Willardson, JM, Fontana, FE, Bressel E
Int Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance. 2009 Mar;4(1):97-109.

Wahl MJ, Behm DG.
J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Jul;22(4):1360-70.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to measure the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the soleus, bicep femoris, rectus femoris, lower abdominal, and lumbosacral erector spinae (LSES) muscles with a variety of (a) instability devices, (b) stable and unstable (Dyna Disc) exercises, and (c) a fatiguing exercise in 16 highly conditioned individuals.

 

CONCLUSIONS:  These results indicate that the use of moderately unstable training devices (i.e., Dyna Disc, BOSU ball) did not provide sufficient challenges to the neuromuscular system in highly resistance-trained individuals. Since highly trained individuals may already possess enhanced stability from the use of dynamic free weights, a greater degree of instability may be necessary. 

How hard can this be! I use my day timer! I don't have that many clients! These are just a few of the reactions I have gotten when talking with trainers about their schedules. I want to talk to you about the fundamental basis of economics.
 
Scarcity, this usually refers to materials but for us trainers in the service industry it is time. Trainers often forget this basic economic formula that we sell time as the commodity for money. Scheduling the exchange of time for payment is not only critical it is a basis of how our business functions. How does this relate to automation of scheduling? Let me tell you about the moment I figured it out.
 
Years ago a great friend and client of mine told me something that I have never forgotten, Vic is a cardiologist and a very good one and his schedule is very busy. One evening Vic and I went out for dinner and got to talking about his business and mine and the basic similarities. We are both in health care, mine more preventive his more reactive, and we both basically trade our time for fees. What really struck me as the main difference; he had a secretary and scheduling system to help him. Since we both work 9 to 10 hours a day I asked why does he need a secretary and scheduling program, I do all of it myself? "Simple" he said "I make money doing what I am great at, I am great at being a doctor, the more time I spend being a doctor the more money I make."
 
It was like a whole bunch of glass was breaking around me and suddenly it became clear to me; spend more time doing what I am great at and I will make more money. How could this have eluded me for so long, it was the answer to a question that I struggled with for years. How as a trainer can I make more money? I looked around and found that every other profession that sells blocks of time used these two necessities of business the schedule and the secretary, doctors, lawyers, and dentists even my mechanic has a schedule and a person to book me.
 
Yet as trainers we often diminish these as not necessary and I truly believe this is one reason why so many trainers fail or have a hard time seeing themselves as a professionals. "I am just a trainer" is something I hear countless times at trade shows and in webinars. I know that most of the trainers out there cannot afford a secretary but scheduling software that acts as your secretary, accountant and scheduling assistant can be found for less than you bill for 1 hour of your time. If this means you can train more or run an extra boot camp then it will be money well spent.
 
It is simple math the more time I save (paperwork), the more time I have to sell (train clients), the more time I sell the more money I make (no explanation needed). The bonus is this equals more time I get to spend doing what I enjoy. You truly could not ask for a better reason to automate your scheduling.
 

 

Those are the distances that 29-year-old Carola Tize put her body through earlier this year as she cycled from Cairo to Capetown as part of the Tour D'Afrique. From the Sudan to Botswana, Tize and her group experienced all of Africa's diversity, crossing 10 different countries on an epic biking tour of the gigantic African continent. "It was pretty fantastic," said Tize.
 
Fantastic, but not easy. The Tour D'Afrique is actually a race, one that Tize intended to compete in from beginning to end. She participated in the race aspect of the tour until Ethiopia, and she even won that section of the leg. But then Tize got sick. "I was suffering from stomach issues, and it became more of a test of the immune system than anything. And I felt like I was missing out...I wanted to enjoy it, to see places, to play with the kids along the way," explained Tize about her decision to drop out of the competitive component of the tour, a decision she certainly doesn't regret.
 
What might be even more amazing is that Tize got to cycle through Africa at all. Just one year before in January 2008, she nearly lost her life because of a staph infection. While cycling in the velodrome in Vancouver, Tize had a serious crash and hurt her shoulder. She had an MRI anthrogram  injection, which accidently injected staph into her shoulder joint.

"At first I didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't move. I was throwing up. I couldn't sit down or sit up," remembered Tize. "My mom saw me and nearly had a heart attack." Before she knew it, Tize had lost 16 pounds in one week and was in the hospital having the first of two surgeries. This was followed by six weeks of IV antibiotics. "It was pretty ugly," said Tize about the whole experience, one that took her a full seven months to recover from.
 
Physical recovery is something that Tize is getting quite familiar with. The African tour also left her body depleted. "We were so overtrained and exhausted when we finished that we weren't able to do anything for a while," said Tize. "Now I'm starting to see the benefits about how strong I was, but it took a month to be able to recoup."
 
Tize has been actively recovering with Human  Motion's Carmen Bott. But this down phase is temporary; Tize insists that her cycling days are far from over. She hopes to get back in the Velodrome at some point in the future. "My body and mind just needed a break," she said. While she might be taking a break from cycling, Tize continues to strength train both on her own and with Bott.
 
Tize is also currently enrolled in grad studies at the University of British Columbia, which uses up a great deal of her time. But being locked up studying psychology all the time hasn't stopped Tize from dreaming about her next big adventure.
 
"I definitely want to do races again. [My boyfriend and I] want to do a race that goes across Belize, and we definitely want to bike northern India," she said. Before that, Tize says she might move to Amsterdam, where her boyfriend lives, and finish school there. Whatever she chooses, her next big adventure is always right around the corner.
 
Carola's blog: http://carolabikesafrica.blogspot.com