Generally when people say “stability” they mean strength. They sometimes mean the “smaller” muscles in the body. With 600 muscles in the human body there are a lot of stabilizers! What is Stability? Stability is having four legs under your chair instead of three. It’s...
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.
Latissimus Dorsi is a Core Muscle
Latissimus Dorsi is often thought of as a back/shoulder muscle, but it has a major role in trunk movement. When training the core, it's essential to know all of the muscle attachments so you can integrate them into your training program. Having strong core muscles can...
The Best Marketing Strategy For You
Flyers posted around town are wasteful if no one's looking at them. Business cards get lost under the car seat and networking events make many people cringe. Social media marketing can be noisy. So, what is the best marketing method available today? The answer is...
Assessments that Renew Fitness Goals
How do you keep your clients motivated? With your enthusiasm? With proof? Keeping notes is one way to show the client what's changed in their workouts over time. Another method is with fitness assessments. For those that like goals and achievement, it's helpful...
The Competition Continuum
"Ready, get set, go!" Does this phrase excite you or make you want to crawl under a rock? Some people love competition. Others run from it (which could be a competition of it's own). If you're the competitive type, you may have a hard time understanding the...
Cross Training for Hiking and Biking
Cross training is an exercise tool, that when applied properly can increase strength and decrease the risk of injury simultaneously. Just like a proper warm-up. Encourage your personal training clients to cross-train. Let clients know that cross training is a fancy...
7 Networking Tips for Personal Trainers
"If you aren't networking than you're not working". This old saying is a tongue twister and kind of cheesy, but it's true. Personal training is a people business and requires you to connect with others. Networking means being involved in your community, making...
Warm up for Hiking and Biking
Warming up the body properly makes your client's favorite activities safer and easier by getting the muscles ready. Warm up also increases blood flow and gets muscles activated for the more challenging task ahead. Many of your clients will be hitting the trail without...
Two Easy Methods For Keeping Notes on Clients
"Do you make up this workout as you go?" (A client asked me this question mid-way through one of our regular sessions.) "No," I replied, slightly caught off guard. She continued, "How do you know what to do if you don't have any notes? How do you remember what we...
7 Easy Ways to Be a Professional Personal Trainer
Whether you're newly certified or have been personal training for awhile, you can easily set yourself apart from the competition with professionalism. Many people get into the fitness industry because it's a hobby and passion. If you have plans to sustain fitness as...
Rotator Cuff: Anatomy and Exercises for Personal Trainers
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that all attach from the superior (upper) humerus to the scapula bone in different places. Three of the muscles rotate the humerus externally (outward) and all attach to the greater tubercle. One of the muscles rotates the...
Gift Giving for Personal Training Clients
Do you want to give your personal training clients gifts this holiday? Allow me to rephrase...do you want to retain your clients into the new year? What about attracting new clients? People have no shortage of options when it comes to hiring a personal trainer....
Fake it ‘Til You Make It: Pros and Cons
To fake it or not to fake it? That is the question… There are two sides to every saying and this one is no exception… Years ago I got the advice, "fake it 'til you make it". It's helped me transition into new roles throughout my career with more ease. This philosophy...
No Pain No Gain: Good or Bad?
A concerned trainer expressed this to NFPT: "I see a need for us (NFPT) to stress the importance of recognizing the Contraindications to Exercise. For example, I hear clients complain about joint pain and the trainer ignore it and tell the client to "keep working...
10 Things Your Personal Trainer Would Like You To Know
Ever wished you could be a fly-on-the-wall in your personal trainer's office? Some personal trainers keep certain things to themselves, so not to rock the boat. Being a personal trainer is hard work. Early mornings, full days, being a motivator, staying in shape and...
Circuit Fitness For Your Family Holiday
Social Support is a major factor for adapting fitness habits successfully. It can make or break long-term commitment. Positive social support means you have people in your life who have healthy habits or at least encourage your efforts to make good choices for your...
Healthy Holiday Accountability Challenge
Baked goods, cocktails, creamy appetizers and chocolates are coming to a party near you... The holidays are approaching, whether you like it or not. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years Eve... Regardless of religion, temptations are inevitable....
Creating Exercise Variety Simply and Effectively
Internal rotation and external rotation have a very important role in exercise programming... Your humeral and femoral joints both have many muscles attaching all around them like wires supporting a circus tent. As you move your limbs in the sagittal (forward and...