Education vs. The Stability Ball
I had the pleasure of hearing some great presentations yesterday at the new FocusNYC – our first event of many!
Host Angela Corcoran brought up some pretty important points from ACSM’s Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2011.
If you haven’t yet seen the article, what do you think has been projected as the number one trend?
Click to find out…
Since you’re probably looking for the answer here instead, I’m going to hit you with a picture that will make you really rather look at that article:
Yes, A LOT has changed since the days of Arnold Schwarzenegger…
For one thing, educated and experienced fitness professionals are now at the top of the list for trends.
The fitness industry is one of the few still growing exponentially through these tough economic times, and the need for more and greater credentials is therefore growing too. This is a good thing. Those of us who are dedicated to the field will continue to rise to the challenge.
Personal training is listed as the fifth biggest trend for 2011, so new trainers venturing into the field will really have to set themselves apart if they want to succeed. The average trainer only lasts about six months on the job as it is, so anyone serious about making a career in fitness is going to have a long road of learning ahead. Again, this is a good thing.
I know I’m a little biased, but I think these findings speak pretty well to the need for places like FPTI. As Angela mentioned, certifications at most only suggest basic competence. Degrees are a great start, but understanding the science of exercise is only half the battle. Even the best university programs usually don’t teach the hands-on stuff – like cueing, motivation and individualization of exercise. And if these things are taught, it’s probably from someone who’s spent most of his career in a lab, not working one-on-one with actual clients.
I digress.
Another point worth mentioning is that Pilates, balance training and stability balls seem to have fallen out of favor. Perhaps the evidence for the negative effects of lumbar flexion – often emphasized in Pilates – partially explains that shift. As for the stability balls and balance toys, well…
’nuff said.
But who knows? Old trends may come around again and some of the newer ones might not last. Time will tell.
Hopefully, education is here to stay.
In any case, “I’ll be back!”
Filed under: education events, fitness commentary
I actually saw someone in my gym yesterday trying a similar maneuver. He was doing push-ups with both feet balanced on a single medicine ball, and with each of his hands on a separate stability ball/disk. I really wanted to take video of him doing this and send it to you, but figured that would get me ostracized from my gym…
Geez…If he could actually stabilize and maintain his form that’s one thing, but something tells me that wasn’t the case…Don’t get ostracized; that gym obviously needs people like you who train effectively and don’t do stupid things!