For professional sports that make use of weights in their training (which is just most sports), each phase will have different objectives. In addition, each consecutive phase builds on the previous one. For travelling professionals, golf is a little different from most other sports. If you move from continent to continent in order to try and get ahead of the weather, you could pretty much play all the year round. Wherever you go, a strength training programme is an essential part of your season.

What Is Sports Specialisation?

In the world of strength training, the term “sports specialisation” is thrown around a lot. The only way that you can truly specialise in a sport is to play the sport.

Golf is no different and – owing to the intricacies of the swing – it becomes extremely important for  the strength professional not only understands their golfers’ physical needs, but also the fundamental tenets of the golf swing as well as how those physical improvements will correlate with a more efficient swing.

Enhanced club head speed — which then transfers to ball speed — may mean a massive difference in driving distance. And while some may think that 10-20 yards of driving distance isn’t all that much, this difference can be worth millions to them or, for some professionals, the difference between having a year of status on the PGA or LPGA Tour or battling their way to the top of the numerous other mini tours that exist.

Strength Training’s Benefits For Golfers

Doing whole-body strength training the entire body significantly improves the strength, power as well as endurance of your core, forearms, and grip strength. All of these have been shown to individually lead to notable improvements in distance in golf.

Other studies have found that there are direct correlations between distance and grip strength, maximal and explosive strength, non-dominant arm strength, core strength, and abdominal muscle endurance. Focusing on strength and power training can help you to significantly increases in your swing speed.

Golf is a multi-faceted game that has many different areas of need. With golf courses being lengthened and players hitting the ball further than ever before, it has become very important for young golfers to have the ability to produce force off the tee. Strength – as well as conditioning – is a huge part of players being able to develop the required force while staying healthy through one of the most explosive and complex movements in any sport.

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Do you want to learn more about strength training as well as other aspects of fitness then you should do our Personal Training Diploma. For more information, please follow this link.

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Vitamins and minerals are vital for healthy growth as well as development in children. Youngsters who eat a well-balanced diet do not normally need a vitamin or mineral supplement. However, some kids are at risk for deficiencies and may require a supplement.

Which Children Require Vitamin Supplements?

Given the truth of time-crunched parents, those well-rounded, home-cooked meals aren’t always a possibility. That’s why paediatricians may suggest a daily multivitamin or mineral supplement for:

• Children who aren’t eating regular, balanced meals which are made from fresh, whole foods
• Finicky eaters who simply aren’t getting enough nutritional value
• Children with persistent medical conditions such as asthma or – alternatively – digestive problems, particularly if they’re taking medications. (Check to make sure to talk with your child’s doctor before beginning a supplement if your child is on medication.)
• Children who consume a tonne of fast food, convenience food in addition to processed food
• Kids who are on a vegetarian or a vegan diet (they may require an iron supplement), a dairy-free diet (they may require a calcium supplement), or other limited diets
• Children who drink heaps of fizzy drinks as these can lead to leaching vitamins and minerals from their bodies

Vitamins Your Children Need

Vitamin A

You find vitamin A in liver, meat, milk, eggs, and orange fruit and veggies such as carrots as well as sweet potatoes. You require vitamin A for eyesight, skin, growth, development in addition to immune functioning.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

You will find vitamin B1 in fish, meat, yeast extracts (like Marmite), wholemeal breads as well as fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin B1 assists with releasing energy from foods, so that the nervous system and muscles can work properly.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

You find vitamin B2 in milk, yoghurt, meat, cheese, yeast extracts, eggs, wholemeal breads as well as fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin B2 assists with releasing energy from food.

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

You find Vitamin B3 in meat, fish, chicken, nuts as well as yeast extracts. Vitamin B3 also helps to release energy from food.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

You find vitamin B6 in meat, fish, wholegrain foods, vegetables and nuts. Vitamin B6 is responsible for releasing energy from protein and helps with red blood cell production in addition to brain functioning.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

You will find vitamin B12 in animal foods including meat, fish, eggs and milk, and also in some fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin B12 assists promoting growth.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

You find vitamin C in fruits as well as vegetables, particularly citrus fruit,  kiwi fruit, capsicums and potatoes. Vitamin C develops collagen and helps you fight infections as well as absorb iron from food. It also maintains teeth, bones and gums in a healthy state. You could lose some vitamin C when you cook food.

Vitamin D

Our bodies make the vast majority of the vitamin D we need when we get sufficient direct sunlight on our skin. There are tiny amounts in oily fish, fish liver oils, egg yolks, butter and margarine. Vitamin D assists you with absorbing calcium to keep bones strong and healthy.

Vitamin E

You will find vitamin E in sunflower and canola oils, margarine, seeds and nuts. Vitamin E improves your immune system and assists with the development of healthy skin and eyes.

Vitamin K

You find vitamin K in green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and also from eggs as well as beans. The bacteria in your body also makes vitamin K. Vitamin K is essential for helping your blood to clot.

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Are you anxious to discover more about nutrition for children? If you are, then you should really do our Nutrition for Children Course. For more information, please follow this link.

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With vaccine success rates being around 50 to 70%, a large percentage of those people who were vaccinated are getting the minimal benefit. This is often mentioned as a reason why not to get the shot. People also avoid flu shots owing to side effects like headaches as well as soreness.

However, physical exercise after a flu shot might not only make the vaccine work better but it could protect recipients from some side effects as well. Medical experts are almost certain that exercise can assist vaccine response through activating parts of the immune system. This means that it’s ready to respond when the vaccine is given.

Exercise and general immunity

Regular physical exercise is one of the cornerstones of healthy living. It:

• Improves cardiovascular health,
• Lowers blood pressure,
• Assists in controlling body weight, and
• Provides protection against a number of diseases.

Nevertheless, the question should be asked as to whether it can help to boost your immune system in a natural manner and keep it healthy. Just as a healthy diet, exercise may contribute to the general good health and thus to a healthy immune system. It can contribute even more directly through promoting good circulation, which enables the cells as well as substances of the immune system to move through the body easily and do their job efficiently.

Exercise affords advantages to your immune system in many ways. It can:

• Increase the blood flow,

Help to clear bacteria out of your airways,

• Result in a brief elevation in body temperature which may be protective,
• Boost antibodies to help fight against infection, and
• Reduce stress hormones.

Exercise also helps the immune cells to be more effective. As a reaction to sessions of exercise, there is an immune response. This is a normal immune response. It’s maybe more accurate to say that exercise stimulates or kickstarts some normal immune processes.

Is more exercise better?                                                                                                                  

Intense exercise of a long duration — think in the region of 90 minutes or more, such as if you’re racing a half marathon or a marathon — begins to over-stress your immune system. This may temporarily impair its ability to do its job and leave you more susceptible to infection during this time. That’s what’s known as the ‘open window hypothesis’.

On the other hand, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) isn’t linked to such immune suppression even though it involves super-intense work. The reason for this is probably of its rest intervals and shorter overall duration.

Our bodies react in distinct ways and advise that people should not to overdo physical activity after a flu shot but participate in moderate activities such as cycling, or resistance exercise and prevent dehydration by consuming a lot of fluids.

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Do you want to learn more about exercise? If you do then we recommend that you have a look at our Exercise Science Certification. For more information, please follow this link.

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Fitness plan for the elderly

Safety Precautions

Before participating in any fitness-related activities with the elderly, a trainer should ensure there are adequate safety precautions at hand. A first aid kit and defibrillators are essential, and perhaps performing the exercises on padded flooring would be safe. Not only will these be vital should something go wrong, but having them will set the client’s mind at ease too.

Assessment

Once adequate safety measures are in place, a fitness test would be the next step of the plan. This should involve looking at the client’s nutrition, as well as assessing their physical fitness and exercise limitations. Topendsports.com provides three elderly fitness tests personal trainers can choose from. Two of which are the Groningen Fitness Test for the Elderly, and the AAHPERD Functional Fitness Test.

Exercise & Nutrition Plans

When the all-important assessment and safety elements are covered, an elderly fitness plan needs a fitness regime. It should be based on the findings of the assessment phase, and be easily achievable for the client. Nutrition is also critical for older people who exercise, so consider involving a nutritionist to supplement the fitness plan.

Healthline.com shares a functional fitness plan that elderly individuals of all ages can do to keep themselves active, and capable of performing everyday tasks:

Typical strengthening exercises personal trainers can incorporate in exercise plans for the elderly include:

Abdominal contractions

1. Lie flat on your back, with your feet around 30cm from your buttocks.
2. Stretch your arms out at your sides.
3. To perform one contraction, lift your arms from the floor & move your head towards your pelvis – hold this position for two seconds, then return to resting state.
   

