What is a teleseminar?

Growing up in the 1960's did not make learning technology any easier. I still remember typing on a manual typewriter. As a matter of fact I was a telex operator for a couple of years. Do any of you remember what that is?

Well things sure have come along way since then. Now we are technology that is changing so rapidly it's almost impossible to keep up. One such example is a Teleseminar. To be honest the first time I ever heard that word was at a conference I attended in the Spring 2007. Alex Mandosian, who is the king of the teleseminars is making a zillion dollars through his teleseminar series so of course I became interested in this product. First I had to understand what it was.

The basic anatomy of a teleseminar is that it is a live phone call or webcast. You are given an access code upon registration and you can either phone in, (long distance) or logon via the website. You listen to the presenter give their session and you can ask live questions or type in questions throughout the seminar. The presenter may send you a handout or ask you view a power point presentation during the session. It can be interactive and is great for theory based information or discussions.

I also liked the fact that you can listen in the comfort of your own home, you don't have to travel, pay for parking and best of all you can stay in your jammies. The last part really intrigued me.

Well to stay on the cutting edge I decided to offer teleseminars to my students and I am looking forward to receiving feedback on the process. I guess my only concern is that this technology is kind of new and maybe people are not really sure how it all works. I decided to offer the programs for only $20.00 so that people would try them out and not feel as though they were sacrificing alot of money.

Best of all the sessions are recorded which means you don't have to be present at the time of the presentation to get the benefits of the session. You can purchase the replay and listen it to at your convenience. I know this all sounds very foreign but try one out and let me know what you think. Check the website at http://www.edgefit.ca/ and click on TELESEMINARS to register.

Book Review - The Business Personal Training

The Business of Personal Training
Written by : Scott O. Roberts et al.
ISBN: 0-87322-605-4

The Business of Personal Training was first published in 1996. It may have been one of the first books written on the subject. I am sure for its time it was a very useful resource for many new trainers as the personal training industry was only just starting to explode. However, there have been no further revisions since 1996 and therefore lacks an up-to-date feel. For instance, there is no mention of technology or internet marketing strategies for personal training. The book does cover fundamental business principles which may be useful for new trainers who are not familiar with business practices.

Each chapter is written by a different author specializing in their area of expertise. I am sure many of the authors probably have a lot more to share after over a decade since its publication. Part I briefly covers the history and origins of personal training. Part II dives into creating, marketing, managing and understanding the legal aspects of a personal training business. The concepts covered in this section are fairly rudimentary.

Part III deals with the personal part of personal training with an exploration of the client trainer relationship and psychology behind personal training. The entire length of the book is less then 150 pages so each chapter is very small. It was really hard to get into each section because each topic was covered very superficially.

The business of personal training has certainly come a long way since this book was first written. I would treat this resource as a very basic introduction to the business of personal training and perhaps look for a more up-to-date resource.

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.

Teleworkshop Technology

Wow to think that when I was in high school just 20 years ago we were still typing on typewriters. Technology certainly has come a long way since then. I can totally understand why some seniors feel really intimidated by computers. With technology changing so fast it's hard to keep up with it all let alone understand the new lingo.

However, I recently attended a series of workshops on teleworkshops. Basically, it blends the old technology of the telephone with the new technology of the computer. I am really excited about the potential this seems to offer. I still believe that face to face training is the best option but there is a place for new models of learning.

I know sometimes I get really busy and I would like to take a workshop but am not really keen to travel. Or the workshop is being offered at a date, time or location that is not convenient, sound familiar? I also spend a lot of money on workshops throughout the year so it would be nice to learn and save money at the same time. Well all this is possible through teleworkshops.

I hope you are getting just as excited as me. I am learning and working on adapting this into the services being offered through On The Edge. I've posted two teleseminars. One is on preparing your weight training ICE evaluation and the other is on preparing your PT ICE evaluation. I am looking at building more content and workshops. I hope you enjoy this new learning option. Look for more information on the website in the fall.

Cheers

He who cannot change...

He who cannot change the very fabric of his thoughts will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress. Anwar Sadat

This is the lesson I learned from Chapter four of the 8th Habit by Stephen Covey. I actually had to stop and read this statement four times. I was so blown away by its meaning that I needed to slow down and really take it in.

So often people are caught up in negative self talk and thoughts. They feel victimized by life around them and feel powerless to change their situation. The first lesson I learned from this chapter was that we can change our response to a stimulus. We can choose our thoughts and are responsble for our actions and outcomes. If we can choose to feel better, is it really that simple? If I change my thoughts to be more positive will this really change my reality? I believe so.

So why then does it sometimes feel so challenging to do that. I think its because we have been conditioned to think that good things aren't supposed to happen to us. We believe that if good things happen that we are lucky and if bad things happen then we are unlucky. Have you ever heard someone say, "good things never happen to me" or "I never win anything". Well they are probably right. I wonder if they changed their thinking to "I have abundance in my life" or "I am grateful for everything I have", if that would make a difference in how they view things. I believe it would, don't you?

I guess the only really way to know if this works or not is to try it. Are you up for the challenge? Write this quote down in a place of prominence. Say it everyday to yourself and commit to changing your thoughts so that they are only positive. Let's see what happens.

He who cannot change the very fabric of his thoughts will never be able to change reality, and will never therefore, make any progress.

The 8th Habit Challenge - Stephen R. Covey

I just recently started reading the 8th Habit -From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen R. Covey. Since the release of Harry Potter's lastest book it has been challenging finding anyone who is reading anything else. I also read the 7 habits but so far I am really enjoying this book better.

Stephen asked readers to take a challenge while reading his book. He wants readers to read a chapter and then take a month before reading the next one. He also encourages people to teach what they've learned and digest the material slowly by incorporating the lessons into their everyday life. Well this manner of book reading and interaction really intrigued me so I decided to give it a shot.

Chapter four deals with discovering your voice. I haven't gotten through the whole chapter yet but I wanted to share with you an excerpt that I found interesting. Read this passage a few times and really think about it.

Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.

In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.

It made me think of situations where people are given a stimulus and then react to it. Most of the time negatively. Like waiting in line or dealing with traffic. Maybe even dealing with difficult people. There are stimuli around us all the time and we choose how we are going to react to them.

I guess what really made me say ah, ha, was that the fact that we choose our response. We don't have to react in a negative way, we can choose a positive response. We can choose to make ourselves feel better any time we want. Now some of us have been conditioned to react very fast and in a negative fashion. It may take more time and effort to re-program these responses. However, knowing that we can choose is very empowering don't you think? Rather then have things just happen to us, we can control how it affects us.

Even in situations where we don't feel like we have much control we can still choose the outcome of our responses. Wow!

Next time you find yourself in a situation where their is a less then ideal stimulus remember you choose your response so why not choose one that makes you feel better rather than worse. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

I look forward to sharing other teachings with you as I go along. Feel free to comment if you have read the book or are taking the same challenge.

The Edge Book Club - Lifestyle Coaching

The next book we are going to be reviewing is called Lifestyle Fitness Coaching and is written by James Gavin, publised through Human Kinetics. If you wish to be part of the book club just email me your interest, send payment and read away. The cost of the book is $70.00 incl. tax. You receive a 20% discount for the book club.

Our next meeting will be in July where we get together to talk about the book.

See you then.

Donna

The Edge Book Club - Power Eating Questions

Hello fellow book club members. Here are the questions you need to answer in order to receive your .5 BCRPA Credit.

1) What information did you find most useful about the book?
2) Did you change your eating habits after reading this book?
3) How do you think the book compares to the Canada Food Guide?

Cheers

Donna