Past Webinars - 2024
Welcome to the 2024 MFA Webinar Series!
Access to Archived Webinars are a MFA Member-Only Benefit
If you have any questions, please contact Mariann Murphy
Summary:
Every single coach has a unique & impactful message to share with their clients, with their communities & with the world. However, most shy away from truly embracing that message and don't know how to deliver it. This webinar walks through practical communication skills, the power of storytelling and strategies for building power connections. There's what you know, there's what you can communicate and then there's what will actually land with someone to get them to change their life.
Learning Objectives:
1. Develop your own unique "voice" and communication style
2. Learn to teach, inspire and educate through storytelling
3. Understand key strategies around body language, tone and gestures to connect on a more meaningful level
Speaker: Nicholas Lambe - Educator/Coach with Impact Events & Education
This webinar outlines a solid programming blueprint to get your participants into your program and turn them into lasting members and a lead referral source. You will learn which pitfalls to avoid and begin creating programs that actually turn a profit.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify potential referral streams within your facility and medical/public community.
2. Identify the results that matter to create an individualized assessment tool for your program.
3. Develop a transitional system that can be used to create member retention.
Speaker: Douglas Sham, M.Ed., ACSM-EP, ACSM-CPT, ACSM-GEI, Manager of HealthFit – Powered by Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System
The most common reason for medical visits for Active Duty Service Members and Veterans is musculoskeletal pain. The field of pain management recognizes the importance of lifestyle choices and skills that include exercise and movement activities, mindfulness, anti-inflammatory eating, postural awareness and healthy behaviors. Living with chronic pain requires lifestyle choices that are supported within the individual's community. Creating a community of wellbeing and collaboration has been the purpose of the Medical Fitness Association for many years. This webinar will explore the existing sources of comprehensive wellbeing sponsored by Department of Defense and the Veteran Health Administration to promote strong collaborations with Medical Fitness facilities and professionals.
Learning Objectives
1. Explore the Total Force Fitness HPRC (hprc-online.org) resources
2. Identify existing virtual resources developed specifically for active duty service members (ADSM) and veterans
3. Create veteran-centric programming to build and sustain membership
Presenter: Ruth Meyer, Kinesiotherapist - Dayton VAMC
While members join fitness facilities full of enthusiasm and motivated to work out the reality is that many do not develop the behaviors required to maintain a routine of regular exercise. Joining with lofty goals but little real understanding of what’s actually required to start and maintain a routine of regular exercise these members become frustrated and disillusioned and stop attending very quickly.
While the research on Exercise Adherence is extensive and has produced a range of models to follow it is often difficult to apply these frameworks to fitness facilities based on the resources available. This webinar will focus off the approaches that are easiest to intergrade into a health facility that will deliver the biggest impact.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify where behavioral change approaches can be deployed to improve exercise adherence and increase retention
2. Recognize the value of simple conversational techniques to build member confidence and competence
3. Link behaviors to clinical measures to provide evidence of effectiveness
Presenter: Dr. Paul Bedford, Director of the Retention Guru, Ltd.
Those with autism are often intentionally, or unintentionally, excluded from exercise programs. This is because most fitness professionals are not educated to successfully work with this community. With insightful training and evidence-based strategies, fitness professionals around the world are embracing this untapped opportunity. Exercise is life-changing not just for your new clients, but also their families. Working with this community will improve your income and will inspire you to help more with each successful outcome.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to explain the research that supports exercise for those with autism
2. Participants will understand the challenges those with autism face to achieving a physically active lifestyle
3. Participants will discover how evidence-based teaching strategies and training can lead to a plan of action for implementing exercise programs in their facilities
Speaker: David Geslak, Autism Exercise Specialist & President of the Exercise Connection
Click here to download the presentation slide deck.