Inward shoulder blade squeezes

1. Sit up straight on a stool or chair without a back rest.
2. Push your shoulders back, squeezing the blades together tightly.
3. Hold this position for two seconds, then slowly return to resting state.
4. Try and complete 10 repetitions.

Standing wall push-ups

1. Stand up straight facing a flat wall.
2. Place your palms flat on the wall surface, shoulder width apart.
3. Stand on your toes, then ‘lower’ yourself towards the wall until your elbows are bend at 90 degrees.
4. Hold this position for two seconds, then return to resting state.
5. Try and complete 10 repetitions.

Toe tapping in a chair

1. Sit up straight on any chair, with your feet flat and your knees bent at 90 degrees.
2. Lift the toes of your left foot, until you feel a pull in your shin.
3. Hold this position for two seconds, then return to your starting position.
4. Repeat the process with your right foot.
5. Try and complete 10 repetitions per foot.

Sitting heel raises

1. Sit up straight on any chair, with your feet flat and your knees bent at 90 degrees.
2. Raise the heel of your left foot, until you feel your calf muscle pulling.
3. Hold this position for two seconds, then return to starting position.
4. Repeat this process with your right foot.
5. Try and complete 10 repetitions per foot. 

Knee lifts (sitting)

1. Sit in the same position as the previous two exercises.
2. Hold onto the sides of your chair with both hands.
3. Lift your left foot completely off the ground (around 10cm).
4. Hold this position for two seconds, then return to starting position.
5. Repeat this process with your right leg.
6. Try and complete 10 repetitions per leg.

Progress Monitoring

The final element of a fitness plan for the elderly is constant monitoring of progress. A trainer should be able to track their client’s progress, celebrating wins and praising personal milestones as they are achieved. There should be equal doses of patience and understanding when training the elderly, and a boat-load of enthusiastic motivation.

Study Elderly Fitness Management Part-Time

Assisting older populations with staying fit and living longer means people get to spend more time with their elderly loved ones. Learn how to craft effective fitness plans for the elderly with the Exercise and Elderly Course from Trifocus Fitness Academy. Find out more here!

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Your baby is secure inside your womb, so you don’t have to worry about them being shaken around as you exercise. However, you can do low-impact exercises like walking and gentle swimming if you are not entirely convinced.

If you have any medical concerns or complications during your pregnancy, consult your doctor or midwife before you exercise.

Miscarriage and exercise during pregnancy

What causes miscarriage?

A woman may miscarry her unborn child for a variety of reasons. These may be completely unrelated to exercise. Examples are:

• Older maternal age
• Infections, diseases and autoimmune disorders
• Serious physical injury
• Hormone issues or chromosomal defects

Exercises you shouldn’t be doing

There are, however, some exercises which you should DEFINITELY avoid when you are pregnant, like:

• Sports where your belly could be hit, like football, rugby, hockey and martial arts, which can cause complications during the pregnancy.
• Physical activities that present a risk of falls, such as skiing or horse riding.
• Exercises that involve a massive amount of jumping, hopping, skipping or bouncing.
• Exercises that involve twisting your waist while you stand
• Strong bursts of exercise followed by long sedentary periods

Avoid overheating

Overheating can also cause some problems during pregnancy. Avoid exercises in a very hot environment, like Bikram yoga.

If you’re spending time in a hot climate that you are not used to, give yourself a few days to get used to the temperatures.

Warning signs of when its time to stop exercising

Apart from the exercises pregnant women should avoid, you can do just about most exercises. The important thing to note when exercising, is to listen to your body.

Stop exercising when you experience these symptoms:

• Irregular bleeding
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Headaches
• Muscle weakness
• Swelling
• Chest pain

All negativity aside, exercising can be a great way to keep both you and your baby healthy, make your pregnancy easier and relieve some of the difficulty that comes with labour.

The benefits of exercising

During pregnancy, exercising can:

• Help you sleep better
• Reduce varicose veins, swollen feet and tiredness
• Reduce anxiety and boost your mood
• Reduce high blood pressure or diabetes, which means less risk for your baby
• Reduce labour time with fewer complications
• Help you manage your weight during pregnancy and lose any extra weight after the baby is born
• Reduce constipation
• Improves posture
• Promote muscle tone, strength and endurance, which can help during labour
• Helps prevent, or treat, gestational diabetes

Make sure you exercise safely

Worry is constant, so try to include these guidelines in planning your exercise routine during pregnancy:

• Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes
• Make sure that you choose shoes that fit well and which are designed for the type of exercise you are doing
• Exercise on a flat, level surface
• Eat enough healthy calories
• Don’t eat at least one hour before exercising
• Drink plenty of water and fluids

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Exercise is very rarely the cause of a miscarriage. However, make sure you are avoiding exercises like contact sport and are including the right safety measurements when exercising. If your pregnancy has complications or you are still unsure if it is safe to exercise, consult your doctor or midwife. Want to know more about exercise during pregnancy? Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Pregnancy Course will tell you all that you need to know! For more information about this and our other online fitness courses, visit our website.

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As you age, your body loses muscle mass, coordination and balance. This makes you more prone to falling and injuring yourself in the course of everyday activities. In addition as you become older you lose bone density and become prone to diseases such as osteoporosis. Added to this, your joints’ range of motion decreases. This unfortunately puts you at risk of ailments such as osteoarthritis unless you do something to change this. Dancing can help counteract this decline.

There are many benefits associated with dancing styles for all ages. But unlike younger people, senior’s risk for injury can be greater when trying to lift weights, run or cycle. When dancing, they can limit themselves to what they are capable of, stop when they’re tired and – most importantly – have fun!

Benefits of dancing for the elderly

Physical benefits

In older adults, dancing improves strength and the functioning of muscles. It also helps to increase balance and flexibility, which helps with stability. (As older adults are at an increased risk of falls, owing to upsets in balance, this benefit is crucial.)

Dancing can also improve your cardiovascular health, which decreases your chances of developing heart disease. It also improves posture, reaction times and motor performance.

Healthy lifestyle

Not only does dancing improve physical health, but it increases healthy behaviour. Seniors are more likely to take their medication, eat a nutritious diet and engage in social activities. Group dancing classes can also improve positive feelings, behaviour and communication.

Cognitive benefits

According to experts, dancing increases brain activity, helping you form new neural connections and think with more speed and agility. This is because dancing necessitates learning a sequence of steps – especially with dances such as the waltz or the foxtrot – and the dance can’t be performed properly unless these steps are done in sequence.

Dancing can improve concentration and the ability to control shifts in attention. Think about it logically: in order to get a sequence of steps right in a particular dance requires an immense amount of concentration and this will vary according to how complicated the particular dance is.

Experts have also found that seniors with Parkinson’s disease who participate in dancing classes can improve their physical abilities, like walking backwards.

Healing and preventing illness

One of the things older people tend to struggle with is a weaker immune system. Paired with a lack of balance and coordination, this can be lethal as it can lead to injury that doesn’t heal well or takes a protracted period of time to heal.

Dancing, however, improves your immune system. It increases the amount of endorphins that are flowing through your body and helps you to feel better about yourself. This increases your sense of well-being and assists you with feeling better about what is happening in your life.

The increased flow of endorphins that happen as a result of dancing can decrease the time it takes for a wound to heal. A healthy body can also better fight off infection and makes recovery from illness or injury easier.  Experts say it can also delay or prevent diseases like diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart disease and osteoporosis.

The good news is that it is never too late for seniors to start taking part in a regular exercise routine. However, it can be quite daunting for them to take up normal exercise programmes like lifting weights and squatting. This is especially if older people have not engaged in such activities in their youth. This is why dancing is such a great choice for the elderly. Not only does it put less strain on their bodies, but it is also a lot more fun than other forms of exercise!

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Want to know more about personal training for the elderly? If so then Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Elderly Course is the course for you! For more information, visit our website.

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Pilates is a wonderful form of exercise for a pregnant woman as it focuses on core stability, posture, strengthening of the pelvic floor and keeping the rest of the body strong, fit and healthy. Pilates creates a spacial and body awareness which is essential during pregnancy. With this exercise modality a pregnant woman becomes in touch and in tune with their changing body.

There are many benefits of Pilates during pregnancy, which include:

• Easy and safe adaptability of exercises
• Improved circulation
• Body and spacial awareness
• Relation during exercises which brings down the blood pressure
• Strong pelvic floor
• Controlled weight gain
• Easier birth
• Quicker recovery after birth

Body changes during pregnancy

There are a number of changes that happens in a woman’s body while she is pregnant. The following are those that a Pilates instructor needs to know about when he or she is training a pregnant woman.

