In the February issue of the Georgia Tech Sports Medicine & Performance Newsletter, Rob Skinner, director of sports nutrition at the Georgia Institute of Technology, offers several tips to fit weight training into a tight schedule. To maximize their exercise sessions, encourage your members to do the following:

• Have a plan. Advise your members to have their weight-training routine already planned out before they arrive at the gym. It may help them to write down ahead of time which machines they plan to use, or which free-weight exercises they will perform.

• Cut down on talking. While socializing can be an important aspect of a gym visit, members who are time pressured should try to reduce their casual conversations and focus on their workout. They can also minimize distractions by keeping their workout schedule and water bottle with them, rather than taking breaks to look up their next exercise or get a drink of water.

• Work out at non-peak hours. If members find that waiting for equipment or benches is cutting into their exercise time, advise them to come in during your slow hours, such as earlier in the morning, later at night or at noon.

• Plan around others’ schedules. If your members tend to follow similar routine patterns, such as chest exercises on Monday, leg exercises on Tuesday, etc., advise time-crunched members to set up different patterns for themselves.

• Stick to their intervals. Encouraging members to follow their specific intervals and rest periods precisely will allow them to leave your weight room almost exactly when they had planned.

Pay for an eye exam and pair of glasses, or a dental appointment and permanent implants day-of-the-week pill holder for someone who takes a lot of medications an active vacation, such as a walking tour or whitewater rafting pay to have the ducts cleaned in the home of someone who suffers from allergies or buy them items such as allergen-free bedding or a humidifier.

Give a tree to an environmentally conscious friend or a family that’s just moved into a new home book holder for someone with arthritis or repetitive stress injuries pay for an elderly relative’s prescriptions.

For a month carbon monoxide detector visit to a massage therapist, or at-home massage equipment pay for a smoking cessation class neck pillow for travelers, or an orthopedic pillow for someone with back pain first-aid kit.

CPR classes for the whole family blood pressure monitor heart-rate monitor for exercise buffs smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher lumbar-support pillow for an office chair or a back brace for someone with back pain cell-phone headset condoms (they’re even available in holiday styles) subscription to a health and fitness magazine month-long trial membership to a gym, for you and a friend.

This challenging responsibility is compounded by the fact that more than 50 percent of people who begin exercise programs quit within six months.

However, as an instructor, if you successfully meet or, better yet, exceed your customers’ expectations, you’ll see a marked decrease in participant turnover, and you can be less concerned with continually recruiting new students.

Since fitness trends shift and students’ tastes fluctuate, change is the lifeblood of your aerobics program. To keep up, your aerobics program should be in a constant state of growth with continual measuring, analyzing and long-term planning, while keeping an eye open for new markets.

How long has it been since you have closely examined your program? Use the following criteria to grade the service of your program, then develop and implement strategies that will keep students coming back for more.

Following are two safety lists for any staff member, experienced or new, associated with a weight room. These lists can serve as reminders and can help lower the chance of injury to members and lawsuits to clubs. Hand them out at a meeting, post them on the bulletin board or tape them to staff members’ clipboards.

Remember, safety applies to equipment, facilities, instruction and supervision, and includes having clear warning signs and an emergency plan.

“Safety do’s” for the weight room check the equipment daily. Keep equipment clean and dry. Have an equipment maintenance schedule.

* Make sure staff members are knowledgeable about strength training.
* Warn members about potential problems.

* Always supervise the weight room.
Space equipment properly to improve safety.

* Create a “check with the instructor” atmosphere.
* Require users to have physical exams and signed informed-consent forms.
* Keep records of maintenance, equipment, programs and individuals.

* Ensure that users are in appropriate attire.
* Have users warm up, exercise, stretch and cool down

* Teach users to take care of the equipment.
* Have users check each piece of equipment prior to use.

* Make sure equipment is used in the specified manner intended.
* Have users follow and record their programs.

* Teach members how to lift and to use machines.
* Teach members and staff how to spot.

