Functional-Training Workshop to Be Offered at Penn College

Published 03.07.2002

News

Physical therapists, personal trainers, coaches, health-care professionals, physical-health instructors and educators are among those who may benefit from a one-day functional-training workshop to be offered Saturday, April 20, at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The workshop, which is being sponsored by the School of Health Sciences at Penn College, Susquehanna Health System, The Sports Medicine Center at SHS and the Technology Transfer Center at Penn College, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bardo Gymnasium, located along West Third Street on the main campus in Williamsport.

Cost for the session is $50 and includes lunch. Students with a valid ID may register for $20 (lunch not included). Continuing Education Units will be issued for a number of fitness organizations.

Functional training is a comprehensive training approach based on sound scientific principles. It focuses on training, reconditioning and rehabilitating the body. Functional training integrates the physical components of strength, balance, flexibility, core stability, neuromuscular efficiency, reaction, acceleration, agility and deceleration.

Participants in the workshop will examine and compare traditional training exercises with functional-training exercise methods. They will get a feel for how exercises and equipment are used in hands-on station work and learn how to design their own functional-training programs for use in clinics and other settings.

The workshop will be led by Jim Giroux, who joined "Perform Better" - a group of experts in training and rehabilitation - in the fall of 2000 after serving as assistant track and field coach at the University of Massachusetts for 12 years.

Giroux earned a master's degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts, where he coached jumps, hurdles, throws and combined events. He is a U.S.A. Track & Field Level 2 jumps coach, a National Strength and Conditioning Association-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a U.S. Weightlifting Federation club coach. He has also conducted camps and clinics on a variety of track-and-field and strength/power topics.

Giroux's seminars and clinics cover topics such as medicine balls, stability balls, dynamic warm-up, balance, plyometrics and training with bands. He is also an expert on training periodization and program design.

To register for the functional-training workshop at Penn College, call (570) 327-4775 or send a fax to (570) 321-5546.