Visual Coaching Pro Software Version 1.0.2.0
Tips
Position the roller perpendicular to the body in the thoracic region with the hips on the floor & the hands behind the head.
Slowly extend the spine over the roller & open the chest by lowering the elbows towards the floor.
Cautions
Do not rest in the extended position for too long.
Discontinue the stretch if pain of discomfort is experienced in the ribs or spine.
This morning I had a great chat with Ian O’Dwyer regarding his area of expertise - Functional Movement and the upcoming workshop he is running for Career Fitness on Saturday August 7th. To listen to the interview click the link http://www.careerfitness.com.au/files/Interview%20with%20Ian%20ODwyer.mp3
and if you wish to enrol in the workshop then visit http://www.careerfitness.com.au/workshops
Discover powerful eating strategies to boost your energy, enhance your health and transform your body shape!
Many people seem to be training harder and harder - but they are not maximising their potential. The problem is that physical training is only half the battle when it comes to optimising performance and achieving your goals. Nutrition is often the missing link and until now there has been much confusion as to where to turn for the right advice.
Professional Sports teams have their own dieticians and sports nutritionists who design structured eating plans for their clients. Unfortunately, these nutrition professionals often charge over $200 per hour for a consultation. However, now you can have the breakthrough information that will allow you to create meal plans based on your individual needs.
Learn Exactly What to Eat for Maximum Performance
The Nutrition Success workshop takes the guess work out of eating right. It teaches you exactly what to eat and importantly when to eat. The meal planning you will learn is based on supplying the body with the perfect balance on Proteins, Fats, and Carbohydrates you need to achieve your ultimate sporting or body composition potential.
You can expect to learn…
Nutrition Success Presenter - Dr Nick Kimber
Dr. Nick Kimber is the founder and director of NutriFit Health and Fitness Solutions Ltd and Programme Leader for the new Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Exercise Science, Health and Wellness at the CPIT in Christchurch. Dr Kimber has a PhD in post-exercise fat metabolism and also holds a Masters degree that focused on nutritional responses during the New Zealand Ironman Triathlon. Dr Kimber has provided specialised nutrition advice for athletes across all levels of competition and for those who desired weight management and/or improved health. Dr Kimber’s athletic achievements including a bronze medal for mountain biking in the 2002 World Masters Games held in Melbourne.
Course Details:
Date: Saturday 10th July 2010
Time: 10.00am - 4.30pm
Venue: Mantra, 31 City Road, Southbank
Price: $199
Car parking: Several public car parks available in the vicinity of the Mantra
Public Transport: The Mantra, Southbank is a short walk from Flinders Street Train Station
5 Reasons you cannot afford to miss out on the
Nutrition Success Workshop
To register click here http://www.careerfitness.com.au/workshops
Visual Coaching Pro Software Version 1.0.2.0
Tips
Looking straight ahead, start with the feet wider than the hips & the arm straight.
Thrust the hips forward, keeping the weight through the heels with neutral curves in the spine.
Bend the knees to dip under the Kettlebell to absorb the weight.
Cautions
Maintain a firm grip on the Kettlebell & control both phases of the swing.
Tips
Position the barbell on the upper trapezius muscle, not on the joints of the neck.
Start in a forward lean position, with the feet facing forward & the knees slightly flexed.
Rotate the hips & torso, keeping the feet flat on the ground.
To modify the exercise, vary the width of the stance or the amount of hip & knee flexion.
Cautions
Keep the knees slightly flexed.
Do not round the spine as the torso rotates.
Colin completed the Certificate III in Fitness in July 2009 and then went on to complete the Certificate IV in September of that year through Career Fitness and the CAE.
The motivation for Colin completing his fitness qualifications were that “After 20 years working as a dancer/performer/actor I grew tired of the constant travel needed to maintain a viable career in the arts/entertainment industry. I thought the fitness industry would be a perfect place to use some of the skills I had acquired after years of dance and performance training. My personal trainer, Phil Kourbatski, recommended the CAE course. Actually more accurately he recommended I study with Aaron Whear. It was Aaron who advised me of a position that was opening with the City of Yarra. It was due to this and to his support of my application that I was able to get the job in October, only a week after completing my formal studies”.