This seminar will teach you to utilize your most expensive piece of fitness equipment – your pool! Learn to maximize your return on investment and take programming that is “all wet” and have it gleam with excellence. Take your dying aquatics program and resuscitate it with alternative programming, instructor training, leadership, and motivational tools to create a profitable aquatic exercise program. Leave with great strategic marketing tools and programming protocols to turn your pool into a profit center!
Learning Objectives
1. Explore ways to grow the profits from your pool
2. Strategize opportunities to engage new members by showcasing your aquatic offerings
3. Determine which programs are best for your current members
4. Examine a variety of unique programs offered for aqua
5. Learn about the benefits of aqua programming, and how to efficiently run and manage these programs
Presenter: Sara Kooperman, CEO of SCW Fitness Education & Water in Motion
Developing prescriptive power-training programs with functional performance outcomes can be a challenge. In this seminar, Dr. Signorile will help you unlock the potential of data-driven exercise and guide you through simple field tests, as well as advanced techniques, to identify performance deficits in older clients. You will learn to design meaningful exercise prescriptions and create personalized, periodized models, revolutionizing your approach to training for optimal client outcomes.
Learning Objectives
1. Use field test and machine-based data to identify performance deficits in their older clients.
2. Develop exercise prescriptions that target clients' identified needs based on those data.
3. Develop a periodized model to proportionally address each client's identified needs.
Presenter: Dr. Joseph Signorile, Professor at the University of Miami Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences
As wellness professionals, we know the tremendous amount of work needed to shift the trajectory of health in the individuals that come to us, but do we stop there? In this webinar we will focus on an often-missed opportunity for collaboration between medical fitness centers, fitness professionals, health experts, etc. and businesses to promote workplace wellness and extend your expertise, impact and influence. We will discuss some current data, problems we see and how you can be the solution. As a participant, you will learn about ways to expand your reach beyond the traditional four walls, understand some benefits to partnering with businesses on wellness initiatives, and explore a simple framework for how to get started.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will understand the benefits of collaboration with businesses in promoting workplace wellness.
2. Participants will gain insight into strategies for potential partnerships with businesses to incorporate well-being in the workplace.
3. Participants will develop a basic framework around where to begin/how to get started. Understand some practical "how to" steps.
Speaker: April Griffith, Founder & CEO of Kingdom Power Living LLC
This lecture defines and describes the body’s maintenance of systems, its ability to meet and recover from various stressors, and what it means when it can no longer efficiently meet and recover from stressors. The content illustrates the interplay between various bodily stressors and shares a scoring system to help the practitioner identify variables for risk identification and mitigation in exercise prescription and dosing.
Participants will gain important insights into understanding the importance of allostatic load when making decisions regarding the use of exercise. Guidelines will be provided to help practitioners choose, design, implement, and progress exercise volume and intensity. They will understand that exercise can contribute to increasing an individual's allostatic load or, if leveraged properly, reduce that load.
Learning Objectives
1. Learn the definitions of Homeostasis, Allostasis, and Allostatic Load
2. Learn what defines a stable system and a process for qualitatively understanding an individual's system state.
3. Learn a heuristic for estimating an individual's Allostatic Load and its application to decision-making in prescribing and dosing exercise.
Speaker: Greg Mack, Founder & CEO of Physicians Fitness, LLC
06/19/24 - Understanding the New Landscape of Anti-Obesity Medications: Evidence to Applied Practice
Understanding the New Landscape of Anti-Obesity Medications: Evidence to Applied Practice
Webinar – Part 1 of 2: Obesity medicine has been transformed with the introduction of contemporary anti-obesity medications which are highly effective for obesity treatment and related chronic conditions. This session will inform on the current anti-obesity medications, and others that are in the developmental pipeline, how they are prescribed, indicated, and medically managed. Additionally, this will address how physical activity and lifestyle approaches need to adapt to these frontline medical treatments for obesity. Webinar, Part 2 will dive into deeper considerations for fitness programming for clients taking anti-obesity medications from both a biological and behavioral standpoint along with facility considerations for building inclusive environments.
