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Oct 14, 2021 | Blog Posts
This blog was written by Carol Syer. In my 30+ years in the fitness Industry, I have seen it continue to grow and mature, we have become more aware and more inclusive. We have become more educated and with that knowledge we are becoming more welcoming for People with Disability. Having spent my life living [...]
Aug 5, 2021 | Blog Posts
I have always enjoyed passing on things that I have learnt. I’m sort of hardwired for it. I remember, as child in school, that I would often help other students with understanding homework, and provide assistance during recess and lunchtimes in the school library. It gave me purpose and it felt good to share what [...]
Jun 29, 2021 | Blog Posts
When you’ve been a group fitness instructor for over 30 years, you see some interesting trends and fads come and go. I remember when I first saw the step in 1991 and thought to myself ‘What’s this rubbish?. There’s no way you can make this interesting enough for a whole class.’ But here I am [...]
Jun 6, 2021 | Blog Posts
Do you love being part of a group exercise experience, moving to music and setting your heart rate and happiness levels soaring? Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be on stage leading a class? You know that feeling when you’ve been inspired by an exceptional group fitness instructor. The ones that [...]
May 10, 2021 | Blog Posts
Have you ever really asked yourself why you teach group fitness? Why did you decide that this would be the career that you would choose to do, over a variety of other options? Often people will express platitudes like, ‘to improve the wellbeing and health of my community’, or ‘to make a change in other [...]
Apr 2, 2021 | Blog Posts, Muscle Conditioning, Technique, Workshop
For the last 15 years, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have conducted surveys with thousands of professionals around the world, to determine health and fitness trends for the following year. The survey for 2021 had a 40% increase in responses and for that reason, this 15th annual survey of fitness trends, will have [...]
Feb 28, 2021 | Blog Posts
From a young age at school, I enjoyed helping other children who were struggling with school work. It was a way that I felt accepted. Growing up in a community that did not have much ethnic diversity, I didn’t really fit in. My parents were not comfortable with me having more than one friend come [...]
Jan 18, 2021 | Blog Posts
Changes to the way we operate during lockdown have exposed many fitness professionals to social media-induced self-doubt. You’re worth so much more than fleeting clicks, writes group fitness guru Marietta Mehanni. Body image. It must be one of the most talked about topics, and it doesn’t matter how many memes or quotes are shared about [...]
Jan 5, 2021 | Blog Posts, Gymstick, Gymstick Articles
I was first introduced to resistance bands early in my teaching career in the 1990’s. This long piece of elastic was recommended as a portable and effective form of resistance training. Having only used weights for resistance training, this concept intriged me, only to be quickly disappointed. Although the workshop presenter was very engaging and [...]
Nov 12, 2020 | Blog Posts
Take care of yourself - no one else will do a better job. For the majority of people on this planet, the world went sideways in 2020. The new normal became a concept and words like pivoting and virtual became popular business words. Even words like lockdown, which in the past would have been used [...]
Sep 7, 2020 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues
Let’s talk about an elephant in the room. The big one with its backside in your face. The one that you can’t miss, but trying to avoid looking at. GROUP EXERCISE INSTRUCTOR MENTAL HEALTH It is an interesting conundrum because as an instructor, you are not physically alone, but often you may feel that there [...]
Aug 18, 2020 | Blog Posts
The Covid-19 pandemic has been the only global conversation in 2020 and the big question constantly being asked is have you pivoted? If you are in the group fitness industry, your gym most likely has closed or has reopened with a limited timetable. As Covid-19 exploded around the world, so did online group fitness. Thousands [...]
Aug 7, 2020 | Blog Posts
‘The best way to predict the future is to create it' a quote by Peter Drucker, whom is one of the best-known and most widely influential thinkers and writers on the subject of management theory and practice. His quote is something that struck a powerful chord with me years ago, that I have applied in [...]
Jun 8, 2020 | Blog Posts
‘Ah ha, I think I’ve got it right now!’ I say as I step off my chair, having positioned the phone way up on the top shelf in my kitchen. ‘No... it’s on an angle’ and I get back up on the chair, then on to the kitchen bench to realign the phone. This has [...]
Apr 10, 2020 | Blog Posts, Speech from the boss
I received an email and in it, I was asked what my secret is, to maintaining positivity and showing up on Facebook everyday. I’m going to share my answer with you all. I feel that mental health is very similar to physical health. If we think about physical health, we make sure that our bodies [...]
Apr 8, 2020 | Blog Posts, Staff Training
You may have already heard this word, but if you haven’t, I predict that this word will become the 2020 buzz word. Have you pivoted? How did you pivot? What was your pivoting strategy? Well, what does all of this mean? Pivoting is a word often used to describe when you have had to adapt [...]