Colin loves his job. “I work at 3 gyms for the City of Yarra; Richmond, Collingwood and Fitzroy. I work as a Gym Instructor and a Personal Trainer and am responsible for running the Living Longer, Living Stronger programs at the Collingwood Leisure Centre for clients 50+ years”. In addition Colin has been involved in administering a weight loss program and is involved with a program at the Collingwood Estate, which is the large Housing Commission flats on Hoddle Street. As part of this project Colin develops fitness programs for youth using the gym and Parkour training. “Working for the Council provides me with a wide range of experiences and opportunities. Thanks heaps Aaron”.
As well as working for the City of Yarra Colin runs a Bootcamp style class for Kettlebell Athletica in Prahran. This is a gym devoted to the use of Kettlebells and other uncommon strength training equipment. “I love working with Kettlebells, Sleds, Ropes, Rings, Beer barrels, Tractor tyres, Sledge hammers and Torsinators! I have been studying with my Personal Trainer, Phil Kourbatski, the methods of conditioning and strength development created by the Russians and am continually amazed by the sophistication and effectiveness of their techniques. Phil is a fantastic source of knowledge”.
Colin is deeply disturbed by the lack of activity in children and the appalling understanding shown by their parents about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. In the future he would like to develop a health and fitness program for families to undertake together. “With all of this work and my PT clients I have been slacking off at my other great love, Filipino Martial Arts. I aim to complete my formal studies in Estilong Paikot, a traditional weapons based system of fighting and gain Instructor ranking”.
I am really proud of what Colin has been able to achieve in a relatively short amount of time since he completed his qualifications. He is a great example of how quickly someone who is passionate about health and fitness can create a career within this great industry.
This edited article from Mike Mahler gives an excellent description of some of the most common mistakes people make in relation to weight training.
Mistake #1: Not Keeping A Training Journal
Imagine running a business without keeping any records. You just keep working and hope that you are making more than you are spending. You have no way of knowing for sure if you are even making a profit and no way of knowing for sure if you are improving each month. Without proper accounting, a business is doomed. Training is no different. When you keep a training journal you keep yourself accountable. You learn what works and what does not work. You learn how lack of sleep affects training and how stress in your life affects training. An honest training journal allows you to avoid having the illusion that you are making progress when you not making any progress at all. Do not just write down what you did at each workout.
Write down other things that are going on in your life. If you had a great workout think about what happened to result in a great workout that day.
Did you sleep well the night before? What did you eat before the session?
Were you in a good mood that day? Did you take a new pre-workout supplement? The more you know, the more you are likely to repeat the same feeling at another workout. On the other hand, if you had a terrible workout, think about the factors that may have contributed to that and see if you can avoid them in the future.
Another reason to keep a training journal is that there is a natural human drive to want to improve. If you know what the number is, you will want to beat it at the next workout. If you have no idea what you are doing at each workout, how will you know if you are moving forward or not.
Mistake #2: Training For The Stimulus Rather For Results
Go to any gym and you will see trainees that have been doing the same workout for many years. They are doing the same exercises; same weights;same workout order, and enjoy the same lack of results. As the saying goes expecting different results from the same actions is a form of insanity. Many trainees become process oriented in which they just go through the motions at each workout. Now, do not get me wrong, going through the motions is better than not doing anything at all. Moreover, training for the stimulus is not necessarily a negative thing. If the stimulus of training makes you feel better then your time is not wasted completely at the workout. However, if you want to make progress, you have to be results oriented rather than process oriented or attached to the stimulus. Your discipline will be rewarded with progress in training rather than stagnation in training.
Getting more reps in a workout, using more weight, getting more done in less time, are all forms of progress measurement. In addition to being focused on the results, you want to be focused on the most efficient path to the result. If you can achieve a goal in three weeks with three workouts per week rather than six, why do six? Why do more, if you are not going to get improved results? Sure, the extra work is worth applying for an improved outcome, but not for the same outcome or worse yet an inferior outcome. Focus on achieving results and measuring your work and you will have no doubt that you are moving forward.
