As sad as it makes me to state this – “anyone can be a personal trainer”. This statement is perceived to be “true” on two levels. First, there is a lack of regulations governing licensure requirements in terms of who can and can’t call themselves a personal trainer....
Erin Nitschke
Dr. Erin Nitschke, NFPT-CPT, NSCA-CPT, ACE Health Coach, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, Therapeutic Exercise Specialist, and Pn1 is a health and human performance college professor, fitness blogger, mother, and passionate fitness professional. She has over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry and college instruction. Erin believes in the power of a holistic approach to healthy living. She loves encouraging her clients and students to develop body harmony by teaching focused skill development and lifestyle balance. Erin is also the Director of Educational Partnerships & Programs for the NFPT. Erin is an editorial author for ACE, IDEA, The Sheridan Press, and the Casper Star Tribune. Visit her personal blog at belivestaywell.com
Starting a Niche Gym
Gyms come in all shapes, sizes, and services - from big box gyms to small-town studios and traveling personal trainers specializing in “at-home” workouts. If you are interested in carving out your own niche to offer unique services to a specific audience, get ready...
How To Prepare for a Personal Trainer Interview: Attire, Questions, and Practical Portion
Preparing for a personal trainer interview looks similar to interviewing for other types of professional jobs. You will be put under what feels like a microscope, asked to showcase your best attributes and acknowledge your weaknesses. It is also common practice to...
Communication and Personal Training – What’s Talk Got to do With It?
In any successful relationship, there’s give and take. Each party has to learn to communicate effectively and openly and develop a comfort level to express their likes and dislikes. The trainer-trainee relationship is no exception. In fact, this relationship requires...
Expanding Your Skills as a Fitness Professional
Finding new and innovative ways to sharpen our professional skill set and stay abreast of new developments, research, and training techniques is essential in the rapidly evolving field of fitness. This is hard to accomplish when the work schedule personal trainers and...
Nutrition and Meal Planning: Scope of Practice For Personal Trainers
Are you allowed to talk about nutrition with personal training clients? If you are, how much is ok? And what is ok? Nutrition is gray area in the fitness industry and so being familiar with the scope of practice with regard to nutrition and supplements is important...
Starting a Fitness Facility in a Small Town
Small towns have pros and cons for fitness entrepreneurs. Are you a fitness professional living in a small-ish town? Do you have the desire or dream to open a studio or gym? Are you afraid a small town may limit you? Small towns might have limitations in some...
How to Make the Most of a Personal Training Internship
Most students go through an internship type experience in a college program. But what about those who have never had the opportunity to intern somewhere before going out into the world? It's not too late! You can always participate in a fitness or personal training...
Don’t Be One of These Personal Trainer Types
You will encounter all types of people throughout your career. Some of those people will serve as examples of what you would like to achieve. Others, sadly, will only serve as examples of what to avoid. In my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with individuals who...
How to Get the Most Out of Being Mentored
We can all name one or two influential teachers or mentors we had along our individual journeys when reflecting upon the progress we have made. To me, a mentor is a rare gem. It’s been my experience that true mentors are those who do not openly boast their skills, but...
The ‘Barely’ There Personal Trainer
What does appropriate attire look like for someone in the fitness field? Believe it or not – there’s a dress code. Sometimes there’s a strict dress code depending on where you work – a big box gym, a small fitness center in a rural city, or a therapy clinic....
Taking Care of Business – Resources for the Fitness Entrepreneur
A fitness entrepreneur is the latest and greatest term to describe a personal trainer who runs their own business. It sounds glamorous and edgy. To earn this title you need to put in a decent amount of work. It requires more than being in shape and inspiring others....
5 Ways to Mentor New Personal Trainers
Being a mentor can be casual or formal. It can take up a little time or a lot. There are many different ways to inspire trainers who are new to the field. Perhaps you still feel fairly new yourself? Or maybe you feel comfortable and it is time. Time for you to step up...
Gym Etiquette for Professional Personal Fitness Trainers
Find out if you possess any or all of the fifteen traits and values necessary for thriving as a personal trainer. Then see if you pass the three common tests of professionalism that every personal trainer faces. Why? Because you don't want to be "that guy" or "that...
Continuing Education for Personal Trainers
What happens after the crisp and shiny “Certified Personal Trainer” certificate you’ve been waiting for arrives? You get down to business. Until it's time to renew your certification. Then, you're back to making choices and decisions again and often spending money...
In-Home Personal Training – Open the Door for Success
Operating an in-home personal training business after becoming a personal trainer either out of your home or by traveling to clients’ homes requires tight practices and careful considerations regarding the various liabilities involved. It takes legal guidance and...
Fitness and the Fear of Being Fat
“80% of U.S. women dislike the way they look” (Gallivan, n.d.). I’m one of the 80%. Even though I am a certified and experienced health and fitness professional. Even though I’ve been a health and human performance educator in the higher education realm for nearly 15...
What are Dietary Supplements?
Dietary supplements are ingestible products such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, enzymes, plant-based ingredients, and amino acids, that are intended to provide some additional nutritional benefit should an individual’s diet be lacking in one area or another (FDA,...