Athlete!

   You have probably heard the news that we long suspected was coming! Bruce and Kris Jenner, Step- Dad, and Mother to the Kardashian clan, have boarded separate trains to Splitsville.
I am no fan of reality television. (I am especially annoyed by weight loss reality T.V. shows. More on that in a future blog) Sometimes a few moments of "Keeping up with the Kardashians" may have appeared on my screen before I could flip the switch to something substantial like 'Breaking Bad". Before my fingers could reach the remote, I did notice a bored looking guy being ignored in the background. He couldn't show embarrassment on his face since it was frozen by bad plastic surgery.
    What you might not know was that Bruce Jenner had a title long before his bit part in this three ring circus of unearned fame, decadence and disastrous relationship choices.
Bruce Jenner was once known as the world's greatest athlete! Yes, it's true! He was not just famous for being famous. He had to earn his fame in the biggest sports stage in the world!
   The time was the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The event was the decathlon in track and field.
In the decathlon competitors ply their trade over 10 running, hurdling, throwing, vaulting or jumping disciplines. Each event is worth points based on performance. After 10 events the compilation of points determines the placings. The Olympic Decathlon winner is unofficially lauded as 'The World's Greatest Athlete"!
   Most decathletes are fast twitch muscle fiber beasts. Success in the decathlon depends upon:

1. Technique
2. Power
3. Strength
4. Speed

 There is one exception. The final event is the 1500 meter run, also known as the metric mile.
This is a nightmare scenario for most of these muscular titans. They are built for speed and power - not for a middle distance race requiring endurance that favors a 50% or more proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers. Film footage of tongue-dragging power athletes slogging like sloths through this race are vintage viewing.
  Not so for Bruce Jenner. He used to run 5 miles in the morning and five miles in the evening after a full day of training for other events. He could smoke a fast 1500 meters. Bruce Jenner set a world record at the Olympics and won the gold medal. He then became the first track and field athlete to attain anything resembling celebrity status.
   Jenner was on the cover of the Wheaties cereal box. He scored endorsement deals. He became a
motivational speaker. He was primed to become the NBC color commentator for track and field at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Then the boycott struck. The Soviet Union was mired in a war of occupation in Afghanistan. The American president Jimmy Carter initiated an Olympic boycott by many western nations. So much for Jenner's sportscasting career. By the 1984 Olympics Bruce Jenner was no longer the flavor of the month. His commentating gig was turned over to a former NFL football player and collegiate track sprinter named O.J. Simpson. (Yes - that O.J. Simpson!)
   Bruce Jenner still did well financially. He was on Hollywood game shows and was a successful businessman. He divorced his college sweetheart. He married and divorced one of Elvis Presley's ex-girlfriends.Then he married into the Kardashian family.

Found my old track shoes in storage. No discus -this dinner
plate will have to suffice.
Mount my successful Olympic decathlon challenge.
Marry a divorced celebrity with 3 diva daughters.
Get a reality television show. Watch the dollars roll in.
It's a foolproof plan! 

The rest is reality television history!

   Meanwhile, track and field is fighting to stay in the mainstream of the sports consciousness. Sure we have Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive.
Otherwise track and field has trouble staying ahead of Tractor Pulling in the fan and spectator department. The sport needs people with charisma and drawing power.

Bruce, come back to the oval track, either as a commentator or a coach. You've been away too long.
We need you man!

I almost forgot. The Kardashian sisters all have celebrity Fitness Trainers.
That's the Fitness Training tie to my blog.
  
Until next time,....Keep Fit                 schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Little Bobby Strong 

P.S. Bruce,  please put in a good word for me with Kourtney! 



   

Fitness Training and the Suburban Jungle

It appears that the rush to suburban living is far from over. In a previous blog I suggested that high gas prices would force people to move closer to the urban core. This could mean that city dwellers walk, run or bicycle to work more frequently rather than drive. There is also better access to mass transit with a more compact city.
   I may have been overly optimistic. Oil from Canada's oil sands, fracking, and offshore drilling has kept the supply of supply of gasoline rolling along.
   Suburban living has always been centered around the internal combustion driven automobile.
That's why there are no sidewalks. Everything revolves around driving. Buses and trains can be a sporadic entity in the furthest reaches of the suburban hinterland. This discourages most unorganized physical activity. Sure there are hockey arenas and soccer fields and baseball diamonds and occasionally even a skateboard park. They just seem to be unaesthetic and lacking of and soul.

