National Fitness E-News

National Fitness E-News 1

DO YOU HAVE THEPROFESSIONAL EDGE?

National FitnessE-News

Volume 2, Issue 1A Publication for Exercise and Health Fitness Professionals


From the Directors Chair

From the Editors Chair

Happy New Year!

The New Year is a time for setting new goals andresolutions. Have you set yours? Have your clients?

As a keen runner, I am always promoting andencouraging this great activity. I recently read a verygood article on the Irish Times website and I fullysupport the authors views that keeping fit and healthy isvital to your overall well-being. This should be alife-long commitment and lifestyle habit and not one toopt in and out of - to read the full article please click thelink belowhttp://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2013/0102/1224328317129.html

As always we welcome contributions to this publication,including articles, news items, events and photographsare welcome. Please email [email protected] any of your comments and ideas.

Happy running!

Welcome to the first issue ofNational Fitness News Ezine for2013.

The theme of this issue is basedon the attributes of the fitnessprofessional.

As you read on you will see howthe various contributors have

adapted the University ofLimerick graduate attributes to make them relevant tothe role of the fitness professional.

Are you knowledgeable proactive, creative,responsible, collaborative and articulate?

This issue is packed with ideas and suggestions as tohow you can effectively develop and improve theseattributes as you work in the fitness sector. MaryFitzpatrick deals with the importance of feedback , fromthe point of view of both giving and receiving whilearticles such as ‘Fit for Skiing’, ‘Bootcamp Training‘and ‘Pilates for the overweight client‘ provide valuableinformation on how you can incorporate these areasinto your programmes.

Noreen O’ Connell gives an interesting insight into theimportance of using social media to promote your

business and to interact with your clients and DebbieBurke gives some guidelines for promotingspinning/studio cycling.The one overriding fact that still remains tantamount tothe maintenance of the highest standards within thenfitness sector is the provision of ‘ Educated andExperienced Fitness Professionals’ - (No. 1 WorldwideFitness Trend - IDEA, 2012).

I urge you to continue to up skill through continuing pro-fessional development provided via the NCEF FlexibleLearning Pathway which leads to a Bachelor of Sciencein Exercise and Health Fitness and through membershipof Fitness Professionals Ireland (FPI).

Always Strive for the Best and to Be the Best

Happy 2013!!

Maura

Maura O Sullivan RyanManaging Director, NCEF

Keep up to date with all the NCEF news, courses and events -Like us on Facebook

NCEF.Organisation

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2013/0102/1224328317129.html

mailto:[email protected]


Table of ContentsRegulars

4 News Room

6 Fitness Report

7 Nutrition Report

8 Health Report

9 Fitness Professional Profile

Features

5 NCEF25 Celebration

10 Do you have the Professional Edge

By Maura O’Sullivan Ryan

14 Feedback - Move ForwardBy Mary Fitzpatrick

16 Functional FitnessBy Gerry Fitzpatrick

20 Pilates & the Overweight Client

By Peppy Neville

22 ‘IPLAY’By Dr. Daniel Tindall &

Brigitte Moody

25 Boxercise

NFN is an e-zine published by the National Council forExercise & Fitness (NCEF).

The opinions and views in the publication are those of thecontributors and are not necessarily shared by the NCEF. Whileevery care is taken to ensure accuracy in the compilation of thise-zine, NCEF cannot accept responsibility for any errors oromissions or effects arising thereof. However, such errors oromissions may be brought to the attention of the Editor.All material is copyrighted.

13

05

10

Contents

26 Bootcamp - A New Model for Your Business

By Gerard Sheehan

28 Studio Cycling - Marketing & Retention TipsBy Debbie Burke

30 Nutrition - Scope of PracticeBy Sarah Keogh

32 Business - Marketing in the Present ClimateBy Noreen O’Connell


Bachelor of Science in Exercise & HealthFitness (B.Sc.) - Students to Graduate

In September 2011, twenty two students embarked on the firstUL/NCEF B.Sc. Programme. In January 2013 twenty twostudents will graduate with this qualification. This is a hugeachievement for those students and a significant milestone forthe NCEF who have been providing courses since 1987.Congratulations to the students, their co ordinator DamienJackson and all the tutors who made this possible.

Pictured to the left is the Class of 2012

“To promote the highest standardspossible in the preparation of Exercise &Health Fitness Professionals, through asound professional & educationstructure that meets the changing needsof the Irish leisure industry and promotesactive lifestyles”

NCEF News Room

NCEF Management & Administration Team

Leo Colgan is conferred with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws

Leo Colgan was appointed Founding Registrar of NIHE and by the time of his retirment in 2002 had thedistinction of being the longest-serving registrar in the history of the state’s seven universities. Hehelped put in place robust academic and administrative systems appropriate to the mission and ethos ofthe young institutionand played a crucial role in the campaign for University status for NIHE. Theculmination of 17 years of endeavour paid off when the University of Limerick – the first university to beestablished since the foundation of the Irish state – came into being in 1989.

Leo’s 30-year career also included membership of the Higher Education Authority from 1982 to 1987, his role in establishingacademic links between UL and Mary Immaculate College in the early nineties, his role in the development andimplementation of the Freedom of Information Act across the Irish third-level sector, his membership of the Inter-UniversityQuality Steering Committee from 1995 to 2002 and his membership of the University of Limerick Governing Authority.

Leo has just concluded a five-year term as chairperson of the NCEF Board of Trustees. The NCEF would like to congratulateLeo on this significant honour and wish him every good wish for the future.

NCEF MISSIONSTATEMENT


The National Council for Exercise and Fitness(NCEF) celebrated 25 years on Saturday22nd September 2012 at a reception in ThePavilion, University of LimerickThe seeds of the NCEF were sown as far back as 1985, by a small number of peoplein the Physical Education Association of Ireland (PEAI) - the representative body forphysical education specialists in Ireland. The NCEF has evolved to become the largestand longest established education and training organisation in exercise and healthfitness in Ireland. A total of over12,000 fitness professionals have qualified throughthe NCEF scheme since 1987.

Speaking at the reception, Maura O’Sullivan Ryan, NCEF Managing Director said:

“The grassroots development of the NCEF must ultimately beattributed to the work of NCEF tutors, course co-ordinators andcertified providers who over the years have shown immeasurablepassion and dedication to the organisation and in doing so hascontributed significantly to the education, training and inspirationof competent and confident fitness professionals in Ireland.”

Professor Pat Duffy, Founding Director of the NCEF and memberof the NCEF Board of Trustees referred to the early beginnings ofthe NCEF and to the significant involvement of the PEAI. Hestressed the importance of national and international partnershipsfor the NCEF in the future.

Leo Colgan, Chairman of the NCEF Board of Trustees andFounding Registrar of UL joined with his colleagues in saying: “Onbehalf of the NCEF Board of Trustees, I would like to congratulatethe NCEF organisation - the Management and Administration Team, tutors, co-ordinators and certified providers on a truly excellent achievement”.

Professor Paul McCutheon, Vice President and Academic Registrar, stated: “TheNCEF has had strong links with UL from its very early beginnings and within UL I amproud to pledge my continued support to the NCEF as well as the support of thecurrent President, Professor Don Barry and UL faculty and staff who havecollaborated with the NCEF to date”.

He continued: “As we celebrate forty years of the University of Limerick I am happy toacknowledge the work of the NCEF as part of the UL story and I look forward to manymore years of NCEF/UL collaboration”.

Maura O’Sullivan Ryan concluded: “In an era of rising health carecosts and serious economic recession, it is more important thanever for NCEF graduates to use their expertise and experience toget more Irish people, more active, more often as they work andvolunteer alongside their colleagues in the medical field, inphysical education, in sports science, in recreation and otherrelated areas”.

A slide show of photos can be viewed by clicking the followinglink: http://youtu.be/gZJyzwPGE_k

NCEF25 CELEBRATION

http://youtu.be/gZJyzwPGE_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOFOGi3dUaQ&feature=g-upl


Get Social: 9 Rules for Using theWeb for your Fitness BusinessCompiled by ACE Certified Newshttp://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/2889/get-social-9-rules-for-using-the-web/1. Share content you’re interested in. What do you readabout in your free time? What are people always asking youabout? These are the types of ideas you should considerbuilding your content around. If you’re excited about it, youraudience will be, too.

2. Determine the best medium to package your content.Can you make words come to life on paper? Do you have agreat speaking voice that will turn into an amazing audiocourse? Do you come to life on video? Regardless of yourmethod of delivery, keep in mind that different people will learnin different ways. You can always repurpose your content bywriting it once, recording the audio and turning the audio into avideo course.

3. Capture their contact information. While providing anendless array of free content on your website is a great idea,the only way you are going to be able to monetize your contentis

if you ask your “friends” or visitors to provide you with theirname and email address in exchange for the value you areproviding them. No matter what type of content you give them inwhatever type of format you choose, make sure they are goingto hugely benefit from it.

4. Build a relationship with your audience. Now that youhave their contact information, the way you can begin to build arelationship with people is by delivering small pieces ofeducational content over a period of time, with the goal ofcontinuing to build value and deepen your relationship withthem. If you provide valuable information, your audience willstart to trust you—when they trust you, they are going to bemore willing to buy from you, if not now, at some point in thefuture.

5. Offer your product or program. As part of the relationship-building process, offer three to five pieces of value-addedcontent. After that, offer your information for sale. You can evenposition it along the lines of, “If you’ve liked all the free contentI’ve been sending you, you’re going to LOVE thisproduct/program/service. Check it out HERE.”

6. Be prepared when they don’t buy (because most won’t).The average conversion rate for cold traffic is 3 percent withinthe first week of offering a product, programme or service.Does that mean that the other 97 percent of your audience

doesn’t like you? Does it mean they don’t like your content?Not necessarily. Generally speaking, when people don’t buyyour services, they aren’t sure that the content you areproviding is going to help them solve their problems. If yousell (1) the right stuff, (2) to the right people, (3) at the righttime, (4) and at the right price, you will be successful.

7. Start creating products and programmes that willdeliver your message. In the world of content delivery,there are only two main types of information products: the

freecontent tobuild buzzand the feecontent tobuild abusiness.Freecontentincludesvideos,blogs, two-to three-pagenewslettersand shortaudiocoursesyou use togive people

an introduction to you. Fee content is that which you believeyour audience—based on their needs and your expertise—will buy.

