As we enter 2017, our family has many things to which we are looking forward, most notably the arrival (G-d willing) of our first grandchild in mid-May. As you can imagine, a hefty portion of our conversations these days revolve around this blessed and life-changing...
Cathleen Kronemer
Cathleen Kronemer is an NFPT CEC writer and a member of the NFPT Certification Council Board. Cathleen is an AFAA-Certified Group Exercise Instructor, NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer, ACE-Certified Health Coach, former competitive bodybuilder and freelance writer. She is employed at the Jewish Community Center in St. Louis, MO. Cathleen has been involved in the fitness industry for over three decades. Feel free to contact her at trainhard@kronemer.com. She welcomes your feedback and your comments!
Kids On The Move…And Into The Gym
Not too long ago, a team of scientists from the University of North Texas presented some fascinating data at the American Psychological Association’s 122nd Annual Convention. Through their research, they were able to demonstrate how physically fit females in the 6th...
Are Your Clients Overextending During The Holidays?
“Lights, Camera…Action!” No, the scene is not some famous Hollywood design set, ready for the close-up. Your client is simply on the front lawn of his home, shouting verbal directions to another family member who is attempting to decorate the property’s exterior with...
Baby Onboard: Modifying Exercises For Effective Prenatal Workouts
Over the last 5 decades, theories on pregnancy and activity have come a long way. When our moms were expecting, the prevailing notion was to stay off of one’s feet and get as much rest as possible. Today’s women are remaining much more active further into their pregnancies than ever before. Still, there always remains a lingering thought as to just how safe this practice might be for the developing fetus.
Knowing When To Say When
We trainers tend to be a creative bunch. In our quest to keep personal training interesting and dynamic, especially for clients who train with us more often than once a week, we enjoy stepping outside the box as we design workout programs. After all, isn’t variety the...
Holiday Travel Advice: Carry On
If the title of this article has you mystified, allow me to clarify. It can apply to your luggage, as in, “carry-on suitcases”; or, it can indicate how important it is that our traveling clients “carry on” their fitness routines, even while visiting family or on...
Optimizing Alkalinity In Your Diet
As athletes, we are quite accustomed to fastidiously nurturing our bodies. From sculpting the external to feeding the internal, we are always focusing on ways to achieve optimal health. We juggle and calculate protein intake, carbohydrates, and good fats, thinking we...
Vegan Success: Creatively Procuring Calcium
Many of my clients ask me for basic nutritional guidance. Since I am a Certified Health Coach in addition to a Certified Personal Trainer, I try to guide them on a healthier path, and one that can be easily adaptive to health or religious concerns. I have recently...
BP Low? You Can Still Get Up and Go!
As trainers, we have many goals for our diverse client base. Most trainees are striving to improve body composition, lose weight, increase endurance, and in general become healthier versions of their current selves. To accomplish this effectively and safely, we must...
The Fruit Of Your Labor
If you happen to know any endurance athletes, such as runners or cyclists, you are already aware that much of their training table contains carbohydrates. These are the foods that will fuel the body, keep the glycogen levels appropriate, and are usually quite readily...
Speed of Resistance Training: Fast Or Slow The Way To Go?
Working with personal training clients can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a fitness career. Based on our knowledge and years of experience, we realize there are many theories on strength training, extolled by experts and novices alike. With every theory,...
The Post-Workout Fuel Puzzle–Shake It Up…Or Not?
Plenty of articles have been written by experts in the fitness industry stressing the importance of post-workout “fuel” as a complement to rigorous training. We try to pass some of this information on to our clients, feeling remiss in our professionalism should we...
What Comes After The Olympics?
I am a huge fan of the Summer Olympic Games. Whether it is track and field, gymnastics, diving or swimming, I love watching hard-working young athletes reach the pinnacle of their sport. They have trained hard most of their lives, some having embraced and pursued...
Moving The Body Can Harness The Brain
Clients seek out personal training for a myriad of reasons. For trainers, our job is made infinitely easier when a client comes to us seeking nutritional modifications/weight loss, increased muscle mass, or improved endurance. However, I have a few clients who look...
Making The Right Connections: Merging PT (Physical Therapy) with PT (Personal Training)
You are unique, the only individual in the world who can be “you”. Even identical twins possess a few unique characteristics. So it is in the world of kinesiology and fitness; the same letter designation is not always indicative of the same title or role. Many active...
Foreshadowing: Can Prehab Prevent Rehab?
The human body was designed to move. We are functioning at our very best when we take advantage of the blessing of mobility, and allow ourselves to become any “verb” that strikes our fancy. In fact, none of us would have chosen this particular profession if we were...
Experience vs. Education: What Do Clients Really Value?
As I was preparing to take my certification exam, a trainer at the gym shared with me a very profound tenet of the industry: “Clients don’t care how much you know, as long as they know you care.” Her words have remained with me all these years. There have certainly...
The Java Jolt: Fitness Friend or Foe?
I will fully admit to being somewhat of a coffee snob. Preferring Starbuck’s beans to just about all others, I have been brewing it at home for years. One of the greatest gadgets we have in our home is a coffee maker with a timer setting. Every evening before bed, I...