First-time pregnancy can be the most exciting time of a woman's life. And for some, also some of the most physically challenging! For moms-to-be who have never really worked out before and come to you for guidance, you are in a unique position to both help her...
Alexandria Clearwater
Alex has her A.S in Exercise Science and is a certified Personal Trainer with NFPT and NSCF. She recently traveled to India to gain her 200 hr yoga teacher certification where she studied the ancient practice at its origins. Alex has spent time teaching yoga in Spain while volunteering at a yoga retreat and is currently working at her local college instructing two fitness courses. Alex wants to share with her clients and students the mental, physical and emotionally healing qualities of exercise and movement. She believes everyone should have a healthy relationship with their bodies and strives to thread that concept throughout her career.
Erector Spinae Exercises for Form and Posture
With the continual advancement of technology and its prevalence in our day to day lives, health and fitness professionals are seeing an alarming increase in poor to downright detrimental posture among our clients. Long gone are the days where sitting up straight is...
Body Awareness: Active Hands
The quality of training sessions considerably rises when the client begins to think about how they're moving rather than just doing it. Teaching body awareness is just as integral as teaching a client proper alignment and form for exercises. When a client doesn't have...
Exercise and Pregnancy Myth-Busting
Sometimes pregnancy can be unexpected, and this means that a lot of lifestyle will change in the moment one discovers she’s with child. Many women will want to begin exercising to be as healthy as possible during their pregnancy and perhaps hire a certified personal...
Calisthenics: Bodyweight Workout for Home Fitness Clients
Change and uncertainty can be extremely unsettling. When life falls out of its natural rhythm and we don't know when it will return, it's hard on our health. Both physically and emotionally. Many of us turn to movement and exercise to alleviate stress but what can we...
Training a Dancer
The physical brutality of dance is often obscured in subtlety and stage makeup. While dancers can make their craft look easy, any trainer who has worked with a dancer knows there is elite strength and mobility required to dance well. What exactly does a dancer need to...
How to Convert a New Member Consultation to a Paying Client
New member consultations are an opportunity to work with a population that will benefit tremendously from a trainer's expertise that might have otherwise missed out. If the consultation is approached in the right manner it won't be a waste of time for the trainer; it...
How to Conduct a Quality Personal Training Consultation
The beginning of the year brings a flood of new gym enthusiasts, which means trainers are up to their ears in new member consultations. This provides the opportunity for trainers to evaluate themselves and think critically about how they execute a consultation. What’s...
So You Want To Be A Yoga Teacher
Being a Yoga instructor seems to be becoming as mainstream as smartphones and cat memes. With weekend yoga certifications available by the hundreds, and the unfortunate number of people teaching without any credentials, what does it truly take to be a credible yoga...
Fat Loss Versus Weight Loss
America seems obsessed with “weight loss” everywhere you look. Unfortunately, this concept is too frequently conflated with "fat loss" and more highly valued without taking body composition changes into account in most cases. Teasing out the differences both...
Lower Body Perturbation Training: Finding Your Balance
https://personaltrainertoday.com/assessing-building-physical-balanceDaily life brings on a multitude of unexpected forces challenging stability and balance. Missing the last step of a stairway, a loose rock on a trail, a passerby accidentally bumping one’s shoulder, and the list goes on. The ability to regain and maintain balance is...
German Body Composition Training: The What, Why, and How
Different approaches to strength training can facilitate different body responses, especially when taking a closer look at hormone levels. Most personal training clients don’t realize that trainers consider how their sessions affect them on a cellular level. This is...
Dynamic Exercises for the Advanced Personal Training Client
Personal trainers working primarily with general fitness clients are usually pumped when signing an advanced client, or when a current client is ready to raise the bar. It’s an opportunity to apply our knowledge in a different way, get creative with the workout, and...
All Cardio, No Impact: Exercises for the Non-Runner or Injured Client
Cardio is essential in a well-rounded fitness routine, but it’s certainly not everyone's favorite, especially when the activity is perceived as "high-impact". Some personal trainers work with clients can’t or flat out won’t run and jump. So how can you get cardio into...
Active vs Passive Range of Motion (ROM) and Their Relationship with Lifting
Mobility work is a rising star in the fitness world, and knowing how Passive and Active Range of Motion (ROM) fits into it can assist every personal trainer with achieving their clients' goals safely and effectively. What was once seen as minimally important to the...
What Are the Different Styles of Asana Yoga?
Once you have a solid grasp on what Yoga is really all about, how do you decide which of the many classes is best for you or your clients? Although there have been all sorts of new classes springing up with yoga's growing popularity in Western culture, the two Asanas...
Yoga Essentials for Fitness Professionals
Personal trainers can incorporate yoga into a fitness program and more easily navigate the many asanas (yoga poses) by studying the history and essence of this age-old practice. It may seem overwhelming, so let’s start with the basics! What are the essential...
Destination Yoga Teacher Training Experience
You can expect a dynamic experience with both highs and lows if you participate in a Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) in a foreign country. I am finding this out first hand as I complete a YTT in India. Yoga is a discipline that has gained growing popularity and momentum...