8. Build a website that provides tremendous value.While brochure-style websites used to be an effective way toshare your expertise, in today’s content-driven world, whenpeople have problems, they want products or services thatare going to help solve them. Become a problem solver!

9. Take your time (but get cracking!) There are a varietyof courses, books and live workshops that will provide youwith ALL of the tools you need to build a completely virtualinformation business. Don’t try to do everything at once.Start with ONE product/program/service that most inspiresyou, work on that one idea first (book, audio, video, etc.), getit running smoothly, and then move on to the next one.

FITNESS REPORT

Exercise Benefits Found forPregnancies with High BloodPressureNovember 16, 2012 — Contrary to popular thought, regular exercise before and duringpregnancy could have beneficial effects for women that develop high blood pressure duringgestation, a human physiology professor Jeff Gilbert said, summarizing a new study by hisresearch team that appears in the December issue of Hypertension, a journal of theAmerican Heart Association.Full report here http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121116161057.htm

http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/2889/get-social-9-rules-for-using-the-web/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121116161057.htm


Five Quick Tips for Following the HealthyEating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid

1. Stay active. A healthy diet is built on a base of regularphysical activity, which keeps calories in balance and weight incheck. Read five quick tips for staying active and getting to yourhealthy weight, and 20 ideas for fitting exercise into your life.

2. Go with plants. Eating a plant-based diet is healthiest. Makehalf your plate vegetables and fruits (potatoes and French friesdon't count as vegetables). Cook with healthy plant oils, like oliveand canola oil. Get most or all of your protein from beans, nutsand seeds, or tofu. Check out these delicious healthy recipes thatbring the Healthy Eating Pyramid and Healthy Eating Plate intoyour kitchen.

3. Pick healthy protein sources like fish and beans, not burg-ers and hot dogs. Eating fish, chicken, beans, or nuts in place ofred meat and processed meat can lower the risk of heart diseaseand diabetes. So limit red meat—beef, pork, or lamb—to twice aweek or less. Avoid processed meat—bacon, cold cuts, hot dogs,and the like—since it strongly raises the risk of heart disease,diabetes, and colon cancer. Read more about choosing healthyproteins.

4. Make your grains whole grains. Grains are not essential forgood health. What’s essential is to make any grains you eatwhole grains, since these have a gentler effect on blood sugarand insulin. Over time, eating whole grains (brown rice, wholewheat bread, whole grain pasta) in place of refined grains (whiterice, white bread, white pasta) makes it easier to control weightand lowers the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Read moreabout whole grains.

5. Drink water, coffee, or tea—not sugary beverages—anddrink alcohol in moderation, if at all. What you drink is asimportant to your health as what you eat. Water is the bestchoice, and coffee and tea, with little or no sugar, also havehealth benefits. Sugary drinks are the worst choice, becausethey add empty calories, leading to weight gain, in addition toraising the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Limit milk anddairy to one to two servings per day, since high dairy intake canincrease the risk of some diseases, and go easy on juice, sinceit is high in sugar. Moderate alcohol consumption can have realhealth benefits for many people, but it’s not for everyone; thosewho don’t drink shouldn’t feel that they need to start.

NUTRITION REPORT

Copyright © 2011, Harvard University. For more information about The Healthy Eating Plate, please see The Nutrition Source,Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, www.thenutritionsource.org, and Harvard Health Publications,health.harvard.edu.

http://www.thenutritionsource.org,


Dancing improvesteen"mental health”Teenage girls can improve their mental health throughregular dancing, a new study suggests.

Swedish scientists monitored 112 young girls, all agedbetween 13 and 19, who had sought help from their schoolnurse multiple times for symptoms such as depression,anxiety, fatigue and headaches.The girls were divided into two groups - one continued asthey were, but the other underwent regular dance bytraining together for two days per week.The study found that the girls in the dance group improvedtheir self-esteem and experienced a major improvement intheir symptoms. Furthermore, this positive effect was stillevident four and eight months after the dance training hadended.

ukactive, formerly FIA (Fitness Industry Association), wasofficially launched in November 2012 at #moretogetherSummit in London to embrace the organisation’s broaderremit and deliver its vision to get more people, more active,more often.Across the world, inactivity is the fourth leading risk factorfor global mortality and costs the UK economy £8.2 billionper year. Despite the thrilling success of Team GB’s 3rdplace finish at the London 2012 Olympic Games, a recentreport by the respected Lancet journal showed that Britain is

also flying highin the Europeantable of shameas the thirdmost inactivecountry inEurope, with63% of adultsnot meetingminimum levelsof physicalactivity.David Stalker,CEO, said“ukactive is ournew name andwith this comesa new logo,new colourpalette and newvibrancy,however, I will

reiterate what I have always maintained, that it is not aboutour name but about our vision. Therefore I can promise thatwe will always live and breathe our long standing and

uncompromising focus of more people, more active, moreoften to get the UK active”.The new kitemark brand is designed to emphasise thenorganisation’s trade body roots, but can also be translatedinto a campaigning brand to get the nation active.

The new kitemark brand is designed to emphasise theorganisation’s trade body roots, but can also be translatedinto a campaigning brand to get the nation active.

Harm Tegelaars, EHFA President said “I was in at thebeginning of the FIA in 1991 and I think their new brand,name, and vision are to be commended. We fully supporttheir vision and plans for wide cooperation for all who workin the area of promoting the benefits of physical activity. Welook forward to working with ukactive as one of EHFA’sstrongest supporters and innovators in our shared missionto get more people more active more often.”ukactive is the new brand name and identity for the FIA(Fitness Industry Association). Founded in 1991, the FIAbegan life as a trade body for the traditional fitness industry.Over 20 years later, the sector has changed and theorganisation has now evolved its brand to be fit for purposeacross the sector; as the representative body of physicalactivity, fitness, health and wellbeing.

The new name ukactive is part of a wider rebrandingexercise undertaken by the organisation involving an in-depth stakeholder consultation process questioningdelegates on what they felt the organisation should focus onmoving forward. These results were analysed and feedbackwas collated to form the future business strategy anddevelop the creative brief. The overriding theme from thisprocess was the breadth and depth of organisations, whoeither directly or indirectly work with the organisation andthat the name FIA (Fitness Industry Association) did notadequately describe this.For more information: www.ukactive.com

Overall, nine in 10 of the girls who took part in the dancingdescribed it as a positive experience.According to the Swedish team, regular dance trainingshould be considered as a potential strategy for preventingor dealing with mental health issues, such as depression.

Details of these findings are published in the journal,Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.Source: www.irishhealth.ie

‘ukactive’ the new representativebody for the physicalactivity,fitness,health andwell-being sector

HEALTH REPORT

http://www.irishhealth.ie


FitnessProfessionalProfile -Adam Jones

You completed the Certificate inExercise & Health Fitness (CEHF)Programme in 2009 through MotionsTraining in Dublin andsuccessfully graduated in August2010. How did this experience bene-fit you in your career path?The knowledge gained from the CEHFis invaluable and a great base on whichto build any career path in the healthand fitness business. The manualsupplied is comprehensive and I referback to this information source regularly.It is specific, scientific and givesconfidence when testing analysing andassessing clients. The course work wasvery challenging and sets the bar highfor future course.

After the CEHF Programme you werea very busy man and completed anumber of the NCEF Stage 2Specialist modules. How did youdecide which ones to choose and didyou enjoy the courses? How haveyou used the expertise you havegained from these courses in yourworking life?I was determined after completing theCEHF to further my knowledge inspecific areas and selected each of thefollowing modules for the reasons givenbelow.

Personal Training: The knowledge Iwould gain would enhance what I hadlearned in the CEHF but in much moredetail and one to one specific. I nowhave had several personal trainingclients and this forms part of my busi-ness. If I had not taken this module, Iwould not have had the confidence toengage with a variety of personaltraining clients.

Pilates & Corrective Exercise: ThePilates method fascinated me havingread some basic information. I chose anathlete for my case study, for thepurpose of completing a postureanalysis and then prescribing therelevant corrective exercises. On

completion of the module, I have contin-ued to use the Pilates method myself andnow have a small but growing weeklyclass.

Strength & Conditioning for Sport: Muchof the knowledge gained enhanced what Ihad already learned, but in much moredetail and also applying the knowledge toa team situation. The psychology of teambuilding was a new challenge for me. Inow work with a number of junior soccerand hockey teams implementing theirstrength and conditioning programmes.

Facility Operations - this was anE-Learning Module, so all the coursematerial was covered online and appliedto setting up a business. It gave me muchneeded knowledge for setting up andpromoting my own business.

You have now commenced the Stage 3Practitioner Education Programme ofthe Diploma in Exercise & HealthFitness (DEHF), which commenced inOctober 2012. Has the course met withyour expectations so far?So far the DEHF is a big challenge for me;I am getting to grips with the variousprojects to be tackled. The multimediawork is very useful and the research workis fascinating, as it adds to my knowledgein the fitness business from an academicperspective.

What are your career/educational aspirations after you complete the NCEFPractitioner Education course?I will continue with my business in thefitness area including training athletesand hopefully winning morechampionships. I must be honest and saythat it has always been my ambition tograduate with a B.Sc. If the opportunitypresents itself at this stage in my life Icannot see myself letting it slip from mygrasp. So maybe a year from now, I maybe closer to my lifelong ambition in thefield of education.

What is your current role within theExercise & Health Fitness industry?What are your main responsibilities?I am at present running my own smallbusiness which includes personal training,strength and conditioning sessions,pilates classes, and of course coachingathletes. I also do posture analysis andexercise prescriptions for generalpopulations and sports people.

Sport people get injured for variousreasons and so I would like to play a rolein preventing injury through correctposture analysis and exerciseprescription. My responsibilities are to myclients be they individuals or teams. Ihope to help them to achieve theirambitions in the various areas from bodycomposition to endurance, speed andstrength.

How has the knowledge you gained onthe NCEF courses attributed to thesuccess of your business?

The knowledge gained from NCEF hasbeen invaluable, I have followed othercourses but no where is the depth ofinformation and detail come near to NCEFeducation. Frankly without the NCEFeducation I have followed to date I wouldnot be doing the work I can now do withconfidence and positive results.

How do you stay Proactive and whatmotivates you to keep going?I love what I do and the rewards are notjust financial, the positive reaction fromsatisfied clients and seeing athleteshanging medals around their necks for thefirst time is pure joy. I might add that I trainand keep in good shape myself most daysusually an easy run and some LME work.