   On the plus side, the suburbs are full of big box style fitness centers. There will likely be more of them being built as urban sprawl runs rampant. This should ensure a need for Fitness Trainers. Fitness Trainers that come to the place of residence to train clients will also be a potential growth business.
Fitness Trainer's will likely need to rely on the automobile to get get to their clients. I suppose they could become early pioneers of the electric automobile.

Maybe Fitness Trainers can't save the planet directly! 
However, each person that we convert to an active lifestyle may come to rely less on the automobile.
"One small step for man ,.....one giant step for Mankind! "
                                                             (Neil Armstrong - First man on the moon.)

Until next time,.........Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong.                         schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Expand Your Fitness Horizon - Try Zumba

   I am skeptical of many fitness fads. The flavor of the month training breakthrough often has a brief shelf life. Take some of the following past trends:

• What happened to Tae Bo or Boxercise classes? I always feared that such class members would suddenly feel emboldened to try and clean out a biker bar. Good luck with that!   What scared me more was the imaginary reflection of ex-boyfriends in the eyes of the women participants. There just may have been a punching diva or two sporting the Little Bobby Strong image in their intense and vengeful pupils! Gadzooks!
• Step classes seem to have phased out of existence.
• Low impact aerobics is missing in action.
• In the 1980's you had to book days in advance to secure a racquetball or squash court. Such courts usually sit empty now. I went into an unused court at my fitness club to stretch only to find it filled with discard exercise bikes.

   I am not suggesting that these were not viable alternatives to traditional fitness paradigms. If people enjoyed themselves and were vigorously active, that's great. Whatever it takes to get them in motion can't be a bad thing. Many people want to get fit but dislike weight training or working out on stationary exercise equipment. There is also the group camaraderie factor. Why suffer alone in some dungeon of a weight room when you can shake it in unison in a social environment?

  I have also stated in previous blogs that Group Fitness Instructors have a leg up on attracting clients over those who specialize in one on one Personal Fitness Training. It is less expensive and the participants aren't required to sign a long term contract. 

   The MSN  internet service provider had a Canadian Press article written by LuAnn LaSalle. The article forecast that future fitness opportunities may be abundant for instructors in exercise offshoots such as Yoga and Zumba. Yoga is already an established branch of the fitness world and it is here to stay.

   Zumba piqued my interest so I Googled it. Zumba was described as a mix of Latin and international music used as a background for dancing. People can 'dance the pounds away'.

Zumba is a growing phenomenon with group dance classes. You don't need a partner to perform the movements like you would with a Tango or a Country Two Step. Nor do you need to be a Fred Astaire or a Ginger Rogers with magic footwork. Anyone can participate no matter what their fitness levels! It is also a relatively safe recreation with little wear and tear on the joints of the body.

   To become a Zumba instructor requires going through a certification process. I am all for that!

If you are going to teach something, learn to teach it right and in a safe manner! 

   To a Fitness Trainer that decides to expand their boundaries and become a Zumba instructor

my advice is,.... Go for it!  This sort of thing may not be for a weight room dinosaur such as

"Underneath the mango tree
My baby and me" !!
A late night solitary aficionado perfects his Zumba technique!
Publishers note: Alcohol may have been a factor!

me. I am an iron hoisting fossil! 
However for the new younger breed of upcoming Fitness Trainers, approach this business with an open mind. Don't be afraid to step beyond the parameters of the fitness establishment! Even if it only turns out to be a short lived fad you have built a rapport with a core group of followers. If you move on to the next fitness revolution there is a strong possibility that they will move on with you. 
This type of following is priceless!  
 I tend to be a believer in the old ways. 
That does not mean that you shouldn't
 keep your mind open.
  Good opportunities 
can often  come in different packages!

   

Until next time,........keep fit! 
                                                                schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
Little Bobby Strong!

Beat the Clock. Fitness Training and Punctuality.

