News & Features

So, now that Christmas is a fading memory, I’m sure that you are back into the swing of things, all guns blazing, tires firmly on the tar and (hopefully) sticking to whatever goals and targets you set yourself both personally and professionally whilst welcoming in 2019 with open arms.

I’m sure you’re holding on tight to the fitness rollercoaster that’s trailblazing in so many different directions right now from budget to boutique, indoor to outdoor, not to mention the extremely exciting and dynamic digital space.

But before we look to the future I’d like to reflect a little.

The past nine years my family and I have resided in South Africa, so our annual trip back ‘home’ every December is one that we as a family really look forward to.

Of course, it’s all about reconnecting with family and friends but it’s the little things that trig

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE) are delighted to launch the first EU Skills Survey — embracing sport and physical activity across the EU — and we are asking for your participation. 

The two associations share a mission to build a more active society and ensure we have a skilled workforce to deliver a successful future.

Building on their memorandum of understanding signed in London at the European Congress in 2017, IHRSA is requesting all Clubs, Associations, Federations, Suppliers and other Industry Employers to support this survey below as part of the European Sector Skills Alliance for Sport and Physical Activity, a three-year project led by EOSE and funded by the EU under Erasmus Plus.

Detailed research and consultation is underway at a national

Online coaching is bang on trend right now and if recent years are anything to go by, it’s a trend that is set to stay and continue to grow.^{1, 2}

While many in the fitness industry aspire to take at least a portion of their business online, why exactly is this an area that fitness professionals should seriously consider moving into?

1. Flexibility and Freedom

As an online coach you have the flexibility and freedom to operate and coach clients no matter where you are. It’s a business model you can run from home, while on holiday and from anywhere in the whole world. With online coaching, gone are the days of losing money while on holiday because you couldn’t be around to coach your clients and teach classes in person. In addition, you no longer have to be dictated to by

The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) have teamed up with online training experts GymCube to help UK fitness professionals earn money online, as well as improve their knowledge and skills.

The duo have launched a brand new, innovative app developed by GymCube, that makes it easy to train clients professionally online and offers high quality educational content along with exclusive discounts.

As part of the partnership, GymCube will provide REPs members with exclusive access to the GymCube App, along with high-quality video content and customisable exercise plans, which REPs members can brand as their own.

GymCube Managing Director Kevin Foster-Wiltshire, said:

“Becoming an online coach in the past required start-up money and a daunting amount of technical work. We’ve built the GymCube App for instructors who are interested in coaching

Injuries to joints happen frequently among physically active individuals. In particular, those who are into running are more likely to have some form of ankle injury, writes Zara Elise.

Some of the most common are lateral ligament injuries. An article published in Elsevier stated that 77% of ankle sprains sustained in football involved the lateral ligaments. These injuries can be a recurring condition if the initial ankle sprain is poorly rehabilitated.

Ligaments are the strong fibrous tissues that connect bones to other bones. Those in the ankle help stablilise the joint and keep the bones in their proper position. When one sprains his or her ankle, the most commonly damaged is the anterior

Earlier this year British Weight Lifting (BWL) partnered with Women In Sport to create a campaign – Strong Is Not A Size – that used social media to explore women’s attitudes and experiences of lifting weights, with the ultimate aim of encouraging more women to lift weights as part of their exercise routine.

There were three hypotheses that the campaign was based on, writes BWL Partnership manager Kayleigh Richmond. The first stated that ‘society says weight lifting is for men and not women’. The second discussed whether ‘the environment is not welcoming’ and the third explored whether ‘women were not as knowledgeable as men in the act of weight lifting’.

It was agreed that the focus of the campaign should be around supporting women to gain the confidence to incorporate weight lifting into their routine and ask for help i

'You need to get fit, stay fit and live fit’. Those are the messages we see every day. But for many of us, it’s really difficult to squeeze physical activity into our busy lives.

We need motivations. Not just a reason to get active, but a reason to stay active. It is important for everybody who is part of the coaching family to understand this.

The NHS states that leading a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing major illnesses, lower the risk of early death by 30%, while it champions the role of physical activity in helping you lead a healthier and happier life.

We can also need assistance in getting and staying active. That’s where #GreatCoaching comes in.

Great coaching encourages people to be more active, more often.

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EMD UK is the national governing body for group exercise and 2018 we conducted the National Fitness Survey¹ which showed that group exercise now attracts 4.86 million participants every week. That’s a growth of 1 million participants compared to the same study conducted in 2016¹.

What this demonstrates is that group exercise contributes significantly to the fitness sector and the growth shows no signs of slowing down. When you consider that there is still an estimated 11.5 million² people in England that are inactive, ensuring group exercise delivers a quality experience that engages with all ages, abilities and interests is of major importance.

As professionals that stand at the front of every group exercise class, instructors must know and understand how to plan and prepare a class, give clear instructions on

This promises to be a rip-roaring day packed full of amazing fitness sessions.

Hosted by world class presenters, including group fitness participants, instructors, personal trainers and clients, it is for anyone and everyone who loves fitness and takes place on Saturday 22 September at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Tickets are priced at £30 and bookings can be made through event organisers Chrysalis Promotions.

The day offers 2 REPs CPD points and has been endorsed by PD:Approval, and will feature its “New Talent” team – a group of newly-endorsed providers showcasing their innovative new programmes.

PD:Approval – the independent quality assurance organisation appointed to kitemark educa

We recently completed an anonymous survey of our email database resulting in 507 personal trainers (PTs) and coaches leaving their feedback. We asked them what they perceived to be their biggest challenges when it comes to advancing their career in the fitness industry.

Overwhelmingly, the response that sits at the top of that list (in almost 70% of cases) is finding enough clients to work with. This is seconded by finding the right clients to work with, writes Brendan Chaplin (pictured), CEO of Strength and Success.

Our findings are supported by recent research from Mindbody¹ which suggests that although 20% of all gym goers feel that PTs or fitness instructors are the most important factor when it comes to sticking to a new routine, just 4% of those people have found their perfect ins