Health & Fitness Continuing Education Workshops and Certifications

A bank of exercises to discover or rediscover working out the upper body, lower body, and abs. In this workshop, we will look at how to use pool noodles, weights, boards, and body weight.

It is important to know the population you are working with, whether they are a participant in your group fitness class or your private training client. It is important to know their limitations. In this workshop, you will learn about the most common injuries (shoulders, elbows, and back). You will learn how to deal with these types of injuries and what type of exercises your clients/participants can do to safely stay in shape.

Any good training program obviously begins with a proper warm-up. This, of course, is to prepare the body adequately for the intensity and amplitude associated with the exercises planned during the session. Originally consisting essentially of any moderate intensity cardiovascular activity, the warm-up has undergone several changes, following fitness trends and advances in exercise science. Corrective exercises, mobility, neuronal activation, myofascial release, and dynamic stretching have been introduced at the start of the program and are part of every fitness professional’s “tool kit.” Faced with all these options, it seems relevant to review the methodological bases of the warm-up and to contextualize their use. Indeed, the warm-up should be as specific to the exercise program as it is linked to the desired objectives. The goal of this workshop is therefore to identify the desired effects and apply the different methods according to the needs of our clients. We will review the physiological aspects of warming up and we will apply this knowledge in practical case studies to optimize our training programs.

Every fitness professional faces the challenge of keeping clients motivated and engaged in their health journey. With 50% of clients dropping out within their first three months, we need to know how to help them persist beyond their initial enthusiasm. Discover how and when to leverage motivation and the most effective strategies to achieve client goals and boost client retention.

This workshop will provide specific corrective strategies to use with commonly encountered shoulder issues. The focus will be primarily on chronic shoulder tendinopathies, but additional conditions will be discussed. Topics covered include regressions, adaptations, progressions, and safe reintegration into strength training.

This workshop aims to sensitize fitness professionals to the stigma and obstacles people in larger bodies face when accessing fitness spaces. Through personal experiences, client testimonials, and practical tools, you will learn how to address weight bias, societal pressures from diet culture, and media portrayals that affect clients’ relationships with exercise. The course also covers movement considerations and exercise modifications to promote a positive, inclusive fitness experience that fosters long-term adherence and a healthy relationship with movement.

The workshop will look at the fitness profile of today’s youth, as well as their physical fitness attributes and recommendations on how they should train. The workshop will also discuss how the body changes as youth grow and the exercises this group should and should not do.

Get ready to fall in love all over again with the step class. This workshop is designed to give you some step routines that can be implemented in classes where the step is used. We will also reintroduce you to the joys of step! Learn some fun step choreography, from beginner to advanced, that will make you want to teach step again or try it for the first time. All this and more will be the building blocks to your step choreography, which will get you excited to bring back step.

We need our core muscles to stabilize us during seated and standing dynamic postures. It is helpful and effective to include seated and standing core work in our programming. These exercises are often excellent alternatives when your clients are unable to get on the floor due to various barriers. We often stick to floor crunches, planks, and bugs but there also are a number of efficient exercises that can be performed from a seated or standing position. These can effectively target the multifidus, transversus abdominus, and internal obliques without neck strain, crunching, or being stuck on your back. Whether your clients are physically unable to get on the floor or if you are looking for more functional upright core variations, this session will provide numerous examples. Join us and walk away with functional, purposeful, and effective core work that your clients and participants will benefit from.

I heard this was the new miracle product! But what does science say about it? Some substances can improve athletic performance. In this workshop, we will discuss certain key substances, such as caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, sodium bicarbonate, protein supplements, anabolic steroids, and many others. The goal of the workshop is to learn more about these ergogenic aids, specifically:

• Why and how they improve performance
• Recommendations on use
• Potential side effects