SCW Spotlite: Issue 48
Three Times the Fun with SCW
by Robin Taylor
Just in case you are hiding under a shell, SCW Fitness is back in action providing more education than you can handle. It’s so HOT in Deerfield, IL (both physically and metaphorically), that you need sunblock and an icepack. Let me explain.
In a matter of 14 days (August 5-7), hundreds of Fit Pros will be flocking to the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta, GA for three mind-blowing, body-busting, days and nights. This SCW Atlanta MANIA® is close to selling out. Attendees are registering rapidly, not to mention the hotel rooms are almost gone. With nightly rates as low as $44.75 w/4 roommates, we aren’t surprised. Once you leave your beautiful room to go exploring, we promise you won’t be disappointed. Prepare to have your educational coffers overflow. The schedule offers over 150 inspiring and motivating sessions and workshops, including the Business Summit, to choose from for only $199 (register using code BFF.) If you’ve been to a MANIA® in the past, you know that you can only physically attend every session over the weekend, but fear not, we have a solution for you if this doesn’t fit your busy schedule. With five registration options available, we can satisfy every personal situation. You can choose from:
- 1-Day ($179)
- 2-Days ($199)
- 3-Days ($259, but don’t forget the code BFF to save $60)
- Staff Assistant ($99)
- Recorded Sessions Only ($199)
But wait, that’s not all. Since you can only join 17 workshops max, you can purchase 100+ recorded sessions for an additional $40 for 40 days access.
Whew, I’m exhausted, but not done yet. All these research-based, current, and on-target workshops are led by over 40 of your favorite and soon to be favorite presenters, all while earning 20 CECs/CEUs. Lastly, expand your instructor portfolio and get certified to teach a new format from any of our 15 accredited certifications. This is not a MANIA® to miss.
Now, some of you live a little further south and west of Atlanta, and that’s perfectly fine with SCW. As most people know, everything is BIG in Texas, including Dallas MANIA®, August 26-28. This year we are excited to announce a NEW HOTEL venue, the Westin Galleria. This is no ordinary hotel; it just happens to be connected to the gorgeous Galleria Mall, with stores like Gucci, lululemon, Victoria’s Secret, Foot Locker, and over 100 others, not to mention a virtual reality amusement park and indoor ice-skating rink. (Sorry, got off track, if you’re like me, I love to shop.) Anyway, Dallas MANIA® has so much to be proud of. If offers the same number of exciting sessions & workshops as Atlanta (150+), over 50 world-class Fitness Presenters, the same registration options (see above), 16 accredited certifications, and 20 CECs/CEUs, but what makes this event unique is how BIG it will be. The EXPO Hall at Dallas MANIA® will be on fire (not physically.) With over 20 Sponsors, 30 Exhibitors (and growing), and the biggest SCW Booth you’ve ever experienced. We will have tons of New Fitness Equipment at 50% off retail prices, even more BOSU equipment (20% off retail), DVDs for $4.99 each (buy 2 get 1 free), Athletic Apparel at ½ off the ticketed price, exciting New SCW Tees & Tanks and now Sweatshirts & Hoodies. Don’t forget Christmas and Hanukkah are just around the corner. Don’t delay and get burned. Register today while you can and get your hotel booked before it sells out. This is the event NOT TO MISS!
The title says, “Three Times the Fun with SCW” and I just so happen to have another event to tell you about. For all you Foodies out there, don’t miss out on the Nutrition Coaching Summit, Saturday, September 17, with all your Nutrition Pros in one place, online in your home or studio. This elite 1-day educational summit offers more than you can swallow. No need to select any of the 24 sessions in advance, just hop into the Zoom room of your choice and savor everything. With workshops focused on Nutrition & Food Timing, Myths & Misconceptions, Coaching & Business, and Sleep & Specialties, you will not leave hungry for more. But if you do, you can enjoy the flavor for an extra 30 days with the All-Access Pass for only $129 (was $259) and as dessert you earn 15 CECs/CEUs. If you are just looking for the meal, then register for the live-stream only option for $99 (was $229) and fill up on 6 CECs/CEUs. Just in case you are looking for an appetizer, join Melissa Layne, MEd, for the SCW Nutrition, Hormones, & Metabolism Certification the day before.
Hope these unforgettable events whet your appetite and keep you cool. For more information on other upcoming SCW activities, visit the SCW Fitness website at www.scwfit.com. Hope to see you soon.