Learning Objectives:
1. To understand the application and effectiveness of contemporary anti-obesity medications.
2. Provide an overview of indications, medical management, side-effects, and comprehensive obesity care strategy.
3. To understand contemporary approaches for inclusion of, and effectiveness of, physical activity within the context of contemporary anti-obesity medications.
Speaker: Dr. Renee Rogers - Senior Scientist at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Consultant & Strategist at IDEAL Consulting
Webinar – Part 2 of 2: This webinar will expand on the content of webinar 1 and dive into deeper considerations for fitness programming for clients taking anti-obesity medications from both a biological and behavioral standpoint. Key considerations from providers and patients will be discussed to help frame programmatic and business frameworks. Additional discussions will include building inclusive environments, reducing stigma and weight bias, and developing client-centered instead of method-centered programming for obesity treatment.
Learning Objectives
1. To understand contemporary approaches for inclusion of, and effectiveness of, physical activity within the context of contemporary anti-obesity medications.
2. To understand how lifestyle interventions, specifically physical activity may need to be adapted and tailored, from the perspective of the provider and the patient (biologically, behavioral), within the context of contemporary anti-obesity medications.
3. Highlight the need for building inclusive and collaborative spaces for patients/clients taking anti-obesity medications and key considerations for avoiding method-centered frameworks and moving to client-centered obesity care.
Speaker: Dr. Renee Rogers, Senior Scientist at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Consultant & Strategist at IDEAL Consulting
Falls among older adults are a significant public health concern, often leading to serious injuries and a loss of independence. However, movement programs designed to improve balance and stability can greatly reduce the risk of falls. In this presentation, we will explore the benefits of incorporating fun and games into exercise programs. Participants will learn how to gamify balance and stability exercises, create interactive games that improve confidence, adapt games for all levels of ability, and make them inclusive.
Learning Objectives:
1. Explore the benefits of incorporating fun, play, and games into exercise programs.
2. Discover how to create interactive games that improve confidence and resilience.
3. Learn practical strategies for adapting games to all levels of ability and make them inclusive.
Speaker: Erin Eleuterio - Founder of Second Act Fit Pros
Nearly every person has felt themselves struggling with anxiety, exhaustion & overwhelm while navigating areas of their health, wondering if they can truly be successful in their health goals when expected and unexpected challenges. There is a resilience framework that people are not currently accessing that can be the difference in creating ambitious health results or drowning in the same health problem.
In this presentation, wellness expert and 2x All-American, Jennifer Watson, MPT, teaches the chemistry of healthy resilience and how mastering it is the key to a life of optimal health and attaining accelerated + sustainable results. During this presentation, the attendee will come to understand what their current relationship with challenges is and how to create one that champions their success. They will learn a framework that optimizes the chemistry of the mind- body, its influence on increasing the capacity + capability of resilience and ultimately the mental agility, confidence, and compliance needed for the health goals they seek. Finally, they will learn how this framework allows accelerated performance in all aspects of life while staying in optimal health, no matter the adversity.
Learning Objectives:
1. How a fitness professional can help their client sustain a higher-level of resilience that accelerates the success of all health goals and ultimate performance in all aspects of life, through adversity.
2. How a fitness professional can influence the capacity + capability of resilience of their client through engaging the chemistry of Mind-Body Wellness that will increase mental agility, confidence, and compliance to their healthy goals during challenges.
3. A clear understanding of the client’s current relationship to challenges and shift into one that champions their health & life success.
Speaker: Jennifer Watson, CEO of Watson World Wide, LLC/Jennifer Watson Leadership
Note: The presentation slide deck was not provided for this webinar.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark wake-up call that not having a “seat at the table” meant our industry was “on the menu.” Although this nearly crushed our industry, we galvanized very quickly around the cause of advocacy to reopen and rebuild, with very much a defensive emphasis. Now with our doors reopen, it’s time to transition to offensive advocacy.