Hormones

Progesterone and oestrogen are responsible for creating the baby and making sure that pre-term labour is prevented. The hormone relaxin increases which causes the ligaments to become more flexible so that there can be space for the growing fetus.

Relaxin will also loosen up the pelvic joints to prepare for labour and birth. This process will bring along a weakened stability which will affect:

• Core control
• Balance
• Posture

Endorphins also increase during pregnancy and so heighten the sense of well-being. In some cases, the woman’s cortisol (stress hormone) levels will increase during pregnancy.

Pilates teaches one to breathe correctly and relax more efficiently. This reduces the levels of cortisol and helps the pregnant woman to enjoy her pregnancy more.

Increased blood volume

A pregnant woman’s blood flow increase by between 30 and 40%. This is because her heart has to get all that extra blood flow down to the uterus and growing fetus. As blood flow increases so does cardiac output. A pregnant woman’s resting heart rate can increase up to 90 beats per minute. So, as a result, exercise will increase a woman’s heart rate even more during pregnancy.

The amount of fluid in the blood increases:

• White blood cells (which fight infection) increase during pregnancy. This is especially true during labour and after delivery.
• The enlarged uterus interferes with the return of blood from the legs and pelvis area to the heart. As a result, swelling (oedema) is common especially in the legs, feet and ankles.
• Varicose veins commonly develop in the legs.

Pilates performed during pregnancy will not increase the woman’s heart rate. Exercise will remain gentle, comfortable and safe.

Fluid retention

Levels of lymphatic fluid, amniotic fluid and fluid to all tissues of the body increase during pregnancy.

Water retention during pregnancy helps with flexibility. This allows ample room for expansion. Excess fluid retention can cause oedema, as we said beforehand. Regular exercise will help to prevent excess fluid build-up.

It is essential to keep well hydrated during pregnancy to flush the system and avoid excess and dangerous fluid retention.

Digestive system

Progesterone and relaxin increase during pregnancy. They work to make your muscles, ligaments and vessels soften so they can easily stretch. They allow your stomach, intestines, bladder and many other organs to move to accommodate the fetus. This may cause many changes in the digestive system.

During pregnancy, the digestive system slows down causing heartburn, indigestion, constipation, hemorrhoids and nausea. Having a well-balanced diet, which consists of unrefined and unprocessed food, will help to alleviate uncomfortable symptoms.

Breasts

Hormones will change the size and shape of a woman’s breasts during pregnancy. Heavier breasts may add to the stress of the woman’s upper body so causing postural problems such as rounding of the upper back and shoulders Pilates will help reduce the tension in the upper back and shoulders. It will also create body awareness which will help the mother to note when she is adopted bad posture.

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Pregnancy is an incredibly special time in a woman’s life, one which should be cherished. A Pilates instructor who decides to undertake to train pregnant women must respect the changes that go with this and train her accordingly. Want to know more about training pregnant women? Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Pregnancy Course will fill you in! For more information, follow this link.

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Being in a wheelchair means that your body doesn’t reap the health benefits that come with walking and performing daily activities. Apart from your arms growing stronger, your body is stagnant for most of the day. This is why exercise is that much more important when you are confined to a wheelchair.

Sitting in a wheelchair all day can also have a negative effect on your state of mind. This is because being in a wheelchair limits your daily movements as you’re not able to do things that an able-bodied person is capable of doing. This knowledge can very easily lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. On top of this, not being able to move around freely will inhibit the endorphins released.

Try these exercises to relieve the stress of being wheelchair-bound. Note before you start each exercise straighten your back and press it firmly against the back of your wheelchair. Stop when you are tired because if you overexert yourself you could do yourself massive injury.

Wheelchair exercises for the elderly

Shoulders

Front raises are responsible for building a person’s shoulders in addition to increasing upper-body strength. Here’s how to do them:

• Hold a light weight in each hand.
• Rest your hands on top of your legs.
• Straighten your arms, without locking your elbows.
• Point your knuckles forward and straighten your wrists.
• Lift the weights in front of your shoulders, parallel to the floor.
• Lower and stop before your hands touch your legs.
• Repeat 12 to 15 times.

Arms

Bicep curls are responsible for strengthening a person’s upper arms. As you’re relying on the strength of this part of your arms to propel yourself in your wheelchair, you’ll need to develop strength in these areas of your body:

• Hold a light weight in each hand.
• Tighten your stomach muscles.
• Hang your arms by the sides of your chair and turn your hands forward.
• Lift the weights to your shoulders, pause, then lower and repeat.
• Repeat eight to 15 times.

Heart

Cardiovascular exercise elevates your heart rate, increases circulation and works up a sweat. Throwing some air-punches can also alleviate frustration or tension.

• Sit up straight in your chair.
• Tighten your stomach muscles.
• Bend your arms at 90 degrees and lift your elbows by your sides.
• Straighten your wrists.
• Punch your right arms across your body and return it to the starting position.
• Do the same with your left arm.
• Continue alternating on each side and pick up the pace after you master your form.

Core

Sitting in a wheelchair can take a toll on your lower back and stomach muscles. If you have weak muscles in your abdomen, they won’t be efficient at holding up your lower back. As a result, this often causes lower back pain. Wood chops build abdominal muscles. Here’s how to do them:

• Hold a light weight with both hands.
• Sit up straight and press your back against the chair.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles and relax your shoulders.
• Straighten your arms, then bend your elbows slightly.
• Lift the weight above your right shoulder.
• Lower the weight to the left side of your left hip, outside your chair.
• Do this while keeping your shoulders and hips squared forward.
• Repeat 15 times.
• Do the same on the other side.

Not only does your body stay strong and healthy when you exercise, but exercising can improve your mood and psychological well-being. An active lifestyle can also help you maintain independence. Consult with your physician before starting an exercise programme to determine the appropriate frequency and level exertion.

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Do you want to become a personal trainer for the elderly? Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Elderly Course is just the qualification to help you get there! For more information about this and our other online fitness course, please visit our website.

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5 Strength Training Exercises for Children

There are a number of muscle-strengthening exercises are ideal for children. These should be made as fun as possible! In fact, these exercises can even be done as a family in a group exercise context:

Star Jumps

Remember doing these as a child? Star jumps are great for getting the heart rate up, while working most major muscle groups.

Here’s how to perform a star jump:

• Begin in a very relaxed stance. Make sure that your feet are shoulder-width apart and hold your arms parallel to your shoulders.
• To initiate the move, squat down halfway and explode up. Keep your arms as high as possible and totally extend your entire body, spreading your legs and arms far away from the body.
• As you land, bring your limbs back in and absorb your impact through your legs.

Step-Ups

All you need is a step for this one! Step up with your right foot first, then back down. Then, step up with your left foot first, and back down again.

Here’s how to perform a step-up:

• Stand facing a box, bench, or step.
• Put your right foot on top of the box in order that your hip, knee and ankle are all at 90-degree angles to each other.
• Press your right foot into the box and push your body up till your right leg is straight. (Don’t rest your left foot on the top of the bench. Instead, hold it in the air.)
• Slowly lower yourself to the ground. That’s one rep.

Usually, for this muscle-strengthening exercise to be efficient for children they need to do between 10 and 15 reps.

Crab Walking

A bit more of a challenge here, but an excellent full-body workout that is as tiring as it is fun! Be sure to start slowly, as this exercise is tough on the wrists.

Here’s how you can teach kids how to start crab walking!

• Begin by sitting on the ground along with your feet hip-distance apart ahead of you and your arms behind your back with your fingers facing your hips.
• Lift your hips off the ground and tighten your abs.
• Start “walking” forward by moving your right hand followed by your right foot; then your left hand followed by your left foot. Walk four or additional steps as area permits, then walk back. Continue back and forth for the desired quantity of reps..

Wall Handstand

This is another muscle strengthening exercise requiring supervision. Help your child get into position the first few times, then stand close by when they try on their own.

Here’s how to perform a wall handstand:

• Place your hands six around inches away from the skirting board of a wall.
• Kick your feet up, press the apex of your head against the wall, and move your legs away from your body. Doing this will allow your body to get into the correct alignment together with your hips and shoulders stacked.
• Ensure that you keep in this position for as long as you can. You may feel extreme pressure in your core and upper body as they will be working frantically to keep your body up.
• Once you are prepared, begin pulling your head far from the wall and come into a full head stand.

Kneeling Push-Ups

These are like normal push-ups, but you start out on your knees instead of your toes. Try kneeling push-ups first, slowly correcting form until they’re able to do full push-ups.

