Calorie counting isn't the most effective method for changing nutritional habits. It's really just a craze of sorts. Although, it has its place and time. Instead of obsessively tracking food and beverage consumption, encourage a mindful eating approach with your...
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
Flexibility Training – 5 Benefits Beyond Better ROM
The full benefits of flexibility training transcend positive physiological outcomes and aren’t physiologically or fitness related. Engaging in regular flexibility exercises has been shown to relieve muscle pain, increase movement range of motion, support healthy joint...
Massaging Fitness Clients
Can you massage personal training clients? A certain amount of physical touch is common practice when working with fitness clients. Cueing proper form during exercise often requires more than a verbal directive. It’s not unusual to adjust a client’s body position by...
Answering Fitness Client Questions Confidently
You can spill everything you know about a given topic when a client asks a question, you can make a guess if you don't know the answer, or you can take a clarifying and confident approach. Here’s a method you can use the next time a client says “what do you think...
Feldenkrais – A Contemporary Mind-Body Technique
Feldenkrais is one of many popular forms of mind-body exercise that could supplement your fitness training methods. Mind-body exercise techniques continue to shake-up the health and fitness industry. It’s common to observe elements of both classical (Tai Chi, Qigong,...
Get More Time as a Personal Trainer
What if you could get more time by spending a small amount of time reading? It seems counterintuitive but is actually possible. (Lack of) time seems to be one of the most (reported) limiting factors for any and all goals we have in life. I recall the early days of my...
Where Did SuperTracker Go? The USDA’s Tool Bites the Dust
As of June 30, 2018, SuperTracker fulfilled its mission. According to the USDA, “The private sector has launched many great tools that have a shared mission. It was time for us to discontinue SuperTracker in order to invest in more modern and efficient ways to help...
Starting a Corporate Wellness Personal Training Business
Corporate wellness offers enormous opportunities for certified personal trainers and health coaches....and the opportunities are not boilerplate. Each business has a different culture with diverse employees - each of whom has distinct needs and faces unique...
What is Wellness?
Generically, wellness is considered a dynamic process which “emphasizes self-healing, the promotion of health, and the prevention of illnesses rather than solely the treatment of symptoms of a disease” (Edlin & Galanty, 2016). However, the term wellness means many...
12 Common Exercise Form Mistakes
Many people hire a trainer to avoid making mistakes which can lead to injury. Call it what you want - exercise form, correcting mistakes, cueing, etc. Form cues are an essential component of personal training. Ensuring a client can execute a specific movement with...
How to Use Guided Imagery with Fitness Clients
The mind-body connection is well established. Learn how to use guided imagery in individual and group sessions to improve client's focus and performance. Mind-body exercise such as yoga, meditation, and guided imagery are options you can work into individual and group...
What is Sport Psychology?
It's important to recognize when a client's mind is preventing him or her from moving forward. Sometimes a client or athlete stops progressing not because of a physical limitation or plateau but because of a mental barrier. The human mind is a powerful machine; the...
Social Support for Exercise Success
A workout buddy, an encouraging friend, a running club, or positive family member, – call it what you wish, but these are all forms of what we call social support. Social support is an important factor in the prediction of success and goal achievement. Social support...
It’s All About Form
Proper form should be the one constant amidst the many styles and methods of personal training. Every personal trainer has his or her own way of working with clients and catering to the individual preferences. Some clients thrive in a boot-camp environment while...
Motivational Interviewing for Personal Trainers: Understanding the Stages of Change
Personal trainers are always looking for new ways to motivate their clients and sometimes it can be a struggle. Motivational interviewing could offer a breakthrough, taking your professionalism as a coach to the next level. When you employ this set of techniques with...
Sports Nutrition Considerations for Athletes
Recently (2016) the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Dietitians of Canada published a joint position statement that summarized current recommendations for energy, nutrient, and fluid consumption for both active and...
Multidimensional Fitness Programming Defined
Fitness programming is equal parts science and art. Successful fitness program designs are those that reflect the goals and needs a client expresses and serves to help the client achieve an optimal and realistic life balance. It’s not just about physical gains or...
Respecting Client Comfort
Clients are individuals. Each one comes to us with a different set of life circumstances, personalities, and likes and dislikes. For many new clients, you may be their first experience with a personal trainer. It’s crucial to remain mindful of how you approach working...