Mistake #3: Lack Of Focus
Ever get excited about one thing, and then two minutes later, forget about it and get excited about something else? Sure, all of us probably have at somepoint. Regardless, to get good at something you have to put in some time. People that get bored easily are most likely people that fail often. Staying on course takes focus and discipline and the ability to manage boredom. I think that failing at everything is more boring than getting good at a few things. Now when it comes to training programs, there are a lot of options and it can be difficult to pick one. Regardless, it is critical that you do exactly that and stick with one program for at least three weeks. Just make sure that you have a clear idea of what the program that you pick entails. If you are going to start a high volume-training regimen, make sure that you do it at a time in your life in which you are sleeping well, have time to eat well, and have time to train consistently. If you have a lot of stress in your life and an erratic schedule, pick a program that is more appropriate for that situation. Once you get started, stick with the program for a while. Pick one goal, accomplish it and then move on. You should know exactly what you are going to do at 90% of your workouts and what the end result is. Going to a job and punching in hours might work for nine to fivers, but will not work for training. Do not start a workout without knowing what you are trying to accomplish. Do not start a set, without knowing how many reps you are going for. Just remember that lack of focus and lack of discipline will equal lack of results. Imagine opening a bike shop and then closing it the next day and deciding to sell lampshades instead. Then a week later, you decide that you want to be a personal trainer. Chances are high that you will fail at everything that you try, as you do not have the focus and discipline to finish what you start. If you change your mind every two minutes in business, you inevitably go under. It will not be a question of if, but a question of when.
Training is not any different. Know the target and go after it until it is achieved. Then switch gears. Remember that it is easy to start a project and much harder to finish what you start.
Mistake #4: Assuming Training Has To Be Complicated To Be Effective
Strength training is not rocket science. Your program does not have to involve what is the equivalent of a calculus equation to be effective. In fact, the more complicated a program is, the more likely it is to fail.
Develop a strong foundation in the basics and focus on exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck. Forget about tons of exercises for your arms when you can only bench press 185 and squat 155. Forget about bicep specialization programs when you cannot even do a pull-up. I often get emails from trainees that are beginners that train six days per week in which they designate a day for each body part. Such programs may be fine for experienced trainees that have a solid foundation. However, for beginners it is far from the best path to take. Full body workouts with a focus on compound exercises such as the: Deadlift, Barbell Squat, Bench Press, Military Press, Bent-over Row, and Pull-up is a great place to start.
Get your bench press up to 300lbs, Military Press up to 200lbs and Deadlift up to 400lbs before you think about complicated routines.
Mistake #5: Training With Maximum Intensity Too Often
No doubt that productive weight training takes lots of hard work. Regardless with the exception of money and sex, too much of anything is not always the most productive path to take. Training with maximum intensity too frequently will fry your central nervous system. Once that happens you will become sluggish mentally and your body will follow accordingly. In other words, everything will feel heavy in the gym and you will feel out of sync. The harder you train the less frequently you can train. However, training infrequently is not ideal either. Training is a skill and like playing the piano or learning a new language, it is something that has to be practiced often.
The more you do something without burning out the better you will get and the more efficient you will become. If you are on a program in which you do the Military Press once every two weeks and are not doing any exercises that are similar to the Military press in between each session, each time you execute the Military Press it will feel like you are doing it for the first time.
Take some advice from top strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline and treat the majority of your workouts as practices. Every once in a while do a maximum effort such as every 10-14 days to see how you are progressing and to keep you excited about training.
Mistake #6: Not Having A Life Outside Of Training
Real strength goes far beyond what you can do physically. If someone can bench press 500lbs but is weak mentally and morally, then that person does not have complete strength. One of the greatest benefits of physical training is the confidence and strength you build in that arena can be carried over to other areas of your life. The confidence that you build with productive strength training should be carried over to other areas of your life. If the gym is the only place in which you feel comfortable and confident, then you have missed out on the major benefits of training.
31 Career Fitness members took the challenge on Saturday 5th September as Aaron took them through their paces on 20 unusual exercises that athletes and strongmen have used for decades to condition their bodies to look and perform at their best. The exercises experienced on the day are not commonly performed in the gym these days by one of Australia’s leading health and fitness experts who has achieved excellent results with hundreds of clients and continues to keep informed with what the world’s leading Strength and Conditioning coaches and Body Transformation specialists are doing in the “real world”. Check out the photos below of our very own renegade trainers.
The feedback from the session was great:
“had a great day on Saturday, still recovering as I found a few muscles I hadn’t been working but some good movements to use.” John Evans
If you would like to join as a member click here
Visual Coaching Pro Software Version 1.0.2.0
Tips
Start in a kneeling position with the elbow resting against the inside of the thigh.