Here’s how to do this exercise:

• Get on your knees and place your hands on the ground in line along with your shoulders. Ensure that your hands are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Activate your core and straighten your legs to make a line from your knees to your shoulders. Keeping your elbows at your sides and bend your elbows to lower your body until your chest nearly touches the ground.
• Pause, then push yourself up to your beginning position.

Understanding Exercise and Children

With a comprehensive Exercise and Children Course, gain a keen understanding of safe exercise for children of all ages. With childhood obesity on the rise, and sedentary lifestyles becoming the norm, being able to get children fit and having fun is essential for their future health and wellness. Find out more about our Trifocus Fitness Academy courses by contacting us today!

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The Importance of Fitness in Old Age

As mentioned previously, functional fitness in old age is vital for the preservation of independence. The elderly should be able to remain active as long as possible, and some argue that exercise is even more important in old age. It becomes important for aged adults to have the strength, endurance, and flexibility to accomplish everyday tasks. By applying the below fitness testing procedures, fitness professionals can pin-point any issues and work on them, before they cause serious functional harm.

Precautions to Consider

Equally important for getting the elderly functionally fit are the precautions to take when doing so. As with training children, safety needs to be first priority at all times. Never push an elderly person to do something they can’t; rather make a note to work on it, and move on. Only move ahead with an elderly person’s fitness test if you’ve received the OK from their doctor, and screen them for any aches, pains or shortness of breath on the day of the test. Once there are medical supplies and an adequate resuscitator close at hand in case of emergency, you’re ready to start the fitness test.

Fitness Tests for the Elderly

The below fitness tests for the elderly have been designed to be used by fitness professional across the globe. Be sure to assess each thoroughly before deciding on which to use on your clients:

Groningen Fitness Test

This fitness test was developed in the Netherlands by the University of Groningen human movement sciences department. It was used in a study on the fitness levels of the country’s elderly population. This test includes:

• The grip strength test which is a test of upper body strength.
• The leg extension test that measures lower body strength.
• Sit and reach flexibility which is a measure of hamstring and back flexibility.
• Circumduction that is a shoulder flexibility test.
• The balance board test that tests agility and balance.
• The block transfer which is a manual dexterity test or coordination test which looks at fine motor abilities.
• The reaction time test that also tests fine motor abilities.
• The walking endurance test that examines aerobic fitness.

Fullerton Functional Test

The functional elderly fitness test developed by Dr Roberta Rikli and Dr Jessie Jones of Fullerton University. This test is commonly used by physical therapists and fitness professionals.

This test includes the following movements:

• The Chair Stand Test that tests lower body strength
• The Arm Curl Test that tests upper body strength
• The Chair Sit and Reach Test which tests lower body flexibility
• The Back Scratch Test which is a measure of upper body flexibility
• The 8-Foot Up and Go Test which tests
• The Walk Test (6 minutes) or Step in Place Test (2 minutes) — This is used to test aerobic fitness. If the person uses orthopaedic devices when walking or has difficulty balancing they do the step in place test.

AAHPERD Functional Test

Another excellent programme used to test elderly fitness is the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD) Functional Fitness Test for adults over 60.

The following are components of this test:

• Ponderal Index which is a height-weight ratio. It is an index of body composition.
• The Sit and Reach Test which measures the flexibility of the trunk/leg.
• Agility Test that tests agility/dynamic balance, standing up from a chair and manoeuvring around cones.
• The Soda Pop Test which is an arm and hand coordination test. During this you turn six soda pop cans over in a specified order, one at a time, as quickly as possible.
• The Arm Curl Test is a seated biceps curl test. It measures muscular strength/endurance of the upper body.
• 880 yard walk is a test of aerobic endurance. During this, the person being tested will walk the distance as quickly as possible.

Get Accredited with Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you’d like to get into the fitness field as a professional, and you thinking working with the elderly could be rewarding, see our comprehensive exercise for the elderly course. For more information on any of our qualifications, contact us today!

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Why Kids Should Exercise

Stanford Children’s Health reminds us that children don’t usually start building muscle until they hit puberty. However, exercise doesn’t have to be full-on from day one. Running around the yard chasing butterflies every so often is great aerobic exercise for young children, and pre-teens or teenagers exercising aerobically.

With mild weight training added it this actually reduces their risk of sports injuries in later life by around half. Weight training will improve the sports performance of a teenager, boosting bone density and strengthening tendons. The increased density of bones will put them at less risk, in later life, of diseases relating to lost bone density.

Risks Associated with Exercise for Children

North Shore Paediatric Therapy reveals that, like many things, too much exercise might actually be harmful to a child’s future well-being. They lay out three risks:

• Anorexia Athletica

Also known as compulsive exercising or obligatory exercise, this is a mental health disorder that places exercise above all else in the mind of the child. It often comes from external pressures placed on the child to excel. Homework, friends and other pursuits play second fiddle to the sport or activity – with the child feeling guilty or anxious when unable to exercise.

• Overuse Injuries

As a 21^st century phenomenon, overuse injury is appearing in children as young as six years old. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reveals that overuse injuries commonly affect the knees and feet. “Growth plates are the areas of developing cartilage where bone growth occurs in children. Repetitive stress can lead to injury of the growth plate and disrupt the normal growth of the bone.”

• Burn-Out

This risk of too much exercise as a child is bad for both the child and their future self. Childhood is supposed to be healthy, building a healthy basis for a future healthy adult. Over-exercising causes strains and injuries which affect athletic performance, and children run the risk of burning out for months, years, or even for life. It’s recommended that children exercise to a maximum of five times a week and have a two- to three-month break from their sport per year.

Finding a Healthy Balance

The key is to strike a balance between exercise and other areas of a child’s life. Stanford Children’s Health suggests starting slowly and increase ultra-gradually. Exercise equipment should be suited to the child’s size, but starting with body weight exercises and mild aerobic exercise would be safer. Children should be taught safety and correct form first, to avoid any future injuries.

Speaking about balance, as nutrition and exercise go hand in hand we need to make sure that our children eat the correct food so that they have the source of energy that they need in order to perform the exercises correctly. However, this doesn’t mean that they need to adopt the nutrition principles of a professional athlete! They still need to be given the freedom to eat what they want to eat at birthday parties or on outings with their friends. This is because if they are denied junk food altogether, they’ll binge on it.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If we keep children’s exercises and nutrition safe, fun and in healthy doses – they’ll grow up to be healthy adults having a healthy relationship with exercise. To discover more about safe child exercise management, see our comprehensive Exercise and Children Course. For more information about our other online fitness courses, please visit our website.

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While exercising during pregnancy does have many benefits – including better sleep, more strength and endurance and a lighter mood – knowing the difference between beneficial and potentially dangerous exercises can help keep you and your baby safe.

Ask your doctor or midwife what the best exercises would be for you, as each person and pregnancy is different. You might need to take a few precautions that are specific to you.

Here are some exercises you should definitely avoid, no matter what your pre-conceiving physical conditioning is.

No-go exercises when pregnant

Weight-loss exercises

Don’t worry about losing weight while you’re expecting. Rather opt for the high-intensity training after you give birth. While maintaining the appropriate pregnancy weight is fine, losing too much weight can be VERY dangerous for your baby.

Contact sports

Soccer, basketball, rugby and ice hockey come with a high risk of getting knocked in the stomach. Avoiding these sports is CRUCIAL for your baby’s survival, as too-hard-a-knock to the stomach can cause miscarriage.

Balancing acts

Activities that require a lot of balance – like skiing, horseback riding and even riding a bike outdoors – can be difficult when you’re not used to balancing a pregnant belly. Your body is fragile during pregnancy and any fall can potentially break you and your baby.

Pushing the point of exhaustion

Pushing your limits may boost athletic performance, but when you’re pregnant, it can reduce blood flow to your uterus. You should be able to still talk without running out of breath during exercise. If you can’t, you’re pushing too hard. Both you and your baby need a constant flow of oxygen.

Lying flat on your back for too long

Exercises that involve lying flat on your back for long periods of time are not a good idea after the fourth month of your pregnancy. The weight of your growing uterus could compress major blood vessels and restrict circulation to you and your baby.

Advanced abdominal moves

Avoid sit-ups or double leg lifts. These exercises can pull on the abdomen, so they’re best avoided.

Contortions

As your pregnancy progresses, your joints tend to loosen up. Back bends or other contortions, as well as movements that involve deep flexion or extension of joints, can increase your risk of injury.

Extreme sports

Exercising at high altitudes (over 2,500 meters) can reduce the oxygen supply to you and your baby. If you have moved or are on holiday somewhere that is over 2,500 meters, wait at least four to five days for your body to adjust before you do any exercise.  Also avoid scuba diving, as nitrogen gas bubbles can pass across the placenta and your unborn baby has no protection against decompression sickness.