A fitness professional needs to be crea-tive and collaborate with other health-care professionals – how do youimplement these attributes?Being creative is all about learning newthings about the business. When I finishedthe Pilates course, I purchased severalbooks and DVDs on the subject and referto them regularly. One great advantage ofmy studying with NCEF is theacquaintances I have made, some I believehave become regular friends and the dis-cussion in nearly always about fitness, newexercises or procedures.

How would you see your involvement inthe fitness industry five years fromnow?In five years I will be more experienced andpossibly with more courses completed. Iwould like to offer a wider service to myclients to include aging adults andspecialist populations. My ability as aposture analyst should improve over timeand I would very much like to concentratemore in this niche area.

What advice do you have for Exercise &Health Fitness Professionals wishing toenrol on the NCEF Flexible Learningpathway?Go for it! It’s a great experience andanyone involved in the business will lovethe knowledge and education gained. TheUniversity of Limerick's recognition of yourqualifications make your skillsinternationally marketable. It is aneducational pathway which can be pursuedpart-time. The tutors in NCEF provide theinspiration and guidance necessary for youto succeed and I have many fondmemories of step classes, circuit trainingand pilates classes. I would do it all overagain.

The NCEF would like to thankAdam for taking the time tocomplete this interview and wishhim every success on his futurestudies and work in the exercise& health fitness industry.


Do you have the professional edge to workeffectively in the Fitness/Leisure sector?

Do you have the ability to plan, prepare,implement and evaluate effective programmesfor your clients?

Do you have the essential attributes thatenable you to interact effectively with peopleof all abilities and backgrounds in order toencourage them to lead healthy and activelifestyles?

This University of Limerick recently published itsgraduate attributes document - visit here

This is an important statement. In his introduction to thedocument, UL President, Professor Don Barry refers to theimportance of enabling graduates to acquire and displayattributes that have been persistently linked toemployability and are seen by employers as vital forgraduates embarking on careers in any field.

So how do these attributes apply to the FitnessProfessional? Are they relevant to you as you pursue yourcareer in the sector?

A brief review of each attribute and specific application tothe fitness professional follows:

Do you have theProfessional Edge?

By Maura O’Sullivan Ryan,Managing Director, NCEF

http://www2.ul.ie/web/WWW/Services/News/Publications/UL%20Graduate%20Attributes


High levels of competence and confidence in applying yourknowledge is central to your success as fitnessprofessional. The American College of Sports Medicineidentified its top trend for 2012 as the need for “educated,certified and experienced fitness professionals “(ACSM,2011). Being knowledgeable in the areas that you deliver onand being able to apply that knowledge – whether its groupfitness, personal training, strength and conditioning or otherareas is vitally important in meeting the expectations of yourclients. Governments and health professionals increasinglylook towards physical activity to provide answers to growinghealthcare costs. Knowledgeable competent and confidentfitness professionals are key to this provision.

As a Fitness Professional you should display the confidenceand willingness to take action and initiative across a rangeof domains. In an era of rising health care costs and seriouseconomic recession, it is more important than ever for youto use your expertise and experience to get more Irishpeople, more active, more often. Be ambitious. Commit tolifelong learning and TO upgrading your skills andknowledge. Look to flexible learning opportunities viae-learning and blended learning. Be proactive in using dataand research to drive improvements and positive change inthe way that people live their lives.

Strive to discover, to develop, to invent, to create and toinnovate. The Health/Fitness Industry is ever changing.New trends come and go at breakneck speed. Do you havethe capacity to see new possibilities and opportunities, andto act on them? Health/Fitness for active agers, for cancersurvivors, for obese clients are only some of the areaswhere you have a strong contribution to make. Have youtuned in to the possibilities of social media? Do youconnect with your clients via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?Do you blog? As a fitness professional it is possible to usea blog to develop your position and reputation as anexpert via shared information. Be innovative, resilient andinventive.

Be personally and professionally responsible. Ensure thatyou are professionally insured and place policies andprocedures in place that will ensure the ethical and physicalsafety of you and your clients at all times. Fulfil your duty ofcare diligently and conscientiously. Obesity is a global crisis.A report published by The Trust for America’s Health andthe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that by 2030 morethan half the population of the US will be obese. Ireland’sobesity problem is reaching critical levels. As a fitnessprofessional you have a positive contribution to make in thisarea.

Commit to collaboration or to achieving collaboration amongothers. Strive to make a positive difference as you workand volunteer alongside your colleagues in the medicalfield, in physical education, in sports science, in recreationand in other related areas. Be prepared to operateeffectively and to communicate as a valuable member ofnetworks, groups and teams.

Are you competent in conveying information clearly,effectively and professionally? Do you use your skill andversatility to communicate with your clients effectivelywhether in a written, verbal or digital manner? Accordingto research published in the American Journal of PublicHealth, face to face, individually targeted personaltraining programmes that focused on how to improvephysical activity levels were successful in ensuringadherence to exercise/physical activity. Effectivecommunication is a strong key to success as a fitnessprofessional.

Knowledgeable, Proactive, Creative, Responsible, Collaborative, Articulate

1. Fitness professionals should beKNOWLEDGEABLE

2. Fitness Professionals should bePROACTIVE

3. Fitness Professionals should beCREATIVE

4. Fitness Professionals should beRESPONSIBLE

5. Fitness Professionals should beCOLLABORATIVE

6. Fitness Professionals should beARTICULATE


Recognise the value of communicating in more than onelanguage. Broaden your language skills. Ireland is now amultilingual country. Not all of your clients will speak fluentEnglish. How can you facilitate them?

The University of Limerick Graduate Attributes documentplaces strong emphasis on the importance of educatingpeople for their professional and personal lives. TheNational Council for Exercise and Fitness supports thisemphasis in providing a comprehensive flexible learningpathway for fitness professionals from certificate andhigher certificate, through to diploma and degree levelsand beyond.

By qualifying and progressing with the NCEF and theUniversity of Limerick you have already taken those vitalsteps to becoming a knowledgeable, proactive, creative,responsible, collaborative and articulate fitnessprofessional. The document points to three summarypoints that should chart your progress onwards:

Learn More, Live More, Be More. In the context of thefitness professional this can be expanded as follows:

LEARN MORE -Learning is for life - invest time and energy incontinuing professional development and toimproving your skills, knowledge and attributes

as a fitness professional.

LIVE MORE -Be a Positive Role Model - Lead a healthy andactive lifestyle

BE MORE-Be the Best that you can be - A Confident andCompetent Fitness Professional

Knowledgeable, Proactive, Creative, Responsible, Collaborative, Articulate

UL/NCEF Flexible Learning Pathway Click here

http://www.ncefinfo.com/hcehf_pathway.html


Higher Certificate in Exercise & HealthFitness (HCEHF)

Year 2: Personal TrainingAccredited by the University of Limerick

NCEF Personal Training Specialist

This course provides 30 European Credit Transfer System(ECTS) credits towards the Higher Certificate, Diploma/B.Sc. inExercise & Health Fitness. The Higher Certificate, Diploma andB.Sc. are awarded by the University of Limerick and are placedat Level 6/7/8 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)and Level 6/7on the European Qualifications Framework(EQF).

Aim: To provide participants with the skills, knowledge andcompetencies to provide one-to-one physical activity/fitnesstraining to adults with different abilities, needs and goals in avariety of environments.

Course Details:

� The course will take place over four weekends with assignedprivate study and an additional day for final summativeassessments.Participants will also be required to complete a Case StudyProject which involves training with a client for a number ofsessions and submission of a short video with your clientshowing your ability to instruct and interact with your client.

COURSE DETAILS

Venue: University of Limerick

Contact Dates:

Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd February 2013Sat 16th & Sun 17th February 2013Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd March 2013Sat 23rd & Sun 24th March 2013

Venue: Citywest Dublin

Contact Dates:

Sat 21st & Sun 22nd September 2013Sat 5th & Sun 6th October 2013Sat 19th & Sun 20th October 2013Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd November 2013

Full details on entry requirements, course content andfees are available by clicking here

Qualify with the Best!

http://www.ncefinfo.com/pilates_corrective_exercise.html#.ULzEA2f1FAM


http://www.ncefinfo.com/personal_training.html



Feedback - MoveForward

By Mary Fitzpatrick, B.Sc.Managing Director ofHealthfitz

· Knowledgeable

· Proactive

· Creative

· Responsible

· Collaborative

· Articulate

As human beings, we place valueon higher attributes than justequipment, shiny new-fad gadgetsand pieces of paper. These thingsdo have importance, and rightly so.But when given the choice betweentwo fitness instructors or personaltrainers who have similarqualifications, similar routines andfitness equipment, why do yourclients come to you, and notsomeone else – and vice versa.

being trained and coachedthemselves. This creates a leader.And the world needs leaders.

Knowledge of your area ofexpertise is a must, butknowledge of your client(s), theirlives and needs, their innerworkings, and drawing out andrespecting this informationcoupled with your ownprofessional knowledge makes fora specific experience, even in aclass setting. Knowing theparticular muscle tightness thatthe female client in the cornerexperiences (because you askthe general question before classcommences) means you can addthis stretch in to benefit her,while the rest of the class mayneed it too!

Being proactive means seeingahead where you can ask a specificquestion you need answered.

The human interaction, the way youand I meld? The way your class orclient engages with you isdetermined by so many morenuances. We may get a ‘feel’ for aparticular client, and based onstandard test results and goals weset out to guide him or her to theirgoal. But another client or classshows up with very similarmeasurable traits, but somehowthings go very differently – the routeto the goal takes a different path.

We are constantly taking feedbackand feeding the information forwardto the next moment, the nextexercise, the next day the nextclient.

Without feedback we stand still.And a fitness professional whostands still will soon stand alone.A fitness professional who takes,receives, processes and acts onfeedback will stand apart. Apartand above the rest, as a fitnessprofessional and coach who is

Introduction

Feedback is Constant

Knowledge is a Must

Be Proactive - See Ahead


energy to your work and family isneeding a shift in order to replenish isso important. When you need totake time off, book the holiday and doit!

We are but collaborators in this thingcalled life. Everyone we contact iscollaborating with us, and us withthem. They come to us to learn todevelop to achieve and to grow. Ourcollaboration is to meet them and seethe complete human being in them,warts and all! We grow in ourknowledge with every person we train,the new angle of a stretch – impartingknowledge which stirs us to gain moreand better knowledge, the use ofthese experiences in working withanother class or client. The road goesboth ways, and being open to that andlearning as we go is key.

