ace certified news october 2011

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Certified NeWSOctober 2011

Growing

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October 2011 ACE CertifiedNews

14Foo A iction: T uth o ScaCould chocolate really be as addictive as cocaine or heroin? Possibly, ac-cording to new scienti c evidence related to ood addiction. Read on ora comprehensive overview on the topic, and learn exactly what ood ad-diction is, the scienti c evidence supporting the theory, and what to do i you see behavioral red fags that may indicate your client is a ood addict

T a b l e o f C o n T e n T s

G owing Upan O in th Fi tn ss In ust In spite o working in a youth-oriented industry, numer-ous tness pros are nding that age is working to theiradvantage. Heres whyand what you can do to maintainlongevity in your own career.

8 COver STOry

26Pa nthoo an th epi mic of Ph sica Inacti itPeople cite many reasons or not being physically activenot enough time,not enough un, not enough energythe list goes on. But it turns out thatone o the most telling actors is whether or not a person has kids. Here aresome tips you can o er parents who claim that theres just no way to balancethe demands o parenthood and carve out an hour a day to work out.

23H p youC i ntsC at thU timat Min -Bo Conn ctionAs we age , our bodies decline in unction,especially i were not taking precautions againstit. The same goes or the brain. As a tnesspro essional, you are in a per ect position tohelp older adults e ectively exercise their brainsalong with their bodies, thereby creating theultimate mind-body connection.

19Who A thFitt st Ath t s?Who would you consider tobe the ttest athletes on theplanet? Triathletes? Boxers?Elite cyclists? We surveyed arange o tness experts to de-termine which athletes achievethe highest level o total

tness, and we show you thetypes o workouts and dedica-tion it takes to get there.

s Ta f fPublisher Scott Goudeseune

Chief sCienCe OffiCer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph

editOr Christine J. Ekeroth, M.S.H.S.

Art direCtOr Karen F. McGuire

Production Nancy M. Garcia

M ission s TaTeMenT The American Council on Exercise (ACE) is

non-profit organization committed to enriching quality of life through safe and effectivephysical activity. As Americas Authority onFitness, ACE protects all segments of socieagainst ineffective fitness products, programand trends through its ongoing public education, outreach and research. ACE further protects the public by setting certification andcontinuing education standards for fitnessprofessionals.

This publication is not intended to provide medicaadvice on personal health issues, which should beobtained directly from a physician.

H ave You Moved ?If you move or change your e-mail address,please notify us immediately so we canupdate our records. That way you wont missany important communications from ACE.Just give us a call at 800-825-3636.

www.acefitness.org

ACE, American Council on Exercise,

ACE Certified News and Workout Watchdogare registered trademarks of the AmericanCouncil on Exercise.

ACE Certified News is published by the American Council on Exercise,4851 Paramount Drive, San Diego, CA 92123

2011 American Council on Exercise

6A you C i nts at risfo Majo W ight GainTheres no question that major li echanges and transitions can takea major toll on the body, puttingone at greater risk or depression,anxiety and poor health. But newresearch suggests that two li echangesmarriage and divorcehave a particularly strong e ect on

weight. Read on to learn how youcan help your clients avoid gainingweight during some o l i es toughesttransitions.
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A n s w e r

K e y :

a C e C e r T i f i e d n e w s C e C q u i z o CTober 2011

1 .

C

2 .

B

3 .

A

4 .

B

5 . C

6 .

C

7 .

D

8 .

A

9 .

B

1 0

. B

To earn 0.1 continuing education credits (CECs), you must carefully read this issue of ACE CertifiedNews answer the10 questions below, achieve a passing score (a minimum of 70 percent), and complete and return the credit verificationform below, confirming that you have read the materials and achieved a minimum passing score. In a hurry?S e ne k n e z n ne www.acefitness.org/cnquiz $15 n n ns n ccess CECs.

Circle the single best answer for each of the following questions.

1. According to a recent study, which groupexercised the least?A. ExecutivesB. College studentsC. MothersD. Divorced adults without children

2. Which o the ollowing are Not consideredby most experts to be the ttest athletes?A. Mixed martial artistsB. TriathletesC. Skill-position ootball playersD. Decathletes

3. Researchers discovered that womenmight be more likely to gain weight a ter____________, while men are more likely togain weight a ter _____________.A. Getting married, getting divorcedB. Getting married, losing their jobC. Graduating rom college, getting

marriedD. Getting divorced, getting married

5. Which part(s) o the brain bene t most romexercise?A. BrainstemB. Pre rontal and rontal regions

C. CerebellumD. Temporal and parietal lobes

4. Which o the ollowing is Not a recom-mended strategy or growing older grace-

ully within the tness industry?A. Dont let tness be your primary

identity.B. Adjust your de nition o what being

t means to you.C. Maintain your typical tness routine

and dont allow yoursel to slow down.D. Focus on your non-physical strengths,

such as experience and wisdom.

6. Some researchers believe that the bestway to help overweight children loseweight is to ________________.A. Eliminate all sugar and white four rom

their dietsB. Have them participate in organized

sportsC. Provide their parents with healthy

li estyle educationD. Teach them about the health dangers

o being overweight

7. Large epidemiologic studies have shownthat middle-aged and senior people who__________________ experience less age-associated cognitive decline.A. Follow a calorie-restricted dietB. Eat a diet rich in antioxidants

C. Stay marriedD. Exercise regularly

8. Which o the ollowing statements relatedto ood addiction are Not true?A. People who are addicted to ood are

always overweight.B. Foods high in at and sugar are poten-

tially the most addictive.C. The same medications can be used to

treat withdrawal rom both ood anddrugs.

D. Drugs and oods activate the sameregions o the brain.

9. Which o the ollowing are considered riskactors or dementia?

A. Lupus and multiple sclerosisB. Cardiovascular disease and diabetesC. Migraines and chronic atigue syndromeD. Osteoporosis and Parkinsons disease

10. Which o the ollowing could be considereda red fag that your client may have a oodaddiction?A. She eats most o her meals while

standing in ront o the re rigerator.B. He cant stop eating even though he

eels ull.C. He always eats his lunch at his desk

with the door closed.

D. She keeps ood in her purse andsnacks throughout the day.
http://www.acefitness.org/cnquizhttp://www.acefitness.org/cnquiz


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7 r asons to Att n th ACe S mposiumNo mb 35, 2011

ACe, AMerICAS AUTHOrITy ON FITNeSS, HAS BeeN CAlled UPON By lIFeTIMe

Television, one o the top television networks or women, to contribute expert tnesscontent to a national audience over six consecutive months beginning in October.

ACE ambassadors and tness authors Chris Freytag and Jonathan Ross will make theirdebut on Li etime Televisions The Balancing Act , a one-hour morning TV show ocusingon tips and trends rom leading experts in a variety o areas. Freytag and Ross will appearin separate episodes where theyll lend expert tness in ormation on some o todays mostrelevant topics.

Freytags rst segment, airing this month, will ocus on debunking common tnessmyths. In November, shell talk about exercise recommendations or diabetics and, just intime or the holidays, shell reveal her secrets to success with healthy treats and un cold-weather amily activities.

Ross will kick o the New Year with his segment on real tness resolutions, ollowed byheart-healthy advice during National Heart Month in February, and Spring cleaning tips orhealth and tness next March. l a n mo to a !

ACe to Off e p t A icon Popu a Tv S i s

Workshops

Small Group Training Chicago, IL 10/11/2011

ACEs Integrated FitnessTraining (ACE IFT) Model:Atlanta, GA , New York, NY,Portland OR, Dallas ,TX10/15/2011Madison, WI 10/29/2011

Heartsaver First Aid withCPR and AED Workshop San Diego, CA 11/2/2011

Webinar

Reaching New LengthsFlexibility Training forResults10/5/20114:006:00 pm Paci c Time

bu dl & s v !Acquire specialized knowledge andsave up to $98 when you purchase

convenient course bundles .

