By ANNIE MALAYTHONG A push-up is an exercise you can do anytime, anywhere, but only if you learn the how, what, when, and why of it. Incredibly, this ONE exercise can help you torch calories, build and tone muscle, gain strength, and positively impact your overall...
By KERIDON MCMAHON NAVIGATING A NEW NORMAL In 2020, during the COVID-19 global pandemic, people worldwide had to instantaneously pivot from known daily routines and best practices to protect themselves and others. Exercise for the benefit of physical and mental health...
By DeWayne Smith, MS, NASM-CES, PES, CNC Gains don’t happen overnight. It takes your muscles time to respond and adapt to stimuli. Discover the resistance training program variables that will develop the strength gains and growth you or your client may be looking for....
By KINSEY MAHAFFEY The first initial consultation that I conducted was nerve-racking. As a brand new trainer, I stressed over making sure that I covered all of my bases in gathering the right amount of information during this initial session. It felt like so much...
By Ken Miller Lower crossed syndrome is one of the most common compensatory patterns. It is characterized by an anterior tilt to the pelvis (arched lower back). In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about the ill effects of prolonged sitting. Articles, blog posts and TV...
By Dana Bender As trainers and fitness professionals, it is essential to remember that every client and member we work with starts their strength training journey with a different baseline and understanding of strength training principles and best practices. Many...
By TRX Why Kevlar is Made for Fitness Not all exercise equipment is built to last, with the exception of TRX Suspension Trainers. Weights and kettlebells may last you a lifetime—assuming you avoid rust damage—but gear like medicine balls, slam balls, and sand bags...
By MORGAN SHAPIRO Rest days. Something all of us gym rats know we need to partake in, but often have a hard time doing. We are regularly exposed to phrases such as “no days off” or “no pain, no gain.” While working hard and pushing ourselves in...
By Dana Bender As we consider setting personal resolutions for 2021, it is crucial to recognize that the goal-setting process and the behaviors are chosen to achieve those goals might look different this year due to the pandemic. Typical fitness-related New...
By Helen Kollias, PhD Intermittent fasting works really well… for certain people… in certain situations. Some might even say it’s “life-changing.” But others? Not so much. And this seems especially true for women. Take my parents. For as long as I can remember, my...
By Pete McCall One of the most common misperceptions that many fitness enthusiasts have about exercise is that it is necessary to spend hours working hard and sweating buckets to get results. Nothing could be further from the truth. Workouts featuring High Intensity...
By CHRIS ECKLUND, MA, NASM-PES, CSCS, USAW, TPI Power is the ability to produce large amounts of force quickly. Are there any athletes that would not want to improve their ability to generate power? Strength and Conditioning Coaches who want to give their athletes...
By PAMELA LIGHT, MA Personal trainers are no strangers to battling unseen barriers to fitness. For decades, we have helped our clients overcome scheduling issues, flagging motivation, less-than-supportive spouses, preexisting health conditions and more. But the words...
By PETE MCCALL No one is born knowing how to exercise. It is a subject that must be studied and understood correctly to do it properly. Earning the Certified Personal Trainer credential from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) means that you can design...
By KINSEY MAHAFFEY Recovery is important for getting the most out of your fitness programming and an essential component of a personal training education. I spend a decent amount of time talking with my clients about proper recovery techniques to avoid burnout and...
By BRAD DIETER Over the last several decades, we have seen a rise in the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets. These diets have ranged from just low-carb diets to ketogenic diets to even zero carb diets (e.g., The Carnivore Diet). These dietary approaches have become...
By DANA BENDER With covid-19 numbers rising exponentially across the country, many avid fitness center enthusiasts might be concerned that their local fitness center will close again due to safety precautions and local regulatory guidelines. These individuals might...
By LAURA QUAGLIO “My whole schtick when I opened in 2013 was to provide the fitness industry’s first one-on-one personal training that’s done in a group setting,” says Donny Day, NASM-CPT, owner of Peak Zone Fitness in Lake Highlands, Texas. Pre-pandemic, his workout...
By ABBEY GRIFFITH As an eating disorder survivor, the holiday season can be scary. In early recovery days, my mental approach to the holidays looked something like this: First, it was Thanksgiving, a whole holiday about food, listening to people talk about their diet...
By Portia Page Since mid-March, most of the country has been dealing with social distancing rules, stay-at-home orders, business closures, overcrowded hospitals and limited health services. Consequently, many people are feeling isolated and lonely and may be hurting...
