Is 30 minutes enough time to get in an effective workout? Indeed. It will raise heart rate, burn calories, boost mental energy and focus, and improve overall mood. Pass on the good news to your busy clients so they keep you on their crammed schedule. Starting or...
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
A Fast Upper Body and Core Workout for the Time Crunched Client
Need a challenging workout for a client who only has 30 minutes? Maybe they showed up late for their session or have to leave early. Perhaps they'll be traveling and could use some inspiration for the road. 30 minutes is plenty of time to leave your clients feeling...
Pricing for Personal Training Services
How much should a personal trainer charge per hour? How do you set your pricing structure? You can position yourself to turn a profit better by considering some variables and implementing the action steps in this article. I wouldn’t change a thing about how my career...
Proper Form for Back Squat Exercise: Drop it like a Squat
Exercise Name & Target Muscle Group The back squat (commonly referred to as the squat) is a multi-joint compound resistance exercise that typically uses a squat rack and barbell (weighted or unweighted). The squat is a sagittal plane exercise in which the hip...
Postpartum Fitness Goals – Guiding New Moms Toward Success
Although postpartum moms are generally cleared for activity after six weeks (longer for cesarean sections), the body has only begun to heal itself and work towards regaining its capacity and strength. Many postpartum moms want what most of us women struggle with in a...
5 Ways to Enhance Rapport with Your Fitness Clients
Research has continually demonstrated that social support is a predictor of success in any behavior change program. You are a huge source of social support for your clients. In order to elevate their performance and strengthen their commitment to the achievement of...
Helping Female Clients Develop a Positive Body Image
The majority of our clients come to us because they want to improve some physical characteristics they deem “imperfect” or “unacceptable”. A large part of our job is to help our clients identify, establish, and achieve realistic and individualized health and fitness...
How to Identify Personal Training Goals with Clients: Get SMART
Goal-setting is a powerful tool, if it is applied and executed appropriately. To help identify personal training goals with your clients, you must be adept at applying the goal-setting process to your own life. The steps discussed throughout this post will provide you...
Proper Form for Plank Exercise: Planking with Purpose
The plank is a versatile exercise that personal trainers can adapt for various skill levels and abilities. Exercise Name & Target Muscle Group Trunk stabilization, commonly referred to as “the plank”, is an exercise designed to target the abdominals. However,...
Fitness Product Reviews – 6 Steps to Evaluating Quality
How do you evaluate the quality of fitness products and equipment? That’s a loaded question. And the answer is equally as loaded. When it comes to evaluating the quality, efficacy, and utility of a fitness product, there are certain guidelines we, as trainers, can...
Splitting the Difference – One Way to Program for Endurance and Muscle Growth
One way to program for endurance and muscle growth is by splitting the difference. There are thousands of ways to structure an exercise program and all require consideration of each client’s individual skills, abilities, experience, enjoyment, and current fitness...
To Meal Plan or Not to Meal Plan
You just signed a new client for six months of personal training sessions. One week into the training, your client says she needs help with her nutritional habits. After digging a little deeper into her challenges, you recognize a few shortcomings in her practices and...
Mindful Fitness – A Multifaceted Approach
Mindfulness is a term being tossed around quite a bit in casual conversation these days – "be mindful of…x, y, and z". Are we really being mindful? Or just saying so? It’s no secret, we live distracted lives – and that’s different than being busy. We are constantly...
GaGa for Body Shaming
Listen to this article: Shame on body shaming. What does being “fit” and “healthy” actually mean? Does it mean having the “perfect body”? And perfect by what or whose standards? Does being “fit” mean “skinny”? If so, how do we define “skinny”? Does being “fit”...
5 Fitness Apps to Inspire New Ideas
Just as clients can plateau, so too can our “fresh ideas” pool. It’s early in the new year and now is the perfect time to research new and inspiring ways to shake up an old routine and breathe new life into our fitness programming strategies. Got Apps? Aside from...
5 Important Signals to Change the Workout Routine
A routine offers certain benefits; it’s something we can count on being predictable and comfortable. We know what to do once a routine is established and the learning curve levels out. A routine is easy to remember and easy to follow. However, routines can also create...
10 Fun and Affordable Marketing Strategies
You’re a certified fitness professional. You have the license, the know-how, and the practical skills to work with a variety of clients in a variety of settings. Now that the achievement of certified status is behind you, it is time to focus on exactly how you want to...
How to Avoid Burnout as a New Personal Trainer
If you chose a career as a personal trainer, few moments are as exciting as the day you receive your official “I’m a Certified Personal Trainer” certificate in the mail. You are licensed and legit; it’s time to get to work! You enthusiastically begin the initial steps...