Perform a biceps curl with a supinated grip & try to keep the elbow & upper body stationary.
Ensure that the elbow fully extends after each curl & consider changing the grip to modify the exercise.
Cautions
Maintain a stable torso & do not round the shoulders.
Industry Problem becomes your Opportunity!
Instantly become more employable!
Many people outside of Gymnasium Managers are not aware of a massive problem that exists within the Fitness Industry. You see the Fitness Industry is growing at a very rapid rate, there are now 507 commercial Gymnasiums in Victoria and many of the bigger players within the industry are continuing to expand. No problem so far you say - I agree and think it is fantastic to see a greater percentage of the population exercising. The problem lies in the fact that most Gyms offer Group Exercise classes, however there is a shortage of Group Exercise Instructors coming through training courses.
Opportunity
This industry problem is also your opportunity - you see the economic law of supply and demand is now starting to apply in that Group Exercise Instructors are in high demand. Couple this with the fact that class pay rates are starting to rise and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future because there are not enough qualified instructors available to take classes (particularly freestyle classes) and you can see the opportunity that exists.
So whether you see yourself as a Career Group Exercise Instructor doing several classes each day, an Instructor who does a few classes per week to supplement your Personal Training or Gym Instructor income, or are someone who continues to hold down a “day job” but indulges in your passion to teach classes a few times per week - not a bad option given that you will usually score a free gym membership and actually get paid to keep fit! The bottom line is that opportunities abound in the area of Group Exercise.
Important Information
One piece of information you need to be aware of is that the CAE Group Exercise course is run as a module from the ANTA National Fitness Training Package. If you are going to teach Group Exercise classes you will need to complete the full Certificate III in Fitness at some stage, however your study does not need to be sequential, i.e. you can do the Group Exercise Module before the Certificate III in Fitness if you so choose.
If you already have your Certificate III in Fitness you will be able to register with either Kinect Australia or Fitness Australia as a Group Exercise Instructor once you have completed this course.
What do I need to do to become a Group Exercise Instructor
The CAE Group Exercise Instructor course is a 44 hour course that teaches you progressive skills over a 13 week period which means you will finish the course with not only what you need to know but importantly how to communicate what you know.
The skills you will learn during the course include:
* Class Design. One thing that will separate people who do the CAE course from those who choose to do a Pre-Choreographed format of class only, is the ability to design a class from scratch. By the end of the course you will have the skills to write up your own class plans for any Group Exercise discipline, i.e. Step, High Low, Martial Arts to Music, Cycle, etc. This ability makes you super employable.
* Communication. As simple as it may sound there is a very definite skill in terms of introducing yourself and effectively communicating with the class to ensure you have control over the class to allow maximum benefits. You are taught how to correctly use a microphone and effectively inspire the class through a great workout.
* Class Warm Up and Cool Down strategies. These strategies are essential in ensuring participants are ready for the conditioning section of the class and is critical in terms of minimising the likelihood of injury for class participants.
* Conditioning section of the class. It is vital that your participants are able to get an appropriate overload stimulus (the key principle for improving fitness) in this section of the class. You will be shown a number of different options for this section of the class which means you can deliver something appropriate for the beginner through to the advanced participant. You will also be taught movement combinations and cueing skills which means that the class will be doing the same thing at the same time!
* Music selection is another key component in creating an atmosphere that will inspire clients to keep returning to your classes. You will be taught which music is appropriate for different classes, how many beats per minute you should be working at to get different physiological effects taking place while keeping the clients safety at the forefront of your mind. Also, you will be given important information about copyright law and the best suppliers to source your music from at the best prices.
* Legal Issues. What do you do if you have a woman who is 4 months pregnant arrive for your class? What do you do if someone is injured in your class? These scenarios as well as many others are addressed in the course. The benefit to you is that you will know exactly what to do should any of these situation arise in one of your classes.
Resources
* You will be given a very comprehensive manual on the first day of the course which contains all of the information you will need to develop into a great instructor.
* Another great take home tool doubles as one of the pieces of assessment - you will be given a number of practical “homework” tasks that if you do each week will progressively turn you into a skilled instructor. The tasks you complete will encourage you to view the classes you do outside of course time in a different light. You will be watching the class instructors very carefully and writing up your observations from these classes - feedback from previous courses reinforces that this is a great learning system.
