The human body is meant to move in all directions – forward, backward, side to side, up, down, and rotationally. In other words, the body exists and functions on a 3-dimensional plane. The term “planes of motion” is used in the context of Human Anatomy and...
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
Processed Foods: What Fitness Clients Should Look Out For
The topic of processed foods is somewhat convoluted as there are multiple definitions of what constitutes a processed food item. The majority of foods experience some level of “processing”, however it’s the degree to which a food is altered from its natural, whole...
Coaching Fitness Clients Toward Behavior Change
The process of changing human behavior is challenging and complex given that it is an ongoing, nonlinear process influenced by a number of different factors that change over time. There’s no single formula to help fitness professionals predict why, how, or if a client...
Five Ways to Embrace Fall Fitness with Clients
Fall. The crisp air, nature’s changing color palette, the crunch of the fallen leaves – everything about the autumnal season says “change”. What better way to celebrate the changing season than to embrace it with alternative approaches to fitness clients’ workout...
Fostering Empathy to Elevate the Fitness Client’s Experience
I always start the semester by engaging my personal training students in a discussion that prompts them to answer this question: “what does effective personal training require?” Invariably, they identify such features and characteristics as strong knowledge base,...
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
All professionals, at some point in their careers, question their individual talents, intelligence, and abilities. Personal trainers are no exception. It takes time to build success, but even when we do – there are still occasions where we wonder “do I know what I’m...
The 4 Keys to Injury Prevention Programming
At some point in your fitness career, you will encounter clients who are suffering or who have suffered from an injury – either related to exercise or as a result of some other event. Although injury diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation are all beyond the scope of...
How to Avoid Toxic Positivity when Communicating with Fitness Clients
Establishing rapport is the first step towards developing successful and sustainable relationships with fitness clients. Rapport indicates a mutual trust and respect is present within the relationships. While there are many strategies one can apply in the...
How To Create a Supportive Fitness Community
Social support provided by friends, family, and peers is a significant predictor of success in the achievement of health and fitness goals. For our personal training clients to be successful in the pursuit of their goals, they need to be a part of a fitness community...
10 Business Strategy Tips for Personal Trainers
Although the foundation of personal training is, at the heart of it, about the people we interact with and train, we can’t ignore the business side of what we do. Successful personal trainers consistently apply basic business strategy concepts to help nurture, grow,...
How to Be a Micro-Influencer on Social Media
Personal trainers are well-educated fitness professionals committed to bettering the lives of their clients. But that’s just one dimension of a personal trainer’s skill set and focus. While a fitness professional’s daily work may take place inside a gym or in a...
Content Creation Hacks for Personal Trainers
Social media is the way to connect with people these days, especially if you desire to expand your professional presence. It’s free. It’s varied. It’s far-reaching. All this makes for a winning trifecta. But it isn’t enough to join a social media channel and share...
How to Choose a Fitness Business Management Software
From Acuity Scheduling to Zenfit, there are hundreds of - literally from A-Z - fitness software platforms and apps that allow fitness professionals to manage multiple aspects of their fitness business. This is a good “problem” to have. It means fit pros have the...
Six Success Tips for Your First Year in the Fitness Industry
The first year in a new career venture is – as expected - intimidating and filled with uncertainty, and starting out in the fitness industry is no exception. Success, regardless of how well prepared an individual is, will not happen swiftly but there are steps you can...
Easy Meal Prep Hacks for Fitness Clients
The act of planning meals is a stumbling block for many fitness clients mostly because of the perceived time and effort planning meals and clean eating can require. The reality is nutrition and fitness are not mutually exclusive. To achieve fitness goals, nutritional...
Five Fitness Phrases That Need To Go
Encouraging and motivating fitness clients with the "right" words go with the territory of being a health and fitness professional. While there are many inspiring quotes and fitness phrases we can toss at our clients during a session, there are some messages that –...
Overcoming “Gymtimidation”: Boosting Fitness Client Confidence
"Gym-timidation" is a real phenomenon and occurs when a client feels uncomfortable in the gym, intensifying any personal insecurities. First-time exercisers may also feel uncomfortable performing movements that are unfamiliar and awkward to them. As personal trainers...
Things You Didn’t Know About Becoming a Personal Trainer
Despite the commonly held perception that personal trainers are just rep-counters or vain meatheads, being a fitness professional requires abundant knowledge, grit, dedication, and professionalism. Those considering entering this field would do well to hear what...