By Dana Bender There is a wide range of benefits of having multiple streams of income regardless of your field. In the fitness industry, taking advantage of various streams of income can include numerous options. Over the years, I have implemented this strategy in my...
By Nicole Golden Genetic factors play a role in response to exercise and body composition, as in most physiologic functions in the body. High levels of physical activity have been known to provide benefits beyond just weight loss, such as decreased disease risk,...
By Brad Dieter Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with more than half of all deaths each year being attributed to cardiovascular disease (1). Many factors contribute to cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, diabetes, high...
By Fabio Comana We all know a well-structured and consistent exercise program combined with a healthful diet can help all of us shed unwanted pounds and achieve our ideal body type. But do we need to push ourselves in the gym each day leaving buckets of sweat on the...
By Andrew mills In a previous article, Prehabilitation Through Corrective Exercise: A Guide for Trainers, we explored how Certified Personal Trainers (CPTs) could help prepare individuals for a procedure like total knee replacement surgery. This article will focus on...
By KINSEY MAHAFFEY COVID-19 forced gym closures, which in turn disrupted sessions for many personal training clients. As a trainer, here are some specific ways the NASM Optimum Performance Training™ model can ease their minds as they gradually resume their routines....
By AMY ASHMORE, PHD Many exercisers and athletes prefer to train at the same time every day. They may suggest a variety of reasons for this: That’s when they feel most awake, least hungry, most focused or least stressed. They may even say it seems easier to work out...
By Andrew Mills NASM Corrective Exercise Specialists (CES) can provide targeted help to improve their client’s baseline physical health before surgical intervention. The purpose of prehabilitation is to put the client into the best position possible for post-procedure...
By Nicole Golden RESEARCH REVIEW Effects of Selected Rehabilitative Exercises on External Rotator Muscles and Trapezius Muscles of Masonry Workers STUDY AUTHOR Singh, G. K., Srivastava, S., Kumar, M., & Ratnakar, S. ORIGINAL CITATION Singh, G. K., Srivastava, S.,...
By CHRISTOPHER MOHR, PHD, RD How often do you hear questions like: “How much protein should I have?” “What do you think about intermittent fasting?” “Should I follow the [insert name of current popular diet] to lose weight?” It’s not surprising. Nutrition and fitness...
By Katrina Pilkinton We can teeter on using the term “fit” to refer to a family’s health and wellbeing, but that can all-too-often encompass a notion that a family’s goals are performative. Being WELL is the goal. What does that look like or...
By Brad Dieter Gaining muscle is not quite as easy as going to the gym and lifting weights. That is just one part of the equation. In reality, gaining muscle requires two main things: a stimulus for growth and the energy to grow tissue. Outside of significant hormonal...
By Fabio Comana Stress stimulates appetite, it increases abdominal fat, it increases risks for disease and it can even play a role in our intimate relationships. The list could keep going, but what exactly is stress and how is it connected to all these consequences?...
By SHIRLEY ARCHER, JD, MA · When Randy Hetrick “MacGyvered” the predecessor for today’s TRX® Suspension Trainer™ while serving as a Navy SEAL officer in 1997, he had no idea he was creating an entirely new fitness methodology—Suspension Training®. He sparked what...
By CHERILYN MCLESTER, PHD Exercise is often associated with physical exertion and adaptations such as weight loss, improved athletic performance, and increased strength. However, one thing that these variables all have in common is that they are not mindless. In other...
In this episode, host Rick Richey talks with Antoinette Schoenthaler from NYU about behavioral intervention – and how it relates to adherence and compliance with clients. Within, they both peel apart the proverbial (behavioral) onion and discuss why clients...
By KAT BAREFIELD MS, RDN, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, ACSM-HFS In this post, we’re going to explore the health effects of getting insufficient micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). This article will also cover: The critical functions of various micronutrients The most...
By KATRINA PILKINGTON As a personal trainer, forming your own fitness business can come with its fair share of challenges. Ensuring your marketing is on par with the vision you have for your business is an important facet of a thriving personal training practice. One...
Don’t freak out, but your body is not symmetrical…and that’s totally normal! There are tiny differences between the left and right sides of your face, one of your legs is probably a little bit longer than the other, and maybe your shoes have always felt a little...
By Nicole Golden A skilled fitness professional should have the capacity to handle a variety of special populations. The needs and training goals of older adults and children differ greatly from those of teens or young and middle adults. Generally, the most common...