Developing political relationships go beyond just recovery, but instead look to advancing the important, health-enhancing, mission of our industry. This lecture will examine the importance of advocacy in the present day, and future, fitness industry. We will explore current advocacy efforts that are underway, and how fitness professionals can get involved. Most importantly, we’ll identify the best practices for effective advocacy to enhance the cause of the fitness industry.
Learning Objectives
1. Examine what advocacy is and isn’t, as well as its importance in the fitness industry
2. Understand the current advocacy landscape, as well as the future trajectory, in the fitness industry
3. Identify best practices for fitness professionals looking to get involved on industry advocacy at all levels
Speaker: Michael Stack, Founder & CEO of Applied Fitness Solutions
In this webinar, we will review the current best practices in selling corporate wellness to different levels of leadership within an organization. We will do this by reviewing priorities at the C-suite level, HR and mid-level managers and discuss strategies to present a value proposition that is of interest to all level leaders. We will also review the current trends in corporate wellness and the opportunity within these for medical wellness leaders to partner and support.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify best practices in partnering with the various stakeholders in corporate wellness
2. Identify the current trends in corporate wellness
3. To review solutions that you may provide as a wellness partner to employers to meet them where they are, ease their pain points and create impact in the health of the organization and its population.
Speakers:
Debbie Bellenger, CEO/Founder of DB Fitness & Wellness Solutions, LLC
Lisa Simmons, Corporate Wellness, Fitness Consultant and Group Fitness Trainer at One More Rep, LLC
This webinar was sponsored by Cooper Wellness Strategies - A Cooper Aerobics Company.
This webinar examines the importance of strength training for women over 40, addressing both the underutilization and the substantial benefits beyond muscle building. Despite its known advantages, many women in this demographic shy away from strength training due to misconceptions, lack of information, or intimidation.
This session will explore the barriers that prevent women over 40 from engaging in strength training and will highlight the holistic benefits it offers, including enhanced metabolic function, improved bone density, and better overall mental health. I will also discuss how strength training can mitigate some of the physical challenges brought on by menopause, such as increased abdominal fat and muscle loss.
Furthermore, the presentation will provide insights into the psychological empowerment that comes from strength training, fostering a sense of accomplishment and confidence in midlife women. Practical strategies will be discussed to help fitness facilities create a welcoming and supportive environment that encourages women to start and sustain a strength training routine, ultimately aiding in their longevity and quality of life.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the comprehensive benefits of strength training for women over 40, beyond mere muscle gain.
2. Identify the main barriers that deter women over 40 from participating in strength training.
3. Discuss actionable strategies for fitness facilities to effectively support and motivate women over 40 to engage in strength training.
Speaker: Jennifer Shaver, Founder/CEO of Strong for Life Fitness
High glucose (blood sugar) variability is associated with earlier onset of disease in healthy adults without diabetes. More specifically, prospective studies demonstrate that higher glucose variability is associated with an increased risk of multiple diseases. Our data demonstrate that there are multiple lifestyle factors that can minimize glucose variability and potentially lower future risk.
Learning Objectives
1. Introduce the practice of continuous glucose monitoring - ideal protocol - what can be learned from healthy, active adults
2. Define glucose variability - why this metric is critical to evaluate for optimal health
3. Explain study share results for the correlation between glucose variability and lifestyle choices
Speakers:
Dr. Jinger Gottschall, Les Mills International Research Consultant
Bryce Hastings, Les Mills International Director of Research
For several generations, the story has been the same: Adults get busy in their early lives with jobs and families, and health takes a back seat. Commonly, a major health event triggers a need to reengage with their health, but this happens later in life after much damage has already been done. However, data suggests that Gen Z in engaging with fitness and overall health early in their lives. This has the potential to have significant long-term health benefits for the exercisers as well as lowering the burden on the healthcare system. The key is to keep Gen Z engaged with health and fitness throughout their lives, to build a lifestyle habit of exercise and healthy living.