Exercising while you’re pregnant is very beneficial for you as well as your baby. All pregnant women should be taking part in some exercise however, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when it comes to prescribing the optimal amount of exercise that expectant moms need to do. At the end of the day, you need to speak to your doctor who will advise you about how much you can be exercising.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy 

Are you interested in helping pregnant women with their exercise routines? This is a special skill and needs proper training to accomplish. Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Pregnancy Course is the perfect vehicle to help you achieve this goal! For more information about this and our other online fitness courses, please visit our website.

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According to experts: “Exercise is not a process that needs be eschewed or prevented during pregnancy. Reasonably performed exercise doesn’t appear to cause harm and may, in fact, have benefits.”

The key to maintaining your fitness levels when you are pregnant is to find a reasonable level of exercise. This will depend on the shape you were in before pregnancy, the activities your body was comfortable with, and your health during pregnancy.

Before you take on any fitness journey during pregnancy, however, consult your doctor.

Maintaining fitness when pregnant

The beginner

If you didn’t exercise before conceiving, try incorporating some moderate aerobic activity, like walking or swimming, and some flexibility and strength work, like yoga, into your daily routine. Experts say that 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking three to four times a week is enough to maintain your fitness. If you want to minimise weight gain during the pregnancy, four to five times a week at the gym is ideal.

Aerobic exercise

The following types of aerobic activities are ideal for pregnant women: brisk walking, swimming and water aerobics. Not only does water relieve some of the weight and strain of your body but it helps rid your body of excess fluid and minimize oedema. Water sports also carry little chance of physical injury. A great benefit is that water resistance helps tone and strengthen muscles.

Yoga

The deep breathing exercises relaxes and centres you. It helps prepare you for the focused breathing you’ll need during labour and tones abdominal muscles. It’s a good all-round muscle strengthener too. Remember to let your Yoga instructor know that you’re pregnant. This is because certain poses are not recommended for women who are pregnant.

Pre-natal exercise classes

You can also sign up for an exercise class designed specifically for pregnant women. Having a trained instructor on hand to make sure you’re performing exercises correctly can reduce the chances of injury. It also helps if you can chat to other expectant moms and share tips.

The conditional athlete

Research has shown that women who did perform prolonged bouts of high-intensity, weigh-bearing exercise – and continued these activities when they became pregnant – were not only conditioned to handle the physical changes that occur from more strenuous workouts, but that they had easier, healthier pregnancies.

Take precaution

According to experts, overexertion can cause a dangerous reduction in blood flow to the foetus. This means that whenever you feel fatigued when you exercise you need to stop what you’re doing immediately

Rather than targeting a specific heart rate, like common exercisers do, experts recommend that pregnant women need to pay attention to “perceived exertion”. This is how hard you’re breathing.

“You don’t want to push yourself beyond your individual tolerance level, and the best measure of that is your own breath,” experts say. “You should never be breathing so hard that you can’t speak.”

You will feel different from one day to the next, its one of the many things that you lose control of when you’re pregnant. Listen to your body and exercise according to how you feel that day.

In short, you can easily maintain your fitness levels by adjusting your previous fitness routine or by creating a new one to suit the conditions of your pregnancy. Brisk walking and water-based aerobics are great for beginners. As we said in this article, women who were exercising before pregnancy are conditioned to be able to continue their original routines – with a few modifications.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Want to become a personal trainer who concentrates on working with pregnant women? Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Pregnancy Course is the perfect qualification for your to achieve this goal. Want to find out more about this and out other online fitness courses? Visit our website today!

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The goal of a children’s fitness and exercise programme is to promote the idea that exercise and physical fitness is not only fun but important to their health and well-being as well as to instill a lifelong love of physical activity.

Research has shown that children and the youth who incorporate physical activity into their lifestyle are more inclined to adopt other behaviours to complement their healthy lifestyle. Fitness professional and personal trainers working with children should know the differences in their cardiovascular, respiratory as well as musculoskeletal systems in order to develop safe and effective programmes.

Being physically active plays a huge role in benefiting many parts of the body:

• The heart
• Skeletal muscles
• Bones
• Blood, for example cholesterol levels
• The immune system
• The nervous system

Exercise can also reduce the following risk factors:

• High blood pressure
• Improving blood cholesterol levels
• Lower body mass index (BMI)
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes

‘Getting fit’ does not mean – or have to involve – rigorous activity. It doesn’t mean that hours have to be spent in a gym to be physically active. Performing everyday activities in the home  can assist you with becoming active. When a child is physically fit they feel and look better. More importantly, they stay healthy. The earlier a child start getting in shape the more they’ll reduce their risk of numerous illnesses.

Planning a children exercise program

Here’s how to plan a successful – and safe – exercise program for children:

Set clear objectives

Before establishing the exercise plan for children, you need to assess their capabilities. Once you know their activity thresholds, you’ll have a clear idea of how hard you can push them. Then, develop an exercise timeline and share this with the parents or guardians.

Many parents panic about the possibility of exercise-related injuries. What they are inclined to forget is that exercise is an important health maintenance strategy for children and adolescents I the risk of injury is kept at a minimum with proper prevention measures. In most cases,  an active childhood lays the groundwork for a lifetime of fitness.

Use concise instruction

It is fine that you’ve written down the exercises you’ll be using, and the sets/reps necessary, but they won’t know what to do unless you show them. When demonstrating, focus on the correct form and make them understand its importance.

Understanding the child’s mindset is imperative to helping them believe in themselves and to provide the discipline and comforts them into knowing that they are cared for and understood. Here are three steps to understanding the mindset of the youth:

• Try to understand and remember how you felt at that age and act age appropriately towards the child in question.
• Understanding the motivation and skill level of the child will help a fitness professional to learn if they need to delegate, inspire, guide, or direct the child to become better mentally or physically.
• Be strong with actions and words so that the child will look up to you as a role model.

One task at a time

When performing the exercises, be sure to focus on a single objective at a time. Older children can be separated, like rugby coaches separating backline and forward players. Young kids are easily distracted and might start copying their friends instead.

Supervise closely

Adults and older children know how to perform sit-ups, push-ups, and a few other staple exercises without needing assistance – but not young kids. You’ll need to watch their body positioning, and assist with correct posture and form.

Be ready to step in

Like the coach you always dreamed you would have, be ready to support your young athletes – both emotionally and physically. If working with strength training, stay available to spot struggling young athletes.

Progress gradually

As a child exercise practitioner, the athletes’ well-being should be put first before anything else. For this reason, allow children enough time to master an exercise before moving onto the next one – even if it takes longer than it should.

Use positive reinforcement

Finally, always remember to keep a healthy dose of positive motivation and reinforcement handy alongside your exercise plan. Children need to be told that they’re doing well, even if it’s just to motivate them to actually do well.

Children’s cardiovascular system

Children have a lower and submaximal cardiac output, stroke volume, blood pressure, blood volume and haemoglobin owing to their smaller body size and heart volume.

A child’s heart is only about 30% of the size of an adult heart. Thus in order to compensate children have increased average heart rates. The average resting heart rates in beats per minute are as follows:

• 6 – 10 years: 96 BPM
• 10 – 14 years: 85 BPM
• 14 – 18 years: 82 BPM

A child’s phosphagen energy system is similar to that of an adult and they are well suited to intermittent activity with sort rest periods. Activities which necessitate short, intense bursts of energy (and are followed by a brief rest, for example, games and relay races) are well suited to children. A child’s ability to work in the glycogen system is somewhat compromised due to a lower contraction and utilisation of glucose and glycogen.

The respiratory system of a child

Children have smaller, immature lungs. In children aged between five and eight, the lungs are just 20% developed. This results in an enhanced ventilation oxygen cost owing to the increased rate of breathing.

Children have a decreased absolute VO2 Max as opposed to adults. They also have an elevated submaximal oxygen demand in activities such as walking and running due to the increased oxygen cost of breathing. Owing to their immature lungs,  improvements to the aerobic system are somewhat limited because of their immature cardiovascular system. Prior to puberty, boys and girls are both capable of performing and often girls outperform boys. This changes after puberty, however.

Musculoskeletal system

The bones of children are smaller in addition to more fragile Epipheses or growth plates are active as well as susceptible to injury. The growth plates which are located at the distal radius and ulna – as well as at the femur, tibia and fibula – do not close for males until they are between 18 and 20. For females, this age is between 17 and 19. Fains in muscle strength are possible in children however strength training is ineffective at producing hypertrophy as until adolescence there is not enough muscle.