   I was a Johnny come lately!
In a previous life I was a civil servant. Of course, working an office job didn't fire up my passion neurons the same way as did being a Fitness Trainer. I didn't perceive of myself as a bad worker but I was saddled with a bad rap.
I was always late! It wasn't by much, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, but it was every day. My excuse was that I was still bagged in the morning from the previous evening's diet of activities such as track and field, hockey, weight training or amateur wrestling. It was a case of avocation at the expense of vocation.
   I often stayed late to make up for the time lost. I can remember many a Friday night before a long weekend where I stayed for hours after quitting time to empty my 'IN' basket. It didn't matter to the powers that be. I was not punctual! Therefore there was this assumption that I was also lazy, unreliable and unworthy of promotion. The same powers that be were not around to observe me making up the time.
They all left early on Fridays! Flex time was for managers only!
   Of course, it would have caused me less hassle to just crawl out of bed earlier each morning. However, being late is a bad habit to get into and for some can be a tough habit to break!
   When it came time for my career change I decided to eliminate any excuses to success.
I quit my late habit cold turkey. It meant disabling the 'doze' button on my alarm clock. Surprisingly, there were no severe withdrawal symptoms.There were no shaking fits, no spells of nausea, and no hallucinations of giant spider attacks. I am now the early bird!
    If you are late as a Fitness Trainer, then you risk losing the client! It is unprofessional to be consistently tardy in this business. Your clients are often pressed for time. Don't give them a reason to question the need for your services. Word travels fast in the fitness business.
Your reputation is your career!
   There are three peak times of availability for most Fitness Training customers.

1. Before work in the morning
2. Lunch time 
3. After work

      If you can't be relied upon to haul your carcass out of bed in time for morning clients, you will be making yourself unavailable to a large block of potential income. Trying to make it up later in the day the rarely pays off.
(For proof, reference my civil service career.)
    If you are tardy for an initial session or consultation, you are likely toast for trying to sign that prospect.

      Of course, life happens. Traffic, weather, family, car problems and other distractions can slow you down. Just in case, have a well defined contingency plan in place with your clients.

• Contact the client immediately if you are delayed. Having them on speed dial is a smart idea.
• Offer that session without charge if you are significantly late.
• If you miss a session completely, be prepared to offer make-up sessions.
• Ensure that the client is comfortable with doing the warm-up procedures on their own. That way if   you are held up they are doing something productive rather than wasting time waiting.

   Many Fitness Trainer's travel from location to location to work with their clients. Remember, that time and distance along with traffic issues will not always lead to an optimal commute time.There may also be issues with tardy clients that throw you off schedule. Plan for this when booking work-out times. Aim for an arrival time well before the actual appointment.
   If you are like me and not the brightest eyed person in the morning, don't rely on one alarm clock! 

Punctuality is crucial for a Fitness Trainer!
Have a back-up plan so you don't sleep away a fitness appointment.

Get a back-up clock or watch. Most importantly, never, ever, reach for the 'doze'
 button.
If you snooze, you lose!
Until next time,..........stay fit!

Little Bobby Strong

P.S. Comments are welcome.

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net  

Juiced Jamaicans, Tainted Trainers and Anti-Aging Clinics

What is happening to one of my favourite sports?   
This story has a familiar ring to it! Some world class track and field sprinters sprinters and throwers from Jamaica recently tested positive for a banned stimulant. The accused proclaimed that they never 'knowingly' took anything. The Jamaicans all suggested that they may have swallowed tainted supplements provided by a hang-around 'trainer". In this case the 'trainer' was one of my fellow Canadians. Give us a break - our country is still trying to live down our own track and field doping scandal from the 1988 Olympics.
   News articles were vague on what type of trainer my alleged dope pushing countryman professed to be. Was he a Fitness Trainer or some type of Athletic Trainer?
   It turns out that he really had no credentials to be a trainer of any sort. He did have a link to a Canadian anti-aging doctor who also treated injured athletes and in the recent past got nailed for having an employee smuggle Human Growth Hormone across the Canada / USA border. The anti-aging doctor had once employed our 'Trainer to the Jamaicans' as a 'physio-aide'. The so-called trainer was later fired from this position. This is reality television material at its best!
   I am not saying this person is guilty of providing banned substances to the Jamaicans.
Athletes that fail drug tests have been known to try and deflect the blame!  However when FitnessTrainers are accused of leading clients astray it gives our profession another negative rap.
Such occurrences always leave me with nagging questions:

• How does someone with questionable credentials or no credentials successfully pass themselves off as a 'trainer', be it a Fitness Trainer or an Athletic trainer? Where is the due diligence of those doing the hiring?
• Why would world class athletes entrust their careers to such an unproven entity?
• What were the coaches, athlete's agents, and national sporting administrations doing about vetting the people that have such powerful access to their athletes?  
• Why would athletes with so much at stake by staying clean take offered supplements without knowing exactly what is in it. Most sponsors have an 'out' clause in case of a failed doping test. 

   A world champion American sprinter also tested positive for a banned substance. He was taking supplements supposedly supplied by an 'anti-aging' doctor. 

Once again, a world class athlete is alleging that they were steered wrong by a so-called Fitness or Health Professional! Is the professional an evil influence or a scapegoat?

