This one single sleep habit can significantly improve your clients' daytime energy (as it is influenced by night sleep), which equates to more motivation for exercise and to eat well! As a bonus, replacing evening screen time with relaxing bedtime activities also...
Beverly Hosford
Beverly Hosford, MA teaches anatomy and body awareness using a skeleton named Andy, balloons, play-doh, ribbons, guided visualizations, and corrective exercises. She is an instructor, author, and a business coach for fitness professionals. Learn how to help your clients sleep better with in Bev's NFPT Sleep Coach Program and dive deeper into anatomy in her NFPT Fundamentals of Anatomy Course.
Simple Steps for Using a Sleep Journal with Fitness Clients
Using a sleep journal re-connects a person to their habits and can make a difference in one week. If your clients ever mention a rough night of sleep, that’s your cue to investigate this otherwise undercover aspect of health by using a sleep journal.
Understanding Pelvic Tilt Muscles and Function
The pelvic tilt has two main movements and four movements in total that every personal trainer should be intimately aware of. There are dozens of muscles involved in both the anterior and posterior pelvic tilt. The pelvic tilt is often used as an assessment tool. It...
Understanding and Training Core Abdominal Muscles
Training core abdominal muscles is sometimes a straightforward goal for personal training clients, and other times - injuries and discomfort arise when crunching, planking and rotating the spine. Studying core anatomy closely helps certified personal trainers design...
Breathing Techniques for Personal Training
There are many breathing techniques to utilize when exercising aside from inhaling concentrically and exhaling eccentrically. It can also prove beneficial to work on breathing techniques when not exercising any other muscles, so to train the system without as much...
Exploring Breathing Muscles and Exercise
There are 18 muscles working when we breathe, including the pecs. More often than not, the diaphragm and transverse abdominus are the main two muscles talked about most for breathing. Yet there is so much more happening beneath the skin when you inhale and exhale....
Understanding and Training External and Internal Obliques
The oblique abdominal muscles have an interesting relationship with one another. Most personal training clients know that doing diagonal or crossover crunches exercise the obliques. Exploring the obliques beyond basic location and mainstream function helps personal...
Understanding and Training Transverse Abdominis
When it comes to optimal personal training and fitness coaching, knowing the chief musculature of the human body is paramount. The transverse abdominis (TVA) wraps around your abdomen like a belt or corset. It has gained a lot of attention in the past decade....
Understanding and Training Rectus Abdominis
The rectus abdominis (RA) is known as the "six-pack" muscle. Most people know where the RA is but not everyone understands the intricacies of this muscle. Understanding RA beyond its basic location and mainstream function help personal trainers avoid injuries and...
Eat Drink and Sleep?
When you eat and drink can affect sleep and how you sleep can impact how much and what you eat and drink. Meeting health-related goals like weight loss warrant attention to this interconnected relationship. Come explore the physiology so you can guide your clients...
Motivating Behavior with Emotions
Willpower and self-control are easier to talk about than to cultivate consistently. They are both stellar qualities to possess but aren't an ideal go-to gameplan for long-term behavior change. What do emotions have to do with motivation? In a Psychology Today article,...
Understanding and Training Pectoralis Major
Knowing where pectoralis major is located, how it moves the surrounding bones, and what exercises strengthen it is essential for exercise programming. Pec major is a large muscle in the upper body that influences shoulder movement, upper torso function, and breathing....
Keeping Personal Training Clients On Your Schedule
Keeping clients on your schedule is easier said than done. Not everyone will mesh with you. Not everyone will make fitness a priority even if they say they want to. A little extra thought and effort pay off and get more people to stick with you. Use these strategies...
Six Fitness Affirmations for Personal Training Clients
Affirmations are statements that can influence behavior change and fitness results. They go beyond counting repetitions and cueing form during workouts. Affirmations are an essential component of programming for mindful fitness, positive body image, and sports...
5 Creative Warm Up Ideas for Working Out
There is more to warming-up than just preparing the physical body to exercise. The mind benefits greatly from the way you choose to transition your client into exercise. What was your client doing before they came to your session? The answer to this question factors...
Squat Foot Position: Is there a right way?
Personal trainers may have questions on how to direct their clients with optimal squat foot position, and with good cause: the kinetic chain starts at the feet. Squat with your feet bare and in a variety of positions to maximize the benefits of lower-body workouts....
Exercises for Strong Legs and Healthy Knees
Program both open and closed kinetic chain movements for your clients so they get a variety of movements that mimic activities of daily living and sports. Also, well-rounded knee strength. Squats are an example of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercises (CKCE) because the legs...
Posterior Tibialis Anatomy Function and Exercise
Identify the location of posterior tibialis and cue ankle and foot exercises more effectively with clients. Hopefully, you are doing foot and ankle exercises with clients. If so, you are awesome! If not, it's ok - there is always something new to learn. This knowledge...