For more children, physical activity provides an opportunity to have fun and promote the basis for good health as well as an enhanced quality of life for the future. However, there are a small number of children or youth who may be at risk when participating in any exercise or physical activity programme. It is therefore important for the personal trainer to do fitness tests and get the young person, guardian or parent to complete a screening form.

Get Qualified with an Exercise and Children Course

If it’s been your dream to work in the child fitness industry, Trifocus Fitness Academy’s exercise for children course is the ideal first step towards becoming a children’s exercise practitioner. Get a sound, holistic understanding of child exercise management in a distance-learning format. If you’d like to find out more, connect with us today!

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Exercise does the following things:

• It encourages psychological well-being,
• It increases self-esteem and the capacity for learning, and
• It helps younger people to copy and manage stress.

Children Fitness

It is recommended that at least 60 minutes or more of physical activity is done each day. Parent and educators should encourage physical activity in children, especially during infancy, as when children grow older – and begin to mature – our modern culture provides a great deal of temptation to adopt a sedentary lifestyle and push physical activity to the side lines.

Unfortunately due to our children and youth’s sedentary lifestyle there has been a dramatic rise in obesity. Parents and health-care professionals have to have a two-pronged approach in solving the problem:

• Not only do they have to concentrate on a balanced and nutritious diet but regular physical activity in children is the key to improving and solving weight problems amongst our youth.

Why is it important for children to be physically active?

Children grow extremely quickly. For example, experts say that during a child’s first year of life they grow 25cm. No two children grow at the same rate however, they all experience a growth spurt which starts around the age of between eight and 10.

During this time of growth, it’s extremely important for children to be physically active. This is because physical activity will help them to develop their motor coordination skills and to strengthen their bones. In addition, cardiovascular activity – such as taking part in sports – will help their heart in its development. This will stand them in good stead in their later life as if the foundations of a strong and healthy heart are laid in childhood, that person will be less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease and the like later in life.

What foods should you be feeding your child?

In conjunction with physical activity, your child should be getting the proper nutrients.

We recently wrote an article – entitled The Secret to Good Nutrition for Your Children – which spoke about what you should be feeding your children. Here’s a summary of what it said:

• A good portion of a child’s diet should consist of grains. These foods produce a LOT of energy which will fuel the child’s growth and physical activities.
• Your child should be eating foods which contain healthy fats, for example avocados, oily fish (such as salmon and mackerel) and nuts. This is because these fats assist in, among others, the development of the nervous system.
• As we said previously, from the time that they are born to the time that they finish puberty your child grows at the rate of knots. To fuel the growth of their muscles, feed them a good amount of protein such as fish or skinless chicken breasts. Steer clear of fatty cuts of meat as this will increase their levels of bad cholesterol which could lead to heart disease.

Tips on how to encourage your child to be physically active

With children spending an average of 7 hours a day on computers and phones, here’s how to swap the screen time for healthy physical activity in no time:

1. Be a Role Model

The first step to promoting physical activity amongst the youth is to be a role model for them. Children, especially the very young, mimic the various adults in their lives. They learn how life is lived from watching us, so if we as adults are very active – the children around us will want to be too.

2. Remove Distractions

There’s little chance that a child will choose physical activity over playing Candy Crush. For this reason, consider removing external distractions just before and during physical activity. The fewer distractions they have, the more invested they’ll be in the fun activities.

Television should not be encouraged as it is detrimental to the development. Besides curtailing the child’s physical activity, increased television watching a sedentary lifestyle as we’ve stated above.

3. Develop a Plan

With a children’s exercise course, you’ll be qualified to develop comprehensive youth exercise plans that are both age-appropriate and considerate of personality traits. For example, some children might want to feel like they’re playing, while others prefer a more serious experience when it comes to exercise.

4. Use Active Toys

Whether they’re exercising for fun or for a specific reason, like making the under 9A hockey team, utilising active toys in physical activity for children and associated fitness programmes is a must! Not only do props like balls and ropes make exercising more fun, but they also improve hand-eye co-ordination.

5. Make it Fun

Finally, the best way to promote physical exercise in children is the easiest: Make it fun! Don’t be scared to make a fool of yourself, and keep the mood of the entire exercise experience one of light-heartedness and joviality. If exercise programmes for the child are fun, fitness will become a happy habit for kids.

Youth fitness and sports are the key to encouraging physical activity for children. However, some parents panic about the possibility of sports-related injuries. What they are inclined to forget is that exercise is an important health maintenances strategy for children and adolescents if the risk of injury is kept at a minimum with the proper prevention measures.

Children’s Fitness Course at Trifocus Fitness Academy

Want to qualify yourself in developing exercise programmes for children, delving into the areas of fitness, anatomy, nutrition and assessing fitness in children? Have a look at our Exercise and Children Course, and if you’d like to learn more, connect with us today!

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Children and Exercise

Ask them how they want to exercise

Children can be very fickle people. If they don’t enjoy something they won’t do it. This is the same with exercising. This means that when you want to put together an exercise programme that suits a child – and that they will enjoy – the golden rule is to listen to what type of physical activity that they would want to do and encourage them to do it.

One of the best ways – which we recommended in our article entitled How can you Encourage Children to be Physically Active? – to do this is to take part in the physical activity with them. This will show your kids that being active is cool – because you’re doing it too. This will make them more likely to join in.

The warm-up is key

For all exercises for children – especially if you’ve just started to introduce them to the notion of exercising – start slowly with a warm-up. This activity will need to be individualised and contain some type of movement for eight to 10 minutes. Suggestions include rubbing/massaging the muscle, vestibular movements, weight-bearing movements for a muscle group or physically manipulating a particular gross motor movement which will activate primate reflexes.

Include stretching in your warm-up

Stretching is vitally important as it will help your children avoid any injuries during their workout routine. (We chat more about stretching in this article.) Examples of stretches that you can incorporate into exercises for children include:

• Calf stretch
• Knee to chest stretch
• Half-back roll
• Hamstring stretch
• Quadriceps stretch
• Half-mat hurdle stretch
• Butterfly stretch
• Spinal twist
• Neck rotation.

Communicate effectively

You can’t treat a workout with a child the same way as you treat one with an adult. This is because their concept of language and understanding are still developing. This means that you need to communicate effectively with them depending on their level of maturity so that your point gets across.

We suggest that you use simple keywords to describe how the exercise might feel or relate to them. For example, for leg curls say “pool” or “kick”. In addition, use your hands to direct, stabilise or stimulate muscle movement in kids.

When you’re helping them with an exercise, try to encourage them to do most of the work. Encourage any and all active range of motion or dynamic movements. Remember that some weights might be involved in the movements but gravity and/or you will be able to provide the resistance that they need to have an effective workout.

As we said previously, encouraging children to take part in physical activity and to exercise can be a minefield. This is why you need to know exactly what you’re doing so that you can train kids in the right way of exercising.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Children Course teaches aspiring children’s personal trainers the fine art of how to train a child so that their growing bodies can get the best possible benefit out of their workout. If this is something that you would like to pursue, visit our website to find out more about the course.

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How much energy does an older adult need?

In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture issued the Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Key Recommendations for Older Adults. This document describes how you should calculate how much energy an older adult should be taking in on a daily basis:

• Daily, adult men – over the age of 18 years – should be consuming 3 067 kcal/day.
• The figure for women in the same age bracket is 2 403 kcal/day.

The report suggests that when people reach 19, 10 kcal/day for men and 7 kcal/day for women is taken away. The Recommend Daily Intake (RDI) reduces by this amount every year.

What should the diet of an older adult look like?

The same report makes a number of recommendations in terms of dietary recommendations for older adults.

Limit sodium intake

Older adults should limit their intake of sodium – in other words, salt. This is because it increases blood pressure and a high blood pressure level could result in a heart attack. It is especially important for older adults to reduce their salt intake because, as a group, they are at an increased risk of high blood pressure.

Watch the types of fats you eat

For years, ‘fats’ was almost considered a swear word. We banished all fats from our diets – the bad ones as well as the good ones.

As we know, a higher intake of bad fats puts us at a higher risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease and the like. Good fats – such as those found in avocados and nuts – have been found to have benefits in reducing the harmful effects that bad cholesterol has on us.

As older adults are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease – approximately 4 out of 5 people who die of this disease are over 65 – older adults need to take extra precautions in terms of limiting their intake of bad fats.

Wholegrains are better than refined carbohydrates

Refined carbohydrates – such as white rice and white flour – cause a sudden spike in your blood sugar and a quick drop after this. The result of this is that you are left feeling tired and hungry. Wholegrains – such as wholewheat bread – keep you blood sugar stable. This means that you feel energised for much longer and are left feeling fuller for longer.

