Speaking 101: Becoming a National Fitness Presenter

by Robin Taylor

You are inspired, motivated, captivated, and most of all, educated by them every time you attend a fitness convention. Snapping a selfie or attending a social event may lead you to ask, how do I get there? Leaders of our industry do not magically appear on stage. They have climbed the ranks with determination, experience, and guidance, allowing them to reach their goals as nationally recognized Fitness Presenters. 

As industry conventions and conferences resume full swing, more opportunities and presentation applications with major fitness and educational companies are opening up. Over the past 40 years, SCW Fitness has trained tens of thousands of health & wellness professionals through their in-person & virtual MANIA® conventions and online continuing education courses. These students have stayed the course and moved up the ladder to become Group Ex Instructors, Personal Trainers, Managers, Owners, and International and National Fitness Presenters.

Here are recommended tips for someone considering applying to speak or present in a public setting from highly acclaimed International Fitness Leader and Presenter Sara Kooperman, JD, Owner & CEO of SCW Fitness Education.

EXPERIENCE is Key! 

Make it a top priority to gain local speaking experience before applying to be a presenter at a national conference. Offer to speak during an educational session at a school, community meeting, rec center, or to staff at your existing facility. Gain the confidence to become comfortable and attract more participants to your presentations. Experience will allow you to secure written recommendations to submit for future presenting opportunities. Establish a solid outline for presenting, as well as a clean and professional PowerPoint. 

Attendance & Professional Connections

While presenting and speaking locally to gain experience is essential, Kooperman recommends attending, connecting, and building relationships at a national level. 

Visiting an expo hall and meeting industry professionals is fun, but you must register and attend an entire conference. Seeing what is happening on the inside, behind the scenes and what is successful will give you a leg up. Share a business card, contact information, and maybe even a portfolio to establish a connection with conference organizers. Mentorship with an established presenter also carries weight with convention coordinators.

Preparedness & Current Trends

SCW Fitness is constantly searching for the next rising fitness star. MANIA® Presenter Applications are always available for both in-person and virtual events. Knowing what your peers and event organizers are interested in will allow you to solidify speaking topics. Following local and national publications regarding trends in the industry will provide timely subject matter. Reviewing websites and brochures of conventions will offer insight into that company’s offerings and vision.

At every SCW MANIA® Fitness Convention, attendees and walk-ins are invited to compete in the SCW Fitness Idol Competition. Individuals are encouraged to present any format, lecture, or workout they feel portrays who they are and what they can offer the fitness industry. Winners will receive an assortment of career-boosting prizes, such as a presentation at a future SCW MANIA®, free MANIA® registration, and featured in an SCW newsletter, not to mention experience and respectable resume honors.

Experience, attend, connect, prepare, educate, and APPLY! Listen to your inner self and chase those dreams. You may be starting your fitness career but stepping onto the big stage is not as distant as it seems. Take that chance. Becoming a National Fitness Presenter is yours for the taking.

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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.

Yoga as a Lifeline

by Sara Kooperman, JD

Yoga is one of the oldest forms of exercise known to humankind, but it is more than just a great workout. Yoga benefits the body and the brain, and even has the ability to heal. It is considered one of the oldest holistic health care systems of all time.

Aging isn’t easy, and with it can come with a whole slew of physical and health complications, including arthritis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer. These days, there’s a medical protocol to treat everything, but what if all an active-ager needs to be healthy and strong is to practice yoga?

The benefits of yoga are undeniable, and each year more research uncovers how practicing yoga might be just the medicine a senior needs.

* Yoga can improve cardiovascular health. This form of exercise might not be cardiovascular, but science has shown it can protect against heart disease and possibly even can reverse it. Research led by Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston in December 2015 found that yoga can reduce key risk factors for heart disease by producing lower body mass index (BMI), weight loss, improved cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and a reduced resting heart rate. 

* Yoga can help control diabetes. Diabetics have high blood-sugar levels, which can lead to nerve damage and complications including pain, numbness, and poor bowel function. A study published in the April 2015 issues of the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research involved 30 men with diabetes who practiced yoga. After six months, researchers discovered a significant decrease in the participants’ blood-glucose levels.