$

K e e p i n g Y o u p o s T e d

THe NeW yeAr BrINGS A TON OF ACTIvITy FrOM ClIeNTS ANd exPeCATIONS OF FITNeSSpro essionals. Have you geared up to ensure you can deliver and make the most o these op-portunities? The ACE Fitness Symposium being held November 3-5 can be your secret to success!Dont miss out on this unique opportunity to pump up your career in time or the new year.1. Interactive sessions on the topics you need most including nutrition, personal and small-

group training, mind/body exercise, li estyle coaching and weight managment

2. Meet and learn rom industry experts Len Kravitz, Jonathan Ross, Lawrence Biscontini, Shan-non Fable, Todd Durkin and more3. Networking, networking, networking including a welcome reception aboard a privately char-

tered yacht, networking lunch and complimentary meals4. Pre-con erence workshops on unctional training, sports conditioning and a post-con erence

on Zumbas Jump Start Gold.5. New products you should know about such as ViPR and Cor-tex6. A chance to earn all the CECs you need to recerti y7. Direct hands-on training in special sessions rom STOTT Pilates, TRX, SPRI and Hyperwear

Dont miss this intimate and interactive educational event and see why people return yeara ter year. l a n mo an gist to a !
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Joining Fo c s M ts NASCAr

STreTCHING IS OFTeN THe leAST-eMPHASIzed COMPONeNT o an exercise program. And i done improperly or not enough,it can lead to injuries. Dont let this happen to your clients.

Even among savvy tness pro essionals, questions loomabout when to stretch, how long to stretch and i stretchingis really all that e ective.

In our live webinar, Reaching New LengthsFlexibilityTraining or Results, hosted by ACE Exercise PhysiologistPete McCall, you will explore di erent types o fexibilitytraining and learn everything you need to know about theart o stretching, including the best time or static stretch-ing, when and how to stretch and the most e ective waysto prepare your clients or a training session. Youll alsolearn rst-hand how to apply static, sel myo ascial release,contract-relax and dynamic stretching, all o which are

techniques widely used by health pro essionals to helpclients achieve desired results.

Upon success ul completion o this course, youll be ableto describe and explain to your clients the importance o various aspects o fexibility. Youll also learn to identi ycauses or lack o fexibility, and thus play a key role inhelping your clients prevent or recover rom injury. Regard-less o the types o clients you train rom elite athletes tohealth-challenged populationsor i you lead group tnessclasses, this webinar o ers critical skills or hands-on fex-ibility training that your clients will remember, learn toappreciate and reward you or with re errals to their riendsand amily members.

Boost your stretching knowledge with this live webinarheld on Oct. 5, 2011, rom 46 p.m. PST. r gist to a .

To St tch o Not to St tch?G t th S c ts of P op St tching To a

A BIG THANkS TO THe MANy FITNeSS PrOFeSSIONAlSacross the U.S. who have responded to the Joining Forcesinitiative, which unites tness pro essionals and organiza-tions nationwide to pledge 1 million hours o tness-trainingservices at no cost to actively deployed military reservistsand National Guard members and their immediate amilies.

Tens o thousands o training service hours have beencommittedwith Sarasota, Fla.; Baltimore, Md.; and Brigh-ton, Mass., taking the lead. We thank you or your ongoingsupport.

Also, a big thanks to ACEs strategic partner, the Presi-dents Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition, or theire orts.

On July 27th, the Presidents Council invited NASCARdriver Carl Edwards to speak to 1,400 National Guard FamilySupport Volunteers and 10,000 attendees at a USO concertin Louisville, Ky., about the Joining Forces initiative and theimportance o physical activity.

Edwards message was simple, There are so many peoplevolunteering, we hope that youll take advantage o theseopportunities to be active. The Presidents Council said in awritten statement that it hopes to build upon this momen-tum and expand on available resources.

We need EVERYONE to get involved to meet our goal!P g ou suppo t to a .
http://www.acefitness.org/continuingeducation/continuingeducationcoursedetail.aspx?courseid=4a5zx2zyhttp://www.acefitness.org/joiningforces/http://www.acefitness.org/joiningforces/http://www.acefitness.org/continuingeducation/continuingeducationcoursedetail.aspx?courseid=4a5zx2zy


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Are YourClients at

Risk for

r esearCH r eporT


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Th s no qu stion that majo if chang s an t ansi-tions can ta a majo to on th bo , putting on atg at is fo p ssion, an i t an poo h a th. Butn w s a ch sugg sts that two if chang sma iag

an i o c ha a pa ticu a st ong ff ct on w ight gain. An ,in t u v nus an Ma s fashion, wom n an m n spon iff nt ,with wom n mo i to gain w ight aft ma iag , whi m npac on th poun s fo owing a i o c .

Researchers at Ohio State University examined data rom the National LongitudinalSurvey o Youth 79, which has periodically surveyed a nationally representative sampleo men and women who were aged 14 to 22 in 1979. For this study, data rom morethan 10,000 people surveyed rom 1986 to 2008 was used to identi y weight changesamong participants during the two years ollowing a marriage or divorce. Researchersalso took into account other actors that might a ect weight gain or loss, such as preg-

nancy, poverty, education and socioeconomic status.For women, the greatest risk o weight gain occurred during the two years ollow-

ing marriage, while men gained the most weight a ter going through a divorce. Thesee ects were strongest among those over the age o 30, and increased at later ages.

For someone in their mid-20s, says lead researcher Dr. Dmitry Tumin, a doctoralstudent in sociology at Ohio State University, there is not much o a di erence in theprobability o gaining weight between someone who just got married and someone whonever married. But later in li e, there is much more o a di erence.

Tumin also believes these indings it with previous studies that suggest thatincreased household responsibilities leave women with less time to exercise, while the

health advantage a orded to men through marriage is lost ollowing a divorce, whichmay be responsible or the weight gain.

These indings are important or itness pro essionals working with clients who maybe experiencing a major li e transition like marriage or divorce. By understanding howthese transitions a ect men and women di erently, you can help your clients becomemore aware o the possible pit alls and behaviors that can lead to weight gain anddevelop a plan to avoid them. Source: Tumin, D. and Qian, Z. (20110). Marital transitions and weight changes. Presented at the 106 th AnnualAmerican Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nev. August 2023, 2011.

Major Weight

Gain?T


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truE (aNd obviouS) StatEmENt: No mattEr whEN you StartEd your CarEEr iN thE FitNESS iNduStry, you wErE youNgEr thaN you arE Now. yEt For maNy oF you, yourE CroSSiNg thE liNEwhErE that oNCE youthFul body iS morPhiNg iNto a morEmaturE PhySiquE, ComPlEtE with all oF thE aChES aNd PaiNSboth PhySiCal aNd EmotioNalthat agE oFtEN briNgS.

n aging body can o ten be tough to accept, especially in a society thatplaces a high value on looking and staying young. The itness industry is noexception, which begs this question: How can you maintain longevity as a

itness pro essional as you ace the woes o aging? To answer that question,we turned to veterans o the itness industry who reveal their secrets or maintaining a thriving,success ul career. What they have to say may convince you that age truly is just a number.

Wh M tu Fit P o H v th Upp H dWith all o the anti-aging lotions on the market, birthday cards that poke un at blowing

out yet another candle and spa treatments designed to de y aging, you might assume that

being older poses a disadvantage or itness pro essionals. Surprisingly ormany, the opposite is true. Because o my li e experiences, I can relate somuch better to what my students are going through than when I irst startedteaching 20 years ago, says Chris Freytag , 46, member o the ACE Boardo Directors , Minnesota-based personal trainer and group itnessinstructor and creator o numerous itness DVDs.

w p d d ss d s

by Karen asP

a e p nn n n c n n n k n e f ness n s

s e ?w nk es

c en e e?
http://www.acefitness.org/symposium/speakers.aspx#Freytaghttp://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/symposium/speakers.aspx#Freytag


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For Joy Prouty, age plays to her advantage as well.Age is an asset, says Prouty, director o training orZumba and co-developer o Zumba Gold, owner o FitnessProgramming in West Palm Beach, Fla., and an international

itness instructor and program developer who taught herirst itness class in 1965. She just turned 70 and is still

going strong. In recent years, Ive assumed more o arole as educator and mentor in this business, which isexactly where I want to be because I believe that with theexperience and knowledge Ive gained over the years, I haveso much to o er younger itness pro essionals.