About the Author: Robin Taylor
Robin is the SCW Editor for Spotlite, Tidal Waves and Weekly Work-UP, as well as Assistant Product Manager for MANIA® Fitness Conventions and Team Manager for WATERinMOTION®. Having taught Aquatic Fitness for over 15 years, Robin is AEA and AFAA certified and a WATERinMOTION® Champion. She has participated in several WIM educational videos, as both a pool participant and on-deck presenter. Robin has been an employee of SCW for almost five years. She is married and has two adult daughters and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida.
Measuring Group Fitness Instructors Beyond Attendance
The number of people who attend group ex classes should not be the only way we, as managers, measure success of the instructor. A 6:30am Tuesday yoga leader is likely to have fewer attendees in their class than the 5:30pm Monday strength coach; no matter how good or bad that instructor is. The gap in attendance has very little to do with the quality of classes, and more to do with the fact that fewer people are in the club at the time of their class. It’s vital that instructors feel they are just as valued for their engagement, consistency, and dedication. Let’s discover six other ways of measuring an instructor’s value beyond attendance.
Take Action
A strong team of instructors is filled with “action takers.” It is important to track and recognize those who are visibly evolving and improving their class programming and not just showing up to teach the same class, the same way, every time. In theory, it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something… and those hours are not about just showing up, but intentionally challenging and improving each hour.
After attending an instructor’s class, jot down the feedback you provide them so when you return to their class in the future, the notes can help determine if anything changed or improved. Even if the employee agrees with the feedback, their action is much more valuable than words. Recognize your instructors publicly and in one-on-one situations. Review when they “take action” or show self-improvement in their class experience.
Overall Engagement
How can we expect to successfully manage a team if they aren’t engaging with our communication? First, keep tabs on the instructors who are not responding to emails or even opening them. There are many strategies to assess the engagement of your team via email. For example, you could ask for a specific reply to ensure they read the entire message and then track who responds. Another could be a “read receipt” trigger where you get a notification or a report of how many instructors open a specific email.
A second sign of engagement is meeting attendance. If you host a meeting, whether it’s virtual or in person, assign someone to track who’s there and notice who contributes to the discussion.
A final measurement for engagement is cheerleading; track which instructors are attending other classes or promoting other teachers and club events during their own class.
Reliability
Your team needs to know you’re paying attention to the details and holding them accountable. Identify how you can regularly assess arrival times for your instructors. Don’t just look for who’s possibly arriving “late” to the club in order to start class at an ideal time, but also who’s going above and beyond by arriving early.
When your club or department implements a new system or audits certifications, pay attention to which instructors are the first to follow suit and provide valuable and supportive feedback. We must recognize instructors for their reliability on logistical tasks, i.e., regularly tracking attendance, clocking in and out, cleaning up the studio, keeping their CPR and primary certifications up to date… etc. The more you hold instructors accountable and reward them for following expectations, the less unnecessary effort or energy you expend on housekeeping items. Therefore, bettering the entire team and managerial experience!
Teamwork
Are you leading an actual team or simply a group of instructors who teach at the same facility? A team understands that winning involves more players than just themselves. Teammates cheer for each other and help in times of need. Attending and subbing other’s classes along with encouraging participants to try different classes are actions of a group fitness instructor who deserves a high teamwork rating. Share these expectations and values of teamwork with your team. Praise instructors out loud for supporting each other and incentivize instructors, possibly by paying them, when they attend another class.
The pandemic challenged our teams in unique and memorable ways. Try creating a list of the instructors who rose to the challenge. Who on the team has become certified in a new format? Learned how to teach virtually? Taken it upon themselves to help educate, encourage, and mentor new instructors? These instructors are the ones who are self-motivated, a trait that with the proper recognition, can be just the fuel and confidence booster that instructor needs.
Going Above and Beyond
If you want more instructors to go above and beyond for their participants and the facility, you must articulate what going above and beyond truly means. Consistently arriving on time is an expectation; learning and remembering something significant about a participant goes above and beyond. If you receive a comment that “Rachel is the best barre instructor!” that does not necessarily mean Rachel goes above and beyond. Before sharing the feedback with the instructor or the team, ask for more. Once you’ve received detailed and specific praise from a participant about why they love an instructor, go crazy! Save it in a file for later. Be sure to share it with the instructor, upper management, and the rest of the team.
