Oh what a difference a dog can make

It was a year ago today that my husband and I welcomed Bailey into our lives. We debated for quite a long time whether or not we should get a dog. We are both very busy in our careers and with our own fitness so we weren't sure how we would adapt to this added responsibility.

Well it's been great. Bailey is a little trail dog and he runs with me everywhere. Since I live in North Vancouver, BC I spend most of my time running the local trails and now I have a buddy to run with all the time.

They say that people who own dogs are much healthier. Well they do need to be walked on a daily basis and they require alot of lovin, which is no problem. In return Bailey makes me laugh with all his quirky little habits. Laughing is good for the soul and the more we laugh the better.

If you do not own a dog you probably think I am alittle over the top writting about my dog. If you own a dog then will you automatically understand how a little furry creature can really enhance your life. I've only lost one pair of slippers so that's not so bad.

Book Review - Lifestyle Fitness Coaching

Lifestyle Fitness Coaching
James Gavin
Human Kinetics
ISBN: 0-7360-5206-2

The On The Edge book club chose Lifestyle Fitness Coaching written by James Gavin for its July book of the month review. It is a very detailed book on the subject of Lifestyle Fitness Coaching which is a much needed topic for anyone working on-one-one.

Unfortunately, we found the book very difficult to get into and thus became kind of unmotivated to continue to read it. Although Gavin offers a lot of good information, the way in which he chose to write it made it difficult for the reader to really sink their teeth into the material.

We found it to be very wordy and not reader friendly. We all enjoyed the accompanying CD and agreed that we would continue to read each chapter but realized that we would be in no hurry to do so.

Book Review - Athletic Development

Athletic Development
The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning
Vern Gambetta
Human Kinetics
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-5100-2

Anyone who works with athletes or advanced clients with a goal towards developing functional sport conditioning needs to read this book written by Vern Gambetta. In his book on Athletic Development, Gambetta uses his practical coaching expertise and experience to inform the reader about what factors to consider when developing athletes. Throughout his book he uses real life examples and shares his personal successes and is open about his failures. The book is definitely written with coaches in mind but I still found most of the material absolutely applicable to personal trainers.

If you are training predominantly beginner clients then perhaps you might want to give this book a miss. However, those trainers who are working with the extremely fit or athletic client would benefit from Gambetta’s knowledge on athletic development.

I found his views on effectively training the core to be very insightful. He also explains some of the history behind where these concepts originated from and how they may have been taken out of context from their original intent. Basically this book provides information on how to train an athlete from the ground up. The book contains two sections. Section one covers the Elements of a Training System and contains six chapters. Section two covers the Physical Contributors to Performance and contains seven chapters. Each chapter builds on the next until the reader has a complete picture of all the elements involved in developing a program for functional sport conditioning.

Pick up this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Book Review - Stretching Anatomy

Stretching Anatomy
By; Arnold G. Nelson and Jouko Kokkonen
Published by: Human Kinetics
ISBN: 13:978-0-7360-5972-5

If you are like me and enjoy color illustrations and detailed anatomy then you will appreciate the thoroughness of this stretching book. Every muscle is labeled and you know exactly what is being stretched. It is a very simple guide and does not over load the reader with a lot of scientific information regarding the mechanisms of stretching. I believe the book can be used as a quick reference guide for the new fitness leader and may even be a good resource for the public.

Stretching Anatomy is divided into seven chapters, each focusing on a different area of the body to stretch. There are plenty of stretching examples for each muscle group all shown in a variety of different poses. At the end of each chapter there is a summary table indicating the muscle and what action it is responsible for. This can serve as a nice review for fitness professionals as muscle and actions tend to be hard to remember.

The only concerns I had with this resource were that some of the stretches seemed out dated and not current with the latest research on flexibility. I would have liked to have seen more supported stretches where the muscles were in a completely relaxed position. I am referring to the illustration of the gastrocnemius and soleus stretch where the heel was suspended from a step. Also, the neck stretches showed the model pulling on the head as apposed to supporting it.

Other then a few minor details I believe this would be a good addition to a new leaders’ library.