For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed learning new things. With a few exceptions (Grade 11 History springs to mind!), I enjoyed most of my classes in high school. University was super fun as I got to choose most of the courses I wanted to take and now that I have my own Personal Training & Sport Conditioning company, I spend my time learning the most fascinating things! Is there such a thing as a 'jock-nerd' because I think that might be me?!
Anyhow, my most recent learning expedition was this past weekend at the annual Canadian Fitness Professionals conference here in Winnipeg.
Some of the highlights:
1) Fitness Assessments: I attended a session on the importance of assessing movement instead of just performance. This was super exciting for 2 reasons....a) because I already assess movement (hooray!) and b) because I learned a few new ways to assess some important movement patterns. This will even further improve the Surefire Functional Fitness Assessment which is done with all of our Personal/Partner Training and Sport Conditioning clients.
2) Body weight partner drills: It always amazes people how easy it is to accomplish a great workout with little (or no!) equipment. Most people think you need expensive and bulky gym equipment for an effective workout but in my mind, the most important piece of training equipment is the human body - everyone has one of those! This was confirmed in one particular session where we learned a variety of new body weight exercises that can be done in partners. I am excited to add some of those into my Surefire group fitness classes.3) Exercise can be fun! I have always believed this to be true but it was nice to hear it from another respected fitness professional. Natalie Lacombe delivered a fantastic session on 'The Joy of Exercise'.
We got some great tips on how to increase client adherence and ways to make exercise fun. I loved her energy and enthusiasm!
Needless to say, Surefire is on the right track! We strive to offer the best in training and sport conditioning and it's very exciting that our current methods and ideas are being reinforced by top level fitness professionals.
Onward, fellow nerds,
K