As older adults have a decreased energy requirement, any excess calories that they take in will be stored as fat. As wholegrains keep you fuller for longer, it is a good idea for older adults to consume these as they will feel fuller for longer and will thus decrease their energy intake.

Don’t stop exercising

As we mentioned previously, as you age your risk of contracting diseases that affect your bones and joints increases. However, to prevent these diseases from occurring, you need to keep active during your older years.

If you’ve exercised regularly throughout your life, keep on doing this. But, most importantly, listen to your body. If you feel pain in a joint when you perform an exercise, stop it immediately. If you carry on with it, you risk doing permanent damage to your body.

Introduce low-impact exercises into your routine. For example, water aerobics is one such exercise modality. It gives a good workout as you’re working against the resistance of the water. However, it is kind on your joints.

Pilates is another great exercise type to do. It’s an isometric exercise and focuses on muscle groups while avoiding the joints.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you’re unsure of what type of exercises are appropriate for older adults to do, we suggest that you consult a personal trainer who is skilled in training older adults. Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Exercise and Elderly Course is one such programme which trains personal trainers – and anyone who wants to learn how to train the elderly – in the best possible way to do this. For more information and to register, follow this link.

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Children’s exercise coach features

1. You’re an excellent motivator

Kids need motivation to exercise, to run and kick a ball, or jump over hurdles. If you can get them excited about exercise, and tuned into the goals, they’re more likely to WANT to get involved (and to repeat the activity often!). Childrens exercise coaches need to be excellent motivators.

2. You see each kid as an individual

Each kid is a unique set of skills, talents, dreams, fears, insecurities and desires. If you can take the time to tap into this for each kid, then you’ll understand how to motivate each child. You’ll create rapport and trust. And when that’s in place, each kid will play his heart out!

3. You’re tough, but kind and fair

No kid likes a drill sergeant but they’ll walk all over you if you aren’t tough enough. The key is finding a balance – knowing when to be kind, and knowing how to be tough without being too hard. When you get this right, the kids feel safe and happy. And they’re more likely to put their all into the exercise.

4. You make learning new skills, fun and exciting

Remember the first time you learned to pull yourself up a rope? Or swing a bat to hit a ball? It required coordination, bravery and some skills. And maybe you were nervous? Kids get nervous about these new skills and challenges but they respond to encouragement, love and support. And they’re usually eager to try, as long as it’s fun. Children’s exercise coaches need to be able to give heaps of encouragement.

5. You play, too

Have you ever noticed that kids gravitate towards the adults who play with them? Who get down on the floor with them and get dirty with them? Be that coach – the coach who gets dirty and plays with them. In an adult world, this is called “leading by example”. In their world, it’s called “friendship”. One thing’s for sure – it gets them involved!

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you are indeed passionate about kids exercise, check out the Comprehensive Certification in Exercise for Children on offer at Trifocus Fitness Academy. Follow this link to find out more.

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Importance of exercise for the elderly

Staying active as you get older will provide you with a number of advantages if you approach it correctly and carefully. These benefits include a lowered risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, depression and dementia. Exercise also helps to combat joint and muscle stiffness or pain. It keeps you moving actively and confidently as your years wear on.

Regular exercise has not only been proven to extend people’s lifespans but it will also greatly improve the quality of life in the elderly. Marlo Sollitto lists some of the benefits that exercise can have for the elderly:

“Immune Function. A healthy, strong body fights off infection and sickness more easily and more quickly. Rather than sapping energy reserves entirely, recovery from an illness will take less of a toll on the body if the person exercises regularly.
Cardio-Respiratory and Cardiovascular Function. Frequent physical activity lowers the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. If the elderly person has hypertension, exercise will help lower their blood pressure.
Bone Density and Risk of Osteoporosis. Exercise protects against loss in bone mass. Better bone density will reduce the risk of osteoporosis, lower the risk of falling and prevent broken bones. Post-menopausal women can lose as much as 2% bone mass each year, and men also lose bone mass as they age. Research done at Tufts University shows that strength training can dramatically reduce this loss, help restore bones, and contribute to better balance and less fractures.
Gastrointestinal Function. Regular exercise helps boost your metabolism and promotes the efficient elimination of waste and encourages digestive health.
Chronic Conditions and Cancer. Physical activity lowers risk of serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer, to name a few. It also helps in the management of high cholesterol and arthritis pain.”

So, with that in mind, jumping into rigorous exercise routines may do more damage to the elderly than good. So what types of exercises promote better health without putting too much strain on the body?

Moderate Walking

If there was one function that the human body has been designed perfectly for, it’s near-endless walking. That’s why our ancestors did so well traversing continents on foot. Because of this, moderate walking is great exercise for people of all ages. If you are fairly new to exercise, then fast-paced but shorter walks will do you wonders. It will give you the opportunity to build up your distance, speed and enjoyment of the exercise slowly .

Low-impact swimming

Whether you are doing a few lengths in the pool or are taking part in water aerobics, swimming pools offer one of the best low-impact environments to work out in. In the case of the elderly, low-impact exercises will help keep their joints, muscles and bones protected while still building strength and stamina. Pool exercises can range from moderately challenging to downright excruciating so be sure to be aware of your limitations and build your routines carefully.

Yoga, Thai Chi or Pilates

Restorative exercises such as Yoga, Thai Chi and Pilates provide exercises that encourage flexibility and core strength which helps with balance, bone density and manoeuvrability. Besides this, breathing techniques commonly used by these disciplines also foster better blood flow and lung capacity, contributing to better overall health and quality of life.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today

If you would like to find out more about enrolling in our fitness courses that will allow you to become a trainer for the elderly, be sure to contact a consultant from Trifocus Fitness Academy today, or take a look at our website for more details.

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Pregnancy is one of the greatest blessings any woman can experience. But with it comes an array of physical, emotional and mental changes that can be quite daunting and scary if you’re not prepared for these and don’t know what to expect. From the size of your belly to your sensitivity to smell – there are no holds barred when it comes to what is affected, in a woman’s body, by pregnancy. Let’s have a look at some of the biggest changes that the human body goes through during pregnancy.

During Pregnancy There Is A Change In The Respiratory System

When you’re pregnant, you might start experiencing a shortness of breath. Activities that used to have no effect on your breathing may now leave you tired and quite winded. This may be due to a number of factors but more often than not, it is because of an increase in the hormone progesterone. Say Drs Tarja Saaresranta and Olli Polo:

“In addition to central effects, some hormones also control breathing at peripheral chemoreceptors or have local effects on the lungs and airways. Estrogen and progesterone seem to protect from sleep-disordered breathing, whereas testosterone may predispose to it.”

Pregnancy Causes Changes In The Cardiovascular System

While you are pregnant, your cardiovascular system changes. It completely readjusts to accommodate the new life growing inside you. You may experience an increase in your resting heart rate (follow this link to read our article – entitled Hour Cardiovascularly Fit Are You – to find out how to calculate your cardio fitness.) In addition, during pregnancy your blood volume will increase. Your blood pressure may decrease towards your second trimester owing to the pressure your growing uterus places on your blood vessels.

Changes To The Gastrointestinal System Of A Pregnant Woman

Most pregnant women experience heartburn, acid reflux and some constipation. This is because of the space the uterus takes up where the bladder and intestines usually sit. Medical experts give the following advice to pregnant women on how to avoid heartburn during pregnancy:

• Eat several small meals each day instead of three large ones.
• Eat slowly.
• Avoid fried, spicy, or rich (fatty) foods or any foods that seem to cause relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter and increase the risk of heartburn,
• Drink less while eating. Drinking large amounts of fluids while eating may increase the risk of acid reflux and heartburn.
• Don’t lie down directly after eating.
• Keep the head of your bed higher than the foot. Alternatively, place pillows under your shoulders to help prevent stomach acids from rising into your chest.
• Ask your doctor about using over-the-counter antacids.  You may find that liquid heartburn relievers are more effective in treating heartburn because they coat the oesophagus.
• Wear loose-fitting clothing. Tight-fitting clothes can increase the pressure on your stomach and abdomen.

Physical Changes During Pregnancy

One of the most noticeable changes that you will experience is an increase in the size of your breasts and your belly. The increase in your breasts is due to the rise in hormone levels as your body prepares to give birth to the infant who you will have to look after. Your breasts and your belly will increase as you near your delivery date.

Changes In Your Hormones

Your body’s hormones are completely readjusted to cater for your growing baby. The hormones affected the most by your pregnancy are oestrogen and progesterone:

• Among others, oestrogen regulates a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle, while
• One of the jobs of progesterone is to maintain a healthy and sustainable pregnancy.