Another way you can express to your team how to go above and beyond is by getting to know employees in other departments. Ask other departments like the front desk, membership, and childcare which instructors they know well, and ask if they are kind, helpful, and approachable.
I hope these ideas for different ways to measure instructors helps you recognize your team beyond attendance and highlights their efforts and contributions to the others. This type of evaluation shift, may cause a surprising ripple effect. The right instructors will stay and evolve with your team leading to participant satisfaction increasing more instructors to strive above and beyond. You may even notice that your job as the Group Fitness Manager has become more manageable.
About the Author, Staci Alden
Staci is committed to helping group fitness managers and club operators elevate their programs, instructors, and leadership. As an experienced consultant and strategic planner for both digital and in-person offerings, her clients range from large luxury health clubs and international companies to small studios. She has designed world-class studios on a tight budget, launched signature formats, and built turnkey solutions for enhancing systems, leaders, and talent. Staci is also an established presenter, writer, and YouTube influencer, regularly interviewing thought leaders and fitness professionals on her channel. Staci is also a master instructor for Balanced Body®.
Are you at risk?
The Link Between Autoimmune Disease & Heart Health
by Christine Conti, MEd
Severe RA Doubles the Risk of Heart Disease(1)
In the last few decades, researchers discovered that the burden autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis puts on the joints during the first year of diagnosis is a strong predictor of heart disease.(2) In fact, it is recommended that doctors who diagnose patients with RA should also be addressing potential heart risks.
There have been several new studies from the Mayo Clinic that show a strong connection between inflammation and heart health. Therefore, it is important to address both conditions at the same time.
Dr. Eric Matteson, chair of rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic, says that people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other chronic inflammatory conditions are at a much higher risk of heart disease. In fact, people with severe RA are twice as likely to develop heart disease. Matteson believes that the inflammatory process of arthritis plays a key role in maintaining a healthy heart.
Therefore, if you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, it is imperative that you meet with a cardiologist. Autoimmune diseases are known to not only affect the joints in your body by causing painful stiffness and inflammation, but also negatively affect major organs such as the heart.
One symptom that can develop from an autoimmune disease diagnosis such as RA is called vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels that move blood throughout the body. “As the blood vessels become inflamed, their walls thicken, limiting how much blood can pass through them. As a result, if blood flow is restricted, this could cause significant damage to tissues and organs.”(3)
Because Rheumatoid vasculitis is a non-joint-related inflammatory complication of RA, Rheumatoid vasculitis can affect anyone.(4) If you or a loved one have been suffering with RA for many years and developed severe joint damage and deformity, it is important to make an appointment to get your heart checked.
What causes vasculitis?
Researchers are not sure exactly what causes rheumatoid vasculitis. Like RA itself, most cases of RV can be considered autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues.
Several factors are thought to play a role in whether a person with RA will go on to develop RV, including whether you have:
- Severe, long-standing RA for 10 or more years
- Seropositive RA (a high concentration of rheumatoid factor antibodies and certain proteins in the blood)
- A history of smoking cigarettes, which can damage the blood vessels’ lining
- Felty’s syndrome, a complication of rheumatoid arthritis that results in low white blood cell levels and an enlarged spleen
- Rheumatoid nodules, firm lumps under the skin that form around the joints
The Facts According to the CDC,
- One out of every four people in the United States dies from heart disease
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.
- One person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease
- People with autoimmune diseases are at a much greater risk for heart disease
- Making lifestyle changes to your diet, exercise, sleep and stress greatly reduces risk
- In some cases, medicine reduces risk.(5)
Therefore, if you or a loved one suffer from an autoimmune disease, be sure to schedule an appointment with a trusted cardiologist for a check-up. The most important step you can take to reduce your risk for developing heart disease is taking action.
About the Author, Christine Conti, MEd
Christine is an international fitness educator, speaker, course author, Arthritis and Orthopedic Fitness Specialist, and creator of SCW Chronic Disease Specialist Certification. She has worked over 20 years in the medical fitness industry helping to prevent and battle disease through healthy lifestyles. Christine serves on the MedFIT Network education advisory board, she is an avid podcaster, as well as the creator of FallPROOF Fall Prevention and Let’s FACE It Together Facial Exercise & Rehabilitation. Christine’s signature best-selling book, SPLIT-SECOND COURAGE, was released in January 2022.
