Apr 2, 2024 | Blog Posts, Gymstick, Gymstick Articles
The Gymstick, crowned Australia's best home fitness tool in 2006, has consistently proven its worth. Voted by The Daily Telegraph and featured in women's fitness and health magazines, it made a remarkable resurgence during the lockdown in 2020. Renowned for its...
Jan 6, 2024 | Blog Posts, Enable, Fitness Professionals
A Reflection on International Day of Disabilities: As I sit down to write this post on the International Day of Disabilities, I can't help but reflect on the question: Am I included yet? My name is Caitlin (CJ) and I'm a 29-year-old woman living with an intellectual...
Nov 16, 2023 | Articles, Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
Acknowledging Success: A Journey of Worthiness I'm honoured to share my recent induction into the AUSactive Roll of Honour. While this recognition holds immense significance, I must admit that acknowledging what this award truly means to me has been a challenging but...
Jul 27, 2023 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals
Hello, fitness enthusiasts of today! As we look back on the glorious days of group exercise instruction, it's hard not to feel a wave of nostalgia. Back in the day, it was all about "Aerobics," and oh, how the times have changed! Join me as we take a trip down memory...
Jun 23, 2023 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals
What constitutes functional training In recent years, there has been a noticeable resurgence in the popularity of traditional exercises, signalling a "coming back in vogue" trend. Suppose you're not engaging in chin-ups, push presses, kettlebell training, plyometrics,...
Mar 23, 2023 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals
How I found my tribe If you're like me, you love to feel inspired. You want to reflect on your life and feel you've made a difference. I recently chatted with a long-time friend (Sports science academic, Public speaker and PT genius), Nikki Ellis, on her 'Find your...
Oct 28, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
Have you ever really asked yourself why you teach group fitness? Why did you decide that this would be the career (or part-time pursuit) that you would follow over so many other options? This article was published in the Network magazine. Finding your Why People often...
Jul 17, 2022 | Blog Posts, Gymstick Articles
The biggest challenge It's hard to let go of something that once worked for us, but it's even harder when we're not seeing the results we want. One of the hardest things for a lot of people to do is admit that their favourite workout is no longer working for them. In...
Jul 11, 2022 | Blog Posts, Gymstick Articles
Keeping it Simple We've all heard the saying, "keep it simple, stupid." But as humans, we seem to be hardwired to look for complexity. So we are suspicious of things that are too simple – how can it possibly be effective? Fitness trainers tend to overcomplicate...
Jun 14, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
Tips on how to stay motivated with exercise Have you ever started doing something with the best intentions, only to lose motivation and give up halfway through? Maybe you started a new exercise program and quit after a few weeks (or days). All along, you know that if...
May 23, 2022 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals
Group Fitness Career Wow! It's possible to make a career from teaching group fitness classes. Absolutely, it is. You can earn money and help people become fitter and healthier too. There are many opportunities to teach group fitness classes. If you have a personal...
Apr 19, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals
Always be prepared to learn something new. Teaching is a profession that is full of surprises. As instructors, we know the best way to prepare for the unexpected is to go in with as much knowledge as possible. It's one of the reasons why you're probably reading this...
Mar 14, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Instructor Issues
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. I have been in the industry for a long time, and I know how scary it is to start teaching group fitness classes! The fear comes from so many places and takes many forms. Some people are afraid they will be uncomfortable,...
Feb 17, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Instructor Issues
It's about the experience you create Teaching a group fitness class can be an incredibly empowering and gratifying experience. It can also be challenging, daunting and downright terrifying. There's always a little voice telling you that you don't know enough to teach...
Jan 13, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, mSwing
mSwing is not an aerobics class. It's about learning to move your body in a way that will integrate into your life for the rest of your days. It's fun and it can be done by anyone and everyone. Why? Because since the beginning of time, people have been swinging things...
Dec 27, 2021 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals
When a comment on a social media post mentioned the name of a fitness industry colleague that I hadn’t thought about for a long time, it brought the power of the word ‘learn’ vividly to mind. Meredith King was my aqua coordinator at the Ivanhoe Aquatic Centre in the...
Dec 15, 2021 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
When we learn something new, we open the door to opportunity. To grow in this industry, you must keep continual learning at the core of everything you do, writes industry educator and group fitness guru Marietta Mehanni. When a comment on one of my recent social media...
Oct 17, 2021 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Gymstick, Gymstick Articles
The Gymstick is a very portable, easy-to-use fitness tool that enables you to do all the resistance exercises you can do in a gym and so much more. Costing less than a gym membership and taking up no space, it comes as a two-piece fibreglass stick with an easy...
Oct 14, 2021 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Gymstick, Gymstick Articles
A stick and a couple of rubber bands surprised me when I first used the Gymstick in 2006. Having been in the fitness industry for 15 years by then, I thought I had seen everything, and there was no doubt that I had a little more arrogance about exercise than I should...
Oct 14, 2021 | Blog Posts, Enable, Fitness Professionals
Carol Syer wrote this blog. Learning the language of disability In my 30+ years in the fitness Industry, I have seen it 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...
Sep 6, 2021 | Aqua Articles, Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals
The last 18 months have been a series of firsts, from teaching virtually and getting a handle on the technology to editing videos, creating accessible education platforms and building new websites. The impetus to do all these new things may have been due to reasons...
Aug 5, 2021 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
I have always enjoyed passing on things that I have learnt. I’m hardwired for it. I remember in school that I would often help other students understand homework and provide assistance during recess and lunchtime in the library. It gave me purpose, and sharing what I...
Jun 29, 2021 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals, Muscle Conditioning, Swiss Ball
You see some interesting trends and fads come and go when you've been a group fitness instructor for over 33 years. I remember seeing the step in 1991 and thinking, 'What's this rubbish? You cannot make this interesting enough for a whole class.' But here I am in...
Jun 6, 2021 | Blog Posts, Exercise Enthusiasts, Fitness Professionals
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? Becoming a group fitness instructor You know that feeling...
Apr 2, 2021 | Articles, Blog Posts, Muscle Conditioning, Technique
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 experienced a 40% increase in responses,...
Feb 28, 2021 | Aqua, Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals
Discovering My Passion From a young age at school, I enjoyed helping other children struggling with schoolwork. It was a way that I felt accepted. However, growing up in a community with little ethnic diversity, I didn't fit in. My parents were not comfortable with me...
Jan 18, 2021 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
Unveiling the Impact of Lockdown on Fitness Professionals Changes in our operations 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....
Jan 5, 2021 | Blog Posts, Gymstick, Gymstick Articles
Resistance bands were not my thing I was first introduced to resistance bands early in my teaching career in the 1990s. This long piece of elastic was recommended as a portable and effective form of resistance training. Having only used weights for resistance...
Nov 12, 2020 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Mindset
Take care of yourself - no one else will do a better job. Reflecting on 2020's Impact 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...
Sep 7, 2020 | Blog Posts, Fitness Professionals, Instructor Issues, Mindset
Let’s talk about the 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...
Apr 2, 2024
The Gymstick, crowned Australia's best home...
Jan 6, 2024
A Reflection on International Day of...
Nov 16, 2023
Acknowledging Success: A Journey of Worthiness...