* Have water available. Food and other beverages should not be permitted.
* Require instructors to have basic emergency care skills, including CPR training.

* Ensure that instructors have an emergency plan.
* Have instructors look for overuse problems.

* Have instructors use the equipment themselves.
* Require instructors to stay current with the field of knowledge.

* Have trainers help and correct members when needed.
* Have informational/warning signs posted.

* Have proper auxiliary equipment, such as belts, gloves and towels.
* Require orientation sessions for all new members.

* Report all injuries and problems.
* Care about every user.

“Safety don’ts” for the weight room
* Overcrowd the room.

* Permit participants to rely on memory, rather than a program card.
* Work for another class while supervising the weight room.

* Give specific or personal training help when assigned to general supervision.
* Permit placement of equipment in such a way that creates “blind spots.”

* Permit clients to skip warm up and stretching sequences.
* Teach something you do not know.
* Permit spectators.

* Permit horseplay.
* Coerce rather than motivate.
* Allow poor form or an unsafe situation.

* Let users overuse muscles or progress too quickly.
* Permit competition regarding “who can lift what.”
* Permit exposed electrical wires and other hazards on the floor.

* Permit use of broken equipment.
* Permit the room to be a social club.
* Throw away the manufacturer’s instruction sheets and warning labels.

* Place warning labels/signs in positions that are not visible.
* Forget about joining professional groups to upgrade skills.
* Indicate, by attitude, that safety is not important.

While these safety lists are not all-inclusive, they are a good start toward weight-room safety.

those who want to improve their health;

those who are stressed out and “looking for a pool of serenity;”

and those who want to enhance their work performance.

Monaghan’s definition of meditation is a broad one. She says it is a “purposeless activity or inactivity that centers you in the moment.” The repetitive action of needlepoint or knitting can be meditative, as long as you don’t allow a deadline, goal or pressure to creep into the picture — as in, “I have to have this scarf done by day after tomorrow.” The same thing applies with gardening — if you start resenting the weeds, you’re not meditating. What you want to do, she says, is “stop the sense of time rushing forward.”

For a class in nature writing, Monaghan has been known to send students out to the same spot once a week for 10 weeks in a row to write about what they observe, and she said, “Paying attention to nature can be one of the great meditations.”

The meditative style of choice for Mary Gardner of Manhattan, a new mom and trainer-turning-media-personality, is prayer — and with good reason. Some 24 weeks into her pregnancy, her unborn baby’s survival was touch-and-go. She found herself in a hospital bed with people around the world praying for her child’s survival — many prayers were sent to her via her laptop computer. The night before she delivered Jeremy Joshua, now healthy and growing, her husband bought a tape of inspirational music for her to listen to during labor. “Prayers are energy,” said Gardner, who now starts the day with a multistep prayer meditation: She begins with a “grateful heart,” prays for those close to her and in need, records answers to her prayers in a journal and shares results with others. “I have a new goal,” she said. “If I pray and meditate that day, it’s a successful day.”

A good thing about meditation — especially when you simply focus attention on breathing — is that you can do it almost anytime and anywhere — on an airplane, in the office or just before a big presentation. In fact, it plays a key role in the training Nancy Stern does for people in the business world. A Solona Beach, Calif.-based specialist in leadership and communication skills, she helps people master their fear of public speaking by developing the ability to become “mindful” or “present-moment focused,” which simply means achieving a meditative state. And that can involve following the breath or watching a tree blow in the wind for 15 minutes. She even knows of groups of employees who find lunchtime opportunities to meditate together.

If you become skilled at present-moment focus, Stern says, you learn to make conscious choices, which is a challenge in a world in which people are working faster and faster. You can enhance everything, increasing “productivity, profitability, peace of mind.” And who among us can’t spare 20 minutes a day in exchange for all that?