Creating a Well-Balanced Golf Fitness Plan
Part 3: Reactive
by Carol L. Teteak, MS, NASM PES, ACE CPT
Summer may be in full swing, but is your golfer continuing their off-course training routine?
Parts 1 & 2 of this series discussed the positive effects both Stability and Mobility Training can have on a golfer’s performance on (and off) the course. This final installment will briefly discuss Reactive Training and its supportive role in optimizing power throughout the golf swing, then offer a few unique exercises that can help keep your golfer swinging away the rest of the season!
R is for Reactive
The ability to produce and resist force rapidly while controlling the response to both predictable and unpredictable demands (A) on the body can be improved through Reactive Training, also referred to as Power Training. Exercises such as a kettlebell swing, med ball toss & catch, or the infamous box jump are familiar samples that can be included in your golfer’s conditioning program to maximize the stretch-shortening cycle (B) – the muscle action that generates force/power. A relatable pattern would be the stretch (eccentric contraction) at the top of the backswing, followed by the concentric contraction during the downswing where a transfer of power occurs.
Hydro Training?
The exercises mentioned above can improve one’s ability to transfer and produce force(C) while increasing club head speed – and who doesn’t want that? But a well-rounded golf training program shouldn’t only be made up of explosive movements or those that mimic the swing phase. Challenging the body to react to the volatile and unpredictable properties of water (also called Hydro Training)(D) can also prepare the body for the demands of the game. Better body control is developed while learning to react to the dynamic load (i.e., water), while differing water actions allow for unlimited movements and stabilizing challenges.
Whether you prefer to build your own slosh pipe or try the myriad of hydro training tools available now, the exercise sequences below offer a rare yet effective way to introduce Reactive Training to your repertoire, while keeping your game up to par!
Perform 1-3 sets on both R & L sides with 5-10 repetitions of each movement pattern within Sequence – and keep your volume ON.
Reactive Sequence #1- Water Quiet
- Hold hydro training equipment close to body and imagine standing in the middle of a clock face
- Shift weight to one leg while reaching the other towards different numbers on your clock contacting foot to floor with each movement
- Goal is to keep water inside as quiet (still) as possible throughout the multi-directional patterns and allow correction of faults seen & felt in reaction of the water
- Progressions:
- No contact with floor of reaching leg
- Reach further away from body
Reactive Sequence #2 – Water Dump
- Hold hydro training equipment in a rack position
- Step or lunge toward the same numbers on clock while dumping water from one end [of hydro training equipment] to other
- Goal is to prevent rapid force of water to throw body off balance throughout multi-directional pattern and improve the body’s reaction to the unpredictability of the water
- Progressions:
- Add 1-leg balance between steps/lunge
- Increase distance from starting point
- Increase depth of lunge
I hope this series of articles has helped to improve your golf swing and ultimately your golf game. Congratulations on taking the time to reach that ultimate goal, a HOLE in ONE!
References
- Core-Tex Blog: Reactive training explained; Core-Tex; Reactive Training Explained – Team Core-Tex (coretexfitness.com)
- Walker, Owen; The Stretch-Shortening Cycle; Science for Sport (Jan. 23, 2016); Stretch-Shortening Cycle – Science for Sport
- Finn, Christopher; Reactive Strength: What is it, and why you need it to be a top performer on the golf course; Par4Success (June 2, 2021); Reactive Strength: What is it, and Why you Need it to be a Top Performer on the Golf Course – Par4Success
- Brooks, Douglas; Blog: How hydro training works; BOSU/Community/Training Tips; https://www.bosu.com/blog/how-hydro-training-works
About the Author, Carol L. Teteak, M.S., NASM PES, ACE CPT
Carol uses her love of athletics and knowledge of the human body to drive her passion for helping others move better in life and sport. Armed with a Master’s in Exercise Science, ACE & NASM certifications, hundreds of continuing education hours in sport conditioning, 18 years of training golfers – and just as many working for BOSU® – she created a fitness-based program to improve performance & reduce the risk of injury for golfers through Stability, Mobility, and Reactive Training exercise strategies (aptly named GolfSMART). Although busy as the Medical Fitness Supervisor at Edward-Elmhurst Health & Fitness in Naperville, IL, she still enjoys offering virtual and in-person Golf Fitness training sessions!
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