News & Features

Women have approximately 457 menstrual cycles in their lifetime, corresponding to around 35 years of menstrual activity, writes Dr Jacky Forsyth – who works in the centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research at Staffordshire University.

For a woman, therefore, the menstrual cycle pervades their reproductive life. And for the exercising female, the menstrual cycle may affect aspects of their exercise performance. This could be because of blood flow and severe abdominal cramps interfering with engagement in certain activities, or because excessive exercise and dietary restriction lead to a complete absence of the menstrual cycle.

Menstruation is often still considered taboo, and something that is mocked, or considered frivolous (Kissling, 2006). It is important, however, to keep talking about and

This year’s Women in Sport and Exercise Conference: Blood, Sweat and Fears will take place at Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent on 13th and 14th June.

The aim of the conference is to debate the female-specific health and medical issues arising from physical activity and sport, and to raise awareness of the issues and opportunities for women’s exercise participation.

There will be two REPs CPD points available for those who attend.

Conference keynotes come from Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY, Vice Chair of the British Olympic Association and an advocate for safe and inclusive sport for all; Angela Smith, who was instrumental in the formation of the women's squash professional organisation and circuit; and

Over the past 12 months Barreworks founder Vicki Anstey and leading Physiotherapist Katherine Ready have been working to create a programme which identifies the benefits of barre for rehabilitation as well as its more commonly known benefit of conditioning for fully fit individuals.

Through their research they have identified that barre is versatile, adaptable and relevant to different audiences with simple modification. It can be used to treat end-stage rehab for Physio patients returning to exercise, just as much as it can enhance sports performance in elite athletes and offers a complete training programme for 'mainstream’ clients.

Barreworks is uniquely placed to offer both Instructor training (for fitness professionals to draw in general audiences) and the Physio Programme (for Rehab Professionals) looking to learn new techniques to incorporate

Holly Lynch has been crowned the REPs-sponsored International Fitness Showcase 2018 Personal Trainer of the Year.

Holly is the Fitness Coordinator at Fitness Evolution in Burnley, where she delivers personal training sessions and Group X classes.

She played a key role in the opening and designing of the facility.

Holly is pictured receiving her winner’s trophy from REPs Head of Operations & Services Tracé Barry and PD:Approval CEO Tom Bell.

Her nomination form stated: ‘Holly's ethos is to empower and share knowledge with her clients, and this has inspired nine of her past and present clients to start working in the Fitness Industry.

‘The work Holly does as a National Trainer for Fit Pro and the charity projects she has coordinated will all help towards her aim of get

Awarding organisation YMCA Awards has created a new suite of fitness qualifications mapped to the existing UK National Occupational Standards as well as the new professional standards created by CIMSPA, offering dual recognition by REPs.

The new qualifications are:

Level 2 Certificate in Gym Instructing

Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training Practitioner

Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing and Personal Training Pra

Osteoporosis is a disease characterised by brittle bones, resulting in an increase in fracture risk. In the UK, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporotic fractures (National Osteoporosis Society, 2016) and this high prevalence causes a substantial cost to the National Health Service, writes Dr Jacky Forsyth – who works in the centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research at Staffordshire University.

Osteoporosis is not limited to old age – deterioration in bone health can start at a young age due to inappropriate lifestyle choices – however, osteoporosis is generally not diagnosed until later in life. For this reason, osteoporosis has been described as a ‘silent disease’, in that an individual will not realise that the

We have some great news about our plans for 2018, which we are confident will enhance your member experience.

Having listened to your invaluable feedback, over the next few months we will be introducing:

• A new-look website with improved functionality 
• A new and simplified CPD points system 
• A new-look quarterly REPs magazine filled with the latest fitness and coaching tips from some of the Industry's leading voices
• A new hub, the PD:Portal, for finding endorsed training
• ‘Price Promise’ on our Insurance Premiums.

Along with plans to introduce other member benefits over the year, we will continue to provide:

• Bags of information and regular educational updates to keep you at the cutting edge
• International recognition and portability to 10 countries across the world including t

After receiving a number of enquiries regarding the introduction of the Professional Standards, we wanted to let you all know how REPs will manage the transition from the National Occupational Standards (NOS).

CIMSPA received funding from Sport England to create the Professional Standards, which will be made available to the sector and underpin health and fitness qualifications. These standards will gradually be embedded into qualifications by Awarding Organisations to replace the current qualifications that are underpinned by NOS.

REPs will continue to recognise and register people who have completed qualifications under the NOS standards until the Professional Standards are fully embedded. In order for new qualifications to be recognised by REPs, a formal approval process will be available to Awarding Organisations through PD:Approval – the independent organisation contracted by REPs to carry out its endorsem

Each year 13 million people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide (Moore, Durstine and Painter, 2016), writes Rob Williams, senior lecturer at Southampton Solent University. In 2014, 356,630 people in the UK were given a diagnosis of one form of cancer or another (Cancer Research, UK) and there are over 200 different types of cancer, the most common being cancers of the lung, breast, prostate and colon (National Foundation for Cancer, 2016).

Although cancer prevalence continues to rise, people survive now more than ever before due to advances in public awareness, diagnostics, surgery and treatment, with 2.5 million people currently living with cancer in the UK, which is projected to rise to 4 million by 2030, according to Macmillan. Ten-year survivorship following diagnosis is now p

A flat stomach can play hard to get for both genders. It’s a soft spot that can be one of the hardest to tone up, but recent research highlights one method that works better than most.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is known to burn serious amounts of fat, seriously fast. But not just any fat. New research shows that specific forms of high-intensity interval training can be key to cutting fat from your tummy.    

The tummy trimming benefits of high-intensity interval training are highlighted in a recently published study into how different approaches to training can affect fitness and body composition in healthy adults1. The study tested two groups of exercisers. One group followed a conventional gym training program four days a week, t