Welcome to our Spring Newsletter 🌸
Spring is here, and we’ve got another jam-packed fitness news edition filled with practical tips, industry insights and plenty of opportunities to keep learning and growing as a fitness professional. This month, we’re putting the abdominal muscles under the spotlight for our Muscle of the Month, exploring coaching cues, common mistakes and ways to challenge the core beyond simply doing more crunches.
Our Food of the Month looks at the age-old debate of honey vs sugar. Is honey really the healthier choice? We take a look at the differences in processing, calories and nutritional value, including what to consider when choosing raw versus heat-treated honey. We’ve also included an interesting snippet from our Diploma of Sport, exploring doping and drugs in sport and the important role coaches can play in understanding these issues.
September is also a pretty exciting month for us because we’re holding our FIRST EVER Fit Education Careers Expo! 🎉 During September Cram Week, we’ll be bringing together Personal Training Managers, Club Managers and industry leaders from some of the biggest names in fitness, including Goodlife, Club Lime & Fitness Cartel and more. It’s a fantastic opportunity for our students to meet the industry, ask questions, make connections and start thinking about where their qualification could take them. Make sure you click through to find out more — you won’t want to miss this one!
And of course, there’s plenty more to explore, including this month’s Huberman Lab podcast pick, our latest job opportunities, upcoming events and Cram Week dates.
So grab a coffee, settle in and have a look through the September fitness news edition — we hope you find something that inspires you, teaches you something new or helps you take the next step in your fitness career!
The Fit Education Team
Muscle of the Month
The Abdominals
When it comes to training the abdominal muscles, one of the most common mistakes is focusing on how many repetitions a client can complete rather than how well they are performing them. During exercises such as crunches, sit-ups and leg raises, clients often compensate by using their hip flexors or momentum instead of allowing the abdominals to control the movement. As a coach, watch for excessive swinging, arching through the lower back or rushing through the exercise.
Coaching Cue: Encourage clients to slow the movement down and think about bringing their ribcage towards their pelvis rather than simply lifting their head and shoulders. For exercises such as leg raises, remind them to keep their core engaged and avoid allowing the lower back to excessively arch away from the floor. Sometimes a simple change in tempo or range of motion can make an exercise far more challenging without adding any extra weight.
Remember, effective core training isn’t about performing hundreds of repetitions or chasing that “burn”. The abdominal muscles play an important role in stabilising the spine and controlling movement, so include a variety of exercises that challenge the core to resist movement as well as create it.
Coach’s Tip: If a client can no longer maintain good technique, it’s time to reduce the difficulty—not just keep counting the reps!
Exercises where the core creates movement
These are exercises where the abdominal muscles actively produce or assist with movement of the trunk:
- Crunches – trunk flexion
- Sit-ups – trunk flexion
- Reverse crunches – posterior pelvic tilt/trunk movement
- Hanging knee raises – requires the abdominals to control the pelvis and trunk
- Cable crunches – loaded trunk flexion
- Torsonator – trunk rotation
Exercises where the core resists movement
These are particularly useful for teaching clients how to stabilise their spine and pelvis:
- Plank – resists spinal extension
- Side plank – resists lateral flexion
- Pallof press – resists rotation
A strong core can help create a stable foundation for movement, allowing the limbs to move efficiently while the trunk remains controlled. So when you’re programming for a client, think beyond the six-pack!
Want to learn more about the body? Study the Certificate III & IV in Fitness now.
Food of the Month
Honey vs Sugar
Honey and sugar are both natural sweeteners, but they arrive on our supermarket shelves in very different ways. Sugar starts with a natural plant source — usually sugar cane or sugar beet — but it goes through a refining process that removes most of the other components, leaving us with almost pure sucrose. Honey, on the other hand, is produced naturally by bees and generally undergoes much less processing before it reaches us. As a result, honey retains small amounts of naturally occurring enzymes, minerals, antioxidants and other plant compounds that are largely absent from refined white sugar.
