We are all working to adjust to a “new normal” as a result of the novel coronavirus and its widespread impact on all sectors of the population – private, public, and personal. While the presence and rapid spread of the virus lead to business closures, shelter in place...
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
Benefits of a Barre Approach to Fitness
If you’re looking for an exercise approach that is easily implemented yet surprisingly challenging, I encourage you to explore adding barre workouts to your arsenal of fitness techniques. Barre is a style of exercise that draws inspiration from ballet, yoga, and...
Create Positive Experiences for Fitness Clients
For fitness clients to adhere to an exercise plan and commit to lifestyle change, they need to feel that they can trust the professional they’ve hired to guide them on that journey of change. This is accomplished by building rapport with fitness clients. Rapport is...
Why Health Professionals Can Benefit from a Personal Trainer Certification
There are numerous professionals in the health field – chiropractors, physicians, nurses, other medical experts, mental health counselors, and beyond, and most would benefit from adding a personal training certification to their bios. Each type of health professional...
The Carbohydrate Conflict: Why Carbs Don’t Make You Fat
No doubt, nutrition is a complex and confusing topic for many, especially our personal training clients. It is further complicated and “muddied” by the constant creation and perpetuation of myths and misconceptions that ultimately drive the development of trends and...
Five Rules for Building Muscle
One of the primary cited goals fitness clients have is to build more muscle. After all, the benefits of resistance training and adding lean tissue are limitless and benefit us not only physically, but mentally. However, sometimes in the quest to lose weight and build...
Five Must-Have Professionals in Your Personal Training Network
One of the most valuable components of a successful personal training business is the presence of a quality referral network. Personal trainers are experts in their field and possess a deep body of knowledge related to kinesiology, functional movement, exercise...
Structuring Feedback for Fitness Clients
Providing fitness clients balanced, constructive, and positive feedback about performance and progress is crucial to success. They rely on it in order to learn and grow. Without feedback, learning doesn’t happen. Not only is its inclusion important, how it is...
Are Your Clients Sabotaging Their Fitness Efforts?
Most fitness clients have loosely defined, but well-intended, fitness goals that they hope to reach by working with a personal trainer. These goals are often centered on losing weight, building muscle, increasing energy, or improving daily dietary habits. Even the...
Ten Reasons Why Start-up Fitness Studios Fail
Opening your own fitness studio is a complicated and challenging task. To be successful, you must consider everything from start-up costs to monthly overhead to equipment maintenance and building space. Before you consider embarking on this build-it-yourself business...
What is Flexible Dieting?
Flexibility. But I'm not talking about joint flexibility here, but the kind of flexibility that allows one to handle life's challenges with aplomb-- a coveted quality necessary for many aspects of life. Flexibility is what allows us to manage stress, think deeper,...
Scope of Practice for the Personal Trainer: Goal Setting
Goal setting is an important aspect of personal training and the client-trainer relationship. Setting goals is crucial as they outline a road map of where the client wishes to go and, more importantly, how the client will achieve a desired outcome. As important as the...
Cardiovascular Health and Fitness
The cardiovascular system is foundational to exercise, and our understanding as personal trainers of how it works and how things can go wrong is critical for the performance, success, and safety of our clients. Consultation with a medical professional and a physical...
Scope of Practice for the Personal Trainer: Romantic Relationships with Clients
It’s common for personal trainers and their clients to develop close relationships. A trainer often transitions from a coach and role model to a confidant and friend. In fact, a sign of a healthy trainer-client relationship is the strong bond that forms. That said, it...
Scope of Practice for the Fitness Pro: Upselling Products and Services
Personal training is a business. Therefore, a large part of personal training is selling your services to potential clients. If you don’t effectively recruit new clients and maintain those you currently have, you don’t have a product or service to sell. Personal...
Scope of Practice for the Fitness Professional: Counseling Clients and Mental Health
Fitness clients aren’t just clients; they are individuals who are juggling many responsibilities and fulfilling multiple roles in their lives. It’s not unusual for a client to enter a workout session feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and energetically spent, prompting...
Medical Scope of Practice for the Personal Trainer: Guidance for Medical-Related Issues
Is there a such thing as a medical scope of practice for a personal trainer, or do we need to be sensitive to how best to handle clients' medical issues when they arise? If you’re a certified personal trainer, you more than likely get comments and questions like...
Scope of Practice for the Fitness Professional: Massage Therapy
It’s not uncommon for fitness clients to request massages or trigger point release from their personal trainers. Personal trainers have a thorough understanding of the muscular system and, as a result, clients assume they can provide this service. However, personal...