How can a personal trainer know if a job opportunity is worth the investment in time and exploration or is a disaster waiting in the wings? You may not know right out of the gate. Red flags are everywhere in life and in business, and the fitness business is no...
Making progress is not about hustling all the time, never pressing pause, or having an infinite supply of willpower. In fact, this is the opposite of progress. It’s the grind that eventually stagnates progress and leads to mental and physical burnout. The truth is –...
Diet culture would have us believe that “sugar is evil” which is not accurate to the degree that diet culture messaging would have us believe. But there is something we need to be aware of and share with our clients: added sugars are hiding in plain sight. Sugar is...
Just as we can become bored with our own workout programs, our clients can, too! It’s important to keep things fresh, fun, and innovative – not only to continue to promote progress but to avoid burnout and staleness. Here are five strategies every personal trainer can...
Personal trainers can clearly see how trends in nutrition come and go as swiftly as trends in fashion. A quick internet search or social media scroll will net consumers more “eat this and not that” advice than they can reasonably digest (pun intended). Nutrition,...
The holiday season often means one thing to most clients: “avoiding weight gain” or “not losing the progress I’ve made.” As personal trainers, we see this differently, and usually from two perspectives. First, we want our clients to enjoy the holidays, their...
Health and physical assessments are integral to the personal training experience. When working with clients, it is not possible to overcommunicate or overprepare – especially for a client who is new to a gym or personal training experience. While clients may have a...
Creating a consistent and quality web presence is important whether you’re running an online, hybrid, or face to face fitness business. Developing a consistent look and feel as well as targeting your unique message to those you serve and hope to serve in the future...
Why do personal training clients often feel as though or perceive that they are not making weight loss progress? As fitness professionals, we must consider the possibility that they truly are not making progress because their bodies do not feel safe or balanced. While...
As health and exercise professionals, we are accustomed to hearing certain terms and phrases on a regular basis. We are also “in the know” when it comes to facts related to health and fitness. When we interact with our clients, it is commonplace for us to forget that...
As health and exercise professionals, we are aware of certain truths related to physical activity, fitness, and overall well-being. Our clients, however, may not be. As a result, they may experience frustration, feelings of defeat, and body image concerns. You, as the...
When it comes to helping clients get results that benefit them physically and mentally, it takes more than a discussion about calories in versus calories out. The formula is rarely as simple as “move more, eat less.” This statement oversimplifies biochemistry and...
Do your clients have “gluteal amnesia” or dysfunction? Sitting for long periods of time, even if someone commits to exercising each day, is murder on the glutes (among other areas such as the core, hamstrings, and hip flexors). Sitting too much for too long can...
Owning a business is a huge undertaking, even if the business is small. It is important to make sure you cover your bases and ensure all moving parts of your business are in sync. If I could go back 20 years and mentor myself, these are seven non-negotiable fitness...
Wouldn’t our jobs as personal trainers be much easier if all there was to healthy weight maintenance and optimal well-being was striking a balance between calories in and calories out? It just is not that simple. If weight loss and metabolism were as simple as eating...
Client progress, whether it’s physical or mental, is feedback that informs program design, changes, and direction. However, clients have a story to tell, a narrative that can reveal even more about how they are progressing, how they want to progress, what new barriers...
Achieving an accredited certification in the health and fitness industry is a big deal. However, the achievement of the personal training certification is just the starting point – not the ending point. Therefore, continuing education is one of the most critical...
Every health and exercise professional has their own approach to onboarding a potential client. Some offer initial consults (free or for a nominal fee), some offer a free workout session, while others might invite potential clients to group sessions for free. Whatever...