But when it comes to calories, the difference may surprise you! One teaspoon of white sugar contains around 16 calories, while one teaspoon of honey contains around 21 calories. Honey is also slightly sweeter than table sugar, which means you may need a little less to achieve the same level of sweetness. While honey does contain small amounts of nutrients such as potassium, calcium and magnesium, as well as antioxidant compounds, the quantities are relatively small. So, while honey can offer some nutritional benefits that refined sugar doesn’t, it is still primarily a source of sugar and calories.
If you’re choosing honey, it’s also worth looking at how it has been processed. Raw, unfiltered honey is generally the closest to its natural state and retains more of its naturally occurring enzymes and antioxidant compounds. Heat-treated honey is heated to improve consistency, make it easier to filter and slow crystallisation. Significant heating can reduce some of the heat-sensitive enzymes and antioxidant activity, potentially reducing some of honey’s natural nutritional qualities. If preserving these natural properties is important to you, look for honey labelled raw and unfiltered, and check whether it has been heat-treated — particularly if water has been added.
Whichever you choose, remember that honey is still an added sugar, so portion size matters more than the label!
Job Board
Don’t forget to visit our Jobs Board regularly to stay up to date with the latest employment opportunities. With the Brisbane Olympics fast approaching, the industry is continuing to grow, and demand for qualified professionals is on the rise. Now is the perfect time to get qualified, gain valuable experience, and kick start an exciting career.
Upcoming Events
We offer a range of events that cater to a wide range of students and delivers across Australia. These events range from First Aid and CPR to Teacher Professional Development Days.
You can register for any of these events directly from this page.
Snippet from our Diploma of Sport
Coaching and Athlete Development
Issues Effecting Sportspeople – Drugs in Sport
What is a Drug?
A drug is any chemical substance that affects the way the body works.
Doping = taking drugs to improve sports performance.
Doping Origins
From the Dutch word ‘doop’ (a thick dipping sauce)
Also an alcoholic beverage from grape skins, used by Zulu warriors to enhance their power in battle.
It entered American slang to describe how robbers stupefied victims by mixing tobacco with the seeds of Datura stramonium, (known as jimsonweed), which caused sedation, hallucinations and confusion.
By 1889, ‘dope’ was used in connection with the preparation of a thick viscous preparation of opium for smoking, and during the 1890s this extended to any stupefying narcotic drug.
In 1900, ‘dope’ was also defined as a preparation of drugs designed to influence the performance of a racehorse.
History of Doping
Doping is not a new phenomenon. Drugs have been used to enhance performance since ancient times.
Greek and roman civilisations used mushrooms and herbs to improve their performance. Later in the 19th century substances including alcohol, opium and caffeine were used. The more recent forms of performance enhancing drugs have roots from World War II, where amphetamines were used by American soldiers to keep them alert, and Germans used anabolic steroids to increase their aggressive behaviour.
Podcast Pick
How to Exercise for Improved Cognitive Function.
with Dr Tommy Wood & Dr Andrew Huberman
This is an excellent clip from a longer Huberman Lab podcast that explores something we don’t always think about when programming exercise — how our training can affect the brain, both immediately and over the long term. Dr Tommy Wood and Dr Andrew Huberman discuss how different exercise intensities can influence alertness, focus, learning and overall brain health.
One of the really interesting takeaways is that more isn’t always better when cognitive performance is the priority. For example, if a client has an exam, an important presentation or a mentally demanding day ahead, a moderate workout may provide an immediate boost in alertness and cognitive performance, whereas an extremely hard or exhaustive session could leave them feeling mentally and physically drained. The discussion also explores how different training approaches, including aerobic exercise and high-intensity intervals, may contribute to longer-term brain health, hippocampal function and neuroplasticity.
For Personal Trainers, this is a great reminder that our role extends beyond simply writing workouts. Understanding how exercise interacts with a client’s lifestyle, work, study, sleep, stress and cognitive demands allows us to make smarter programming decisions and provide more individualised coaching. This kind of knowledge can help you become the trainer your clients trust — not just to help them achieve their physical goals, but to support their overall health and wellbeing.