   There is also more drug scandal in the world of Major League Baseball. At the center of it all was a Florida 'anti-aging' clinic. The highest paid player in the league is now appealing a 200 plus game suspension from baseball.
    It would appear that some of these anti-aging practitioners prescribe substances more potent than mere wrinkle reducing skin creams. Human Growth Hormone and other questionable enhancers have been long suspected to be part of their regime.
   Anti-aging clinics may be a growing phenomenon in the future. As more and more  Baby Boomers hit their golden years there will undoubtedly be a surge in business. Many such clinics are likely reputable with actual medical doctors on staff. Others have
holistic practitioners as in the case of the recently disgraced American sprint champion.
 Baby boomers seeking to ward off the ravages of advancing mortality are not held to the same scrutiny as competitive athletes.
They don't have to worry about failing a urine test and being condemned as a cheat!
High profile athletes do!

    It's no secret that a career spent trying to motivate unfit clients, or reluctant weight loss hopefuls   can be draining and even exasperating at times.
Working with serious athletes can be exciting and glamorous! You can prescribe dynamic, cutting edge exercise programs. However, Fitness Trainers thinking of attaching their star to a high performance athlete should do their homework?

Those sessions at the 'Anti-Aging Clinic"
make me feel like a teenager again!
Notice the visual change.
Little Bobby Strong

1. Use due diligence when taking on a high profile client. In rare cases they may be looking for a target to deflect blame. 
2. Be careful about pushing supplements on any client. If you suspect a nutritional deficiency, refer them to a registered dietitian or a physician.
3. Also refer a client to a doctor if you suspect that they may be using performance enhancing drugs. (It may be best do the research before advising them to go to an anti-aging doctor)
4. If you decide to be the go-to guy for such substances you are playing a dangerous game

   Remember,.....you are a Fitness Trainer. You prescribe exercise programs. 

You are not required to suggest supplements or other substances! 

Stay within your scope of practise!
Until next time,.......keep fit  
                                                                                                                                                                      schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
Little Bobby Strong

P.S. And they want to drop amateur wrestling from the Olympics!
When was the last amateur wrestling doping scandal,...........like NEVER!

Wheat Belly Versus Abs of Steel

The Wheat Belly Experiment
Test Subject on an average North American wheat based diet.

 I have always been suspicious of fad diets! I would rather eat sensibly and use instinct to guide my nutritional habits. Besides, what are we to believe? Suddenly bananas (high in potassium) are a junk carbohydrate. Carrots (a great source of vitamin A) are high on the glycemic index and are therefore best avoided. Give me a break!  Many of these claims are based on pseudo-science and are not established findings! However, every so often some new information hits the market that may seem to make sense.

 There is a new book out that suggests that dropping wheat products from your diet can lead to  astounding physical transformation. Check out the following possibilities:

• Significant weight loss in only months
• Improvement of digestive problems
• Prevention of diabetes
• Less inflammation
• Better health and immune function
• Reversal of hair loss

   Back up right there! They caught my attention at reversal of hair loss. Now we're talking my language!

   The book is "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, M.D.  Davis postulates that modern day wheat
has been genetically altered to provide greater yields. These alterations have created a food that is no longer natural and causes greater blood sugar spikes than actual sugar does. This can lead to multiple health consequences according to Dr. Davis.
   The arguments against wheat in the book are not based on hard scientific evidence but they are convincing. Dr. Davis suggests links between many physical ailments and wheat consumption. People with Celiac disease or wheat intolerance/wheat allergies may be especially affected.
   I come from a distance running background. Giving up wheat products in running circles is sacrilege! Pasta is made from wheat. Carbohydrate loading before a big road race with pasta is a sacred tradition! Who wants to run a marathon fortified only with celery sticks and rice cakes? Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains were considered to be the foundation of any healthy diet. Carbs are converted into glucose and glycogen that fuel the body's movement.  Many foods are carbohydrate-based but the most convenient to eat are from wheat products. Bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, seasonings, and gravy are all wheat derivatives. How do you avoid it!

   In the late 1990's a new food fad was hitting the book circuit. High protein / low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet were becoming the trend. Many adherents claimed significant weight loss especially in the initial months of the diet. At first this was somewhat baffling. Now maybe it makes sense. It wasn't so much the elimination of carbohydrates that caused the weight loss. It was the elimination of starchy carbohydrates in the form of wheat products. Maybe Dr. Davis has added the missing piece to the puzzle. Wheat may be the culprit -especially junk wheat products.