* Yoga can strengthen bones. Yoga helps to lubricate joints, which decreases the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis, making daily activities, like brushing your teeth, easier to perform. Studies also have shown that the weight-bearing activity of yoga can help to slow bone thinning and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, especially among postmenopausal women. A pilot study on Yoga for Osteoporosis (Loren M. Fishman, MD, 2009) followed postmenopausal patients who have osteoporosis (decrease in bone mass) or osteopenia (decrease in bone volume). While nearly the entire control group maintained or lost bone mass, 85% of the people in the group who practiced yoga actually gained bone in their hips and spine. The researchers concluded that practicing yoga for as little as eight minutes a day can increase bone-mineral density after menopause.

* Yoga can be lifesaving. Yoga strengthens the immune system, detoxifies the body, and builds a strong skeleton. Bones contain bone marrow, where red and white blood cells are produced. White blood cells form leukocytes, which are the body’s cancer-fighting immune cells. If our bones are compromised from osteoporosis or an injury, so is the production of this immune protection.

Yoga also is a powerful tool when battling cancer. A study published in 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that practicing yoga two times a week for as few as three months lowered inflammation, increased energy, and boosted the mood of cancer patients.

* Yoga can improve quality of life. This form of exercise can have a powerful effect on stress and hypertension and can help reduce the amount of medication one needs. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, participants who practiced yoga six hours a week for 11 weeks reduced their systolic blood pressure by 33 points, compared with 4 points for a control group. Researchers speculate that the slow, controlled breathing paired with yoga movements decreases nervous system activity, which helps manage blood pressure levels.

*Yoga strengthens the body and improves balance, which helps prevent injury. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, every 20 seconds a person over age 65 dies from a fall, and every 13 seconds, a fall sends a senior to the emergency room. Experts from this study projected that the financial toll for falls by the older population topped $67 billion in 2020.

Not only can yoga help your body through the aging process, it also can provide a multitude of benefits for the mind (check out Part 1 for more on that-October 2022 Spotlite). The senior population is the fastest-growing population in the country, and these active-agers need guidance to live the best life they can.

My video Yoga for the Young at Heart teaches instructors how to lead 50- to 90-year-olds through safe and effective yoga movements using both a chair and a mat. This session demonstrates the positive effects yoga can have on active-agers to increase power, strength, and flexibility through traditional and restorative yoga practices.

In the coming months, I will be releasing two new workshops: Active Aging Chair Yoga and Active Aging Mat Yoga. Each focus on activities of daily living and the ability to rise, fall and flow by oneself.

Do you want to learn how to guide active-agers to a healthier life? These videos, along with dozens of other topics covering active aging, yoga and everything else health and fitness, are available through our new subscription streaming service called SCW OnDemand. This premium service provides instant access to hundreds of videos on your computer or mobile device and is available on a monthly or yearly basis. It’s like Netflix for fitness professionals!

Yoga can be incorporated in daily activities for all ages and abilities.  The sooner one starts, the more lifesaving benefits can build.  It’s never too late and all it takes is less than 10 minutes a day.  Start your journey to a healthier life. Namaste’.

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About the Author: Sara Kooperman, JD

Sara, CEO of SCW Fitness Education, WATERinMOTION® & S.E.A.T., is a visionary leader who has transformed the fitness education community. A successful business owner and advisor, she is a keynote speaker, published author, podcast presenter, and sought-after industry trailblazer. Sara has a unique ability to share her passion and devotion towards fitness education through her humor, enthusiasm, and her effervescent no-nonsense personality. She serves on the Gold’s Gym Think Tank, was on the Women in Fitness Association Board of Directors and is a proud inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. Sara currently serves on IHRSA’s Headlight Committees for Facility Standards and has left an indelible mark on the fitness industry.

