In recent years, the concept of the “gut-brain axis” has gained widespread attention, especially as we learn more about how the gut influences our mental and emotional well-being. This bidirectional communication system between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain...
Ian Nimblett
Stress, Hormones, and Exercise Performance: Implications for Training Women
Women’s bodies respond to stress, hormones, and exercise differently than men’s due to unique hormonal cycles and physiological responses. Understanding these differences is crucial for optimizing women’s training, enhancing performance, and ensuring long-term health....
Suitcase Carries: A Powerful Core Exercise for Functional Strength
Suitcase carries are one of the most effective core exercises personal trainers can incorporate into their clients’ workouts. The exercise involves picking up a kettlebell on one side only and walking, which might sound simple but requires considerable strength,...
Sell Value, Not Time
If, as a personal trainer, you get caught up exclusively in selling one-hour packages instead of selling value and quality service, clients will ultimately suffer and so will you. Picture this: you have personal training clients back-to-back. Your sessions are one...
Selling Value and Quality Service–Not Session Time
If, as a personal trainer, you get caught up exclusively in selling one-hour packages instead of selling value and quality service, clients will ultimately suffer and so will you. Picture this: you got personal training clients back-to-back to back-to-back. Your...
Proper Warm-up and Movement Prep: The Warm-Up IS the Workout for Personal Training Clients
For many of our personal training clients, the one area of training that should not be overlooked or undervalued is the warm-up. When everyone feels pressed for time, the warm-up is easy to dismiss or, worse, skipped altogether--especially if a client is running late....
Benefits of Single Limb Training
Single limb training is not a new concept, yet it is far more common for people to train bilaterally— think squats, bench press, lat pulldowns, deadlifts, etc. Before we jump into the benefits of single limb training, let's first define what it is and how it...
Enhance Landmine Training
The benefits of using a landmine and the rather simple setup of a holder and barbell allow personal trainers to employ a variety of exercises. Recently I've had the opportunity to enhance landmine workouts and wanted to share with you the small additions that make a...
Wobble Training: What is Oscillating Kinetic Energy?
When I first saw Oscillating Kinetic Energy training 10 years ago, I remember thinking is this a cool exercise trick or another attention grabbing way to workout intended to go viral on social media? But after doing some digging, I learned wobble training is a legit...
“Anti-Core” Training: The Importance of Stabilizing the Spine
Anti-core training may not only help you but also your clients improve spinal stability and athletic performance. In order to better understand the concept of the core, let's first define what is core training is and identify the components of the core. Core training...
The Physiology of Fat Loss: Understanding the Hierarchy
Fat loss training can be very confusing for our personal training clients and even for their coaches, but it doesn't have to be. Unfortunately, a common belief held by many of our clients is that more cardio is best, and the longer the workouts the better results you...
10 Rules for Fitness After 40
The average age of over half of personal training clients is 45 years old. Over the past 13 years as a personal trainer, I've had the pleasure to train a large number of clients including a majority over the age of 40. Through my experience and research, I've put...
Medicine Ball Training: History, Power Exercises, and Considerations for Singles and Partners
The Medicine ball is now a standard accessory in our gyms and in our workouts. We can easily find a variety of wall balls and slam balls, some filled with sand, some stitched kevlar, and some solid rubber meant to bounce like a super-ball. Some medicine ball exercises...
How to Do the Pallof Press
I've found that the exercises that look the least complicated are typically the best for you. At first glance, the Pallof Press would certainly fit that description. There's very little movement to it, which is what makes the exercise feel much harder than it looks;...
Do This, Not This, Do That: The Optimal Method to Demo’ing Exercises
Do you ever get frustrated trying to get clients to do an exercise correctly? I certainly have. Sometimes I ask myself if I said too much or not enough, which perhaps lead to confusion and a complete botchery of the exercise demonstrated. Through my experience as a...
The Importance of Programming Exercise Regressions
I always say a skilled personal trainer is not about being hard or tough but one that meets a client where they are and gradually progress them to achieve a greater level of fitness. Most of the time, especially for clients that are over 40 and or just getting back...
How to Do a Kickstand Romanian Deadlift
When done correctly, single-leg Romanian deadlifts are a terrific exercise. The keyword here is "correctly". Because this variation on a deadlift is a difficult and advanced exercise, it takes time to master or, at least, to execute effectively. You could always stick...
Assess, Don’t Guess: Using Assessments to Support Client Coaching
As personal trainers we must take our due diligence to keep our clients safe and injury-free in tandem with helping them reach their goals. Before your new client picks up so much as a dumbbell, a savvy trainer will take the time to perform various performance and...