   There are also those who suffer from Celiac Disease, wheat allergies or wheat intolerance.
Celiac Disease is autoimmune response resulting in an inability to process gluten which is a protein found in wheat or related grains such as barley and rye. Wheat Intolerance is usually synonymous with Celiac Disease. 
Wheat Allergy is rare but can be a sensitivity to even be in contact with wheat as well as an adverse reaction to eating wheat products.

As I have previously mentioned, I lived for sometime in Alberta, a prairie province of western Canada. There are 3 things you don't want to badmouth out there; Oil, Beef, and Wheat. Keep in mind, those Alberta boys grow quite large with Alberta beef. Anger them at your peril.
  
 I decided to try the wheat free diet myself! What better way to see if it has any merit.
It actually wasn't that hard. I was never a big sandwich eater. Pasta was a challenge to give up. However, you can get gluten-free pasta that is made from rice or other products.
The little food filler snacks such as muffins and cookies had to go. Wheat is added to many things such as ketchup, ice cream, soy sauce and vitamins. Being a Fitness Trainer makes you wary of junk food and fast food so giving that up was not much of an ordeal. I went for gluten-free substitutes whenever possible.
   Of course, in the name of absolute science I sought out wheat-free or gluten free beer. Giving up a cold dark ale for a watery sorghum or rice substitute was probably the toughest part of the trial. The substitute beers just didn't hit the spot. I switched to red wine. (A true fitness faddist would have no need for any such spirits but I included them in my quest for a complete investigative search for nutritional truth!)
   I gave the wheat free diet 2 months. Here were my findings:

• Blood pressure remained the same.
• Hair loss reversal - no change, yet! I'm not giving up on this one that easily.
• Muscular aches and joint pain.....no noticeable change.
• Intestinal health......I actually did feel better. Many years of using anti-inflammatory meds for sports wounds left me with a sometimes wonky stomach. There were fewer bouts of heartburn or sudden attacks of Montezuma's revenge half way through a long mountain bike ride.
• Metabolic changes.....I lost about 5 pounds (2 kilograms plus). My measurements at the navel decreased by more than an inch. My abdominal muscles were more visible and that sort of swollen jelly belly look was gone.

   I don't have Celiac disease, wheat intolerance or any diabetic issues, otherwise the results would probably have been more significant.
Since I did have some favorable results, I may still follow the diet with an 80 -20 approach. Twenty percent of the time I will have days in which I will include healthier wheat products such as whole grains. I will relax the diet when Mom cooks up her famous spaghetti dish. As always I will try to abstain from junk wheat products such as snacks, many desserts and fast foods. Heck, at Christmas time I may go with a 60 - 40 routine. Many successful diet plans allow a cheat day or a cheat meal once a week where any food is allowed.

The occasional wheat based dark ale may still pass my lips - for medicinal purposes only!

   As a Fitness Trainer, I would recommend that my clients at least try to decrease the less nutritious wheat products. If I dropped 5 pounds they could as well. Wheat is so culturally ingrained (no pun intended) into the fabric of our society that getting clients to totally give it up would be difficult. If any of my clients have Celiac disease, wheat intolerance or diabetic conditions I would refer them to a physician and to a registered dietitian. 

   I sometimes advise a nationally ranked amateur wrestler on his workout program. He has some problems making his desired competitive weight class for major tournaments. I will suggest he try eliminating wheat from his diet in the last week and see if the weight loss can be made more manageable without a draining session in the sauna to shed the last few ounces. Hopefully this would leave him with more energy on the big day. 

 My final word on the topic:

I don't think wheat is the great food Satan.  Wheat based junk snacks and fast foods can be a great temptation. People with certain food allergies and issues would be best to eliminate this food product ! They would be wise to consult a physician and a registered dietitian.

Keep in mind that a Fitness Trainer is not a nutritionist or a dietitian. They should not go beyond their scope of expertise. Be careful when giving advice on nutrition.
   

As for my failed hair loss reversal,......there's still Rogaine!
Miracles can still happen. (See picture below)

Until next time,.........Keep Fit!

Little Bobby Strong                      schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

The Wheat Belly Experiment Continued.
Same Test Subject 2 months later
Note: 1. Less visceral fat around midsection
                     2. Recent signs of defined abdominal muscles
                      3. Some slight evidence of hair loss reversal
(This experiment is based on visual observation only. It is not a double bind scientific study.)
Judge for yourself  with an open mind !

   References

Wheat Belly William Davis M.D.
copyright 2011 Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.