How to Create Your Own Fitness Retreat

by Anna Colosimo

Just in case you might think that the global pandemic was slowing hospitality and industry development, think again.  The All-Inclusive sector is here to show us tourism is not going anywhere. In November 2021, Hyatt Hotel Corporation acquired Apple Leisure Group, a leading luxury resort-management services, travel, and hospitality group for $2.9 billion dollars. This purchase added over 100 resorts to the World of Hyatt catalog! The acquisition has created a powerful force in the global travel industry,  and defines how the all-inclusive model has been a key part of the hospitality sector that kept the travel industry alive in the early days of the pandemic, and what is driving it forward still today.

Not only are acquisitions happening throughout the all-inclusive sector, but many resorts are seeing full updates and refurbishments, and brand-new resorts are being built from the ground up. Secrets Moxche in Playa Del Carman, Mexico, was newly built and opened less than a year ago and already has a AAA 5 diamond award to their name. There are many more to come! Why? Because all-inclusive resorts offer some of the safest easiest travel experiences, along with most luxurious experiences, too. 

With the return of travel and hospitality emerging to pre-pandemic levels, many fitness instructors and businesses are thinking about how they can enhance their online communities into in-person experiences and create personal fitness communities live and face-to-face. One solution is The Fitness Retreat. A multitude of details go into choosing and coordinating when becoming a retreat curator. The pairing of all-inclusive resorts and retreats go quite well together, here’s why.

Overall, planning a retreat has many steps that need to be followed to have the best success for you, your business, and your participants. From crafting your “why”, to deciding how your event will come together, and of course to the finances. Fit Bodies, Inc., the creators of the teaching vacation for fitness and yoga professionals, recently hosted a free webinar ‘How to Create your own retreat’- you can check it out here.

Some of the benefits of hosting your retreat at an all-inclusive resort include:

  1. Less time planning and leading, more time enjoying. All-inclusive resorts are just that, all-inclusive. Vacation or retreat locations offer many options to explore while at the property, for example, entertainment activities or water sports. Resorts typically have “Entertainment Teams”, who are in charge of activities from morning to night…provided to keep you and your participants having fun, engaged, and enjoying every minute of the day. That is HUGE! As a retreat planner, you don’t have to find ways or plan to entertain your guests 24/7.
  2. You don’t have to hassle with a food & beverage contract or creating a menu. Let’s say you choose to create and host a resort on your own at an Airbnb location in Cabo or a gorgeous resort in the Rocky Mountains. You’re responsible for planning what food is offered in your retreat package, and possibly either do some grocery shopping and cooking yourself, or hire a chef. One the best attributes of an all-inclusive is that you have many excellent restaurant options at your fingertips! You DON’T have to trouble yourself with finding a chef to provide great cuisine for your group. You all will have access to multiple open restaurants at any time of the day. Typically, they even include 24-hour room service at all-inclusive resorts. When your participants are hungry, they can take care of themselves. And/or you can always find places to do meals together, if desired.
  3. The backdrops are stunning and will keep your customers coming back. No matter where you or your participants live, everyone wants to go (again and again) to the sunshine, salty air, palm trees, and the breeze that beautiful resort destinations offer. When you combine a fitness, yoga, or wellness retreat with gorgeous locations, fine dining, and relaxation, your participants will come running. And once you host one event, the ball starts rolling, turning into an annual event that your participants and community look forward to. You are also providing a safe and healthy vacation environment. Boost your participant’s immune systems with the vitamin D, fresh air, exercise, and positive energy!
  4. YOU, The Planner, get to relax and vacation with your guests in this environment. This is an aspect of retreat planning that you seldom find. Normally, for a self-planned, 3-4 day retreat, you are ON for every second and you are the Leader! Picture this: You create your fitness or wellness agenda and teach in stunning backdrops against the ocean or on a rooftop for sunset yoga, and then when you’re done teaching or offering your planned items for the day, you get to relax, connect with your participants, and truly enjoy being a resort guest. This is one detail you might find it hard to achieve if you host your retreat elsewhere.
  5. Save time, money, and planning, AND have a chance to profit from your retreat. Depending on your desired outcome, whether you want to make money from your retreat, or simply provide an opportunity for your people to connect with you in an amazing place, you can set the budget of your retreat accordingly. The Fit Bodies, Inc. team has taken a lot of work out of planning a retreat by offering you this free webinar. We also created a sample downloadable budget, to access during the webinar. We are here to help you save time, money, hassles, and get you and your community to the Caribbean, Central or South America, or even Asia sooner than later.