Australian Movement and Fitness Guidelines Review: Part Two – By Steve Nance
I reviewed the new Australian Government Movement and Fitness Guidelines earlier this year – refer to Part One here.
How Can We Promote Movement and Fitness in Australia?
We all know that physical activity, exercise, and healthy nutrition are critical components of preventative health. The real challenge is getting more Australians to participate consistently. Simply telling people that exercise is good for them is clearly not enough. Australia needs practical, community-based fitness initiatives rather than more reports sitting on shelves.
What the Australian Movement and Fitness Guidelines Can Learn from Sweden
Throughout my career, I have been passionate about preventative health and long-term fitness strategies.
Several years ago, I was invited to present at the UK Strength and Conditioning Association Annual Conference on periodising an English Premier League football program. During the conference, I attended as many sessions as possible and one presentation from a Swedish researcher particularly caught my attention.
After the presentation, we spoke at length about preventative health programs. When he asked how many large-scale preventative fitness initiatives existed in Australia, I struggled to give him an answer.
He then explained a highly successful five-year program that had been implemented in a small Swedish city.
Want to read more and find out what features Sweden adopted to successfully improve the health & wellbeing of their population – Click here.
Fit Education Careers Expo
Your qualification gets you into the industry.
The right connections can help you build your career.
For the first time ever, Fit Education is bringing some of the biggest names in the fitness industry under one roof! Join us during September Cram Week for a unique opportunity to meet Personal Training Managers, Club Managers and industry leaders from Goodlife, Club Lime, Fitness Cartel, Snap Fitness, Jetts and more.
This is your chance to go beyond simply getting qualified. Meet the people who could become your future employers, ask questions, discover what different clubs are looking for in their trainers, and learn what it really takes to build a successful career as a Coach or Personal Trainer.
Whether you’re just starting your fitness journey or getting ready to graduate, don’t miss this opportunity to put yourself in front of the industry, make connections and start building your future!
The best way to train the abdominal muscles is to focus on both core movement exercises and core stability exercises. While crunches and reverse crunches train the abs through movement, exercises like planks, side planks and Pallof presses teach the core to resist movement and stabilise the spine.
For aspiring Personal Trainers, understanding how the core functions beyond simply creating a “six-pack” is an important part of fitness education.
👉 Learn more fitness news through the Certificate III & IV in Fitness at Fit Education: https://fiteducation.edu.au
Honey is often considered a healthier alternative because it contains naturally occurring antioxidants, enzymes and trace minerals that refined white sugar does not contain. However, honey is still a form of added sugar and should be consumed in moderation.
While honey may offer some nutritional advantages, portion control remains more important than choosing one sweetener over another.
Further fitness news readings:
Nutrition Australia: https://nutritionaustralia.org
Eat for Health (Australian Government): https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au
To become a Personal Trainer in Australia, most people complete:
Certificate III in Fitness
Certificate IV in Fitness
These nationally recognised qualifications provide the knowledge and practical skills required to work with clients in gyms, health clubs and fitness facilities.
👉 Explore Personal Training qualifications at Fit Education: https://fiteducation.edu.au
Research suggests that exercise can improve:
*Concentration
*Alertness
*Learning capacity
*Memory
*Mood
Moderate exercise may provide an immediate cognitive boost, while long-term physical activity supports brain health and neuroplasticity.
This is why many health professionals recommend regular exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Further fitness news reading:
Huberman Lab: https://www.hubermanlab.com
Australian Institute of Sport: https://www.ais.gov.au
Coaches play a vital role in athlete education, performance development and duty of care.
Understanding doping and anti-doping regulations helps coaches:
*Protect athlete wellbeing
*Prevent accidental violations
*Promote ethical sporting environments
*Support long-term athlete development
Students can explore these topics through the
Diploma of Sport (Coaching & Athlete Development) offered by Fit Education.