Another advantage? These more mature itnesspro essionals have an emotional intelligence that younger

itness pro essionals may not yet possess.Because youre experiencing your own discom ort in

your body, you appreciate your own good health morethan you did when you were younger and, as a result,you become more empathetic toward others, says Ken

Alan , 57, lecturer at Cali ornia State University in Fullerton,Cali ., who began teaching in 1976 and has been a leadingcon erence presenter, choreographer, program designer andmember o numerous ACE committees.

Compassion might be another acet o that emotionalintelligence, which is what Keli Roberts , Cali ornia-basedpersonal trainer, international itness presenter and staro numerous itness videos, says shes gained rom beingin the itness industry since 1986. When I irst startedteaching, the only level I knew was hard, and i you didntkeep up, even i you were a beginner, I would yell at you,says Roberts, 50. But not anymore. I know so much more

about the body now than I did then, and thats helped meso ten my ways and become a better instructor.

That experience is something that appeals to olderadults, especially those who are seeking help rom itnesspro essionals who understand their woes. Take, or instance,65-year-old Josie Gardiner , who is a Zumba educationspecialist, co-author (with Prouty) o Core! (Harvard MedicalSchool, 2011), 2002 IDEA Instructor o the Year and 2005

ACE Group Fitness Instructor o the Year, and teaches andtrains clients in Boston. One o my more mature clientsrecently said she loves working with me because Im notgoing to make her do something that doesnt eel good,Gardiner says. However, i that same client were to go toa younger trainer, the story might be di erent. Becauseyounger trainers dont have the same experience and dontunderstand the aging body, they sometimes push clientstoo hard and too ast, which o ten results in clients gettinginjured and not wanting to exercise anymore.

That emotional maturity yields another advantage:

Teaching and training become so much more about yourstudents and not about you, Prouty says. Your participantso ten sense that, which is what has helped pro essionals likeProuty build a loyal ollowing.

There may also be another reason clients are drawn toolder itness pros: Simply put, they o er unique inspiration.Its easy to look great when youre 25, says Sheila Clu ,76, ounder o the destination spa resort Oaks at Ojai in Ojai,Cali ., and internationally known itness expert who beganteaching itness in her 20s. Yet when students see how I

look and what I can do at my age, they say I want to be justlike you. The more o an example I can be at my age, themore it motivates students, especially younger ones.

Th U iqu Ch ll gOld Fit P of io l F c

Yet lets be honest: While older itness pro essionalsdo hold numerous advantages over their younger peers,there are some unique obstacles to overcome. Ageism,

e en s d s seew i n i c n , e s i n e

j s .
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lEttiNg go oF your old (youNgEr?) SElF is perhaps one o the most challenging parts o aging.Maybe youre not able to exercise as long or as hardas you used to. Maybe you eel more twinges in yourbody. Or maybe you just look and eel, well, older.This evolution is something everyone will undergo,but or itness pro essionals who are so attached totheir bodys per ormance, it can o ten be a di iculttransitionunless, that is, you learn how to move

orward.This change begins with what Vivian Diller, Ph.D.,

psychologist in New York City and author o FaceIt (Hay House, 2011), calls an aha moment. You

have that gut eeling or maybe even a physical cluethat your bodys changing, and you know theres noturning back, she says.

These changes usually trigger a certain sadness, andthats completely normal. Psychological mourning,which includes sadness, almost always ollowsloss, no matter what that loss is, Diller says.Yet in the long run, that sadness will work toyour advantage. Until you go through thatmourning process, you cant let go o that

older sel , she says, adding that its o teneasy to spot individuals whoare having trouble lettinggo. Theyre the ones whocontinue to push theirbodies and dont give theirbodies room to be di erent.

Alan, or instance, admitsthat he had trouble dealing withhis aging body. It took me a

while to accept my itness level, he says,adding that there are workouts hes done

or 20 years that are harder to do nowthan they were 20 years ago. I have thesame spirit but a di erent body, and Ivehad to accept this change.

As Alan learned, once you do let go,you can begin to work on a di erent goal:

Being the best you can be at your current age. To get tothat point, ollow these strategies:1. Do t l t fit d fi ou. For years, youve

probably been used to having physical activity be themain part o your identity. Yet although itness canbe a large part o your identi y, it shouldnt be theonly thing that de ines you. Connect your identity toother aspects o yoursel that are less dependent onphysicality and youth, Diller says.

2. shift ou d fi itio of fit . When Diller workswith pro essional athletes who are orced to retire, sheconstantly reminds them that they have to becomemore lexible in how they measure their itness. Youhave to be able to see yoursel as being it withoutusing the same standards to measure your itness aswhen you were in your 20s and 30s, Diller says. Forinstance, maybe you cant do as many push-ups at

60 years old as you did at 40 years old or maybeyou cant run a mile as ast as you did a decadeago, and thats okay. I you want to learn to loveyour new body, your perception o being it has to

change, she adds.3. Hom i o ou

o -ph ic l t gth .Remember that you bring tothe table much more thanyour physical assets. Youbring wisdom and experienceto your clients that younger

itness pro essionals canto er, Diller says. Perhaps

even more importantly, youserve as a living example

o how a it li estyle can bene itpeople, and this is perhaps the greatest

gi t you can give clients. I you can teach themillions o baby boomers what it means to staystrong and it as their bodies change, youll bedoing them a great service, she says.


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or instance, is one o the biggest challenges. Consumersand other itness pro essionals have this idea that onceyou reach a certain age, you can no longer do things, Alansays. O course, what many people orget is that even iyoure not physically able to per orm the eats you onceused to, you can still bring out the best in others. Some othe best coaches in the world have never done what theirathletes have done, he adds.

Gardiner actually aced the challenge o ageism almostour years ago when she began teaching at Equinox Fitness

Club in Boston, where the youth ul clientele o ten seek killerclasses and where younger instructors are happy to oblige.I had to work hard to prove mysel to this younger crowd,and although it took me a while, its paid o , she says.Gardiner, or instance, currently teaches a core- ocusedclass called Synergy in which many o her participants are20-year-olds who no longer question why an old lady, asGardiner says, is teaching the class.

Yet while shes been able to carve out her own nicheat the club, Gardiner admits that you will have to acceptyour limitations, which could lead to changes in what youdo physically. You have to be willing to accept that asyou age, you wont be able to do what you did when youwere younger, Gardiner says. Thats why Gardiner is nowselective about what classes she teaches, and when shes

called to sub, she o ten declines i she thinks the class willput her body in jeopardy or not allow her to give studentsthe workout theyre expecting. I can still teach a great class,but Im not going to kill my students like younger instructorso ten do, she says. Its not air to the studentsor metoteach that class. I dont believe in killer workouts, and Im notgoing to hurt mysel trying to teach them.

Along with accepting physical limitations, you mayhave to pamper that body a little more than you had to in

the past. You have to learn to be smart about how youteach and train, Prouty says. Otherwise, you could windup with serious injuries.

For Freytag, or instance, getting smarter has meant puttingmore emphasis on warming up and stretching. Those are

two elements I didnt think about much when I was in my20s, she says. But theyre so much more important now,as I wind up with low-back problems or tight hamstrings andglutes i I dont warm up and stretch properly.

Roberts also began a serious stretching routine whenshe was 30, adding that the lexibility shes gained hashelped her decrease aches and pain. Her other secret?Recognizing that her body requires more sleep, shesmade sleep a bigger priority, which has helped her avoidbecoming overtrained.

M i t i i g you Lo g vit i thi I du tPerhaps the biggest question isnt whether you can be

success ul as an older itness pro essional, but how youcan maintain your longevity in this industry. Surprisingly,

as long as you take certain precautions, it may be easierthan you think.