These are just SOME of the benefits for planning your retreat at an all-inclusive resort. There are many more. And the Secrets Moxche resort, mentioned above, is one of more than 80 resorts that Fit Bodies is partnered with. Luckily, Fit Bodies, Inc. has been supporting fitness & yoga pro teaching vacations & retreats for 30 years.

Do you want to learn more about the concept of a teaching vacation or hosting a retreat at an all-inclusive resort? Experience a teaching vacation here or Reach out here to find out more. Or join Fit Bodies in person at a 2023 SCW MANIA®.  Visit www.scwfit.com/mania for details on how to register.

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About the Author, Ann Colosimo

Anna Colosimo is the Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Fit Bodies, Inc. She received her degree from the University of Dayton in Exercise Science and Fitness Management, and has always had a passion for fitness, wellness, and health promotion since she was a young girl. She has 17 years working in the business side of the fitness industry, with extensive experience in fitness education, programming, working with gyms, and in partnership with other companies/organizations. Within the fitness industry, she has held various positions and worked for noted companies such as Zumba, Trigger Point Performance, and PTontheNet/FitPro UK. She loves bringing new opportunities and ideas to the fitness industry and professionals that benefit our industry and bring abundance to all. 

5 Things All Trainers Should Know About Teaching Barre

by Kerri Melissaratos

Ask any fitness trainer and they will tell you that being part of someone’s fitness journey is a rewarding experience. However, it can also be challenging as you constantly strive to bring your clients a workout that delivers results while keeping them motivated every step of the way. Learning a new format and upskilling a portfolio, especially with specialty programming, such as Barre, can not only enhance your journey as a Trainer, but present distinctive benefits to keep your clients on the right path.

We all know that taking barre classes and other styles of focused training benefit the body in multiple ways, but the benefits go way beyond the physical, they also enhance the mental and surprisingly the economic side of life.

Become More Marketable

Adding barre training to your skillset makes you more marketable, allowing you to train across multiple platforms from group classes to one-on-one training and virtual platforms. Also, barre workouts tend to be low-impact, safe, and connect to everyBODY wherever they are on their fitness journey. 

Bring Unparalleled Results to Your Clients

Surprise your students, members, and clientele with unexpected changes that will keep them coming back for more.

  • Increased calories burned due to increase in lean muscle mass
  • Firm, toned muscles by using our high intensity innovative sequences
  • Muscle strength and power are gained through endurance and stamina building through our progressive choreography and time under tension repetition
  • Revved up metabolism or “afterburn” for up to 72 hours after each workout
  • Improved balance and posture achieved by using your own body weight as the machinery, which ensure stabilizers, core, primary and ancillary muscles are utilized to their fullest
  • We put the FUN in functional movement. No two workouts are ever the same, which keeps your muscles guessing and your clients coming back for more!

Learn Something New

Whether you are new to barre, or been teaching for years, a unique approach can kick things up to rock star status through a specific combination of interval overload, isometric moves, and stretching.  Teaching Barre offers so much for so many.

  • Pre- and post-natal modifications
  • Injury rehabilitation
  • Musicality
  • Sequencing and programming
  • Anatomical cues
  • Client retention tools
  • Sensory alignment training

Aspire to a Higher Level

Get certified with a training program that is like none other. 

  • A fully online immersive experience
  • 80-hour self-paced program
  • 2 Full Beginner class formats to delight your clients
  • Over 100 video modules with interactive learning paths
  • Access to group forums to enrich your learning experience and stay motivated
  • Receive support from a dedicated Barre Advisor

Most Importantly, You Will Change Lives

Barre builds more than just long, lean muscles. It brings out the superhero in everyone, building confidence, stamina, and mental fortitude that carry over to all areas of life.