In gaining, sorting and using feedbackhow we articulate our need and gainthe information we require is based onour energy, or language and ourmanner. Asking the question with agentle tone, an open mind and arespectful manner is going to get usthe details we need much quicker,plainer and allow the client to be forth-coming in future than being too prying,cold or dismissive. Our words havepower, we must use them wisely. Ourbody language says more than anyparagraph would, carry yourself withopenness, kindness and vigour.

Feedback, gathered gently, studiedwith an open mind, and used wiselycan catapult you to great new heights.

You design programmes with a groupof people and you create anexperience of energy, vitality, fun andwork!

How often have you changed a rou-tine slightly because you ‘felt’ it didn’twork right? Or moved your positionin relation to the client or class in or-der to better train or teach? Do youtry out new angles of a movement, anew stretch or add a relaxationsegment to your session? And why?Because a client has said they can’thear you in that spot so you move, orchange the layout of your class thenext time, because you could seepeople change their faces and relaxwhen you cue a relaxation segment,because you asked ‘tell me how thatfeels’ when you did the next move-ment and the client told you.Feedback = Information = creation.

We are responsible for ourselves, forthe energy we bring to each moment,and in particular to the energy webring when we are giving that energy(our work) to others in a close andpersonal professional way. Here iswhere our own checklist, (internal orAsk ‘how do I feel today, now, goinginto this class/client?’ If we are pre-occupied with the tiff at home, themess on the breakfast table, the billto be paid, then we are bringing thatenergy to the workplace. And ourclients come to us for our vigour andour enthusiasm, not our droopingfrown and stress! It is a long processto raise one’s awareness of ourenergy – finding a Personal Growthcourse is something I know hasmade huge changes in being fullypresent with my clients despite homeor personal stresses which are in mylife, and which we all encounter.Knowing too when the outlay of

“How did you find parking today?”,gives you an indication of howbusy it is outside your facility sothat you can scout out otherparking options for clients, or makea point of telling new clients abouta busy period so that they can addin extra travelling time to ensurethey are not running late.

In the training session setting outthat you are open and activelylooking for feedback is a sign of aleader in training. You are settingout the message that your client’sneeds are priority, that yourworking with them involves thembeing responsible also for thesession and taking charge some-what of how the work progresses.As fitness professionals we needto see when we need to apply theknowledge that we have in orderto have a client reach a goal,which may go against their ownfeedback, but we are the experts,and to get our results, the clientneeds to trust our expertise.

Are you a creative fitnessprofessional? Of course you are!

Collaborate in Life

Creative and Experienced

Responsibility starts with yourself Articulating means Communicating

“Wisdom is nota product of

schooling, butthe lifelongattempt toacquire it”

Albert Einstein


FunctionalFitness forDownhillSkiing

Gerry Fitzpatrick is a lecturer inWIT in the area of SportPsychology, and in Performanceand Analysis in sport.

A fitness profile of the downhill skier will look substantiallydifferent from the cross country skier and will varydepending on the level of skiing ability one wants to reach,Tesch (2007). The skier would benefit from developingstrength in the low crouch position for upwards of 5-8minutes, and also needs flexibility and mobility trainingprimarily in the calves and the hips, in order to completequick manoeuvres on skis.Begin with general preparation which might include somebiking, running, or hiking to improve general aerobic fitness.Specific preparation closer to skiing time would require amove toward developing muscular endurance and strength inthe upper back, core, and legs. Circuit training a few times aweek, alternating between strength training and lateral jumptraining chosen specifically to simulate the moves the skierwould be making on the slopes, would be a good option.Included in strength training programme or a circuittraining approach would be the need to incorporate somestabilization training, Muller, et, al, (1995). Ideally afunctional movement screen would indicate wherestabilization, strength, and mobility exercises should betargeted at in the body. As a general rule it may beadvisable to develop mobility before improving stability insome areas.

The Fitness PolygonAs indicated on the fitness polygon, the requirements for ski-ing are for moderate levels of biomotor ability across a widespectrum of physical capacities rather than significantly highlevels in 2-3 capacities. Strength, strength endurance, powerand flexibility (and naturally skill) are the priorities.

The progression in the preparation for skiing fitness couldpotentially follow the model below. First, develop thestability level of the skier through a series of exercises thattarget weaknesses in stabilizers and any movementimpairments. They can then progress to increase strength ina functional manner that meets the requirement of skiing.Finally, according to Schwameder (1997), a move to powerexercises that help the skier with the ability to accelerate anddecelerate, should help optimize performances on the slopes.

Model for Skiing Performance

Fitness Profile

Power

Power

Stability

Begin by identifying area’s that need corrective exercises toovercome any mobility issues or movement impairments thatthe skier may have. This will help reduce the risk of injury onthe slopes. Once progress has been made in correctingimbalances then the skier can progress to improving theirstability. The fundamental skills of skiing such as edging,pressure, balance and rotary, require good stabilizing ability.The kinetic chain starts in the feet and ankles, so if there are

Stability


weaknesses there, the movement continuum that follows upthe chain will probably be unstable.

1. Feather Jumps

Some athletes let their knees fall to the inside as theyprepare to jump. This is typically due to muscle imbalances inthe legs and that imbalance, in turn, leads to biomechanicalinefficiency and possibly to increased risk for injury. Gettingbetter jump mechanics will lead to better muscle balance inthe legs and, ultimately, better skiing. Feather Jumps are asimple exercise that can help get the legs working as theyshould.

� Begin by crouching down into a low jumping position. Forsome skiers the knees tend to cave in to the inside whenthey do this.

� Try to keep your knees straight as you bend down andthen spring up.

� When you land, think of yourself as a feather trying tolanding noiselessly keeping your knees properly aligned.Landing softly will encourage you to land properly, Do tenor twenty or thirty reps, but do not keep going if you can'tkeep proper form as you get tired. If you do this exercisewith anything other than good form, you will just beperpetuating bad habits and not improving stability.

2. BOSU Squats

This exercise helps develop the ankle, knee and hip stabiliz-ers while working through a good range of motion helping toimprove mobility

� Stand on the flat side of the BOSU and lower yourself intoa deep squat.

� This improves the stabilizers of the ankles and knees.� Do 10-15 reps at a slow to moderate pace.

Exercises for Stability

3. Walking Lunge or split squat to balance

Again, this unilateral exercise focuses on the stabilizingmuscles but with the added advantage of one legged balancewhen the knee of the non supported foot is raised to hipheight as you come out of the lunge.

� Step into a deep lunge and transfer the weight onto theforward foot as you lift the trailing leg, and raise the knee tohip height.

� Pause for one second before lowering that leg into the nextlunge.Perform 10 reps on each leg (20 steps total).


3. Single Leg Squat

� Balance on one leg with your arms out in front� Lower yourself as deep as is comfortable.� Perform as many reps as possible up to 12.

1. Squat with Overhead Press

� Hold medium-heavy dumbbells just over the shoulders asyou stand on the dome.

� Lower into a squat (knees behind the toes).� As you push back up, press the weights overhead. Do 2

sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Progression to Stability and Strength

While there are a lot of advantages to developing corestability and strength, one should ensure that they haveadequate mobility levels in the lumbo pelvic hip complexfirst, to ensure maximum return from core work.

1. Back Extension

� Lie down with the belly button over the bull's eye andarms down by your side.

� Keeping the abs contracted, lift the head off the ground ina back extension.

� Lower and repeat, keeping the abs tight throughout themovement.� Do 1- 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Full Crunch

� Sit on the dome forward of the bull's eye and draw theknees into the chest, hands behind the head.

� Make sure you're not tipping forward or back.� Squeeze the abs and lift the shoulders and hips off the

dome in a full crunch.� Do 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

Core Strength and Stability


3. V-sit

� Sit with hips slightly forward on the dome and place yourhands behind you.

� Lift your legs up into a V and lean torso back, keepingback straight (don't collapse) and abs contracted.

� Lift the arms and hold for 20 to 60 seconds

4. Plank

� With the dome side down, get into push-up position, onknees or toes, with hands on the either side of theplatform.

� Hold this position, keeping a straight line from head toheels and keeping the abs braced.

� Hold for 20 to 60 seconds.

5. Tilts

� From above position, keep the arms straight and the bodyin alignment as you rock the BT forward and back for 8 to10 reps.

� Rest and repeat for 1 to 3 sets. Add side tilts as well formore challenge.

Developing strength in a manner that transfers onto theslopes is very important. Deadlifts are King! This weighttraining exercise where a loaded barbell is lifted off theground from a stabilized, bent over position is one of thethree canonical power lifting exercises, along with the squatand bench press and is the most functional for skiing. It isimportant to get good instruction for the deadlift as heavierweights can be handles here. Aim to work up to 3 sets of 10repetitions with a decent level of weight. Sets of 3-4 withreps of 6-8 should be incorporated into a circuit or aprogramme.

Developing the ability of the muscles to react quickly andwith force will further enhance your skiing. Prepare the bodyto move in short bursts.

1. Power Lunges� Place the right foot in the centre of the BOSU.� Lower into a lunge (the front knee should be behind the

toe).� As you press up, jump up and switch legs in the air,

landing with the left foot on the dome, right foot back.Continue jumping and switching legs.

� Do 3 sets of 10 reps at speed.

2. Lateral Jumps� Stand with both feet shoulder distance apart with knees

slightly bent. With a BOSU or other marker, designate aspot 2-3 feet laterally (to one side).

� Start with bent knees and jump up and over toward yourmarker. Land with soft knees (knees slightly bent) andrebound back to your starting spot.

� Keep your knees high, and always land with soft kneesand with your knees and toes facing the samedirection. Do 3 sets of 10 reps at speed.

Specific Skiing Machines - Some gyms provide specificmachines that simulate the kinds of motions involved indownhill skiing. These machines often have set positions forthe lower body, as well as some weight or resistancechallenges for the upper body. The idea is to simulate thekinds of actions that skiers do with ski poles. When thesemachines are available, they are a great option for skipreparation.

References available upon request

Strength

Power


Pilates and theOverweight Client

By Peppy Neville,Bachelor of Education in Home Economics, Diplomain Advance Pilates Mat Instruction, NCEF Tutor.