For starters, protect your body and be smart about theworkouts you doand dontlead. Prouty, or instance,is care ul to vary her workouts and realizes that high-intensity workouts arent always possible. I I do a high-impact workout one day, Ill do a sculpting class the next,perhaps ollowed by a stretching workout, she says. Mostimportantly, practice what you preach and listen to yourbody: I it doesnt eel like doing what youre asking it to do,

dont push it.This extends to your own workouts as well, something

Clu learned when she transitioned away rom competitiverunning. A ter decades o running, her body no longer eltgood a ter doing it so she ound other activities like iceskating to keep hersel it. Just because you have to changeyour workouts doesnt mean you cant stay it, she says.But you have to accept that you may have to ind otherways to do it.

v if ou ot p s c

to p fo m th f t ou o cu d to, ou c till

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Physical recovery will also be more important as you age.

Because recovery takes longer, I rest more in relation tothe amount and intensity o exercise, says Gwen Hyatt, 62,

a 40-year veteran o the itness industry and president o

DSWFitness, which o ers correspondence courses or health

and itness pro essionals. She also stresses that stretching

and total-body strength training become even more crucial

to keeping your aging body active and injury- ree. Another way to decrease wear and tear and avoid getting

injured? Become a better coach. Many itness pro essionals

rely too much on their bodies to do the talking, Alan says.

Yet make your words as good as your moves, and you can

lead almost any workout.

You might also seek out situations that dont place asmuch physical demand on your body. For instance, consider

teaching itness classes that are gentler on the body,

including stretching, yoga, chair-based aerobics, Zumba

Gold and even water aerobics. Or i youre not already,consider becoming a personal trainer so youcan assume more o a

coaching role.

Along with teaching

di erent classes or getting

into personal training,

consider expanding yourclient base. Older adults,

or instance, would be an

ideal population to workwith, especially since

theyre one o the astest

growing segments o the American population. The tsunami o adults over 50 is

providing a multitude o excellent opportunities or veteran

itness pro essionals to work with clients who eel more

com ortable with a trainer closer to their age and one who

understands the aging body and its response to exercise,Hyatt says.

In act, ACE recently partnered with AARP to encourageolder adults to exercise. Through this partnership, AARP

members can comb through a database o ACE-certi ied

Fitness Pro essionals who have agreed to extend a discount

on their services. To learn how to get involved with thisprogram, visit www.acefitness.org/aarp .

Post-rehab exercise programming could be another

lucrative option or older itness pro essionals. More doctors

are getting savvy about how exercise can help their patients,

and theyll no doubt be calling on itness pro essionalsto help their patients, says Gardiner, who knows this

irsthand. A ter she was diagnosed with uterine cancer,she co-authored The Breast Cancer Survivors Fitness Plan (McGraw-Hill, 2006) and then co-designed (with Prouty) a12-week exercise program or breast cancer survivors that iso ered through the YMCA. Additionally, Prouty and Gardinerwill be presenting a session on this topic at the ACE FitnessSymposium on November 4, 2011 in San Diego .

To accomplish all o this, youll need to continue buildingyour knowledge. Dont just rely on what youve been doing

or the past 20 years, Prouty says. I you want to maintainyour career, you have to remain active by brushing up onyour education and learning about new programming andnew philosophies.

Letting go o your ego is perhaps the inal crucialingredient or your survival as a itness pro essional. I have alot o de inition in my muscles, but I also have stretched-outskin, Clu says. Those physical changes are an inevitable

act o aging, and ratherthan mourning her bodyschanging appearance, Clucelebrates the act that shesdoing things most peopleher own age, even thosewho are younger, cant do.I can outski my 18-year-oldgrandson, and that makesme really proud, she says.

Granted, no matter whoyou are, aging can be a

tough pill to swallow, but i you tweak how you train yourseland others and treat your body kindly, youll ind thatbecoming an older itness pro essional may bene it you inways you never imagined. As Hyatt says, We cant changethe act o aging, but we can change the ace o aging,acknowledging the wisdom and beauty o age, and rockingthe rules when it comes to how older individuals, especiallywomen, are supposed to look and act.

KarEN aSP, journalist and ACE-certi ied FitnessPro essional, is a contributing editor or WomansDay and co-author o Understanding Your Food

Allergies and Intolerances (available May 2012).She also writes or numerous other publications,including Self, Glamour, Better Homes and Gardens,

O, Family Circle, Natural Health, Real Simple, Prevention, Redbook and Mens Fitness. Follow her on Twitter (@karenaspwrite r).

e c n c n e e c , e c n c n e e c , ckn e n e s n e

e n c s en c es d

d d s,espec en,e s pp se d c .
http://www.acefitness.org/aarphttp://www.acefitness.org/symposium/scheduleDay2.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/symposium/scheduleDay2.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/symposium/http://www.acefitness.org/symposium/http://www.acefitness.org/symposium/http://www.acefitness.org/symposium/http://www.acefitness.org/symposium/scheduleDay2.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/symposium/scheduleDay2.aspxhttp://www.acefitness.org/aarp


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Food Adf e a T u r e s T o r Y

Food Adion


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C o c a i n e .

H oi . Chocolat f db ow i s. All could b da ous substa c s

of abus l adi to ch o ic addictio a d possibl d ath,c t s a ch su sts. So wh ou fit ss cli t sh

sa s h ca t h lp o i o ic c am, ou ma i fact b ssom o with a cli ical p obl m.

But can a person really be addicted to ood? While rarely discussed in scienti ic literature as recentlyas a decade ago, the nascent concept o ood addiction is making rapid inroads in the academic community

and popular culture. Its still a relatively new area [o scienti ic inquiry,] but as more studies emerge on this topicthe concept is gaining more validity, says researcher Nicole Avena, Ph.D.Because this is an emerging theory, you and your clients may be un amiliar with this

growing ield o study. Read on or a comprehensive overview on the topic, and learnexactly what ood addiction is, the scienti ic evidence supporting the theory, and what to doi you see behavioral red lags that may indicate your client is a ood addict.

Food Addiction DefinedFood addiction is a chronic, out-o -control or compulsive overconsumption o certain typeso pleasure-giving oods despite potentially negative social and health consequences.

Food addiction involves the compulsive pursuit o a mood change [through binge eating], says Kay Sheppard, M.A.,a mental health counselor and certi ied eating disorder pro essional who has authored three books on ood addiction.This is a disease that is primary, chronic, progressive and potentially atal.

A all foods addictiv ?Scienti ic literature describes the plausibility o becoming addicted to certain highly palatable components o ood suchas ats, sugars and potentially salt, which are typically ound in abundance in processed ood products.

Interestingly, there are virtually no whole oods ound in nature containing high amounts o both sugar and at(with human breast milk being one notable exception), explains Ashley Gearhardt, M.S., M.Phil., a doctoral

candidate in clinical psychology at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a student a iliate o theRudd Center or Food Policy and Obesity.

The absence o high sugar-and- at combinations in nature means that oods withthe strongest addictive potential are most likely modern and man-made. Yet

whether the mere presence o at or sugaror their presence in speci icproportions to each otherincreases a oods addictive

potential remains relatively unstudied andunknown.

ruth or Sc?By MegAn Senger

ruth or Sc?

h e expe ence

nesse c-e e s e e

? le s kn s n e

c en sec ne .


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A all food addicts ob s ?Size and addiction do not necessarily correlate, says

Avena, an assistant research pro essor at the Universityo Florida College o Medicine in Gainesville,Fla. It is likely that a subset o obese peoplehave ood addiction, but not all, sheexplains. Also, there is likely a subset

o people who are not obese, butwho may also meet the criteria or oodaddiction.

Science Weighs In: TheEvidence for Food Addiction

Food addiction is still a controversial issue, butevidence or its existence is steadily building,Gearhardt notes. Such substantiation comes

rom three sources: evolutionary plausibility,behavioral evidence and biologicalevidence.

evolutio a Plausibilit For our early ancestors, it would

have been highly advantageous or a at/sugarhigh to be hard-wired into our brains, as it wouldencourage the search or, and consumption o , li e-sustaining energy sources.

Yet todays ood environmentwith its easilyaccessible, mass-produced sources o at, sugar andsaltis unique in human evolution, Gearhardt explains.The accessibility o these so-called palatable

oods, combined with this Darwinian enjoymento ats and sweets, supports the notion that oodaddiction is highly plausible in the modern junk-

ood era (Taylor, Curtis and Davis, 2010).