Becoming a certified barre instructor will give you all the tools you need to take your clients workouts to the next level. Are you ready to get started?

Physique 57, a unique, contemporary, fitness boutique studio offers in-person and virtual programming such as Power Sculpt, Core Lab, Prenatal, and Recovery. They also provide a globally recognized Barre Instructor Certification course which can set you apart from the rest by teaching you their scientifically proven method in minimal time (57 minutes to be exact) for changing clients bodies through safe, effective, and most importantly, FUN workouts. Our training program teaches you how to sequence with progressions and regressions, so you can teach all skill levels and ages for consistent client retention. Maximize the benefits without high-impact movements or extreme overloading.

By unleashing the unlimited potential of our bodies, we unleash the potential of our whole lives too.”

Want to learn more about Physique 57? Join them at SCW DC MANIA®, February 24-26, 2023 for incredible sessions and education.  Visit their website to register for their proven, accredited Barre Certification Program.   

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Tanya Becker is the co-founder and creator of the of the Physique 57 method, a global boutique fitness and media company. Since 2006 the business has expanded to four countries, multiple digital platforms and has clients and subscribers in all 50 states and over 120 countries.

Tanya has been teaching barre since 1993, where she got her start at the Lotte Berk studio in NYC. She has appeared in numerous health and fitness segments, national tv including QVC, HSN, The Today Show, Martha Stewart Show, and Dr. Oz. She has been featured in Vogue, Shape, Redbook, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Magazine, and People Magazine and has been a guest speaker at Stanford University and Columbia. She holds a personal trainer certification with American Council on Exercise. Tanya believes every class, every workout, every time we have the opportunity to move is a gift and a chance to realize our fullest potential!

5 Reasons a Walking Program can be Key to your 2023 Success

by Joyce Shulman

Here we go, barreling headfirst into “new year, new you” season. For most people, this is the season of eggnog and overindulgence. But for us, it is the season to prepare for the onset of people who regret the eggnog and overindulgence. Clients – new and old – who have resolved that this is the year they will finally get in shape, lose some weight, and change their life.

Yoga, Pilates, Barre, resistance training, CrossFit, biking, swimming, rowing, and running, just to name a few.  There are so many tools in our toolbox, it might not seem that you need to add one more, but you should. WALKING! By adding this low-impact program, it can accelerate your clients’ progress, provide them opportunity to forge connections that fuel consistency and free you from the four walls of the gym, studio, or the screen.

Here are five reasons why a walking practice can be the secret to your 2023 success.

Walking is Effective

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, was right when he said, “walking is man’s best medicine.” Over the past two decades, a profusion of research has shown that a regular walking practice can significantly reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and several types of cancer. It is a powerful tool in weight management and can, for many, be as effective as medication at combating depression and anxiety.

Walking can improve balance, memory, focus, and cognition. It is a cross-crawl movement that activates the right and left hemispheres of the brain and more than 200 muscles.

One study showed that a regular walking practice can add up to seven years to your life. Yes, 7 years! Walking is a highly effective exercise and should be part of everyone’s physical activity practice.

Walking is Accessible

When people tell me they “hate exercise,” my response is always the same: “have you tried everything?” When I press, most will say they like to walk. So why not include physical activity that is intrinsic to what it means to be human?

Human beings are built to walk. In fact, some anthropologists credit our ability to walk upright, with our hands free, as the single most important feature that drove our species development.

As a result, we often see rapid improvements in people’s walking practice. For example, Caroline was overweight, deconditioned, and “hated exercise.” Her first walk took her merely to the mailbox at the end of her driveway. A month later, she was walking a mile, three months later, she was walking three.  A walking program delivers the kind of fast, trackable progress that keeps clients motivated, engaged, feeling successful, and coming back for more.