Pilates might not be one of the first forms of exercise thatsprings to mind when working with an overweight client.When you consider that a 1 hour beginners Pilates classburns approximately 252 calories /hour, an intermediate class360 calories/ hour and an advanced class 444 calories/ hour,(Olsen and Smith, 2005) it would appear that a client wouldhave to be working at an advanced level in order to burncomparable calories with some of the more traditional formsof exercise such as walking at 4.5km/h – 441kcal/h, Cyclingat 10-12km/h – 422kcal/h, low impact aerobics – 410 kcal/h,step aerobics - 520kcal/h (Harvard Heart Letter 2004).

So why am I suggesting that Pilates could be of benefit to theoverweight client who is unlikely to be able to work at anadvanced level, at least initially? While the effect of Pilates onbody composition has not been studied, most Pilatesinstructors will know from practical experience that Pilatescan have positive effects on quality of life, mood andself-esteem. “Once you get control of the body, and offinding the right muscles to put the body into the positions,you realize you can control other things in your life”(Sarnataro 2007). So while performing Pilates does notnecessarily lead to significant calorific expenditure, theheightened self-awareness it encourages can facilitate life-style change and lead to a more active lifestyle.

Introduction Benefit to the Overweight Client


Up. So while you may know what exercises are beneficial forcorrecting a particular muscle imbalance, this is of no use ifthe client is incapable of performing them. It may benecessary to be very creative in adapting exercises toaccommodate your client. Consider adapting exercises sothat they can be performed from a seated position or inclinerather than supine. Look at using equipment like dynabands,bosu, or stability ball as a means of assisting the client whichin addition to helping the client perform the exercise, alsogives them something to focus on which in turn improvestheir concentration.

Most overweight clients will not be comfortable with a handson approach, at least not initially. It takes time to build arelationship where the client will have sufficient trust to berelaxed enough to accept a hands on approach. For theinstructor, this means that verbal and visual communicationskills need to be especially well developed. Verbalinstructions need to be clear and meaningful to the client.Initial instructions need to be simple. E.g. When teachingbody awareness, you could ask the client to say what bodyparts they can feel moving? Or you might have to be morespecific and say “can you feel the muscles in your abdomenworking? When teaching a particular exercise, find out howyour client learns best, - by listening to instructions, byvisualisation or by doing it themselves. Once you haveestablished this you can then determine the type ofinstructions you give. For example a client who learns best bylistening will respond well to specific instructions. E.g. “Raiseyour arms toward the ceiling.” A person who learns best byvisualisation or by simply doing it will respond well to ademonstration of the movement and also to the use ofimagery e.g. “Imagine you are lifting a ball over your head”.

Remember though that communication is a two-wayprocess. Encourage your client to express any difficultiesthey may be experiencing with the movements as well aswhat is working for them. Over time you want the relationshipto develop into one of collaboration where you are bothworking towards a common goal. It is important to approachthe client as a wellness professional – not just a fitnesstrainer. Ultimately the client needs to recognise that Pilates isonly one step on their way towards weight loss. TheInstructor must take responsibility for ensuring their client isaware that weight loss results from a multi-disciplinaryapproach which includes diet, exercise and behaviourmodification.

The benefits of Pilates for the overweight client arenumerous. The Pilates instructor, by helping their client todevelop greater self-awareness and improved confidence,can be instrumental in bringing about positive change, thusencouraging the client to continue on the path towardsimproved health and well-being.

Improved orthopaedic health is another benefit of practicingPilates for the overweight client. Obesity is one of the riskfactors for developing back pain because of the extra stress itplaces on the joints and ligaments. Excess weight can alsolead to postural abnormalities as the body attempts tocompensate for a changed centre of gravity. Many Pilatesexercises are similar to those prescribed by physicaltherapists to rehabilitate back pain sufferers. A study of 22adults conducted at Florida Atlantic University found that a 12week Pilates Program reduced back pain. (Graves et al.2005). A person who experiences pain is less likely toembark on a fitness training program so by improvingorthopaedic health the client may be encouraged to progressto cardiovascular work.

Dealing with the overweight client presents its ownchallenges to the Instructor. Excessive adipose tissue in theabdominal and pelvic area can make it difficult to establishneutral pelvis. They may have difficulty with concentrationand developing full body awareness. Faulty movementpatterns may have been developed, along with posturalimbalances. Addressing these difficulties requires aninstructor with exceptional skills. Knowledge, creativity, theability to communicate and collaborate with the client, andsomeone who is willing to take responsibility, in conjunctionwith the client, in bringing about positive change, are justsome of the vital skills required of the Pilates Instructor whendealing with the overweight client.

Apart from the obvious knowledge that any instructor wouldbe expected to have in relation to correct exercise technique,working muscles during a specific movement, selection ofappropriate exercises and the ability to plan and implementappropriate exercise programmes, the Pilates Instructor alsorequires specific knowledge and an appreciation of thedifficulties the overweight client may experience whenembarking on a Pilates Program. They may have poorbalance, biomechanics and proprioception. They will typicallyhave an accumulation of adipose tissue around the torso andpelvis which means that the bony landmarks we wouldnormally use to determine correct positioning are hidden.They may be forward shifted in posture and yet can be verystrong in the legs so it can be difficult to assess their precisemuscle imbalances. Initially it will be up to the instructor todetermine whether the client is correctly positioned or not, asthe client may not be able to distinguish between anterior andposterior pelvic tilt. It will be up to the Instructor to help theclient to reconnect with their body e.g. helping them toidentify various body parts, like the pubic bone, sacrum, lowerribs, iliac crest. All of these factors require the Instructor tohave specific knowledge in order to help the client recognisewhat is possible for them. However, you also need to be ableto use and transmit that knowledge to enable the client tobenefit fully. Creativity and Communication Skills are vitallyimportant to the transmission of this information

The overweight client may experience certain difficulties inthe practice of Pilates. They may have difficulty breathingwhen in the supine position. The accumulation of fat couldalso make some exercises impossible to perform e.g. the Roll

Orthopaedic Health

Challenges for the Fitness Instructor

Specialist Knowledge is Essential

Adaptations

Client Relationship

Communication

Conclusion

Full list of references availableupon request


Inclusive Play and Leisure Activities for Youth (Imrím)

PE & Sport Science Department (PESS)Launches Innovative Physical Activity

Programme (i-PLAY) for Children and YoungPeople with Special Needs

By Dr. Daniel Tindall, PhD, Sport Pedagogy and Ms Brigitte Moody, MA, Adapted Physical Activity


Physical activity is an important part ofa healthy lifestyle for everyone (USDepartment of Health and HumanServices, 1996). Participation inphysical activity through free play andsport has been shown to have manybenefits throughout a person’s life asit promotes fitness, balance,coordination and self-esteem. Thesebenefits are equally important, if notmore so, for individuals with disabili-ties having a particular impact in theareas of general fitness (Block, LauerHornbaker & Klavina, 2006), motorskill development (Crawford, MacDonncha & Smyth, 2007; Reid,O’Connor & Lloyd, 2003), cognitivedevelopment (Wright & Sugden,1999), as well as language,communication, and self-regulation ofbehaviour (Powell & Jordan, 2001).Additionally, recreational and sportactivities provide the opportunity forchildren and adults with disabilities tobe included in their broadercommunities, benefiting those withand without disabilities in many ways.Those with disabilities learn importantsocial skills while their typically de-veloped peers learn sensitivity to oth-ers who are perceived as different tothem (Batshaw, 2002).

The participation of persons withdisabilities in adapted physical activity(APA) has been clearly establishedthrough research (Sugden &Chambers, 2006). However, while thebenefits of physical activity are welldocumented for persons withdisabilities, barriers still existdiscouraging their involvement. Aresearch paper published by theNational Disability Authority (2005)entitled; ‘Promoting the Participationof People with Disabilities inPhysical Activity and Sport in Ireland’highlights the factors which impactparticipation levels among people withdisabilities in physical exercise andsport in Ireland. Listed within thispaper were the following major barri-ers:

· poor physical education provisionin schools;

· negative school experiences;· low expectations from teachers,

families and peers;· lack of access to facilities and pro-

grammes;· lack of experience of the benefits

of physical activity;· issues with cost;

· not acquiring physical literacywhile young; and

· lack of trained physicaleducation teachers.

One way in which to remove some, ifnot all, of these barriers and promotephysical activity for children withdisabilities in Ireland is through theeffective preparation of its futurephysical education (PE) teachers.Yet, the ability of these individuals toeffectively plan and provide forappropriate bouts of adaptedphysical activity remains an issue.Traditionally, in the Irish context, PEgraduates work within the postprimary school sector. Likewise, PEgraduates can also be employed in apart-time capacity (2 hours/week) inspecial school settings, as specialschools also cater for children ofsecondary school age, up to the ageof 18 years. Across both settings,graduates will be required to teachequally to students with and withoutdisabilities, attempting to facilitatethe most inclusive learning environ-ment possible. Unfortunately, most ofthese future professionals will havelittle to no experience in creatingsuch an environment.

Current PE teachers have indicatedthat their undergraduate training wasextremely inadequate with regard topreparing them to work with childrenwith disabilities (Department ofEducation and Science, 1999; Houseof the Oireachtas, 2005; Meegan andMacPhail, 2006). Because of this‘inadequate training’, the i-PLAYprogramme (Inclusive Play andLeisure Activities for Youth - Imrím)was developed; designed to benefitboth future physical educationprofessionals as well as children andyoung adults with special needs inthe Limerick area. Based within thePESS Building, University ofLimerick, i-PLAY is a physical activi-ty programme for children, youth,and young adults aged 5 to 21 yearswith special needs lasting for onehour per week across 10 weeks. Aspart of the programme, each partici-pant is paired with a dedicated coachfrom the 3rd and 4th year PhysicalEducation classes receivingindividual attention and support fromboth students and staff.

Dr .Daniel Tindall, Lecturer in PhysicalEducation and i-Play Co-Directorexplains the focus of the programme;“This is a completely unique programmewhich is designed to serve three mainpurposes:

1. Provide young people with specialneeds the opportunity to play andengage with their peers during physicalactivity.

2. Provide our pre-service teachingprofessionals in physical education theopportunity to engage more fully withchildren with disabilities.

3. Provide families the opportunity toconnect with one another as a way tosupport each other and their childrenwith special needs.