By ANDREA CIRIGNANO Maria wants to lose weight. The 46-year-old mother of two never lost the “baby weight” she gained after having her second child 5 years ago, and the extra 40 pounds is compounding other challenges in her life. She’s overworked, tired and stressed,...
By NASM As featured in our nutrition course – Navigating Diets – which is a detailed sampling of the overall CNC curriculum. To truly grasp the complexities of nutrition means learning what separates – and connects – the most common diets. This...
By SARAH SNYDER Youth exercise professionals are in a powerful position to positively influence eating behaviors. This is when independence begins to be established with regard to food and beverage choices and meal preparation. Coaches and trainers – even Youth...
By NASM The Paleolithic or “Paleo” diet derives from the superior cardiometabolic health and physical fitness of indigenous hunter-gatherer populations (Hills Jr & Erpenbeck, 2018). The Paleo diet is promoted across the world as a way of improving health of human...
By RICH FAHMY, MS, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, MASTER INSTRUCTOR Training modifications and exercise programming for older adults are popular topics across health and fitness publications and conferences. There’s good reason for this: By 2050, the number of people 60 or older...
By TheraGun You’re committed to your wellness routine and living the healthiest lifestyle possible. You dedicate a chunk of time during your week to either the gym or yoga or maybe even boxing and lifting weights. Hell, sometimes you even throw in a green juice when...
By Dr. Jason Welcome to Help and Wellness, a blog where we will share everything you need to know about Theragun Percussive Therapy, general health & wellness, and everything in between. We’ll also share stories that move us and connect us with you, our Theragun...
With Elisa Goodman Elissa Goodman describes herself as a “type A Aries.” She lived a fast-paced life and might have continued that way if she had not been diagnosed with cancer at age 32. Today, Elissa is a Holistic Nutritionist and cleanse expert and the...
By Dana Bender Overcoming exercise burnout is more important than ever for online personal trainers, fitness professionals and exercise enthusiasists alike! When fitness centers closed mid-March in response to COVID-19, many regular gym goers were tasked with...
By Alyssa Parten Learning how to coach an athlete is far more complicated than training general population clientele and, arguably, more fulfilling. There are many more factors, modalities, thinking, and planning strategies involved with coaching an athlete of any...
By Sam Arnold Meeting new people can lead to many things in life. For personal trainers and behavior change specialists specifically, the situation can offer up opportunities to network, connect with someone in a new field or part of town, and potentially even gain a...
By Rick Richey As seen in our weight loss specialization course, you can effectively utilize the OPT™ model for weight loss clients. Within this article from the Spring 2020 Issue of American Fitness Magazine, you will learn how! Consider a client named Jordan. She is...
By Nicole Golden Squat mechanics are very highly debated amongst fitness professionals and corrective exercise experts. Performing an internet search of “squat form” will turn up a plethora of results including focusing most on squat depth and lifting the most weight...
By Pete Mccall Why did you start your career in the fitness industry? Was it because you want to use your passion for fitness to improve others’ lives? Did you experience a significant weight loss and want to help others do the same? Are you a former athlete who...
By NASM Even though your at-home life might seem a little bland right now, you can still count on some healthy, flavourful meals to provide a little spice. For a snack – Get a great protein shake recommendation. For breakfast – Learn how to make delicious...
By CHRISTOPHER & KARA MOHR It has often been said that nutrition is 90% of the game and training just 10%. The truth is, nutritionand training are equally important for various reasons, and it’s not just a 50/50 game because there are many other equally...
By RICK RICHEY, MS · I was sweating profusely before I trained my first client, and it wasn’t from a workout. I was a nervous wreck, continually second-guessing what I was supposed to do. Would I be worth the money? Would I be able to train the client the “right” way?...
By NASM As discussed in our nutritional supplement course – Making Sense of Supplements – sometimes navigating the vitamin aisle can be a little tricky. Even for the most seasoned of certified nutrition coaches, the endless barrage of advertisements and...
By DAVID A. TITCOMB · JUNE 4, 20200 Similar to other structures in the body, the cervical spine (CS) has a significant influence on body regions located above and below its location. Not only does CS musculature produce movement of the head and neck, but it also plays...
By PETE MCCALL My career as a personal trainer began back when the years started with a one, 1998, to be exact. At that time, I never imagined that our cell phones would allow us to carry mini-computers in our pockets – let alone ones with high definition...