The Power of Walking Together to Foster Adherence

You’ve seen it a thousand times. New clients come into class and settle into “their spot” without a word to anyone. Maybe, once they’ve become a regular they chat for a moment as they pack up to leave. Perhaps, after a bit more time has passed, a few will go out for coffee after class. And then, if you are lucky, a small group of regulars will be created and once that happens, you know they are coming back.

Time and time again, research shows that adherence to a fitness program increases dramatically when participants feel a sense of connection and belonging. But that is hard to create in a typical class setting and even harder to create in the context of one-on-one training.

A walking program enables you to foster those connections far more quickly. Walking together is, by itself, naturally social. In my TEDx Talk, I explored the science behind why walking together leads to deeper, richer connections including our desire for shared experiences, the powerful benefits of walking for our minds, the hormones released when we walk together, and more.

Our survey of more than 2,500 women revealed that 72% of them experience loneliness, so chances are that many of your clients are too. What if you could help to foster that sense of connection and belonging, while encouraging powerful physical activity?  A small group walking program can do that.

More Control. More Money

“My new class isn’t getting much traction,” my friend Kris grumbled in frustration. “It’s a great class, but they put me in at 11:00 and I know for my people, that time just doesn’t work.” 

A walking for fitness and wellness program frees you from the necessity of negotiating a time slot with a gym or studio. You can pretty much teach your class or lead your client whenever and wherever you wish. There is no gym and no studio to take a portion of your fees. This can enable you to both reduce your rates and increase your revenue. It’s a WIN-WIN!

Walking Can Scale

I know what you’re thinking: can I transform a walking program into a functional, full-body workout that challenges and grows with my clients? YES, YOU CAN! Add intervals. Add hills. Add stairs. Add circuit training. Add bands. Better yet, add Jetti Poles.

As the world’s first patent-pending fitness poles, Jetti Poles weigh about a pound each. So for each mile a client walks, they will move 2,000 pounds of resistance: one mile, one ton. And with their equal balance, precisely designed feet and three different grips, Jetti Poles facilitate a wide variety of effective, functional movements. They help your clients squat deeper, press further, lunge longer, and so, so much more. They are walking poles that do triple duty, providing resistance, stability, and a barre on the go.

We’d love to welcome you to our first cohorts of Certified Jetti Fitness Instructors. This incredible group of women learned the powerful fitness rooted in walking. If you want to learn more, join me at SCW DC MANIA®, February 24-26. Experience the Jetti Poles; take sessions, walk around the hotel, and maybe even get certified. Think of your clients, yourself, your body, mind, & soul.  The time is now to add that new tool to your toolbox and walk your way to a healthier life.

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About the Author, Joyce Shulman

Joyce Shulman is an author, speaker, TEDx speaker, podcaster, consultant, and the co-founder and CEO of 99 Walks and Jetti Fitness: two wellness and walking lifestyle brands on a mission to create community and get a million women walking. A former lawyer and self-confessed idea junkie, Joyce’s work focuses on helping leaders and organizations unlock the power of community to propel business and create the human connections essential to happiness and well-being.

SCW Fitness Wins Prestigious Marketing Award for Nutrition Coaching Summit

SCW Fitness Education was chosen from over 1,000 global entries as a winner in the prestigious Chief Marketer’s 2022 PRO Award competition in the category of “Best Health and Wellness Campaign”. SCW is proud to accept this Pro Award from the world’s leading and largest awards recognition program for excellence in brand activation and promotion marketing for over 30 years. 

Judges for the competition were comprised of high-level marketing specialists from major companies like Chipotle, Bayer, Disney, and more. SCW was honored to be one of the few winners that conducts its marketing in-house, as opposed to those who utilize an outside marketing agency. SCW combined their educational expertise, and of course creative skills, to masterfully design a promotional campaign for the virtual event, the SCW Nutrition Coaching Summit. Winning this award was particularly impressive because it was up against submissions from professional marketing companies. Other high-profile brand winners were campaigns from Starbucks, Adidas, Geico, McDonalds, Nestle and the list goes on. These campaigns utilize a significantly larger staff and much higher advertising budgets.