Additionally, the i-PLAY programme isdistinctive to Ireland in that it addressesmany of the barriers to physical activityhighlighted in the 2005 NDA report bothdirectly and indirectly. It offers prolongedand consistent physical activityopportunities to children with disabilitieswhile promoting the health and socialbenefits associated to physical activity.”

i-PLAY is also the only university-basedprogramme which provides valuableexperience to its future physicaleducation professionals through workingwith children with disabilities. Dr. Tindalladded; “This experience will further theprofessional development of ourstudents and encourage them topromote an inclusive learningenvironment in their future careers.”

1. To register your interest as avolunteer please contact Daniel Tindallat [email protected]

2. Graduates of the B.Sc.inExercise & Health Fitness are eligible toapply for a place on the ProfessionalDiploma in Education (PDE) (PhysicalEducation) – NFQ Level 9.

Unique Programme

FURTHER INFORMATION ON ‘IPLAY’

Contact the Programme Directors

Daniel Tindall - [email protected]

Brigitte Moody - [email protected]

Introduction

Barriers to Participation

Promoting Physical Activity

Development of IPlay

How can the fitness professionalget involved?





Year 2: Pilates & Corrective ExerciseAccredited by the University of Limerick

NCEF Pilates & Corrective ExerciseSpecialist

This course provides 30 European Credit Transfer System(ECTS) credits towards the Higher Certificate, Diploma andB.Sc. in Exercise & Health Fitness. The Higher Certificate,Diploma and B.Sc. are awarded by the University of Limerickand are placed at Level 6/7/8 on the National QualificationsFramework (NQF) and Level 5/6 on the EuropeanQualifications Framework (EQF).

Aim: To provide Exercise & Health Fitness Professionals withthe skills, knowledge and competencies to provide safe andeffective professional instruction in Pilates & CorrectiveExercise. These specialists can work on a freelance basiseither on a one to one or in a group setting

Course Details:

� The course will take place over four weekends with assignedprivate study.Participants will also be required to complete a Case StudyProject which involves training with a client, submit apractical DVD of you teaching and complete an online writtenassessment:

COURSE DETAILS

Venue: Citywest, Dublin

Contact Dates:

Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd February 2013Sat 16th & Sun 17th February 2013Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd March 2013Sat 23rd & Sun 24th March 2013


Read what past graduates of the course had tosay:

“On a personal note just wanted to say I thoroughlyenjoyed the course. I think "Pilates" suits me! So hopefully itwill develop for me in the future.But the reason I enjoyed it was also helped by the tutors. Ihave to say the standard of tutors was excellent. Well doneas a co-ordinator and tutor. You set the bar quite high!Excellent value for money, time and skill performance.”Denise Murphy (Kildare)




http://www.ncefinfo.com/pilates_corrective_exercise.html


My name is Ann Doherty, I am 41years old. I live in Buncrana, CoDonegal with my husband Garyand 3 boys. I started my ownmobile fitness business ‘Ann'sBoxercise & Fitness Classes’three years ago and I run classesall over counties Derry andDonegal. My passion forBoxercise started through mythree boys. My boys all box andare all Ulster Champions and myhusband is also a boxing coachso boxing is a big thing in myhouse.

In 2009, I completed the Boxercise Instructor course and followingthe course, I set up my own classes in my local town hall. Thedemand was great so I increased the class to three nights per week.At the time I was working part time as a Sales Advisor and I beganto toy with the idea of setting up my own business. In July 2010, Itook a redundancy package and proceeded with setting up my ownmobile Boxercise business.

During that time I have put my own stamp on the classes and madethem my own...the best words to describe them are ‘fun’ and‘dynamic’!! I have advanced my qualifications to PT/Advanced SkillsCourse and I also did Boxercise for Kids. On the courses I metsome fellow instructors from the UK and Ireland, that I have kept incontact with and it is just wonderful to bounce and exchange ideas

with these individuals. They have been a great help to me and mybusiness.

In Sept 2012 I was asked to be a trainer for Donegal's Biggest LoserCompetition. There are 76 contestants and as part of theirprogramme, I take them twice a week for Boxercise. It’s a superprogramme for people who are trying to lose weight and get fitterand there has been some fantastic weight loss. Due to myincreasing equipment needs, in Sept I also bought my first evervehicle...my van....whom I call Katie, in honour of our Katie Taylor!!It's a great way to advertise my business and Ann and Katie can beseen travelling all over Donegal and Derry!!

After nearly 3 years in business, I can honestly say I absolutely lovemy Boxercise business!! I am very driven and I eat, sleep andbreathe Boxercise. To date, I have about 200 members andbecause I have access to such a large number of people, I use thatto do some fund-raising for local charities.

I would like to thank my wonderful members, family and friends -because of them I was voted Boxercise Instructor of the Year in Nov2012 which has without doubt been the highlight of my career todate!! To get this recognition means so much to me and I’m sograteful to everyone who voted for me and who said such nicethings about me and the benefits they get from attending myclasses. Thank you to Boxercise Ltd too for teaching me all myskills and for their continued support I have returned to college and Iam completing a three year sports course.

Here’s to a fab 2013!!

Andy Wake & Ann Doherty


Bootcamp -A New ModelFor YourBusiness

By Ger Sheehan, CEHF

The origins of Bootcamp lie in the military with what isclassed as recruit or basic training. This is an inductionperiod where soldiers and potential officers are assessed inextreme physical and mental challenges over a number ofdays or weeks. Over the course of their induction trainingthey are pushed harder than they have ever been pushed tosimulate the rigorous physical and psychological demands ofbattle. It is a gruelling time and the end result is that only thebest get through to become the best soldiers.

In the mainstream fitness industry we are always striving fornew and more exciting training methods to drive clients tomeet their health and fitness goals. The military model wasrefined and civilian bootcamps were born. Instructors stillpush hard to get the optimum results from the client withoutthe risk of them getting the ‘boot’ as it were. They are a fun,social and highly effective cardio and conditioning session.They vary in design and content depending on size andability of the group, experience of instructor and location. Thechoice of location can be key to the success whether it be apitch, local park, forest, beach, urban or rural area. Busyschedules of these locations are always a challenge. Thechoice of running bootcamps indoor or outdoor each has itsadvantages and limitations depending on the choices ofequipment and exercises and the availability of equipment.Weather can play a huge part with Ireland’s unique brand of4-seasons-in-one-day climate for outdoor camps.

Bootcamp design can take many forms from a bodyweightconditioning circuit session where all you need is a towel anda bottle of water to more challenging forms with tyres, sledgehammers, ropes, obstacles, free weights, suspensiontrainers and more. Bootcamps can be very popular with teamsports for off season and pre-season general conditioningwhere the players have had a long layoff and need to workaway some of the excess before their sport specificpreseason kicks off.

As with the military model, the client starts a Bootcamp ofanywhere from a weekend camp to a 6-12 weekstructured camp with a periodised or planned training plan.The goal, by the end of it, is a leaner more athletic clienthaving picked up some new skills where they have dug deepinto their reserves and made some new friends along theway along the way. Hopefully the instructor being one ofthem!

The general format can include client screening. A dynamicwarm-up will generally be part of the structure and this iswhere we prime the client/s for the most demanding portionof the workout without causing too much fatigue. A pulseraiser may then be introduced where, for example, someskipping, body weighted squats, press-ups, lunges, T-spines,single leg RDL’s. The aim is to get some range through asmany joints as possible whilst keeping in mind the goal of thesession. There should be an introduction to the format of

Military Origins

A New Approach

Bootcamp Design

A Typical Class Format


each exercise, whether it will be circuit or station format,along with adaptations and progressions for each exercise.The main portion of the session will consist of a metabolicresistance training portion of time, reps, or pyramid basedsets for each exercise before moving on to the next exercise.This is where we will work the toughest exercises orthose with the most resistance and will have typically 4-6exercises with up to a minute rest between and a number ofrounds.

These exercises too can range from chin ups, advancedpress-ups to the use of the more challenging equipmentavailable The core and cardio portion of the session willconsist of another circuit of shorter intervals and rest periodsTABATA type intervals. We like to end each session withsome metabolic finishers or High Intensity Interval Training(HIIT). Short interval 6-10 seconds of max effort explosivemovement exercises such as burpees. Cool down andflexibility work is important as some clients will not be familiaror push harder in these sessions as the natural competitiveedge is released so be sure to include an adequate cool-down with some flexibility work.

Bootcamp tends towards high functional movementexercises with full body core strength and conditioningcontent. A typical Bootcamp main session will consist of afunctional movement exercise followed by core engagementand alternate upper and lower body through the session.

At KBAMfitness we offer a number of Bootcamp models bothoutdoors and indoors. Some take place at our trainingcentres or can be brought to clients or groups or occasionsand modified for the intended clients. These modificationscan include a kid’s activity boot camp at your child’s birthdayparty with a high fun and activity content to burn off some ofthat energy and cake. A typical outdoor camp at KBAM caninclude farmers walks, press-ups, lunge walks, ballting ropes,tyre flips tyre pulls, planks, skipping, suicide runs, crab walks,

squats/kettlebell squats, burpees. Variety is key and adding amix of anaerobic, aerobic and general conditioning exerciseswill challenge all clients as each will have their own strengthsand weaknesses.

Bootcamp is suitable for both men and women, fromteenagers to their parents and grandparents once there ismedical clearance and each client is directed towards theappropriate version of each exercise. Choosing the righttheme for your Bootcamp can be a major key to its success.Military, urban, teen, beach, park based will appeal to adifferent personality and groups and often the more extremein nature the more appealing.

Buggy Bootcamp for new moms getting back into shapeafter they have medical clearance to commence exercise canbe an excellent social outlet and experience sharingopportunity. Mothers are all going through similarexperiences with their new child and all its challenges. Theygain the support and encouragement from their fellow momsand share ideas while getting some exercise.

Corporate groups with team building weekends are potentialclient groups for this form of interactive group based exerciseas it can work for the beginner right through to the advancedathlete so all can break a sweat and achieve a sense ofundertaking a shared experience.

Additionally Stag and Hen parties are always looking foractivities to bond the group in a shared challenge!

There are plenty of Bootcamp models and advice availableon the internet so choose wisely and always remember to getto know your group as what might motivate one person maydeter the next.

Include Functional Movement

Outdoor & Indoor Sessions

Suitability

Various Groups/Themes


Studio CyclingMarketing & Client

Retention – Top Ten Tips

This article gives some tips into the various ways to help you market your studio cycling classes and retain yourcurrent members. Instructors should be qualified and knowledgeable in the area of studio cycling. You need to knowyour target market, the area you wish to promote and what type of clients is you trying to attract.

