Common Injuries in Group Fitness

How many times has a member asked for your advice about an injury they have sustained? As a group fitness instructor, it is vital that we can distinguish a lack of fitness or technique issue from an injury that needs analysis from a medical or health care professional. Each class differs slightly in the sorts of injuries members may complain about, so let’s take a closer look:

When asked about Group Power®, Master Trainer Charlotte Reeve says some of the most common complaints are lower back, shoulder and knee pain.

Lower back pain is often due to inadequate core strength around the mid-back (lumbar spine) to cope with large weights used, which can be exacerbated by technique faults. Shoulder pain can results from a lack of shoulder setting and a weak rotator cuff muscles, leading to impingement and repetitive strain of structures in the shoulder. Knee pain is commonly attributed to insufficient glute activation and control which affects lower limb function and results in poor knee tracking.

In Group Step®, Group Active™, Group Groove® and Group Kick®, shin, foot and heel pain are other common ailments. Weak hip stabilisers (Gluteus medius) are often to blame, as they affect the biomechanics of the lower limbs, resulting in poor knee/ankle alignment. Incorrect technique (e.g. not grounding the heels in Group Step®) and unsuitable footwear can also contribute.

Hip and back pain can also occur in these programs. Often, this is caused by inadequate flexibility through the hamstrings, quadriceps and ITBs, combined with poor core strength to cope with high impact movements.

In Group Ride®, knee pain due to tight ITB’s is not uncommon. Frequent stretching, correct bike set up, and the use of cleats if available can help prevent knee issues.

Get Hard Core!

It’s important to address one of the main underlying causes of injuries: a weak core. Incorporating a program like Group Core™ as part of a participants’ (and your own) training schedule can be extremely beneficial.

People often mistake core stability as something that can be developed just by training abdominals and shown by the presence of a six-pack. Unfortunately the abdominal region is only one link in the muscular network that provides much needed stability to the spine. Group Core™ will target your abdominals, but will also work your glutes, obliques and posterior chain (the set of muscles that run down the back side of the body). Group Core™ has a large focus on functional training and control of movement through technique. Throughout the class, specific exercises and positions are used to engage the core and maximize recruitment of the correct musculature, thus minimizing compensation from larger muscle groups. This will ensure that every component of the muscular support system is being strengthened, not just the abdominals.

I’d rather be safe than sorry

If a member complains of an injury that is not settling down, or an acute/severe injury that is affecting quality of life and daily tasks, we suggest you recommend assessment by a doctor, physiotherapist or podiatrist. It is important for a member to seek professional advice if they are for instance, complaining of ongoing shin/ foot pain due to the high risk of stress fractures – continuation of high impact exercise in this situation can be detrimental to health and longevity.

If it is pain that a participant is getting only during a particular move/class and appears minor, then attempt to correct any technique faults or poor equipment use first to see if you can overcome their issues. This may also be an appropriate time to encourage more regular stretching. We all aim to deliver effective classes and maximize participant success; however it is important to recognise what may be out of your expertise as an instructor, and to keep your members safe in their training for satisfaction and optimal results.

Written by Tyler Adams
Master Trainer and Assessor, Body Training Solutions

Stocktake Time- End Of Financial Year Gratefulness

GROUNDED in GRATITUDE

STOCK TAKE TIME – EOFYG

The day June 30 represents a myriad of different things to many of us.

For some it is time to check the finances, tally the books and prepare to pay the government some tax, for some it is time to pop into your local tax agent and look forward to a little “nest egg” tax return that is kind of like a bonus to pay the car rego, go on a holiday or slip it into a bank account for a rainy day.

For many people in business it is time to assess the financial receipts and hopefully profits over the past 12 months and, as is the case in our target driven society, set new and even higher fiscal goals for the next year.

In our fitness world the same is true.

·         Have we gained enough members for a profit this past year?

·         What are our membership and retention ratios?

·         What are our employee costs and their productivity differential?

I wonder how many of us simply stop at this time of year and experience a EOFYG?

That is; End Of Financial Year Gratefulness. To do a stock take of what we have and what we give to others.

This may all sound dreadfully esoteric and “out there”, if such a concept were just “pie in the sky”. However, quantitative studies have supported the value to the human spirit of having a Grounded in Gratitude Attitude.

Research Shows Gratitude Heightens Quality of Life

Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, wrote an article about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being.

The study split several hundred people into three different groups and all of the participants were asked to keep daily diaries.

-The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things;
- The second group was told to record their unpleasant experiences;
- The last group was instructed to make a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, those in the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals.

 If you're like most people, you notice what goes wrong more often than what goes right. Human beings seem hardwired to notice how reality fails to meet some idea of how they think things should be.

 How many times a day do you sink into disappointment, frustration, or sadness because others haven't met your expectations? If you limit your attention to how life lets you down, you blind yourself to the multitude of gifts you receive all the time.

In addition, Dr. Emmons’ research shows that those who practice gratitude tend to be more creative, bounce back more quickly from adversity, have a stronger immune system, and have stronger social relationships than those who don’t practice gratitude. He further points out that “To say we feel grateful is not to say that everything in our lives is necessarily great. It just means we are aware of our blessings.”

One of the things these studies show is that practicing gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%. This is significant, among other things, because just as there’s a certain weight that feels natural to your body and which your body strives to maintain, your basic level of happiness is set at a predetermined point.

If something bad happens to you during the day, your happiness can drop momentarily, but then it returns to its natural set-point.

Likewise, if something positive happens to you, your level of happiness rises, and then it returns once again to your “happiness set-point”. A practice of gratitude raises your “happiness set-point” so you can remain at a higher level of happiness regardless of outside circumstances.

So, as Group Fitness professionals, Personal Trainers, or Health Club Owners and Managers we have a lot to be grateful for.

As trainers need to wake up every morning thankful that we operate in an industry where we help people achieve personal goals of fitness, health, and self determination.

People often tend to take for granted the good that is already present in their lives. There’s a gratitude exercise that suggest that you should imagine losing some of the things that you take for granted, such as your home, your ability to see or hear, your ability to walk, or anything that currently gives you comfort. Then imagine getting each of these things back, one by one, and consider how grateful you would be for each and every one.

Here are some simple statements we could dwell upon each day

“I am grateful for the abundance of love, harmony, friends, prosperity, etc that I experience daily.”


“I am grateful that I have enough finances for my bills, living costs and other incidental needs.”


“I am grateful for my job that pays well, and offers many opportunities for professional growth and advancement.”


“I am grateful for my body's excellent health and its self-healing abilities.”

 We Aussies tend to be influenced by certain elements of the media and politicians who can paint pretty negative pictures of the world around us in an attempt to create fear and compliance.

So instead of being a victim to such propaganda, maybe we should conduct a “gratitude stock take” at this time of year and tick off how fortunate we are to live in this lucky country, how blessed we are to be able to share with our friends and clients our skills and passion for health and fitness and how amazing it is to have a fully functioning body and above average health.

It is time for an  END OF FINANCIAL YEAR GRATEFULNESS.

Written by Garry Hart

      Program and Training Director, Body Training Solutions