B havio al evid cThe medical community recognizes

certain behaviors to be associatedwith substance abuse. Accordingto the American Society o AddictiveMedicine (ASAM), a physicianspro essional organization, these include anincreased hunger or substances o abuse (i.e.,cravings) and an inability to consistently abstain rom use(see sidebar, Addiction De ined, or more details). Put

in terms o ood addiction: S s s e e s e e nce n

e s ss c e c n.Rats allowed to binge- eed on sugar

solution consume increasingly greater amountsover time, demonstrating an increasing toleranceto the e ects o the substance. When deprived othe sugar solution, the rats also showed signs o

opiate-like withdrawal, including teeth-chattering,tremors, shakes and behavioral mani estations oanxiety (Avena et al., 2009).

S e s c p ss p en s se e ns e e c e e s ec p s ns, s c s n c p s espen n . Known as a trans er o addictions, thisphenomenon supports the notion that some peoplehave a hard-wired tendency to become addicted

(Taylor, Curtis and Davis, 2010).

Biolo ical evid cResearch in this area is extensive and

biochemically complex. Major indings includethe ollowing:

d s n s e e se e s e p e s e-n c n c e c s n e n. Ingestion o

sugar stimulates the release o opioids (a morphine-like chemical) and dopamine (a neurotransmitter thatregulates nerve unctions) in the brainas do drugs

o abuse. Dopamine, in particular, is known to playa major part in the brains ability to predict rewardand motivation, and is associated with the eelings oenjoyment elt rom alcohol, cocaine and heroin use(Wang et al., 2009).

d s n c e e s e e ns en.Imaging studies show that the same areas o

the mesolimbic pathways (i.e., neural areas associatedwith motivation and reward) are activated by bothdrugs and ood (Taylor, Curtis and Davis, 2010).

t e s e e c ns c n e se e n s.The

medication naltrexone is used to help recoveringaddicts combat cravings or alcohol, heroin, morphineand other drugs o abuse. As an opioid blocker, it hasalso been shown to reduce cravings or ood (Taylor,Curtis and Davis, 2010).

b n c ss c e s s nce sec e es p s e se - ssesse e e s


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c n e e e s. The YaleFood Addiction Scale (YFAS) is a psychometric

questionnaire that asks subjects to sel -assess

how requently they display ood addictionrelated

behaviors. By using magnetic resonance imaging

(MRI) scans o the subjects brains, high YFAS

scores were shown to positively correlate to neural

activation patterns associated with substance

abuse (Gearhardt et al., 2011).Yet the concept o ood addiction it is not without

its detractors, including David Benton, Ph.D., D.Sc., a

pro essor o psychology at the University o Swansea

in Swansea, Wales. Benton authored a 2010 paper

questioning the conclusiveness o current theory.

Remember that animal models and brain scans can

never demonstrate addiction, Benton says. Rather,

they can only generate a hypothesis that needs testing.

For example, while it is true that eating sugar

and ingesting drugs each correlate to a pleasurable

dopamine response in the brain, Benton argues that

such a chemical response is also elicited by ood, sex,

music and humor, and does not necessarily signal a

physical addiction.

Nevertheless, the vast majority o scienti ic inquiry to

date supports the theory o ood addiction, and papers

re uting the concept outright are ew and ar between.I would say that the topic is burgeoning, but that it is

not as well established as that o alcohol addiction,

notes Avena.

Scienti ic debate aside, there are many clinicians who

believe that ood addiction is both real and treatable.

And or itness pro essionals, the key to helping starts

with understanding how and why to re er a troubled

client or pro essional assistance.

For physicians andmental health professionals, the clinical

definition of a substance-use disorder is recorded

in the standard reference for psychiatric diagnoses, theDiagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-V.) The DSM-V defines addiction

as a maladaptive pattern of substance-use leading to clinically significantimpairment or distress, as manifested by two (or more) of the listed criteria

occurring within a 12-month period. Such DSM criteria include: consuminga substance in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended and a

persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use.The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) cautions that the diagnosis

of addiction requires a comprehensive biological, psychological, social and spiritualassessment by a trained and certified professional. And while food addiction is not

as of yet specifically recognized by either the DSM or the ASAM, Gearhardt notes thtat this may change. If evidence continues to build, acceptance in the DSM andASAM would be an important indicator of validity and may allow people to get

insurance funding for food-addiction treatment, she says.For additional information on red-flag behaviors that may indicate foodaddiction, check out the following resources:

Kay Sheppards food addiction definition andself-assessment for clients

Full YFAS study self-assessmentcriteria for food addiction

A d

d i c t i o n D e f i n e d

A d d

i c t i o n D e f i n e d
http://www.kaysheppard.com/articles/whatisfa.htmhttp://www.kaysheppard.com/articles/whatisfa.htmhttp://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdfhttp://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdfhttp://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdfhttp://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdfhttp://www.kaysheppard.com/articles/whatisfa.htmhttp://www.kaysheppard.com/articles/whatisfa.htm


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Is Your Client a Food Addict?Perhaps you have noticed suspicious patterns in your

clients ood journal, or maybe a trainees lack o success ulweight loss seems to indicate secret binging. It is likelythat many o [a itness pro essionals] clients are secretsu erers o this disease and experience great shame

about it. They may not even know that there is a

solution and they may think they are alone, saysNaomi Lippel, the managing director o Overeaters

Anonymous in Rio Rancho, N.M.

When to refer?To assess a clients situation, Sheppard suggests

taking a closer look at some o his or her behaviors.

Red lags might include i a client cant stop eatingwhenever he or she wishes; i a client manipulates waysto be alone so that he or she can eat privately; i he orshe has ever hidden ood or eaten in secret; or i hisor her eating or weight has ever inter ered with jobs,

relationships or inances. I these types o behaviorsseems to exist in a clients li e, it is possible he or sheneeds pro essional help.

How to refer? Approaching a client whom you suspect to

be a ood addict can be a delicate process,

since treatment o addiction is not withinyour scope o practice and the client maybe in denial. Adding con usion to the re erralquestion is the act that ood addiction is anemerging ield o research lacking a clear

conclusion as to what treatment type ismost e ective, Gearhardt says.

With these caveats in mind, she suggests irst mentioningto your client that you have noticed certain patterns oconsumption and that you are concerned or his or her

well-being. She recommends re erring troubled clients to a12-step program (such as Overeaters Anonymous) or to aclinician who does behavioral treatment (re er to www.abct.org ). Alternately, making a re erral to a medical doctor could

also be o help, adds Avena.

Whats the fix?Through private therapy and sel -help groups,

therapists who specialize in the treatment o addictive

illness can provide clients with tools or stabilizing di icultemotions, Sheppard says. Treatment begins with breakingthe binge cycle and providing emotional and dietarysupport through withdrawal and recovery, she adds.

Will exercise help? Although research studies have not yet ormally

explored this question, Mark Gold, M.D., Chair othe Department o Psychiatry at the University o

Florida and an eminent addiction-research specialist,notes that the scienti ic community anecdotallysupports the notion that exercise helps with recovery

and is, there ore, typically encouraged.Moving orward, it is universally agreed that more

research is needed. There are a ew important questions westill need to answer, such as which oods or things in oodsare addictive, and whether ood addicts respond di erently

to clinical treatment, says Gearhardt.Regardless o uture indings, using compassion toapproach clients who struggle with ood issues will alwaysbe good medicine.

References Avena, N.M., Rada, P. and Hoebel, B.G. (2009).

Sugar and Fat Bingeing Have Notable Di erences in Addictive-like Behavior. Journal of Nutrition, 139, 3,623628.

Benton, D. (2010). The plausibility o sugar addictionand its role in obesity and eating disorders. ClinicalNutrition, 29, 3, 288303.

Gearhardt, A. et al. (2011). Neural correlates oood addiction. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68,

8, 808816.

Taylor, V.H., Curtis, C. and Davis, C. (2010). Theobesity epidemic: the role o addiction. CanadianMedical Association Journal , 182, 4, 327328.