In this presentation, we will explore some of the factors driving Gen Z health engagement and discuss how the Medical Fitness industry could help that engagement continue. What effects could this have on the healthcare industry as well as the overall health of the exercisers? What is driving this new trend?
Learning Objectives
1. Examine the unique shift that is happening with Gen Z and their fitness engagement.
2. Discuss the desires and motivations that could be driving Gen Z fitness engagement at an early age.
3. Develop ideas to engage Gen Z exercisers to encourage a lifelong fitness habit.
Speaker: DJ Homann, Education Specialist at Life Fitness
In this presentation, we will explore the concept of, “What happens in the gut doesn't just stay in the gut; it can mess with our immunity and brainpower.” Funky stuff in the gut like inflammation or cranky bacteria can throw our whole system off balance, causing issues from mood swings to memory blips. We will dive deep into this gut drama, aiming to bring back the zen by fixing gut health as a top priority. In this lecture, you'll uncover the secrets to boost gut health, fix gut issues, and whip immune systems and metabolism back into shape! Let's get those systems harmonizing like a well-oiled machine!
Learning Objectives
1. "What happens in your gut, doesn't stay in your gut." Learn the intricate connections between your gut health, your brain and your immune system.
2. How to identify gut inflammation, "leaky gut", and how to fix it.
3. How to calm your overactive immune system, boost your metabolism, and regain balance in the Gut-Immune-Brain pyramid.
Speaker: Dr. Lori Gerber, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Dr. Lori, LLC and Refresh Integrative Medicine & Aesthetics
David Evans has mystery shopped over 700 fitness centers and learned there is definitely a right and wrong way to sell fitness center memberships onsite. He recognized exceptional sale experiences rarely occur. This presentation will focus on the appropriate way to transition a "warm prospect" (someone who has entered the door) to becoming a motivated member. It has little to do with the facility and everything to do with learning the prospect. Implementing the right onsite process will increase your center's membership close rate.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn the difference between transactional and interactional sales process.
2. Learn how to effectively evaluate and engage prospects to "close their own sell."
3. Learn key attributes of exceptional membership sales teammates.
Speaker: David Evans, Vice President of Cooper Wellness Strategies
People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are motivated to improve their fitness. A 2020 Special Olympics survey found that among people with ID who belonged to a gym (pre-COVID), most visited the facility regularly, with 74% reporting attendance at least twice per week. In 2023 alone, over 478,000 Special Olympics athletes participated in fitness programming globally. However, people with ID face many barriers to participation in fitness programming, such as lack of access and social support. Moreover, people with ID are more likely to experience greater health challenges, such as higher prevalence of chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared to people without intellectual disability. In fact, 65% of Special Olympics athletes who completed a health screening through Special Olympics were identified as overweight or obese over the past 5 years, while 35.6% have low bone density.
Medical fitness centers can uniquely address the holistic care of people with ID to improve their health given the dedicated focus on prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related disease, illness, and injury. As such, this session will help attendees to first understand the current health and fitness of people with ID. Additionally, attendees will understand factors to consider in program design as well as communication to aid the successful delivery of fitness programming for people with ID. Further, attendees will receive training on how to use fitness assessments and other resources for people with ID in the areas of endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance to accommodate a wide range of mobility levels. As medical fitness professionals, attendees are uniquely primed to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Together, we can ameliorate the health disparities experienced by people with ID.
Speaker: Melissa Otterbein, Senior Manager, Fitness & Healthy Lifestyles at Special Olympics International
This webinar is sponsored by Technogym - MFA Industry Partner
"Active" and "Exercise" are terms we use interchangeably, not knowing that their their respective definitions can mean different things to different people, like medical staff or personal trainers. This presentation will help in understanding the differences in their execution, and how best to implement their activities for better health and life goals (presentation will include Technogym's Biostrength equipment).