By Debbie Burke, NCEFT


So how do you attract new clients and retain your current clients?Eight years ago, when I taught my first class, I designed my ownfliers promoting my two very first classes. Simple clear messageswill get the message across. Other types of effective marketingideas are:

1. E-mail: Keeping in touch via e-mail vital to alert your clients.Keep them updated with class times and also use it as a form offeedback from your clients. They may give you some usefulsuggestions to make your class more successful.

2. Monthly Competitions: pick a number from a box thatmatches the number of a bike in your studio, and the winner gets at-shirt. Have a monthly draw of who attends the most classes andhave a chart for clients to keep on eye on. Even the non-competitiveclients will still want to win and check the board each time theycome to the class!

3. Novelty and Masterclasses: Have a guest instructor in tospice up your class, it creates new ideas. Have a 80s class and getclients to dress up and have 80s playlist.

4. Social Media: An excellent form of marketing. Facebook,blog or use Twitter with apositive, motivational thoughts each day. This will keep your clientsmotivated. Its free, available 24/7 and you can reach a largeraudience. Clients can also interact with others and promote yourclasses free of charge!

5. E-Newsletter: You can create one to send to your clientswith monthly updates. It should be informative and fun, and don’tforgot to invite your regulars to bring a friend.

6. Video Cycle: Some studios are set up for video cycle, whichencourages the client to make use of their imagination whengraphics are shown on the screen.

7. Word of Mouth: The best kind of advertising. Once you’veearned your regulars, encourage them to bring a friend. You couldhave a “friend Friday” each month where you clients can bring afriend for free.

8. Take Music Requests: Have a request playlist box. In eachclass play two requests each week and this will encourage yourclients to come back to your class to hear their song.

9. Refer a Friend: You could award discounts and free class toclients who refer a firend. “Bring a friend and spin for free”

10. YOU! Be a positive role model for your clients

Studio Cycling classes often have waiting lists as they are a verypopular class. Not only is it a great workout, but it’s an experienceand an excellent class to keep members coming back for me. Agood studio cycling class is down to the instructor and how theymotivate and inspire. Here are some tips to keep your clientscoming back for more:

1. Safety and Comfort - start every class with a review offundamentals and safety points so that everyone-regardless of, age,fitness level or experience can have a safe and effective workout.Emphasise that they have the control of the speed, resistance andintensity level, so it can be as easy or as challenging as they want itto be. Ask them to listen to their bodies and adjust accordingly, andtell them not to be afraid to slow down or take a break whennecessary. Like many things in life – you get out what you put in.Avoid any contraindicated moves, such as press ups on the handlebars.

2. Screening - ensure you fully screen all clients at the startof each class and make adjustments for any client with an injury.

3. Bike Fit – ensure all new clients are in the correct positionand regularly re-check alignment with all clients.

4. Be Personal - greet your clients on a first name basis. Takean interest in how they are.

5. Let Them Know What to Expect – your clients will bebetter able to pace themselves if they know what to expect at thestart of a song. Let them know how fast to pedal, the type of terrain,the level of intensity and for how long e.g. sprint for 30 seconds,recover for 10 seconds.

6. Be Observant - observation is an important instructionalskill. It’s the little things that matter and by making the slightestadjustment you will keep your class attendance high.

7. Reinforce Proper Technique and Form – this is especiallyimportant during high intensity intervals when clients are pushingthemselves hard and technique may start to falter. Reinforcecore stability, soft elbows, relaxed shoulder etc. By shifting theirfocus to technique, it will distract your clients away from how hardthey are working.

8. Use Effective Music and Visualisation - The right songcan also help give the class a surge of energy, so choose yourmusic appropriately. Using visualisation cues is a personal choice– don’t overdo them, one or two cues is plenty for a class. Refrainfrom “screaming” – yelling is not motivational so use a microphone ifyou need one.

9. Educate – without overloading clients with too muchinformation. Remember that it’s a workout and not a lecture. It is agood idea to explain the science behind the workout but do notoverload them.

10. Be Professional at All Times - Are you guilty of leaving theempty water bottles, and broken pedal straps for “someone else” tofix? Your spin studio should keep up to the highest standard at alltimes! If a client tells you there is a problem with a bike, be proactiveand report it to maintenance repair and you’ll gain the reputation asthe instructor who “gets things done.”

Simple things like ensuring clients have a towel to wipe down bikesafter use. Keep track of service history of the bikes. Keep up to datewith trends, go to other gyms and try out other classes to get ideasand also song playlists. If possible change the layout of the bikesevery couple of months.

Stick to these basic tips and along with gaining many happyand healthy clients you are guaranteed to have the professionaledge!

Marketing - Top 10 Tips Client Retention - Top 10 Tips


Scope of Practice –Nutrition and the Fitness ProfessionalBy Sarah Keogh’s,BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition & Dietetics, MSc. (Hons) European FoodRegulatory Affairs, MINDI (Member of INDI), MBDA

It’s a typical situation: a client is working out but not seeingthe weight loss they want. So they ask is there anything theyshould be eating or cutting out? Any changes they can maketo their diet? What advice should the fitness professional begiving?

Where do you start? When a client asks about nutrition it is agreat opportunity to help to guide them in healthy eating andcorrect any mistakes they might be making. This means youcan not only help clients towards a healthier weight, but alsoto overall health by making sure they are getting theirrecommended daily amounts of fruit & vegetables, low fatdairy and protein. Many people think they need to cut outwhole food groups such as carbs or dairy when they want tolose weight and they don’t realize that they are cutting outcalcium and fibre at the same time! It is great if they can beadvised about correct portion sizes (which is a major part ofsuccessful weight loss) by someone with a good understand-ing of all the nutrients we need in a day, rather than just goingahead and cutting carbs or increasing protein.

And if a fitness professional doesn’t give any advice, wheredoes the client go for help? A qualified dietitian is a goodchoice but it is another fee for the client and if a fitness pro-fessional can answer a simple question, it makes moresense. Without good advice, clients may end up on one ofthe many nutrition websites that are not based in science orwhich have their own agenda such as selling supplements.Many of the popular nutrition books available are notentirely accurate either so it is easy for people to becomeconfused and be led astray. But where do you draw the linebetween general and individual advice? What is your scopeof practice?

Where can your client go for help?

Giving general advice based on the food pyramid and thehealthy eating guidelines (available from www.fsai.ie) is wellwithin the scope of practice of any fitness professional. Thedanger is straying into individualized advice. Why? In thesame way that a dietitian might give some general advice onfitness, she recognizes that detailed advice really needs tocome from someone specifically qualified in that area.Dietitians are qualified to give individual, detailed advice ondiet, not just on healthy eating but to treat medical conditionssuch as diabetes, coeliac disease and heart disease.

Many of us know the basics about nutrition, so it can seemstraight forward to tell someone, for example, to eat less fatto lower cholesterol, but a dietitian will also take into accounta clients’ medical history, age, sex, any of the medicationsthey are taking as well as any surgeries they may have had,as these can all affect the specific advice given. Dietitianswill also look at behaviour and habits and will work to fitadvice into the clients lifestyle – sometimes easier said thandone! Dietitians all have a four year degree in humannutrition and dietetics as well as six months supervised train-ing in a hospital. Clearly they learn more than just how to eatmore vegetables and reduce fat! Just like fitness, there ismore to nutrition than we see from the surface. For thisreason, a fitness professional needs to be able draw the linebetween giving advice on general healthy eating to help aclient and more detailed, individual advice that might turn outto be harmful.

In the US there are some clear guidelines about what thescope of practice for fitness professionals should be.Fitness professionals can advise clients on:

· Principles of good nutrition and food preparation

· Foods to be included in the normal daily diet

· Essential nutrients needed by the body

· Recommended amounts of essential nutrients

· Actions of nutrients on the body

· Effects of nutrient deficiencies or effects of taking too much of any nutrient

· Foods and supplements that are good sources of essential nutrients

Introduction Scope of Practice?

Guidelines for Fitness Professionals


If a fitness professional is giving advice in these areas, theyneed to make sure they are getting their own knowledge froma good source. Websites such as www.safefood.eu;www.indi.ie and www.fsai.ie are all good, reliable websites fornutrition information, based on the latest science with nomarketing agenda. www.indi.ie also has a list of other goodwebsites for more information. Beware of many ‘fitnessnutrition’ websites who often promote unnecessarysupplements. Also be cautious about dong short courses onnutrition. There are many courses on nutrition in Ireland butnot all of them are giving students good information as thereis no regulation in this area. DIT Kevin Street run a goodevening course in nutrition and the lecturer is a qualifieddietitian. You won’t be a dietitian at the end of it but you willhave a better understanding of the background to thescience that makes up guidelines like the food pyramid.

Supplements are one major area of confusion when it comesto sports nutrition, especially amino acid supplements. Mostof the so-called sports supplements available don’t do whatthey claim to do but many people believe the marketing andspend a lot of money unnecessarily. Even general multivita-mins can only do so much and advising a client on healthyeating will be much more effective than letting them take theshort cut with tablets. Google the European Food SafetyAuthority’s ‘opinions’ on nutrition and health claims for ananalysis of the claims for amino acid and other supplements(www.efsa.eu).

Protein supplements and shakes are also a big issue. Theycan be incredibly useful in elite athletes but for the ordinaryman (or woman) in the street, they just mean extra caloriesand extra weight. The problem is that the human bodydoesn’t actually store protein, so if you take in more proteinthan you need your body just converts it to calories. Thismeans that too much protein won’t build more muscle, justmore fat. This is one of the many reasons that nutritioninformation needs to come from a good source and not thejust the manufacturers’ literature!

Physical Activity is a vital component of a healthy lifestyleand is key to being a healthy weight. Complementingexercise with good, accurate advice on nutrition can onlybenefit clients, whether they are training at an elite level orsimply trying to improve their fitness. However, givingadvice on nutrition can be potentially harmful when it straysaway from general information to specific advice that shouldbe given by a nutrition professional. As in any profession, itis important that we are up to date with the advice we aregiving to clients, no matter what area we work in. It is everybit as important that we are sure about the source of our owninformation. And more than anything else, we need torecognize when we are out of our depth and need to refer toa specialist, whether you are a dietitian referring to a fitnessprofessional or a fitness professional referring to a dietitian.

