Transitioning to a new career in personal training from your current, bill-paying career doesn't have to be as threatening as, say, walking a tightrope. But, there are some things to consider that make "tightrope-walking" a proper metaphor for a career switch. When...
Getting hired as a personal trainer in the fitness industry can be nerve-wracking and confusing compared to some more straight-and-narrow career paths. The process may be more elusive as personal trainers often wear many hats and go by several titles including, but...
Meet Jason Fitzgerald of Burlington, Vermont. With over 20 years as a NFPT-CPT and exercise physiologist, Jason Fitzgerald has extensive experience in individualized fitness program design, rehabilitative exercise, and clinic management. He is also a certified Peak...
After amino acids have been taken up into muscle tissue, they serve two basic purposes with respect to muscle conditioning.
The National Federation of Professional Trainers is thrilled to announce the home of our esteemed NFPT blog: PersonalTrainerToday.com! If you're an NFPT-certified personal trainer, hopefully this is not the first time you're reading a published blog article! Chances...
Taking a client’s pulse is a basic skill that a trainer should know for gauging intensity.
Email is so prevalent in modern life that it is largely taken for granted, but that doesn’t mean it should be underestimated. Each email you send is a document that represents you and your business.
To become a personal trainer who is equipped with the knowledge necessary to be considered a fitness "expert", you need to know the basics of human movement. That is, how knowing the different muscle fibers and how they work. There are three types of muscle: cardiac...
If you want to become a personal trainer, its a good to know that muscles will grow, or hypertrophy, when thoughtfully trained and when proper nutrients are supplied. But, exactly what biological system is responsible for this growth stimulus? Is it one or is it...
What exactly is general fitness? For anyone considering a career in personal training, having a firm grasp on the very definition of that which clients will pay you to achieve is absolutely imperative. Let's dive deep into what we consider general fitness to be. What...
Meet Luis Centeno, NFPT-CPT and Master Trainer from Chicago, IL. Fitness transformed his life via working out daily to the point that he also wanted help others feel the same. His grassroots success story is something that has motivated not only other fitness...
Most trainers understand that many clients have "sleepy glutes" that need to be woken up and activated properly in order to perform basic exercises without injury or compensation. A properly firing glute complex stabilizes the hip and produces power in ideal measure....
Meet Michelle Stein, an NFPT-CPT born and raised in North Massapequa on Long Island, New York. She attended Roger Williams College in Bristol, RI for a year and then transferred to LIU-CW Post campus. At both schools, she played competitive tennis which she still...
As the fitness industry grows in popularity and importance, it is of the utmost importance that we as fitness professionals continue to develop a growing knowledge of the exercise sciences to communicate effectively with the established health professions and sciences on “common ground”. The following article, while at times technical, provides an integral part of that knowledge base necessary to facilitate such communication.
When trainers hear about Olympic weightlifting they immediately think of two things: either taking a loaded barbell and ripping it off the floor in one violent motion with minimal technique, or that the lifts are detrimental and deleterious to the health and well being of the person doing the lifts. These two assumptions highlight a vast miscomprehension of Olympic weightlifting.
Meet Ramon Maisonet, born in NYC and raised in upstate NY and also Puerto Rico where he developed a love for the beach. In his youth, Ramon ran track and played soccer, touch football, and handball. He started "working out" in college, where he majored in Psychology,...
Blake Sama, an NFPT-CPT for 15 years, was born and raised in Arlington, Mass., a suburb of Boston. He moved into the city for school and never left. Blake holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical and biomedical engineering from Northeastern University....
While pull-ups and pull-downs reign supreme when building strength and size (as all compound exercises do) on the lats, sometimes we need to offer variations that can still adequately challenge this muscle---especially when working with clients in a home gym. Every...