Learning Objectives
1. Understanding the difference between being active and exercising.
2. What are the best ways to implement either or both practices into your member's lifestyle.
3. Which is best for your member's personal or health goals.
Speaker: Dianna Keeler, Education Manager at Technogym USA & Canada
Lean body mass can decline by 1% to 2% annually after age 40. Meanwhile, strength can decrease by 1.5% to 5% per year. The role of myocyte-produced myokines, hormones, and other metabolites impacts the entirety of the body, including GI and brain health. We can also help protect patients utilizing GLP-1 (Semaglutide) weight loss protocols that disproportionately rob lean body mass.
Topics of Discussion:
* Muscle-derived Myokines and Exerkines Role in Whole Body Hope Molecules.”
* Inflammation Regulation, Improved Metabolic Health, Vascular and Neuron Health, Mental Health Wellness, Morbidity and Mortality Mitigation
* Science of “Fortetropin,” a powerful muscle-preserving food-based supplement
* Protecting Patients from the Apparent Success of GLP-1 Protocols
* Anabolic Resistance as an obstacle to healthy muscle aging
This webinar will provide essential talking points and scientific findings to help us motivate our patients on the importance of healthy aging via muscle-centric wellness and expand our toolbox for maintaining and regaining homeostasis via the utilization of share a “novel” food-based molecule that has been shown in clinical trials to augment muscle physiology.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how to mitigate elevated myostatin that occurs with age, sedentary lifestyle, excess weight
- Help alleviate the risk of elevated myostatin as it is associated with muscle loss and deconditioning; and harder time to make gains with working out.
- Harness the research that shows that controlling elevated myostatin can help protect form muscle loss associated with injury, obesity and rapid weight loss.
Speaker: Dr. Chris Meletis, a Naturopathic Physician at Divine Medicine
This webinar is sponsored by MYOS MD, an MFA Industry Partner.
During this webinar, we will explore the most advanced technologies for strength training and discover Technogym's ‘Biostrength’, a line of exercise equipment where resistance is provided by a motor. This allows for the generation of various types of resistance: isotonic, elastic, viscous, isokinetic, eccentric overloaded, or reduced contraction. The webinar will begin with a review of the basics of muscular physiology, after which we will analyze the features of Technogym's Biostrength machines in context, focusing on rehabilitation, sports performance, and general fitness.
Speaker: Dr. Silvano Zanuso, Scientific Research & Communication Director at Technogym and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia
This is a promotional webinar by Technogym. There are no CECs for this webinar, just great information!
Does the name on the side of your fitness equipment matter? Maybe, but brand name should be one of the last things that is decided upon when choosing fitness equipment. Start with Who?, What?, Where?, When?, and Why?
-Who will be using the equipment?
-What are their goals and short-term objectives?
-Where will this equipment be located and how much user space needs to be allocated around the equipment?
-When will equipment need to be replaced? What is the expected lifespan of each type of equipment?
-Why should I choose a specific brand? What are the important features and benefits associated with each piece of equipment?
We will explore the critical aspects of fitness equipment selection as well as gym layout and design. These elements are essential for creating a safe, efficient, and inspiring fitness environment that meets the diverse needs of your members. Brands and quality matter but formulating a generic list of fitness equipment based on form and function, is the best place to start. Rethinking equipment training zones will be discussed. We know that providing equipment that is appropriately spaced and ensures a good flow can make a fitness/wellness center feel more inviting. Initial impressions are important for potential members but will also support retention efforts and keep members safe. Once equipment is delivered and installed, regular attention to a few key elements will not only reduce risk but contribute to equipment lifespan.
All participants will leave our discussion with a number of no-cost resources to support efforts in creating a unique gym experience.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will be able to justify capital fitness equipment expenditures and formulate a 2–3-year plan to optimize and prioritize capital dollars spent on fitness equipment.
2. Participants will be able to assess their current facility layout and space allocation, then generate an updated Zone Plan.
Speaker: Kelly Spivey, Territory Mgr at LIV UnLtd-Heartline Fitness