May is Mental Health Awareness Month: What Personal Trainers Can Do
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness month, I thought I would marry my background in psychology with my experience as a personal trainer to address the unique position we are in to either provide emotional support when our clients need it or even recognize red flags when they are raised. As personal trainers, one of […]
What Fitness Enthusiasts Want in a Fitness Professional
It’s easier for other fitness professionals to come up with the qualities that make a great personal trainer than to directly ask your clients (and potential clients) are looking for when they scout for a trainer. I recently spoke to 30 fitness enthusiasts about qualities and characteristics they look for before they start working with […]
PRP Therapy: An Approach to Healing Pain and Injuries
When pain is great enough to impact exercise habits or even activities of daily life, clients may pursue medical interventions and burgeoning therapies to help alleviate or even eradicate their symptoms. Personal trainers who are informed on these topics can help guide their clients in the decision-making process and also be prepared for what to […]
How To Combat Decision Fatigue Using Simple Criteria
How many times during a day, week, month, or year, do you make decisions for your fitness business? The fitness industry is a fast-moving one and the future of fitness keeps evolving. Or better yet, how many seconds, minutes, hours, days, and weeks do you spend pondering opportunities attempting to make an optimal business decision? […]
Psychological Skills Training for Personal Trainers
Psychological Skills Training or (PST) refers to a steady practice of sharpening mindset or mental acuity skills in order to achieve peak performance (Williams & Krane, 2015). Sometimes it’s referred to as “Mind-Set Training” or “Mental Training”. The concept has evolved over the years and came about with the advent of sport psychology. Coaches, certified […]
The Atkins Diet Resurfaces: Just Another High Fat, Low Carb Diet?
As the keto craze rages on, let’s take the opportunity to discuss another low-carb diet variation with plenty of merit and proven success as a weight loss approach: The Atkins’ Diet. History of the Atkins Diet The Atkins’ diet was created in the early 1970’s by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins (1930-2003), a cardiologist […]
Harnessing the Power of Eustress
Stress, distress, eustress…These buzz words are getting attention right now, but how can they be leveraged and used to fuel your passion for fitness and with your training your clients? Stress is the body’s response to changes in its inner or outer environment. It’s also a state where there’s emotional tension or strain […]
Using Metabolic Efficiency Tests to Maximize Client Results
Personal trainers might recommend metabolic efficiency testing for their clients to help them reach their fitness goals more easily. Metabolic efficiency refers to how well the body can utilize fat and burn energy (calories). It’s also known as nutritional fitness. Metabolic Efficiency Testing comes in two forms: Resting Metabolic Rate Assessment (RMR) and Active Metabolic […]
Inversion Tables: Are They Worth It?
To invert or not to invert, that’s the question! I bought an inversion table last year because the local sporting goods store had some pretty big sales on it and my karate instructor swears by it. What to say if a client inquires about potentially buying one? As an exercise scientist (among other things), I […]
Understanding Heart Rate Variability Training and How To Use It With Fitness Clients
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) training utilizes today’s available technology to assess a heart metric that can provide valuable information about how a client or athlete can maximize their physical efforts. Similar to Metabolic Efficiency Testing, personal trainers can leverage HRV training to help better grasp client energy level and plan accordingly. What is Heart Rate […]