#IDEAWorld Recap, Part 2: The Sessions

If you missed my previous IDEA World posts, you can find them here: Quick Update: The People and #IDEAWorld Recap, Part 1: Bo Eason.

As I mentioned in my post about Bo Eason, after seeing him speak he became the standard by which all future speakers will be judged. Fortunately, the sessions I attended lived up to Bo’s standard for the most part, and all the speakers were knowledgeable, entertaining, and informative. Here is a recap of my favorite lectures and workshops.

As it turned out, my next two sessions were with Maureen Hagan. The first one was Group Training Programs that Profit. As a fitness director, this is something that really interests me. Small group training is consistently on every fitness trend list that you see lately, and I want to incorporate it into my small, country club fitness center.

Mo had great suggestions for how to get members to see the benefits of small group training so that they will pay for it, even though they are getting their regular group exercise classes included with their membership. Some of those ideas were to use equipment in your small group classes that they can’t use in regular classes, offer before and after assessments, have a start and end date, get your group exercise instructors on board to promote the program.  In my country club center, I could invite the golf pro to participate in the class to get him to recommend the program. In a public gym, you could partner with a running store to promote a “Learn to Run” program. It is also important to talk to your members (what a concept!). Find out what they want, let them know what is offered, teach them the value of the small group training.

Next up was Mo’s Ultimate Anti-Aging Workout. Don’t let the name make you think that this workout is for sissies. It is designed to slow down and/or prevent aging by combining the best of both worlds in fitness, aerobic exercise and functional strength training. The workout is designed to incorporate Mo’s seven training methodology steps:

1. Move more to achieve 10,000 steps per day.
2. Squat and lunge with correct alignment.
3. Forward bend with hip hinge while maintaining a neutral spine.
4. Power up your posture – learn how to stand and sit strong.
5. Weight bearing exercise (intentional stepping).
6. Unload weight bearing joints by “defying gravity” as you move.
7. Brain Gym exercise – training right and left and vice versa like a physical crossword puzzle.

Without exercise we lose 5 pounds of muscle and gain 10 pounds of fat every decade, so the Ultimate Anti-Aging Workout is designed to preserve lean muscle tissue and prevent bone loss. It will also protect against heart disease and stroke, back pain, metabolic syndrome, and help preserve the mind-body connection for balance, agility, quickness, and proprioception.

This was a workshop, so Mo led us through a 45 minute workout to finish up the session. Her workout incorporates all seven primal movement patterns, squatting, lunging, pulling, pushing, bending, twisting, and gait. We used bands for resistance and worked up a good sweat with all that squatting, lunging, etc.

Maureen Hagan was the IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year in 2006, the IDEA International Program Director of the Year in 1998. She is the Vice President of Operations for Good Life Fitness Clubs in Canada, as well as the Director of Education for Can-Fit-Pro (Canadian Fitness Professionals). In addition to her personal training and group exercise certifications, she is a licensed Physiotherapist, and Adidas sponsored athlete, and the author of GoodLife Fitness – 6 Weeks to a New Body and the Newbody Workout for Women – 6 Weeks to a Fit & Fabulous New You. If you’d like more info about Mo, check her website, MoHagan.com.

My next session was Post-rehabilitation: Bridging the Gap Between Health Care and Fitness with Brian Richey. I do not have any certifications or special knowledge in this area, but as a fitness director in a community of mostly older adults I feel there is a real need to be able to become a part of the medical-fitness continuum. I wanted to educate myself about this area so that I can assess how my center can work with post-rehab clients.

Much of Brian’s discussion was designed to let us know where to draw the line between rehab and post-rehab, to know our scope of practice, and knowing where post-rehab fits into the system. As he says, When in doubt, refer out. What a post-rehab facility can do is assess fitness, provide strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular training, functional conditioning, weight reduction, aquatic fitness, hypertension and diabetes training, spinal stabilization (back school). What we cannot do is diagnose, which means, again, when in doubt, refer out.

Brian also stated that there is a huge need for post-rehab facilities. In fact, his business has grown in the last several years in spite of a poor economy. Basically, 80-90% of rehab patients need a safe and structured exercise program to maintain their functional improvements made during physical therapy. And with baby boomers still pushing their bodies to the limits and beyond, that market can only grow.

Brian Richey is the Owner/Operator of Fit4Life DC, a Post-Rehab facility in Washington DC. He was born in Kailua, Hawai‘i, and graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with a B.S. in Exercise Science/Kinesiology. He is the Medical Exercise Program Director through the American Academy of Health, Fitness and Rehab Professionals (AAHFRP), a Medical Exercise Specialist, Post Rehabilitation Conditioning Specialist, Certified Instructor of the M.E.L.T. Method, Certified Power Plate® Instructor. He is also a licensed Massage Therapist. Brian’s love for fitness evolved after surviving a tough childhood in Hawaii, where he was an obese child, topping the scales at 420 when he graduated from high school. After high school, through diet and exercise, he lost over 200 pounds in about two years, which helped to give him the passion to help others find health and fitness through exercise. Brian’s website is Fit4LifeDC.com.

On Saturday I arrived a few minutes late for Cassey Ho’s Becoming a Social Media Superstar (don’t ask!), so I didn’t see anybody I knew in the crowd. There were several other bloggers there, though, because I could see them on the twitter feed during the session, which seemed appropriate considering the topic.

The audience seemed to be a mix of experienced bloggers and tweeters, and those who were new to social media. This made it a challenge for Cassey, who was an enthusiastic and charming presenter, to keep everyone on-topic. Many wanted to know how Cassey, who is the voice of Blogilates, grew her blog to over 5.5 million pageview per month in just a few years (hard work, dedication, a great concept, a good business sense, and some luck).

Cassey did provide some Do’s and Don’ts for blogging and social media, including Do: Be YOU to the max, be helpful, be genuine, check analytics, and enjoy it. Some of the Don’ts:  Don’t buy fake followers, don’t attack your fans, don’t overload on the selfies, don’t hashtag instagram to death, and, if you’re going to partner with brands, be careful with whom you work.

Cassey did a nice job, and while I felt like I already knew a lot of this information, I was happy to meet her, and I did get several useful tips and ideas to improve my own social media savvy.

Coming up: Expo fun and vegan eats during the convention. I am traveling again this weekend, to San Diego for a Road Runners Club of America Coaching Certification class! Not only that, but I’ll be staying at my son and daughter-in-law’s house so I’ll get to see this guy:

All of which means my writing may be spotty this weekend, but all with good purpose.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend! Any adventures planned?