Progress Preventers: Three Reasons Your Fitness Clients Aren’t Making Progress
Progress forward towards any fitness or health goal looks different for each individual client. That’s to be expected. No two clients are the same, therefore they will not respond the same even to similar approaches. However, fitness clients, though different from each other, can experience similar barriers, or manifest “progress preventers.” When I teach personal […]
Fad Diet Red Flags to Share with Fitness Clients
When new fitness clients think about the health and fitness industry, their thoughts are often clouded with their notion of weight loss, detox teas, secret potions, or fat-blasting supplements—basically, the elements of a fad diet. However, none of those are components of what the true health and fitness industry represents. Our industry and its legitimate […]
5 Basic Movements for Fitness Clients
When it comes to exercise programming and workout design, the basics still work despite what fit-influencers want consumers to believe. As exercise professionals, we should be mindful of balancing workout programs with challenging tasks and supporting those tasks with basic foundational movements. A quality exercise plan does not require overly complex movements or a wide […]
Strategies to Nurture Body Respect
The attention personal trainers have historically given their clients was primarily physical. With increasing light cast on toxic diet culture and body dysmorphia, nurturing clients’ healthy mindset and cultivating body respect is increasingly becoming part and parcel of the fit pro’s role as a health and fitness coach. The health and fitness industry from its […]
Fitness Client Retention: 5 Reasons Clients Quit
Turning paying fitness clients into staying clients requires as much finesse as it does the appropriate application of science. Just because you get the client in the door or on the screen, is not a guarantee that they will stay with you for the long haul. Client retention is an important nonscience, human skill you […]
The Power of the Regular Walk Break
Walking has clear benefits for the body and mind. It improves cardiorespiratory health, reduces stress, helps maintain muscle mass and bone density, and gets the blood pumping throughout the body. Walking is also weight-bearing, but low-intensity. It requires no special equipment, programming, or a high fitness level to engage in. So, why is walking so […]
What I Wish I Knew About Workout Program Design
My experience as a health and exercise professional started in 2003 after graduating with my bachelor’s in Exercise Science and achieving my first certification (NSCA-CPT). Early on in this experience, I relied too heavily on the science of program design and misjudged the art of it. While workout program design is rooted in science, it […]
Setting Boundaries: Identifying the Non-Negotiables for Your Personal Training Business
Starting a business is a challenge many newly certified fitness professionals are hesitant to take on. It makes sense – it’s not really a science by definition and personal trainers and fitness professionals are–by education, trade, and passion–scientists. Being a business owner is a different (and intimidating) realm for many, but there are some tricks […]
Fit-fluencer Red Flags
One of the downsides of social media is the upcropping of the fitness influencer. These “trainers” grow in number of followers and scientific blunders by the day. It’s time we, as the pros, call out the fit-fluencer red flags and teach our clients about real, evidence-based practices. How Body Image is Impacted In 2018 in […]
The Up and Downsides of Social Media
Oh, social media, how I love and despise you in equal measure. Social media provides just as many benefits as it does barriers or downsides. Let’s take a closer look at them both. Social Media Upsides We would be misguided if we neglected to acknowledge the number of positives associated with the many social media […]