Here is what some of the CAE Group Exercise graduates say about the course:
Andrew Brenton: 2006 Student
“I’m staggered at how exceptional Marietta’s CAE Group Exercise course is, especially given how deficient many other courses that profess to give you the same qualifications can be. Ben and I know of at least 4 instructors who did their Group Fitness training elsewhere (typically over 4 weekends) and each of them, when they’d passed, reacted as follows:
Marietta is quite a classic. She can really teach. And more than teach, she can *inspire*. The Tuesday night after my final assessment, I was approached by the head freestyle instructor at my gym asking whether I’d take an emergency THT class the following morning. She only made the offer because I’d been taking the warm-up and initial aerobics sessions in her class over the last 2 weeks (part of your assessment in the CAE course is to take the start and end of a few real classes - also extremely good for diplomacy and a confidence-builder) and she’d liked what she’d seen.
The significance of this becomes clear when you take into account that before the CAE course I knew nothing about Freestyle. And when I say nothing, I really mean nothing. I’d never been to a single HiLo, THT, class or anything - all that “girly aerobics” wasn’t something that had ever taken my interest. I think the closest I’d come was participating in 2 or 3 Body Attack & Body Step classes. In the first few weeks of the course, I’d watch everyone’s feet and ask questions like: “what’s that move called? And that? A mambo? What’s that?” etc. In the second week, while practicing my warm-up, I even ran into the wall! From those beginnings, I ended up having the confidence to take a group of 22 mums through their Tummies Hips and Thighs with only a night’s preparation.
So why did I do the course? Well, this year I did my Les Mills training in Body Pump in January and started taking my very first class in April. All the other instructors in my area are strong & have been teaching for a while, so I wanted to get better and be more like them. Person 1 from above told me how when she did her (second) freestyle course, it helped a lot with her Body Combat teaching - learning instructor theory, how to hear the music, etc. - so on her advice I enrolled… first at Box Hill, where she did hers, then with the CAE when that one was cancelled. I knew I needed a solid, decent course to teach me what I needed - so the 13-week timeframe of the CAE course sounded like it would offer the necessary substance.
The CAE course is thorough and integrated. It’s amazing how much you learn, not only in isolation, but all together. all aspects of teaching in the real world - how to introduce yourself, how to use a microphone, legal issues, motivational issues, how to change legs, when to cue and pre-cue, how to balance your routines to each side of the body, how to put combinations together that flow, are covered - not just in theory, but also with enough practice to get them into your body so they become second-nature. You present a 20-minute routine for final assessment that includes all the building blocks you need to create a real-world routine of arbitrary length. But beyond Marietta there are also the other tutors. Together they provide *exceptional* support. They say things like “ring me any time for any help you might need”, and actually mean every word entirely literally. They’re knowledgeable and will help you get started and improve in so many ways - including giving you stage-time in their classes all over Melbourne.
Finally, it’s only when you get on stage and present your bits and pieces for real that you realise how much you’ve learned. The home instructors will raise their eyebrows approvingly, smile and even squeal with delight (no really - it happened 
when they see what you’ve been taught to do. The participants may not understand the mechanics of how you’ve reached them, but will simply say things like “I found that really enjoyable” and “you were so easy to follow”.
Regardless of what you want to teach and where you want to go, I’d definitely say the CAE Group Exercise course is a fantastic foundation on which to build your instructional experience. The aerobics world has a lot to answer for in terms of consistency of courses - it shouldn’t be possible for a course such as Marietta’s to ONLY give you the same qualification as other courses out there, but if being a great instructor is what motivates you, then her course will help bring that closer to becoming a reality”.
Ben Allamby: 2006 Student
“The course opened my eyes wide on the potential of freestyle, the effort that goes into it, but more importantly I know I now have the skills to compently teach. I have a friend that did another course and she is nowhere near at the level I am in term of counting the beat, putting together routines, etc. I honestly do not know how the other course could have passed her as they taught her nothing (well near to it). What we learnt in the first two weeks is about the extent of their coverage for the whole course.
I really mean it when I thank you and your team from the bottom of my heart”
The next CAE Group Exercise Course will commence on Sunday 6th September 2009 at the Richmond Recreation Centre, Gleadell Street, Richmond, please find the course outline attached. If you would like to enrol in this course then please phone the CAE enrolments hotline on 9652 0611 or if you would like more information please email info@careerfitness.com.au .