Areas to Watch

Physical Activity

State Registration for Dietitians

When it comes to getting good advice on nutrition, where do yousend clients? One problem is that it is impossible to know if theperson you are recommending is actually qualified in nutrition.In Ireland, people think that anyone working in the area must bequalified but actually you can call yourself a dietitian, nutritionistor any combination even if the course you did was poorly run or ifyou did no course at all! Unlike Doctors or pharmacists, thereare no laws preventing people from claiming to be nutritionists ordietitians if they are not properly qualified. Luckily this is about tochange. From 2013, the government will be introducing stateregistration for dietitians. This will make it illegal for anyone with-out the correct qualifications to call themselves a dietitian. So,from 2013, if you send someone to a dietitian, you know they willbe getting good, accurate, advice. For a list of qualified dietitiansgo to www.indi.ie

http://www.safefood.eu

http://www.indi.ie

http://www.fsai.ie

http://www.efsa.eu

http://www.indi.ie


Marketing inthe Present

ClimateThe economic downturn has resulted in businesses looking at where cutbacks can be made. Marketing is some-times seen as an extravagance that can be done without especially in an established business. There is no need todo this, in fact why not capitalise on the downturn and turn it into your advantage and use the hundreds of free so-cial advertising opportunities to give your business the edge.

Consumers are always in search of ways to get value; this iswhat you have as your unique selling point (USP). It may beyour prices, your facility, or your professionalism. You need tohave something that separates you from your competition.The next step is ensuring that you get the information out tothe consumer. There is a multitude of platforms availableto you and we are going to look at a few.

Facebook is the most common with over two million Irishprofilers. It is a social media network which allowsbusinesses to create their own profiles and share informationwith its followers. More than 70% of Irish businesses arecurrently using it. When setting up your Facebook page set itup as a business as this gives you more capacity with thepage. It gives you the ability to have a number ofadministrators responsible for the page. A business page willreceive analytics each month on the metrics around thepages content. In addition you will also have the ability to runadvertisements for a small fee and target specificconsumers.

Twitter, a blogging network is another platform where thebusiness sends out “tweets” which have a maximumcapacity of one hundred and forty characters, similar to a testmessage. There are currently over two hundred Irish userson Twitter and approximately 61% of businesses are using it.

YouTube is another medium where you can customize yourpage and add all your videos to the page. It is used for shar-ing video files, it is estimated that the site is visited over threebillion times a day. Currently 44% of Irish businesses are us-ing it. I feel that this platform could be very useful for the fit-ness industry; short segments of you classes, services, andfacilities can be used to entice customers to come to yourbusiness.

The last one we will look at is LinkedIn and this is more forthe owner of the business, this is a professional networkwhere you can connect with other fitness professionals. OnLinkedIn you have two options you can have a page foryourself the fitness professional and/or a company page foryour business. Currently there are over seven hundred andfifty thousand Irish accounts and over 61% of businesses areusing it.

All the above platforms are useful for increasing yourbusinesses brand and making people aware of what you do.You have to be proactive in establishing these networks andthen maintaining them. All the methods mentioned above arefree of charge to set up but do require updating. The worstthing that you as a professional can do is to not update them.Social media is like a website and if your information is out ofdate consumers will not come back to the platform, you haveto nurture your followers. Get the word out to all your con-sumers that you are now using these social media tools, getyour consumers to engage with them. A simple but effectiveway to do this is to give special offers, do promotions.

Creativity is a key ingredient in successful use of socialmedia. Firstly you can link all the social networks to yourwebsite if you have one. If you don’t have a site you can linkup the networks so you are not duplicating your messages.Be inventive, use “quirky” items, use photos, use video ifpossible; video is very powerful on social networks. Ensurethat you engage the consumer that you want to target, givethem a reason to read and interact with the information. Themore they feel connected to your brand, the more likely theyare to further research your service or product. You can runoffers and promotions however make sure that what you run,complies with the Facebook promotions guidelines. There arenumerous ways you can interact with your consumers. Chatwith your fans and encourage feedback and suggestions, getthem to engage. The timing and frequency of your posts canbe vital to success, there is a common understanding outthere that the best time to post is morning before work hours,lunchtimes and weekends as this is when consumers havedown time. You also do not want to be posting informationevery hour as people will leave your page due to informationoverload; the general thought is three to four times a daymaximum.

Get the Word Out Be Proactive

Be Creative

By Noreeen O’Connell,NCEFT,Women's Sports DevelopmentManager, University Arena


As a professional you are responsible for all posts includingphotos, videos and having the permission of the peopleappearing in them. Remember when doing anything thatuses social media it is vital that you know its information inan instant, once it is out in the cyber world it is nearlyimpossible to retract it. Always remain professional, you maybe having a bad day, however the whole world does notneed to know.

When using social media tools there are ten C’s that youshould bear in mind to ensure that you have the edge overyour competitors:

1. Consumers – Know who your target consumer is and use common interests to attract them.

2. Community – Create a community of followers with sharedinterests, a brand community

3. Context – Use timelines to your advantage , Christmas agreat time for vouchers

4. Concepts – Use innovative ideas to promote yourbusiness and engage your audience

5. Content – Create content that your audience is going towant to read/see/watch

6. Connections – Connect with common interest sites thatyour audience may appreciate

7. Conversations – Get consumers to engage and mostimportant listen and take on board suggestions.

8. Collaboration – Build a trust partnership with yourconsumers what you say is what you provide.

9. Contagious – Encourage your consumers to share thecontent in hope of attracting more fans.

10.Conversion – Measure how effective your use of socialmedia tools is in relation to new consumers.

Be Responsible

Top tips for 2013 to help you have the edge. If you plan nowyou can be successful come 2013. Yogi Berra stated that “Ifyou don’t know where you are going, you might not getthere.

Top Tips:

1. Engage consumers – Grow the business. The more waysyou give your consumers to get involved on what is happeningwith your business the better.

2. Be Mobile or fall behind. Use social media tools thatconsumers can check on smart phones & mobile devices.

3. A picture is worth a 1000 words. Use visual aids in youinformation distribution, it is more effective and much more likelyto be noticed quickly.

4. Technology is evolving. There are hundreds of tools outthere for business to use and many are free of charge usetechnology to your advantage.

5. Try – You never know. You should try these options youcould be missing out on a portion of the market that is onlywaiting to hear about your business.



Year 2: Active AgeingAccredited by the University of Limerick

NCEF Active Ageing Specialist

This course provides 15 European Credit Transfer System(ECTS) credits towards the Higher Certificate, Diploma/B.Sc. inExercise & Health Fitness. The Higher Certificate, Diploma andB.Sc. are awarded by the University of Limerick and are placedat Level 6/7/8 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)and Level 5/6 on the European Qualifications Framework(EQF).

Aim: To provide participants with the skills, knowledge andcompetencies to design group exercise classes and prescribeprogressive exercise programmes suitable for independentaging adults of varying levels of fitness in a gym, leisure centre,care setting or community environment.

Course Details:There will be one contact day for this module. Participants willcomplete the remaining contact hours including theoreticalelements and basic techniques via an e-learning website priorto the contact day. The theory website will be available toregistered students approximately three weeks prior to thecontact day.· The Final Theory Assessment will consist of an onlineexamination.

The Final Practical Assessment will be by submission of aDVD showing practical teaching/instructional ability.

COURSE DETAILS

Contact Date: Saturday 25th May 2013


Theory Access: Tues 7th May 2013Participants will receive a website address and passsword foraccess to theory etc. Which they are required to cover prior tocontact day.




http://www.ncefinfo.com/older_adult.html



Bachelor of Science in Exercise & HealthFitness (B.Sc.)

Year 4:Accredited by the University of Limerick

NCEF B.Sc. in Exercise & Health Fitness -Management Specialist

The B.Sc. is awarded by the University of Limerick (UL) and is placedat Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) andLevel 6 on the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

Aim: To provide graduates of the Diploma in Exercise & HealthFitness (DEHF) or those with equivalent qualifications with theopportunity to advance and apply their knowledge, skills andcompetencies so as to provide direction, leadership and professionalexpertise at the highest management levels in the Exercise & HealthFitness sector

Programme Design: Elements of the B.Sc. programme year willinclude traditional classroom based learning, e–learning and blendedlearning including electronic support structures for collaborativeinteraction. Comprehensive teaching and learning materials have beendeveloped for all modules. These materials include interactiveresources for e-learning.Programme Delivery:Those delivering on the programme are drawnfrom the NCEF, the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences and theKemmy Business School at UL. Guest Lecturers with relevantbackgrounds will also present on the programme.

The programme will span over three academic semesters with 16contact weekends.


COURSE DETAILS


Provisional Contact Dates 2013

Induction Day: Sat 7th SeptSat 5th & Sun 6th OctSat 19th & Sun 20th OctSat 9th & Sun 10th NovSat 23rd & Sun 24th NovSat 7th & Sun 8th Dec

2014Sat 11th & Sun 12th JanSat 25th & Sun 26th JanSat 8th & Sun 9th FebSat 22nd & Sun 23rd FebSat 8th & Sun 9th MarSat 22nd & Sun 23rd MarSat 12th & Sun13th AprilSat 26th & Sun 27th AprilSat 10th & Sun 11th MaySat 24th & Sun 25th MaySat 7th June & Sun 8th June

Full details on entryrequirements,course content andfees are available byclicking here


http://www.ncefinfo.com/degree_exercise_health_fitness.html#.UNBHDKz1FAM


A Register of Exercise & Health FitnessProfessionals in Ireland

ereps

Fitness Professionals Ireland (FPI) – is a not-for-profit, publicregister which recognises the qualifications and expertise of fitnessprofessionals in Ireland. FPI fully meets the professional standardscriteria required by the European Health and Fitness Association(EHFA) which oversees the European Register of ExerciseProfessionals (EREPS). FPI aims to provide the highest possiblestandard of services and benefits to all its members.

Benefits of FPI Membership:

Discounted Professional Insurance

E-Zines three times per year

Access to Continuing Professional Development courses

Option to avail of EREPS Membership - your passport towork in other European countries

For the full list of benefits please click here

JOIN TODAY - VISIT THE OFFICIALFPI WEBSITE

www.fitnessprofessionalsireland.ie

http://www.fitnessprofessionalsireland.ie/fpi_benefits_services.html

http://www.fitnessprofessionalsireland.ie

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