“I am so proud of this incredibly talented group of individuals. They always produce a product that exceeds my expectations,” says Sara Kooperman, JD, SCW Fitness Owner & CEO.  “This is really their award, not mine.” 

At the beginning of the pandemic, Kooperman quickly pivoted her primarily in-person business to deliver 19 live-streaming fitness professional conventions over 24 months. Since no live-streaming convention programs existed at the beginning of the pandemic, this self-taught “SCW Stream Team” built their own proprietary live-stream convention site and successfully launched and trained staff, presenters, and attendees on how to use the program. This included the awarded Nutrition Coaching Summit virtual event campaign. 

The approach to the Nutrition Coaching Summit campaign was to differentiate from other organizations offering similar conferences in the virtual space, most of which are very utilitarian in approach.

The Nutrition Coaching Summit promotions were to rely heavily on pun-driven analogies and cheeky imagery to capture the attention of the audience. With the ultimate goal of revenue and attendance, this unique approach brought more visibility to the brand, resulting in high numbers of registrations.

The marketing strategy was to use the already established promotion schedule from prior SCW online events and adapt it to the Nutrition Coaching Summit. Price point was the very first consideration, as fitness professionals were hit hard economically by the pandemic and have to be extremely choosy when deciding where to allocate their funds towards education. Keeping the entry point of attendance under $100 was paramount.

A custom site was built to make sure that the event didn’t seem like a regurgitation of any prior event. Even though it was built on the backbone of those prior events, it had to establish its own identity and voice.

The target audience needed to feel positive about their decision to attend a virtual event on a Saturday (a valuable day off in most fitness and wellness professionals’ schedules). The event and surrounding promotions couldn’t feel like drudgery. SCW felt (and still feels) strongly that education can be valued as serious and rewarding, while also being entertaining and fun.

For more information on SCW and their fitness professional offerings, please visit www.scwfit.com.

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The Award Goes To… Dr. Edward Laskowski

by Robin Taylor

There are hundreds of thousands of doctors around the world, but there is only one Dr. Edward R. Laskowski and SCW Fitness Education is extremely proud to have him on their staff as a recognized Keynote Address Speaker and Workshop Presenter.  Specializing in Sports Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Laskowski was recently awarded the 2022 Mayo Clinic Distinguished Clinician Award.

Dr. Ed Laskowski joined SCW Fitness for the first time at Atlanta MANIA® 2022 as the Keynote Speaker presenting his address entitled “Exercise is Medicine” focusing on the voluminous evidence-based reasons why exercise is such a powerful, yet largely not prescribed medicine.  His lectures and sessions at Atlanta, Dallas, Midwest, and Boston 2022 MANIAs® were extremely popular.  He is also scheduled to speak at DC MANIA®, February 24-26, 2023, a 3-day convention for Fitness Professionals and Health & Wellness Facility Owners and Managers. 

The Distinguished Clinician Award was developed by Officers and Councilors to annually recognize individuals who make outstanding contributions in patient care and embody the Mayo Clinic’s primary value:  The needs of the patient come first.

Dr. Laskowski demonstrated the following virtues to win this year’s award:

  • Special clinical expertise
  • A mastery of clinical medicine and colleagues consult
  • Compassionate care of simple and complex problems
  • An approachable manner for patients and others at Mayo
  • Willingness to take on extra patients while maintaining a busy practice
  • Superb clinical judgment and peer respect
  • A network of professional interaction with peers and colleagues
  • Dedication to Mayo values in patient care

Since becoming a doctor in 1990, he has and continues to treat dozens of sports related issues relating to muscles, bones, ligaments, and other areas of the body.  As a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with additional subspecialty certification in Sports Medicine, Dr. Laskowski is a former Co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, a Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at Mayo Clinic Rochester.  He is also a Fellow for ACSM and Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in fitness and sports medicine.

SCW Fitness is very proud of all of Dr. Laskowski’s accomplishments and accreditations.  We congratulate him on his latest award and look forward to an ongoing relationship at future events. To learn more about Dr. Edward Laskowski, visit his Mayo Clinic Professional Biography page.  If you are interested in hearing him speak and attending SCW DC MANIA®, please visit www.scwfit.com/DC.