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What we’re talking about here is a mind that becomes a marathon of activity, clouded, splintered, racing — and not possessing enough concentrated energy to focus on any one thing. And what if that mind is further distracted by interruptions — phone calls, doorbells, barking dogs, “you’ve got mail” dings? I’ve spent years trying to learn how to get my mind to stay clear and focused so I can get work done without a big struggle.

I found my solution last year at the Ithaca Zen Center in Ithaca, N.Y. Don’t get scared away by the terms “Zen” and “meditation,” because it is meditation that is proving to be my mind’s salvation. A meditative state doesn’t necessarily have to be achieved in a cross-legged position. You don’t have to be chanting “om” or some other mantra, though you are certainly free to do it that way, too. But when you think of it broadly, meditation can be just as common an activity as gardening or needlework, says Patricia Monaghan, a professor at the School for New Learning at Chicago’s DePaul University and co-author of “Meditation — The Complete Guide.” Just so long as the activity remains “aimless.”

Getting Started
Meditation isn’t difficult or complicated, as I saw when I took part in a tele-class given by Val Williams, a career and life coach in Edison, N.J., who has also been my personal coach. About 10 people “gathered” over a joint telephone line — including several who had never meditated before — and within 40 minutes, she had the whole gang of us doing meditation. In her introduction, she talked of meditation’s various forms:

Breath meditation — In which you focus your attention on the process of inhaling and exhaling.

Mantra meditation — In which you focus your attention on the repetition of a single word – “om” or, quite frankly, any short word you decide to pick out of the dictionary.

Moving meditation — Such as yoga.

Visualization — In which you focus your mind on a special place, scenario or situation.

Williams told us to expect what’s called “drunken monkey” mind during the first five to eight minutes after we started meditating. “Drunken monkey” mind is just what it sounds like — a progression of all kinds of thoughts like, “Am I doing this right?” “This feels like a waste of time,” “I think I’ll have pasta for dinner,” “Can I really afford those shoes?” But stick with it and that will pass. The whole idea, she says, is to give your mind time to settle down so you can observe what you’re doing, but not judge or analyze — or get involved.

But what do you do to get out of the “drunken monkey” state? Bring your focus back to the breathing — or the mantra — or in my case, to the scene I’ve created in my mind. And what do you do when you slip — when you catch your mind rambling again, which it most assuredly will do? Once again, return your focus to the breathing or the mantra — or whatever your meditation is supposed to be centered on. That, she says, is the answer to many new meditators’ problems — repeatedly bringing your focus back to the place where you intend it to be.

Today’s reliance on multitasking to fit it all in is one of the villains in this game, Monaghan says. When you’re pushing too hard, you become less efficient, and taking a “time-out allows you to come back with vigor.”

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Lose 90% of your weight in the water!

I’m so glad that you’re making this commitment to your health. You’re certainly not alone. Every year 4 million people turn to water exercise. What makes water exercise so popular? It’s wonderful and it works, it feels good to exercise in the water, and it’s not a drudgery!

Compared to land exercise, water exercise is more fun and enjoyable, more effective and efficient, and more comfortable and safe.

Land exercise offers tremendous benefits, but too often those benefits are accompanied by aches and pains, overheating, sweating, and feelings of exhaustion. Water allows us to achieve all the wonderful benefits of exercise without experiencing these side effects. After water exercise, you’ll feel refreshed and full of energy.
With age, many people are unable to exercise in traditional ways due to minor changes in their bodies.

Exercising in the water helps eliminate feelings of self-consciousness because no one can see what you’re doing. You don’t have to fear that you won’t succeed or that others will be watching you. Why does water exercise work so well? There are many factors, but I think the major one is the buoyancy of the water.

With age, many people are unable to exercise in traditional ways due to minor changes in their bodies. At that point water exercise becomes ideal. The buoyancy of the water allows you to move around without getting hurt; you are able to work out with as much vigor as you want without the jarring impact associated with land exercise.

When you are submerged to shoulder depth in water, you experience an apparent weight loss of 90%. This means that if you weigh 150 pounds you will exercise at approximately 15 pounds. Dramatically decreases the stress on the weight-bearing joints. This is why, for many people, water exercise is the safest fitness activity.

