Learn The Frankenstein Squat To Master The Front Squat
Halloween is kind of my favorite, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to include a classic monster like Frankenstein in today’s blog. If you’ve never heard of it, the Frankenstein squat, or hands-free front squat, is just as you would imagine it and its apparent silliness is for good cause. The front squat is […]
ALS: How A Fitness Professional Can Face Motor Neuron Disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), previously referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a progressive neurological disorder that causes motor neuron loss, resulting in muscle weakening and eventually, the inability to move or even speak. It’s a devastating illness given that the mind and awareness remain in tact while the body deteriorates, forcing many patients to […]
ALS and Exercise: What The Science Says
Working with a client diagnosed with ALS can be both rewarding and emotionally taxing, but it is well within the capacity of a fitness professional who is willing to take on the challenge. I found myself in this position about ten years ago when my client Phoebe was diagnosed with this debilitating motor neuron disease […]
Daniel Stein–NFPT Personal Trainer Spotlight
Meet Daniel Stein, an NFPT certified trainer with an impressive resume. As an NFPT and NASM certified personal trainer, as well as a Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer, Daniel specializes in health and fitness for the special needs population. In 2016, Daniel and his wife, Trinity, started Special Strong. Special Strong provides nutrition and adapted fitness […]
Giving Thanks to Your Clients
Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday for most Americans because it’s all about reflecting on the good things we’ve been blessed with and sharing the good vibes with family and friends over the most delicious meal of the entire year (hopefully). The most pressure anyone is likely to feel is to properly cook the turkey (which […]
Develop Abs Without “Ab Day”
“Core strength” has certainly been a fitness buzz phrase for years, and although the science has come a long way in the last few decades, so many fitness enthusiasts still don’t feel they’ve “worked” their core unless they dedicate a whole day to abs. It seems most folks are more concerned with the aesthetic outcomes […]
Alleviating Clients’ Holiday Guilt
This time of year is notoriously harried, fraught with culinary delights, and sparse on physical exertion–for most, that is. We’ve certainly accounted for the personal training clients that refuse to fall off the wagon for even a day, or those who want and ask for the encouragement to stay on track when challenged. Still, […]
How to Do a Close-Grip Bench Press for Powerful Triceps
A close-grip bench press is a variation of a standard bench press that creates a different challenge for our personal training clients. When conjuring up a hallmark upper body strength exercise, few things come to mind faster than a bench press. A typical “push” movement that recruits the pec complex, the deltoids, and rotator cuff […]
Legal and Ethical Scope of Practice for Personal Trainers: A Primer on Professional Conduct
With the lines of health and fitness professionals, including certified personal trainers, being continually blurred with all the cross-over, synergy, and holistic education programs/niches available, it can be quite difficult to discern what is within a personal trainer’s legal and ethical scope of practice with regard to their business. For those who hold multiple certifications, […]
Alex Clearwater–NFPT Personal Trainer Spotlight
Alex Clearwater has not only been one of our regular blog contributors for over two years, but she’s also full-time NFPT certified Personal Trainer, Yoga teacher, group instructor, and returning dance student. She currently lives in her home town of Sheridan, WY where she went to college for her AS in Exercise Science. She likes […]