Thursday 23 February 2012

Fitness Trainer Courses – Good, Better & Best

The mind thrives on the body. If the body is ailing, the mind won’t work to its maximum potential either. Diseases, aches and old age can turn one’s life into a living nightmare. Thus it is important to remain fit, and for that we need fitness trainers. Trainers are professional ‘guides’ who have undertaken fitness trainer courses which teach them the techniques for developing and maintaining a Fit body.

In fact, today fitness training has become a very lucrative career option. People have started realizing the dangers of an unfit body. The spreading of so many diseases and ailments has moved them into action and an increasing number of people are now hiring the services of professionals who have the experience and certification from good Fitness Academies which provide fitness trainer courses. A fitness trainer can work at multiple locations and with multiple clients, since most facilities work in shifts. They can look for employment in gyms, health centres, clubs and even with corporate houses. It is a fascinating field where one gets to work with interesting people from all walks of life.

A word of warning while looking for Certification courses. In case you find yourself pressed for time & cannot make it in person to an institute, do not fall for the temptation of doing an Online Certification. Certain fields such as that of a Fitness Trainer cannot & should not have Online Certifications as Practical training is an integral & indispensable part of the education of a fitness trainer. This is totally skipped by such courses making the fitness professional who has certified himself online to be extremely unreliable in the Form & Technique department. Teaching the right form & technique of exercises is probably the most important part of the job profile of a Personal trainer and thus no certification course should ever avoid that. After all better performance & injury prevention are based solely on doing the exercises with the right form & technique.

Fitness trainers get to learn basic First Aid & CPR, Workouts for Special Populations & Exercise-Sports Nutrition through supplementary courses at reputed Fitness Academies apart from the fundamental Personal Trainer Course. Equipment appreciation is also part of the course.

There are a few fitness trainer courses which work on correspondence basis. Subjects that do not involve practical training for Exercise form & Technique can be done through correspondence. For instance the Exercise & Sports Nutrition Course or the course on Personal Trainer for Special Populations. These courses must be done after first completing the Personal Trainer Course in person. The Massage Therapy Course again is an example of a course that SHOULD NOT be done through Correspondence or Online as the strokes can only be learnt properly throough practical training. Correspondence even in those courses which can be done through distance learning should only be an option for people who live far away from the institute maybe in another city, state or country OR for people who cannot leave their jobs & spare time to do a course. With regards to working people many reputed aacademies have started weekend courses or very early morning batch timings.

These correspondence courses are held through post, emails and online seminars. You will get all relevant course material sent to you through these channels. At the end of the course, there will be examinations in selected centres, after which you will receive the certification. But be sure to do correspondence courses in subjects that do not require Practical training.

It is one thing to read something in books or online and quite another to experience it first-hand. Interacting directly with the lecturers & Master Trainers will give you an infinitely better learning experience & a better hold over the subject.

Monday 13 February 2012

What is a Swedish Massage?

People are often stumped when asked if they know what a Swedish massage is?
Typically this extremely relaxing, therapeutic massage is known by this name in most English speaking countries. The rest of the world, including Sweden of course, knows it by the name ‘Classic Massage’. It was developed by the Swedish physical therapist Pehr Henrik Ling sometime in the nineteenth century.

Pehr Henrik Ling was a renowned developer and teacher of medical-gymnastics. He designed this therapy by combining a series of calisthenics-like exercises which focused on the connection between the mind and the body. Have we answered the question? No, not even close. So, what is a Swedish massage?

The massage is a combination of five unique motions which are meant to manipulate your muscles and help in relaxing your mind to relieve tension. These motions are meant to stimulate your muscles which lie dormant in our daily lives due to lack of physical exercise. The fact is that in the hectic lives which we lead these days, our mind gets a little too much activity, while out bodies get too little.

Let’s discuss the traditional muscle movements a little more closely and try to understand the basics.

1. Effleurage- Effleurage is the use of fan style and circle style stroking of your body tostimulate sliding as well as gliding movements.
2. Petrissage- This technique uses the classic kneading of soft tissues to compress them together. The purpose of this movement is to release knots and dissipate toxic substances accumulated in body cavities.
3. Tapotement- Tapotement is a rhythmic tapping of your body parts using the edge of the masseur’s hand to release tension and heighten blood circulation.
4. Friction- This is simply rubbing of the body parts to create heat, which is applied to relax the nerve endings and soothe sore muscles.
5. Vibration- This helps in relieving pain by enhancing blood flow.

These techniques are used with varied degrees of intensity and frequency to stimulate muscles in the body, open blocked blood capillaries, detoxify sore parts and enhance oxygen supply by increasing blood flow.

Swedish massage is highly popular and is prescribed all over the world by professional therapists. Although it is used mostly as a full body massage, it can even be applied for specific body aches, injuries and stress. As far as massage therapies are concerned, the Swedish massage therapy works wonders to rejuvenate your body and mind. An experienced masseur knows how to identify the vital points of your body and treat them in the perfect way to relieve pain and release stress.

Now that you know what is a Swedish massage it would be prudent to first consult a practicing therapist before opting for it to make sure that it is the best option for your particular requirements. If you wish to learn Swedish massage techniques, some fitness training academies in India also offer such massage therapy courses.