I just started working out three weeks ago. I started with 10 repetitions each of sit-ups, leg lifts, dumbells, bench pressing, etc. I’m not sore at all, so now I’m doing 25 repetitions and am still not sore.

How do I know if this is working for me? I work out at least 30 minutes and I do stretching before and after. What am I doing wrong? I figured I should be sore, you know, “No pain, No gain”.

Answer:

It is great that you have begun an exercise program, but please remember that the philosophy “no pain, no gain” may get you into trouble.

While it is true that many people feel sore after beginning a workout routine, it is not the only indication of whether or not you are doing any good for your body. Pushing your body just to feel sore after a workout may cause an injury.

You mentioned that you are spending some time stretching — this helps to eliminate muscle soreness, which is good! Understand that your workouts are benefiting you regardless of muscle soreness. Continue to do one set of 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise except for the abdominal curls and leg lifts. With these exercises, increase the repetitions while maintaining proper form. You should begin to see results in about six to eight weeks.

Good luck.

Traditional Pushup — Lie face down on the floor with your hands at shoulder level, your palms flat on the floor slightly more than shoulder width apart, and your toes tucked under. Keeping your body parallel with the floor, straighten your arms while exhaling. Then lower your body again until it practically touches the floor. Do as many as you can, making sure to follow proper form. Try to add one or two repetitions each week.

Modified Pushup — A less challenging variation involves placing your knees on the floor so that only your upper body is providing the resistance. Be sure to keep your back flat during the movement.

Incline Pushup — While standing, lean into a wall and push up from there.

For a greater challenge, increase the width of your hand placement by 2 or 3 inches.

This one’s happened to me in the last year. Whatever the dilemma (escrow on a new house, a new job, your honeymoon, etc.), you may have found that you’ve been out of the gym for a couple of months. Not too big of a deal. You just need a little kick-start so that those “couple of months” doesn’t become a couple of years!

Whenever I have a “prodigal client” return to me, I do not hesitate to reduce the weights they were lifting by as much as 50%! It is not that they have lost half of their strength in a few months. However, if I did not reduce the weight this much, they would invariably become quite sore and could perhaps suffer a minor injury such as a strain.

Typically I will start them back with 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps of 50-60% of their previous workout weights. Depending on the length of the layoff, I may reduce the weights slightly less. Each week we will increase the weights until it becomes a struggle to do 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Once that point is reached, we can then progress as usual. (Again, see “Your First Workout” for questions on weight progression.)

It shouldn’t take more than 3 weeks or so to return to your previous intensity levels.

III. Two Weeks of Vacation

If you’ve only had a couple of weeks off, it is usually still a good idea to lighten the weights a bit. Depending on the exercise, I may lighten the weight anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds. On some exercises, you may only need to reduce the number of repetitions you are using, say going from 2 sets of 15 down to 3 sets of 8. I typically take only one week at this lighter intensity level after such a short layoff. The following week, it’s back to where you were pre-vacation.

IV. A Break from Your Comeback

Believe it or not, there are times when it is beneficial to have a break from the gym. If you’ve been diligently pursuing your comeback for several weeks, your body may need a break. It may be as minor as inserting a lighter weight week into your schedule, or you may actually need to take a week completely off from the gym. If you’ve been working at maximum intensity levels for a few weeks, you would be surprised at how helpful taking that week off can be. It can give your muscles time to recuperate from all the work you’ve putting the through. If you get those nagging aches and pains that most of us get from time to time, it can help them heal.

If you can’t stand to just rest during your week off, at least perform what we call “active rest”. Active rest is simply being active at anything other than lifting weights for that week. Go swimming, take a yoga class, or hike, or whatever … just don’t set foot in the gym. Not only will your body feel better, but you will also enjoy the break mentally. Then you will return to the gym with even greater enthusiasm and keep the “comeback” going strong.

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