Kinesiologist Idea Storms at Can-Fit Pro 2010

Can-Fit Pro Vancouver 2010 was hosted this year at the beautiful Vancouver Convention Center overlooking the snowy North Shore Mountains. Lifemoves® Kinesiologists believe that continuing education is an important part of maintaining high professional standards while enabling us to bring the most current information to our sessions with our rehabilitation clients.

Every year the Canadian Fitness Professionals Association hosts a conference in Vancouver for Personal Trainers, Club Managers and Group Fitness Instructors. They bring in some of the leaders in the fitness industry, including many local presenters as well as a few from the western United States. I presented at the Whistler conference in 2009. Along with attending the sessions it was an opportunity to catch-up with colleagues who I have known for nearly 10 years, but only see 1-2 times per year. Choosing which session to go to is always a challenge because there are several during each time block and several always look interesting.

This year there was a big shift into various ways to increase flexibility, reduce stress, improve exercise teaching techniques and enhance the mind/body connection. Twist Conditioning introduced the Trigger Point Therapy products with several sessions on trigger points and myofascial release. Instead of going to many workshops I decided to attend lectures. With each lecture I try to distill 3-5 key take away points. As a fairly new fitness and health presenter I was paying attention to content as well as delivery style.

Sessions Alfred attended at Can-Fit Pro 2010

Lactate Training: The Acid Bath You Need to Know About; The Aging Market – A Visionary Approach; Finding the Balance when Training the Older Exerciser; Personal Training Profit Streams; Blog Your Way to Fitness Business Success; Acing Customer Service; Critical Program Design; How to be Unforgettable.

Ideas Stormed from Can-Fit Pro

• Lactate threshold training can be used for the overweight or obese client, but volume should be only two times per week. Even at a brisk walk, lactate threshold is at the point where you are feeling out breath and your breathing rate increases.
• Lactate threshold training is more accurate for cardiovascular conditioning than using the older 220-Age x Training Zone% calculation. It can be found fairly accurately doing an 8, 15 or 30 min assessment using a heart rate monitor.
• Dividing your heart rate at lactate threshold by .85 gives you a better estimate of maximum heart rate.
• Older exercisers (60+ years) is a growing segment that is usually over looked and under serviced in the fitness industry
• Older exercisers are looking for more of a wellness approach – ability to garden, play with grandkids and maintain a very active life after retirement (some not retiring until their 70s+).
• Running community events are good ways to market business and build a sense of community for your clients and your employees.
• Small groups foster support between participants with similar goals.
• Members/Clients like to be known by name. Being a number is not very fun
• Surprise people with small gifts as a thank you.
• The front desk is the first line of a fitness and health center’s reputation.
• Take care of complaints in person if you can. Respond to postings both positive and negative.
• Each person has a different side of the story, all are valid.
• When creating fitness and planning sessions we need to account for our clients total level of stress. This includes family, work and exercise stress.
• When programming – balance between high intensity sessions like a spin class and something more restorative as Yoga or meditation.
• iStock has free images, vectors, videos and audio segments of the week. These can be inspirations for blog posts.
• Ask questions, answer questions on blogs to create a two-way communication.
• Power is an important component to train for balance. When we stumble it is these quick neuromuscular reactions that prevent a fall, especially in the elderly. This is often neglected when training the older exerciser.
• Part of being unforgettable is to be engaging, learning something about each participant/client, noticing when they have been away from awhile, and helping them be comfortable by wearing a style of clothing that is comfortable for you client.

Often after conferences we get right back into working with clients on Monday morning without being able to review and sift through all of the notes. Can-Fit Pro this year also enabled me to deepen my relationships with some of the leaders such as Colin Milner of the International Council on Active Aging as well as provide freshness and renewal to my practice as a Kinesiologist. Now it is a matter of figuring out a strategy to incorporate what I learned into what I do on a daily basis.

We are interested in providing services that are important and valuable to our clients. If you are a client with Lifemoves® [lease leave a comment below to share with us how your sessions you Get Moving for Life™. Also let us know what programs or services you would be interested in participating in the future.