For more on hormone changes that a pregnant women will experience, watch this video:

Musculoskeletal Changes

As your baby grows, your body needs to adjust to accommodate the new life inside you. Your range of motion will also be restricted as you and your baby keep on growing. For more on the range of motion changes, you will undergo, watch this video:

In addition to the changes in your range of motion, your spinal curvatures may also be realigned to accommodate the weight that your growing baby places on your back and body in general.

If you spend a lot of time looking after your body through exercising, you may want to consult your doctor just to get the all-clear that you may continue exercising through your pregnancy. Once you have his or her assurance that you may continue with working out, it could be a great idea to invest in an Exercise and Pregnancy Course from Trifocus Fitness Academy. This is so you know exactly what you should and should not be doing while exercising when pregnant.

Alternatively, it could be a great idea to employ a personal trainer qualified to work with pregnant women – the safety of your baby should always come first, so it is important to ensure that you know what to and what not to do.

Modules include:

• Anatomical and physiological changes during pregnancy,
• Contraindications in pregnancy,
• Exercises and adaptations during pregnancy for all trimesters,
• Fundamental nutrition,
• Nutrition in pregnancy,
• Pregnancy complications,
• Weekly growth of the unborn child,
• Anatomy,
• Basic biomechanics,
• Concepts of Fitness,
• Fundamental Nutrition,
• Physical assessments, and
• Physiology.

For more information about the Exercise and Pregnancy Course, or one of our other fitness courses, follow this link.

The post How Does A Woman’s Body Change During Pregnancy? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

There Is A Misconception About Strength Training Specifically For Women

Many people believe that this type of training cause women to become and look bulky and big, like men. This cannot be furthest from the truth! Strength training holds many physiological benefits for women. In addition, it is impossible for women to build muscle and become big and bulky like men. This is because the fairer sex simply does not have enough testosterone in their bodies.

Therefore, if you are looking for an activity that will improve your health, training to build your strength is definitely one of the top choices to consider. Here are a few ways it can help women physiologically.

1. Managing Weight

This type of training can help women manage their weight as it builds muscle, which is more metabolically active than fat. This means your body will burn more calories at rest in order to maintain the muscle and its ‘normal’ daily activities.

2. Toning Up

Strength training helps us build and firm up muscle. This activity gives us a better, fitter, stronger body aesthetic. Although we may not weigh any less, we will look smaller and all clothes will fit better because our muscles are firm.

3. Less Body Fat

As the body burns calories simply to maintain lean muscle mass, we will lose weight easier and our body fat percentages tend to be less.

4. Becoming Stronger

Weight training makes us strong and enables us to do and perform difficult tasks that we were never able to do before. This is extremely empowering as you will be able to perform activities that you weren’t able to do previously.

5. Improve Your Fitness And Athletic Performance

Training for strength will improve your fitness levels – no more panting after a few flights of stairs!

Medical experts also say that regular physical activity, such as strength training, will decrease your likelihood of developing diseases. Here’s what they say:

“No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases.”

6. Reduces The Risk Of Injury

Strength training helps us build stronger muscles, stronger tendons, stronger connective tissue and stronger joints. This reduces our risk of getting injured while performing everyday tasks. (Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Personal Training Certification – also called the National Certificate in Fitness – will teach you the ins and outs of how to build stronger musches, tendons and joints. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! This flagship fitness course is locally and internationally accredited – with CATHSSETA, SAQA and REPPSA – which means you’ll be able to take your personal training business anywhere! Click here for more information.)

7. A Healthier Heart

Strength training can improve cardiovascular health like lowering bad cholesterol and lowering blood pressure which makes us at less risk of cardiovascular diseases. (If you are keen to gain a ‘personal trainer’s insight’ into anatomy, sign up for Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Personal Training Course. You can qualify as an accredited personal trainer in as little as 3 MONTHS! Follow this link to find out more.)

8. Improve Your Attitude

There are few things that have as a positive effect on the mind as a training session has. Strength training, in particular, helps us feel strong, empowered and positive.

9. Improves Posture

Strength training indirectly strengthens the core as well as all the smaller muscles and muscle fibres involved in performing everyday tasks. These are, for example, sitting and walking. Strength training, therefore, improves our posture.

10. Reduce Stress

Aside from all the physical benefits strength training offers, it is a great way to de-stress and rest your mind. If you struggle with high anxiety or stress levels, regular strength training sessions will positively affect this and will help you manage your stress.

11. More Energy

Strength training helps us feel more energetic during the day, which makes the world of difference!

If you are looking for a new fitness activity that will get or keep you fit, healthy, active, energetic, positive and strong, then strength training should be at the very top of your list of activities to try!

The post How Can Strength Training Help Women Physiologically? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Women have, historically, avoided weights and weight training, for lots of reasons. There’s the belief that weight training is a masculine pursuit (kind of like baking is a feminine pursuit). There’s also the misguided belief that weight training creates puffy, body-builder muscles that aren’t very feminine.
But actually, there are a number of reasons why women should do weight training. And looking more toned and lean is just one of them!

Take a look.

1. It helps you burn more fat

Various studies have found that women who included weight training into their exercise and diet regimes burned more fat than women who did not. That’s because weight training encourages lipolysis – the breakdown of fat in the body.

2. AND boosts your metabolism…

Weight training increases your basal metabolic rate (or the rate of metabolism when you’re resting), for up to 24 hours after a training session. This means that you burn more calories (and fat) during the workout, and continue to burn them at a higher rate for 24 hours after the workout.

3. So you burn more fat even when you’re sleeping

Weight training results in an increase in muscle mass. And muscle burns more calories than fat. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even while you’re asleep.

4. It makes you stronger

Having strength makes life easier. It means you’re able to do more.

But, contrary to popular belief, it won’t give you hulking muscles. Because, as a woman, you lack the hormones that turn weight training into puffy muscles.

5. It fights depression and beats stress

Exercise – including weight training – releases endorphins (your body’s natural happy hormones). And these go a long way to warding off depression and stress.

And since stress is a major contributor to ageing and disease, you should be doing everything you can to manage it.

6. It reduces your risk of injury

Weight training strengthens your muscles. And these, in turn, protect your body from injury. For example, if you have a strong core, you’re less likely to suffer from lower back pains and injuries. Plus, weight training also strengthens the ligaments, tendons, and joints (as well as increasing bone density), and this also translates to lower risk of injury.

7. It makes you healthier

As we just mentioned, weight training increases bone density. And since is more prevalent in women than in men, it’s imperative that women remain to engage in weight training to avoid it. Weight training, when mixed with cardiovascular training, helps you combat high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Are you passionate about exercise and wellness? Have you considered making it your career? Check out the Comprehensive Personal Training Certification from Trifocus Fitness Academy today.

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We know that exercise is a simple but very powerful tool for managing or preventing depression. It releases endorphins (the body’s natural happy hormones) and purges the body of toxins that are believed to cause depression. It sets the stage for a good night’s sleep, too; and it boosts self-esteem.

The question is, what kind of exercise should you sign your kid up for, if you suspect he’s depressed?
Here’s what our experts recommend:

1. Team sports

If you’ve ever played a team sport of any kind, then you understand the cameraderie that goes with it. Your team mates easily become friends – a very powerful support network. And consider this fact: This specific support network values you for your skills, talents and contributions.  “In combating symptoms of depression,” says Dr Catherine Sabiston, “there are clear positive benefits from team sports like basketball, soccer, football, and hockey.”

2. Yoga

Researchers have found that the meditative nature of Yoga is effective in managing depression. It’s also very good at bashing down stress, which can make depression that much worse.

3. Dancing

If you’ve ever danced around in your underwear, to a favourite tune, then you know the feeling of euphoria that dancing can evoke. Dancing also gives the dancer a more positive body image (hello, self-esteem!).

4. Running

Heard of runners “high”? It’s real. And it has to do with the heart-pumping release of endorphins that are part and parcel of a good run. Says Dr Mercola: “rRegular exercise is one of the “secret weapons” to overcoming depression. It works so well because it helps to normalize insulin resistance while boosting “feel good” hormones in your brain.”

5. Martial arts

Here’s a sport that calls for serious discipline and self-control, as well as plenty of self-respect. This sport is shown to boost self-esteem and mental health. Because you can’t really be depressed when you finally achieve black belt status, right?

Many of these sports are accessible at a local gym, recreation centre (or perhaps you child’s school).
If you’re passionate about the magical role that sports and exercise plays in the lives of children, then consider a career as a specialist sports coach for kids. Trifocus Fitness Academy offers a Comprehensive Certification in Exercise for Children. Click here to find out more.

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