Wang, G.J., et al., (2009). Imaging o braindopamine pathways: Implications or understanding

obesity . Journal of Addiction Medicine, 3, 818.

mEgaN SENgEr is a writer, speaker and itnesssales consultant based in Southern Cali ornia. Activein the exercise industry since 1995, she holds abachelors degree in kinesiology and English. Whennot writing on health and li estyle trends, techniques,and business opportunities or leading trademagazines, she can be ound in ardha uttanasana

becoming reacquainted with her toes. She can be reached atwww.megansenger.com .
http://www.abct.org/http://www.abct.org/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2714381/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2714381/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521http://neural%20correlates%20of%20food%20addiction./http://neural%20correlates%20of%20food%20addiction./http://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/4/327.full.pdf+htmlhttp://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/4/327.full.pdf+htmlhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.megansenger.com/http://www.megansenger.com/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/4/327.full.pdf+htmlhttp://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/4/327.full.pdf+htmlhttp://neural%20correlates%20of%20food%20addiction./http://neural%20correlates%20of%20food%20addiction./http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2714381/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2714381/?tool=pubmedhttp://www.abct.org/http://www.abct.org/


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*Probably the closest thing were the ndings, published in The Wall Street Journal in 2008, o a panel o ve sports scientistsand exercise physiologists. Using criteria very similar to those used in this article, they named decathlete Roman Sobrely as theworlds ttest athlete.

By Jim Gerard

Who are the

Fittest Athletes?

Heckler in stands to the

notoriously paunchy John Kruk,the former Philadelphia Phillie: You call yourself an athlete!?

Ine e e s s pe -

o p cs, n c e es

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e j e e s e

s n . w n? l nce

a s n ? m nn P c ? leb n

J es? l ne mess ? m c e P e ps?

This article hopes to, i not answer, at least shed much light on what is essentially the stuo barroomor juice bararguments: What type o athletes are the most it?

Science is o little help, because sports physiologists dont have a system to rank all athletesand, due to di erences in criteria, there have been no scienti ically validstudies on the subject. * Add to this the act that there are no tests that canaccurately measure whole-body lexibility and agility, plus the di iculty

o obtaining the results o existing tests such as athletes V

O2 maxrom pro essional sports organizations and the like, and were le t with

enlightened subjectivity.Dr. Jonathan L. Chang, clinical associate pro essor o orthopedics at

the University o Southern Cali ornia in Los Angeles, says that like manycomplex but ultimately unanswerable questions, The determination o whos the ittest athlete isbased on your de inition o itness. And i you stick to one criterion, it makes answering easier.

Kruk:

Lady, Im not an athlete, Im abaseball player.
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For the average gym-goer orrecreational athlete, itness is acombination o its our most basiccomponents: cardiorespiratory endurance(as measured by V

O2 max), muscular

strength and endurance, and lexibility.However, because we wanted to evaluate the

ittest rom as many sides as possible, we areusing a much broader de inition o itnessthe sumo cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strengthand endurance, balance, power, lexibility, agility andphysical skills.

A rough survey o experts in the ield, includingexercise physiologists and high-level athletictrainers, yielded some ascinating answers. In short,decathletes, boxers (and practitioners o MixedMartial Arts, or MMA), skill position pro ootballplayers (meaning running backs, wide receivers andcornerbacks) and hockey players ranked highest.

The Case for DecathletesPodiatrist Dr. John W. Pagliano, an American

College o Sports Medicine ellow who ran in the 1968Olympic trials, ranks athletes using the same broadcriteria we used and believes that decathlon athletesare the most it. His reasoning rests on the broadrange o aptitudes these athletes must possess toparticipate in 10 track-and- ield events over a two-

day span. You want cardiorespiratory endurance?They can run 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 20 seconds.Speed? 100 meters in 10 seconds. The shot put,

discus and javelin require power, andthe high jump and long jump call

or agility. Balance, coordinationand what Pagliano callsskill are needed or thepole vault and 110-meterhurdles. And they need

lexibility or every event,says Pagliano.

Yet even theseincredibly versatileper ormers are not

without their detractors.Chang says that theirrelative ranking is a

controversial topic. [Decathletes] areconsidered either the best athletes orthe most mediocre ones. Theres noquestion theyre antastically in shape.But because they have to compete in10 events, they cant be great at any

one o them. Their per ormance in any single event issubstantially behind elite specialists in that event.

Boxers and Mixed Martial ArtistsBoxers scored high in the in ormal ACE poll. Exercise

physiologist Dr. Je rey A. Potteiger, a pro essor atGrand Rapids State University in Grand Rapids, Mich.,spoke or the sweet science contingent. WhileI havent seen any measures o itness or boxers,theyre very strong, power ul andquick, and have a pretty high levelo cardiorespiratory

itness. (Hepondered includingwrestlers, but hadreservations about theirendurance levels.)

Chang agrees that boxers areextremely it in many ways, and itheyre not good at everything theydo, theyre going to get knockedout. However, he elt that while

boxers needed agility and upper-body speed (to throw punches),leg speed was not crucial, whichis why he ranked them slightlybehind ootball players.

Todd Durkin, owner o FitnessQuest 10 in San Diego, andauthor o The IMPACT! Body Plan, disagrees. Having workedwith dozens o pro essional athletes in the National

Football League and Major League Baseball, Durkinasserts, I would put a top mixed martial artist(MMA) or boxer up against a decathlete, strictly onthe basis o itness per ormance. A ter all, an MMAathlete employs a wide range o itness attributes(including perhaps the leg speed or kicking thatChang elt boxers lacked) at high intensity whilesomeone is trying to choke him.

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w nk ee f es e es?

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Football PlayersIn Changs estimation,

a skills player in the NFLwill probably have thewidest combination oitness attributes. In

most sports, you need to

concentrate on only one ortwo criteria, he says. But to

succeed in ootball, you haveto do many things welland take

a hit.Durkin echoes this: Cornerbacks,

wide receivers and running backs aresome o the ittest athletes possible.They can train at extremely highintensity, or a prolonged period o

60 to 90 minutes. They apply speed,power, endurance, coordination,quickness, rhythm and strengthto many skills and tasks. And they

have very low body at.Yet Durkin admits that theyre not per ect. I

you reduced your criteria to strength, enduranceand lexibility, ootball players would lose a bit,because theyre not as lexible as, say, basketballplayers.

Hockey PlayersThe typical NHL player comes in a package

that melds strength, agility, power,speed and lexibility. Thats whyPagliano ranked them only behinddecathletes and boxers. Theygain points or overall itness andlose a ew because theyre onskates, which requires less e ortthan, say, basketball players. Onthe other hand, they require a highdegree o skill and balance.

Potteiger disagrees: I considerhockey as more o a skill sport. Ivedone some per ormance testing onthem and theyre strong, but not asmuch as you think. They dont have the

endurance o basketball players. Hockey playersgo all out in 30- to 60-second shi ts, then get abreak.

Who Didnt Make the Cutand Why Surprisingly, triathletes ranked near the bottom

o our uno icial survey. Pagliano says, Theylack speed, strength and the skill to, say, hoistthemselves with a pole over an 18- oot bar.

The same caveats apply to endurance runnersand cyclists. Lance Armstrong, argues Potteiger,doesnt have upper-body strength and hewouldnt do as well throwing the shot put, orexample, as a pro ootball player. Even sprinters,who possess plyometric power and speed,dont have the all-around physical ability o adecathlete.

Dr. Carl Foster, director o the HumanPer ormance Laboratory at the University oWisconsin, LaCrosse, rules out some othercandidates: Soccer players are neitherremarkably strong nor do they have remarkableendurance, but they are better than average inboth. Strongman competitors usually have poorendurance, but they are very strong.

Sports such as baseball and gol (does it evenquali y?) tilt more toward elite skills than overall

itness. You could be a very good baseball player,

but not necessarily be a good athlete, Potteiger says.

More Questions Than AnswersPotteiger says that actors beyond physical

capacity also cloud our ability to evaluatethe ittest athlete.