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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.

Who Knows, Who Cares (About Alcohol Intake)

by Sohailla Digsby, RDN, LD

Hardly anyone knows the nutrition facts or the proper measurements for alcoholic beverages since labels aren’t required. The details aren’t easy to come by. This often translates to, “well then, eh, who cares.”

Considering game-days and the upcoming holidays, perhaps it’d be worthwhile and wise to find out. Awareness is key!

How alcohol impacts your health and weight is largely dependent on how much you have, and your overall calorie balance.

First, let’s define a standard alcoholic “drink.” Then, we’ll look at what the labels don’t tell you so you can make an informed decision as to whether consumption of the bubbly beverages is worthwhile for you.

Alcoholic “drink” equivalents:

  • 12 ounces of beer
  • 8 ounces of malt liquor
  • 5 ounces of wine
  • 5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof liquor

Though moderate alcohol intake can be part of a healthy diet, our nation’s obesity level is an indication of how difficult moderation is when it comes to food and drink. Moderate drinking is defined as:

  • up to 1 daily drink for a woman
  • up to 2 for a man

(Both in the measurement servings noted above)

According to a recent Gallup poll, of those who consume alcohol, most report having about 4 drinks per week. Though this is considered moderate, keep in mind that the calories do have to be burned off or they will be stored securely on your body as fat tissue until there is a different purpose for them (fuel for movement and basic body functions), and most typically around the waist… “the beer gut.”

Speaking of calories, research shows that drinking even a moderate amount of alcohol impacts the number of servings you eat around the time you are drinking – thus more calories to burn off. The sugar content in most mixers contributes further calories from the alcohol as well. (The graphic below does not combine the alcohol and mixers, so be sure to do the math).

Consider this, if you get to the gym 3 times this week and also have 2 glasses of wine 3 nights this week (perhaps filled a little past the 5-ounce mark.)

The drinks might be an even calorie swap for the workouts. Most people already have plenty of stored calories in the form of fat tissue to burn off during workouts, without adding in those weekly drinks. I know, it’s not the best news for those who enjoy an evening drink or two regularly to realize their workouts are just to burn off their bubblies.

But it’s important to be aware instead of just thinking
“who knows, who cares.

Cutting back might be the difference-maker in being the best you!

If you enjoy a drink or two here and there, the question to ask yourself is, “is it worth it?”.  For many of my female clients who struggle with this question, learning of the dramatic increased risk for breast cancer with 2 or more daily drinks, is enough to help them to strongly consider cutting back.

Other cancers that are linked to alcohol intake include esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, and cancers of the head, neck, and liver. If you have a family history of cancer, particularly breast cancer, or any additional cancer risk factors, you may want to consider the aforementioned question even more carefully.

For those who are watching their waistlines, I recommend avoiding alcohol for a few weeks to see how it affects you. You may notice a big enough difference in your waistline to motivate you to cut back (or in your triglycerides).

If you happen to have an unhealthy attachment to alcohol or have begun using it as a coping tool when life is hard, taking a break from drinking will also serve to identify that.

“Is it worth it?” is a great question to carefully consider when consuming any indulgent beverage or food. I teach my clients that healthy eating and weight management is NOT about restriction, it’s about being strategic, and savoring what matters to you most.

If you decide that having alcohol or other splurges are part of strategic living for you, then be sure to slowly savor every sip or bite mindfully, and make sure both general movement and purposeful exercise are part of your lifestyle as well!

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About the Author, Sohailla Digsby, RDN, LD

Sohailla Digsby is a registered dietitian, author, and the developer of the life-changing 52-day Best Body Countdown program for gyms to use to provide the missing piece of the fitness puzzle: nutrition with accountability. With over 20 years of experience as a fitness pro and RD, Sohailla provides nutrition coaching, and runs an online membership-based group that’s not just about the weight you lose, but the life you gain! She has authored three books to help fitness professionals guide their clients to their goals and maintain their Best Bodies.

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