13Aug

Understanding Wellness in a Fitness-Focused World

August 13, 2024By 0 comment

The Rise of Wellness

Wellness used to be a word you’d mostly hear in natural grocery stores or vitamin ads. For a long time, it wasn’t as popular or exciting as fitness, especially from a marketing point of view. But that’s changed. Nowadays, as life gets busier and people’s schedules are packed, many are searching for ways to find balance. This has caused the wellness industry to boom. While physical fitness is still vital, it’s clear that overall wellness deserves just as much attention. Let’s look at what wellness involves and why it’s so important for both consumers and professionals.

What is Wellness?

Fitness is about your physical health—how well your body works. Wellness, however, is about balancing different areas of your life to stay healthy and happy. Many wellness models show six or seven areas, like intellectual (mind), emotional (feelings), physical (body), occupational (work), environmental (surroundings), spiritual (beliefs), social (relationships), and financial (money). A well-balanced life considers all these aspects and prioritizes them in daily habits.

Wellness in Popular Culture

Today, the idea of wellness is widely accepted. People often seek out health and exercise professionals for services that focus on wellness as a whole. This doesn’t mean exercise isn’t important—it often serves as the first step toward better health. But once someone starts exercising regularly, they often want to improve other parts of their wellness too.

Key Elements of Wellness

Health and exercise professionals need to understand the different parts of wellness. Some areas, like financial or spiritual wellness, might be outside their expertise. That’s why having a network of other professionals to refer clients to is important. This shows clients that their overall wellness is taken seriously.

Final Thoughts

Fitness is just one part of wellness. There’s much more to explore to help clients achieve true health and happiness. As the wellness industry grows, it’s worth exploring how you can help others—and yourself—focus on all aspects of wellness. After all, taking care of others starts with taking care of yourself.

Courtesy: ACE Fitness

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01Jul
Trainer talking to his clinets

Promoting Mental Health Through Physical Activity and Equity

July 1, 2024By 2 Comments

In recent years, talking about mental health has become more common. This shift might be because famous athletes and celebrities have shared their struggles, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made many people more aware of mental health issues. During the pandemic, people started discussing feelings of isolation, loneliness, and depression more openly.

We shouldn’t need a global crisis to understand that we need each other and that mental and emotional health are as important as physical health. Mental Health Awareness Month, celebrated every May since 1949, aims to highlight the importance of mental health for our overall well-being.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers resources and education to help those who need mental health support. If your clients express a need to improve their mental health, encourage them to explore these resources. Remember to stay within your professional boundaries, focusing on coaching and lifestyle-change strategies rather than providing counseling.

This year, SAMHSA focuses on behavioral health equity. This means everyone, no matter their race, age, gender, disability, income, sexual orientation, or location, should have access to quality and affordable healthcare.

As a health coach or exercise professional, you play a key role.

First, think about how your services benefit your client’s mental health. Here are some mental health benefits of physical activity:

  • Exercise increases neurotransmitters, which can help create new brain cells.
  • Learning new exercises can improve thinking and mental sharpness.
  • Achieving goals in workouts can boost self-esteem, which positively affects mental health.
  • Exercise can improve sleep, a crucial part of good mental health.
  • It provides a break from busy routines and is a positive way to cope with anxiety or depression.
  • Group exercise can help people connect, make friends, and feel part of a supportive community.

Consider how you promote these benefits to your clients. This might help you attract new clients or keep existing ones who value a holistic approach to health.

Secondly, think about who you are reaching with your services. Are you reaching underserved communities? Are you offering classes and sessions in places where people already gather, like community centers or public parks?

By considering behavioral health equity, you might find new ways to expand your impact on the people and communities you serve.

Courtesy: ACE Fitness

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