First, theres the issue o sel -selection.Potteiger believes that many pro athletessuch as LeBron Jameswould besuccess ul decathletes, but choose not

to, probably because o the sports lowerpro ile and earning potential. At some point,the multisport athlete has to specialize tobecome success ul. And even within a sport,certain skills are more or less important than

others. (Take basketballa point guardneeds quickness, but a center may not.)


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How the Fittest TrainNow that weve reached educated conclusions about

the ittest athletes, you may be wondering what kind otraining it takes to become one. Durkin, who trains manypro athletes, gave us a detailed look. In the o -seasonhis charges will do 45- to 60-minute high-intensity intervalworkouts three to our times a week. As the seasonapproaches, theyll work out longer (up to two-and-a-halhours a day), working both the upper and lower body,incorporating weights and on- ield sport-speci ic activities. Atypical weekly breakdown is:

Monday and Thursday: lower body and core Tuesday and Friday: upper body A peak workout or the lower body consists o some

combination o squats, lunges, side lunges, plyometrics,single leg Romanian deadli ts, kettlebell swings andlateral band walks ( or the hips), using a Superband.Core work includes exercises using the TRX SuspensionTrainer, Swiss balls and BOSU balls, push-passes witha medicine ball, total gym knee tucks and rotationaltraining work or the hips and core on the TRX Riptrainer. Well do our to six lower-body exercises, plus

ive to 10 sets o core training, Durkin says. The next day, the upper-body work consists o our

to six exercises (two to our sets o each) rom among

the ollowing: balance-board push-ups, stability ball

dumbbell bench press, TRX rows, Total Gym pull-

ups, TRX movements or the shoulder and back, and

one-arm rows and other traditional strength-training

exercises on machines or with ree weights. He also

uses relatively esoteric equipment such as at bars

(which are thicker, harder-to-grip barbells) or rice

buckets (to strengthen ingertip grip).

Some days Durkin adds 30 to 40 minutes o agility drills

that replicate moves on the ield (with a 1:2 or 1:3 work-

to-rest ratio; that is, 20 seconds o work, 40 seconds o

rest) using cones, ladders, hurdles and Superbands.

I those werent enough, he adds supplementary

exercises or the neck, eet and ankles.

So, i as Chang says, the ittest athlete is in the eye o the

beholder, anyone who can survive Durkins workouts can

probably claim the mantle.

Jim gErard is an author, journalist, playwright andstand-up comic. He has written or the New Republic,Travel & Leisure, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, WashingtonPost, Salon, Details, New York Observer and manyother magazines. For more in ormation, visit his site atwww.gango 60.com .
http://www.gangof60.com/http://www.gangof60.com/


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Neuroplas-what?With aging, a loss o synapses may contribute to a

slowing in the speed o cognitive processing, including thought andmental recall,

says Janie Clark, M.A., president o the American Senior Fitness Association and author oBrain Fitness or Older Adults, a continuing-education course or tness pro essionals. However,

we can mitigate the degenerative cognitive loss commonly associated with normalaging by encouraging neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is the ability o the brain to change, adaptand even rewire itsel based on new experience. One issue with

seniors, however, is that they tend to all into routines and either avoidor do not have the opportunity to experience new activities or events.

Many seniors never change their experience. They do the same things allthe time and seem to be a raid to do anything di erent, says Carolyn Dean, M.D.,N.D., medical director o The Nutritional Magnesium Association. That ear keeps

them rom engaging in new experiences that could help oster neuroplasticity.I you work with this population, you are already setting them on the track to

neuroplasticity, because exercise alone has been shown to improve brain health.Large epidemiologic studies have shown that middle-aged and senior people

who exercise regularly experience less age-associated cognitive decline, saysCatherine Sarkisian, M.D., a geriatrician and researcher at the David Ge enSchool o Medicine at UCLA. We also know rom randomized trials o aero-

bic exercise programs that people who improve their cardiac tness arealso more likely to improve their cognitive unction, especially in

the domains o cognitive speed and attention. One reasonor this is because blood fow to your brain increases

with the increased cardiac output rom theaerobic exercise.

By Carrie Myers

Creating the Ultimate

Mind-Body Connection

A s we age, our bodies decline in function, especially if were not taking precautions against it.The same goes for the brain.While it was once believed that the brain was hardwired during childhood and there was nothing you could do to change that,today we know that the brain is plastic in nature, able to form new cells and neural connections. As a fitness professional, you are in a perfect position to help older adults effectively exercise their brains along with their bodies, thereby creating the ultimate mind-body connection.

b n F ness o e a s CEC course

a e c n Sen F ness ass c n

S pe b n y by Master Choa

Kok Sui

Brain FitnessResources
http://www.dswfitness.com/http://www.seniorfitness.org/http://www.seniorfitness.org/http://www.superbrainyoga.org/http://www.superbrainyoga.org/http://www.seniorfitness.org/http://www.seniorfitness.org/http://www.dswfitness.com/


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Aerobic exercise in turn prevents cardiovasculardisease and diabetes, Sarkisian continues, botho which are risk actors or dementia, so it makessense that people who maintain excellent cardiac

tness are at lower risk o [developing dementia].But it goes urther than that. There are even

speci c changes within the brain itsel . Whenparticipating in cardio exercise, the brain releasesand increases the brain-derived neurotrophic

actor (BDNF) level, which is like Miracle-Gro ornew brain cells, orming new cells, neural path-ways and connections, explains Aneil Koerper,C.S.C.S., health and tness coordinator or TheTerraces o Phoenix in Phoenix, Ariz.

Research suggests that physical tness mayoster cognitive health through more than one

mechanism, adds Clark. Besides stepping up the

secretion o BDNF, it also appears to increase therate o neurogenesisthe actual creation o newneuronsacross ones li espan. It also improvescirculation while increasing the oxygen-carrying ca-pacity o ones blood; enhanced blood fow to thebrain has been linked to corresponding improve-ments in cognitive unctioning.

Mark Poisall, M.S., C.S.C.S., a behavioralspecialist or Medi ast, Inc., cites a 2006 study byColcombe et al. in which 59 older adults were ran-domly assigned to either a cardiovascular exercisegroup or a nonaerobic exercise control group inwhich they did only stretching and strength train-ing. Participants exercised or three hours a week

or six months. Their brains were scanned be oreand a ter the training period.

A ter six months, the brain volume o the aer-obic-exercising group increased in several areascompared to the control group. Volume increaseoccurred primarily in rontal and temporal areas othe brain, which are involved in executive control

and memory processes. (See sidebar, What Partso the Brain Bene t Most From Exercise?)

The authors do not know what underlying cel-lular changes might have caused these volumechanges, says Poisall. However, they suspect,based on animal research, that volume changesmay be due to an increased number o bloodvessels and an increased number o connectionsbetween neurons.

What Parts of the Brain Benefit Most From Exercise?

The entire brain bene ts rom physical activ-ity, but it appears to especially enrich unctionsbased in the pre rontal and rontal regions othe brain. This was rein orced by an exercise-versus-medication study conducted by a teamo Duke University researchers, explains Clark.Researchers measured 84 clinically depressedmiddle-aged and older subjects at baselineand again a ter our months in a variety ocognitive domains. Compared to the medica-tion users, the exercisers had greater improve-ments in memory, as well as in executive unc-tions pertaining to planning, organization andintellectual multitasking.

Source: Khatri, P. et al. (2001). E ects o exercise trainingon cognitive unctioning among depressed older men andwomen. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 9, 1, 4357.
http://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomenhttp://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomenhttp://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomenhttp://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomenhttp://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomenhttp://journals.humankinetics.com/japa-back-issues/JAPAVolume9Issue1January/EffectsofExerciseTrainingonCognitiveFunctioningAmongDepressedOlderMenandWomen


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Tease the BrainWhile aerobic exercise alone appears to

bene t the brain, some programs, includ-ing The Terraces o Phoenix, are addingbrainteaser activities to their exercise pro-grams to urther improve the brains potential

toward neuroplasticity.We decided to add brainteasers to ourresidents cardio routines to improve theirmemory and hearts at the same time, saysKoerper. During the new tness class, Heartand Mind Cycle, older adults cycle on arecumbent bike while [our trainers] ask thembrain teasers. This has been very popularamong our residents.