Mar 3, 2020 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues
Dear Marietta,  Just wanted you to know that your attendance numbers have been lower than expected, and your class has been red flagged. What!? Being red flagged The concept of being red flagged was introduced to the group fitness industry in the late 1990’s and it has caused considerable anxiety for many instructors and [...]
Feb 4, 2020 | Blog Posts
#wegetyou Recently, there has been a lot of attention focused on public mental health in the media. This is both exciting and enlightening as this is a topic that, until recently, has only been whispered about. We understand the importance of keeping our body and mind healthy, and this includes maintaining a positive outlook on [...]
Jan 9, 2020 | Blog Posts, Hat's off to...
A Sad Goodbye Over 10 years ago, I met a woman who would change the course of my life and help me shape the business that I have today. She was someone I met in a Cert III fitness course that I was delivering, and her intelligence and initiative made me take notice (handing out [...]
Dec 2, 2019 | Blog Posts, New Upcoming events
Drum roll please...! Richard Beddie, CEO of Exercise New Zealand lands another amazing development on the audience of the annual FITEX conference in Auckland, New Zealand. Richard discussed his trip to the World Health Organisation and the initiatives that are being rolled out to get more people moving. And then… he discussed how Exercise NZ [...]
Oct 18, 2019 | Blog Posts, Mindset
Remember when you were younger, you were told to ‘mind your language’? This was often in reference to either bad words or perhaps your tone of voice when speaking to your elders. It was a way of reminding you (or admonishing you) about how you should speak in public, or to parents or teachers. Fast [...]
Sep 16, 2019 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Technique
Recently at the GX Day, I discussed the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) principle. This is when the body becomes familiar and comfortable with performing a task in a specific manner, like a squat. So when the body is required to squat in an unfamiliar way (depending on what life throws at us), we [...]
Aug 26, 2019 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset
Let’s talk about an elephant in the room. The big one with its backside in your face. The one that you can’t miss, but trying to avoid looking at. Group Exercise Instructor Mental Health. It is an interesting situation because as an instructor, you are not physically alone, but often you may feel that there [...]
Jan 9, 2019 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Staff Training
I love finding out how people decided to work in the fitness industry, especially regarding group fitness. The initial thought that is planted that creates a desire that then came to full fruition. That first ‘why not’ as Lisa Westlake so eloquently spoke about at the Women in Leadership lunch at the recent NZ FITEX [...]
Oct 19, 2018 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset
Be your own best mentor Over the past 4 years I have been delivering a workshop with Maria Teresa Stone, in which the instructors are filmed moving in the water and then again on land, teaching the same move. I had initially tried this myself as a way to understand the visual effect when performed at [...]
Jul 23, 2018 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset, Technique
The most challenging group fitness skill ever: can you remember a name? Do you use this excuse often? ‘I can never remember people’s names’. It is understandable in most situations. Remembering 10 to 50 people’s names would be difficult. But when participants have been attending your class for over 12 months, this is unacceptable. Worse [...]
Jun 26, 2018 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset, Staff Training
Recently I asked myself, "is freestyle coming back into style?" When I first started in the fitness industry I was an aerobics instructor. Yes, I learned how to teach an aerobics class, which required music, space and my mind, to create an exercise experience. There was no equipment other than the humble mat and sometimes [...]
Apr 30, 2018 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset
Over the past week my mSwing business partner, Mark Davis has been signing off emails with POY. It also appeared in text messages and I had figured (Mark being a man with a very well-developed sense of humour), he had somehow formed a word that I didn’t have a clue about, but would likely mean [...]
Mar 27, 2018 | Blog Posts, Instructor Issues, Mindset
I wonder if I am alone in this situation? I am walking around a supermarket and I spot down one aisle a participant that comes to my classes. I quickly scan the groceries in my basket, are they ok to be seen? Are they healthy items? Will I be judged? Can I hide something under [...]
Mar 5, 2018 | Blog Posts, Hat's off to...
Have you ever had the experience of meeting someone and, you can’t really put a finger on what it is that makes such an impact, but there you are thinking about who they are and what they have achieved? Sylvia Rice is one of those people to me. Even though I had met Sylvia prior [...]
Oct 14, 2021
This blog was written by Carol Syer. In my 30+ years in the fitness Industry, I have seen it continue to grow and mature, we have become more aware and more inclusive. We have become more educated and with that knowledge we are becoming more welcoming for People with Disability. Having spent my life living [...]
Aug 5, 2021
I have always enjoyed passing on things that I have learnt. I’m sort of hardwired for it. I remember, as child in school, that I would often help other students with understanding homework, and provide assistance during recess and lunchtimes in the school library. It gave me purpose and it felt good to share what [...]
Jun 29, 2021
When you’ve been a group fitness instructor for over 30 years, you see some interesting trends and fads come and go. I remember when I first saw the step in 1991 and thought to myself ‘What’s this rubbish?. There’s no way you can make this interesting enough for a whole class.’ But here I am [...]