Vista del Monte, a ront-porch retirementcommunity in Santa Barbara, Cali ., takes a

similar approach. Weve just begun o eringBrain Fitness Classes as part o the pro-gramming rom the tness and aquatic cen-ter, explains Peggy Buchanan, M.A., directoro tness aquatics and physical therapy at

Vista del Monte. These one-hour classesbegin with simple dance steps, then incorpo-rate word games, puzzles and memorizationtechniques, along with a brie PowerPointpresentation explaining how exercise, nutri-tion and socialization stimulate cognition,delaying the onset o dementia.

The Bottom LineThe aging population o ers you a wonder-

ul opportunity to help people improve theirquality o li e at a time when they may be ac-ing increasing challenges per orming activi-ties that were once automatic and done withease. The brain is an amazing organ that hasthe ability to adapt, grow and changeat ev-ery age. The outdated adage that old dogscant learn new tricks has no application tothe older adult who is willing to continue toengage in physical activity and partake innew experiences.

C e m e shas a bachelors degree inexercise science and has been a reelancewriter or more than 11 years. She is theauthor o the award-winning book, Squeez-

ing Your Size 14 Self into a Size 6 World: AReal Womans Guide to Food, Fitness, and Self-Accep-tance and presents, teaches and trains in N.H. and Vt.

Easy Ways to Tease the BrainYou can easily begin incorporating brain exercises into your

clients or participants routines today. Consider trying the ollow-ing techniques or challenging your clients brains:R Encourage them to do a crossword puzzle, word nd, math

problems, or Sodoku while on the exercycle.R Have participants alternate ve minutes o brainteasers with

10 minutes o aerobic activity.R Play a Wii Fit TM game that requires a client to do math and

jump at the same time.R Educate your clients about the muscles they are using during

each exercise and quiz them during their sessions to see ithey remember the names.

R Play a game o Simon Says, incorporating physical activity intothe game.

R Incorporate activities that require clients to take directions,such as dance, tai chi and yoga, as these create a greaterchallenge or the brain.

R Bat a balloon back and orth. To increase the challenge, makea rule that they have to alternate hands, or tell them be orethey hit the balloon back to you which hand they have to use.

R Incorporate exercises that require clients to think le t to rightand diagonally. For example, have the client assume a stand-ing or seated position on a stability ball and: hold a 1- to 4-pound soft medicine ball in each hand. Hold

arms out to the sides at shoulder height. Adduct the extendedarms to the bodys midline, open the arms back up, and thenbring the extended arms up overhead and back down to thestarting position. Repeat or eight to 12 repetitions.

position the extended arms so that they are at a diagonalto the body, with one arm up and one arm down. Hold a1- to 4-pound so t medicine ball in one hand. Close thearms, bringing them both to chest height, and move the ballto the opposite hand. Continue to exchange the ball in thismanner or eight to 12 reps and then switch the direction othe diagonal and repeat.

position the arms in the same manner as the previous exercise,but hold the ball in the top hand. A ter you exchange the ball tothe other hand, switch the direction o the diagonal, so that theball is always in the top hand. Repeat or eight to 12 reps.


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opl cit m o fo ot i g ph ic ll

ctiv ot ough tim , ot ough fu , ot ough

g th li t go o . but it tu out th t o of

th mo t t lli g f cto i wh th o ot p o h kid .Its no secret that parenting young children is time-consuming and stress ul, a act

con irmed by studies like the one conducted by researchers rom the University o Minnesotacomparing the health habits o young adults with and without children. This study assessedthe eating and physical-activity behaviors o 1,500 socioeconomically and ethnically diverseyoung adults. Results showed that moms drank more sugary drinks and ate 400 morecalories per day, more saturated at and ewer dark green vegetables (the healthiest kind ovegetable), and exercised less than the non-moms. With all that bad news, its not surprisingthat the moms also weighed more than the non-moms. Dads had lower physical-activitylevels, but no major nutrition changes and no di erence in BMI than the non-dads (Bergeet al., 2011). From this study, and others like it, it is clear that parenthood can take quite atoll on the health habits o parents. In act, a review o 25 studies on the topic o parentingand physical activity ound that parents with young kids are ar less active than non-parents(Bellows-Riecken and Rhodes, 2008).

ByNatalie Digate Muth,

M.D., M.P.H., R.D .


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Parents as Role Models for Healthy BehaviorsThe activities that parents engage in every day just to care or and play with their children count,

but inding the time to commit to an exercise program helps a person eel better and achieve ormaintain a healthy weight. Furthermore, in the current environment o rampant physical inactivity,ready access to highly processed and calorie-dense oods, and epidemic rates o childhoodand adult obesity, the best thing parents can do to help set their children on the path to maximalhealth and well-beingwhich includes eating health ully and engaging in physical activity on aregular basisis to model healthy behaviors. In act, time and again, research has shown thatthe most e ective strategy or preventing and reducing childhood obesity is to ocus exclusivelyon the parent (Golan, Kau man and Shahar, 2006; Golan and Crow, 2004; Golan et al., 1998).One study ound that speci ically training parents in healthy li estyle habits led to a 10 percentweight loss in moderately obese ive- to nine-year-old childrenand this loss was maintained

or two years (Magarey et al., 2011). Another ound that a parent-centered nutritional programthat ocused on parental goal-setting, role modeling and positive rein orcement was essential orsustainable weight improvements in obese kids (Collins et al., 2011). In short, one promising way

to help both adults and children to adopt healthier habits and a more active li estyle is to convincethe parent, as primary caretaker and role model, to make physical activity a amily priority.


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Easy to Say, Harder to DoParents commonly cite atigue and lack o time, childcare and social support as barriers to getting

the recommended 60 minutes o physical activity each day. So what can be done to help parentsreverse the trend toward decreased activity that so o ten ollows the joyous arrival o a new amilymember? Here are a ew tips you can o er parents who claim that theres just no way to balancethe demands o parenthood and carve out an hour a day to work out.

1.Take the kids along for the ride.The best way or me to exercise is to take both kids out in the joggingstroller. Once or twice a week I meet some other moms at the walkingtrail. Pushing 60-plus pounds o kids and stroller up and down hills

or an hour is a pretty good workout! recommends Danielle Rattray,mother to Owen (4) and Hannah (1).

2. Ask for help. Lean on a spouse or partner to watch the kids or a ew minutes

and go or a quick workout. Working parents o ten want to spendevery non-working moment with the kids, but sometimes carvingout a ew minutes o personal time can make all the di erence.Its hard not to eel guilty taking time to exercise by yoursel whenI already eel like I dont get to spend enough time with [two-year-old] Xavier, says Amber Curran. But it keeps me happier and lesscrazy, so I igure that bene its him as well. A ter all, she says, Noone wants a nutty mother!

3. Make a game of it .Barb Ruvarac, mother o school-aged children, Samantha and Zach,pushed hersel to meet a prede ined number o steps each day. I thatmeans staying up late to get the steps in, so be it. When Samanthawent to bed I would inish my steps on the treadmill to reach 10,000steps. Some days Id only have to walk or 30 minutes, some days itwould take longer. Then, I graduated rom walking to running. Then myhusband signed us up or the Shamrock Shu le in 2010 irst runningevent ever! And by May o 2010, Id lost 20 pounds and two dresssizes! Barb is now an avid hal -marathoner and highly active rolemodel to her highly active children.


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4. Prioritize. In describing her commitment to exercise despite working ull-time and

raising a nine-month-old, Beth Read uses an analogy that we all can relate

to: Like they tell you in the airplane . . . put on your oxygen mask irst

be ore assisting others. Whether that means waking up be ore the children

or staying up a little bit later, getting a ew minutes o physical activity sets

the stage or a more productive day and well-balanced person.

5. Set goals. Tackling the most challenging health struggles becomes a little bit easier

with goal-setting. Try this exercise: Write down three goalsa nutrition goal,

a itness goal and a behavioral goal. Operationalize this goal as much as

possible by trying to make sure that the goal is Smart. Spec c: What is itexac

ace certified news october 2011

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