By KATRINA PILKINGTON · MAY 15, 20200 Running is something that our bodies were built to do. An integral component of movement within the majority of most sports, running [efficiency], can dictate success for most athletes early on in their skill development....
By Pete Mccall Starting a new habit can be challenging, especially when it comes to exercise. From joining a fitness facility to showing up for the first appointment, there are so many steps for beginning a fitness program that it can be overwhelming to take the first...
By Brad Dieter There has been a rise in the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets over the last decade, and they became one of the most popular diets of the previous five years. The increase in popularity was due to the idea that carbohydrates control your body fat,...
By Nino Magaddino Fit or not, pay attention to the warning signs your heart is giving you. Your life depends on it. Even as “fit” fitness professionals, we are not immune to heart disease. Here’s how this NASM Master Trainer found out.Recently I made...
By JUSTIN KOMPF One of the requirements for a coach to be “good” is their ability to relay information to a client so that they can correctly and comfortably execute strength training movements. The inability to do this contributes to incorrect form, which in turn...
By Ken Miller MS, NASM MASTER INSTRUCTOR, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, GFS If you’re like the millions of people who use electronic tools such as a cell phone, tablet, laptop or desk computer, you’ve probably spent hours upon hours looking at the screen with your head jutted...
By Nicole Nichols As a Pilates instructor, I’ve worked with many women who wanted to regain strength and muscle tone after pregnancy. Some of them complained about abdominal pressure, pain or weakness even years after giving birth. Others returned to class with their...
By Brian Sutton Is red wine healthy for our bodies? Many speculate red wine can help prevent heart disease and other chronic diseases; is this true? Let’s take a closer look at the science. RED WINE BASICS Many health experts believe red wine in moderation can promote...
By Brad Dieter The leading cause of death in the United States, and the rest of the world, is heart disease. While there is some genetic risk for developing heart disease, much of the risk is due to lifestyle, which means you can actively manage a lot of your risk for...
By Lara Quaglio With so much of life happening at the front of the body (driving a car, typing on a computer and even doing many exercises, such as pushup and bench press), a lot of people have developed upper crossed syndrome, which is characterized by a forward head...
By Sam Arnold WHY SHOULD ATHLETES TRUST THEIR PERSONAL TRAINER? Working with an athlete to achieve on-field success can be one of the most intimidating and complicated tasks for a young trainer to master. There are so many training methods available that “analysis...
By Kinsey Mahaffey The four words every client loves to hear: “It’s time for cardio!” (Cue the collective eye roll from clients around the globe.) As personal trainers, we know that cardiovascular training is undoubtedly an important part of our clients’ overall...
By Melissa Weigelt Being a good group exercise instructor means being a master of improvisation. The ability to adjust class plans on the spot is a necessary skill to ensure that all participants have a safe and effective workout. That’s true of equipment, too....
By Laura Quaglio Some personal trainers are wary of small-group training, says Chris Stevenson, owner of Stevenson Consulting, IHRSA board member and certified master trainer for Technogym®. “They feel it will either compromise their craft or cannibalize their client...
By Laura Quaglio Can personal training and group exercise classes coexist peacefully? Yes, says Rick Richey, MS, DHSC, host of The NASM-CPT Podcast. In fact, he asserts that making friends with group ex instructors can really help personal trainers to gain and retain...
By Rick Richley There are several pathologies that get in the way of living our best and most active lifestyles. Serval orthopedic issues that hinder our activities of daily living (ADLs) are arthritis and osteoporosis. There are two forms of arthritis that we discuss...
By Angie Miller Personal trainers are individuals who inspire, motivate, and guide others to achieve their fitness goals. It is a rewarding, highly-ranked career with immense job satisfaction (CNN Money, 2012). If you are ready to become more involved in the fitness...
By Shirley Archer It’s likely that many of your clients spend the majority of their time sitting at a desk, staring at a screen. They then sit in their cars for a long commute. When they arrive at their final destination, they sit down to eat and then watch...
By Mogan Shapiro With the start of the New Year, many of us have made resolutions to improve our health and fitness. While having specific health and fitness goals in mind is excellent, people often go to extremes to accomplish these goals. They try the newest fad...
By Pete McCall STRATEGIES TO KEEP CLIENTS ENGAGED A common misperception of fitness professionals is that we are merely rep counters, meaning that all we do is shuffle clients from one exercise to the next. Nothing could be further from the truth! The reality is that...
By Kat Barfield I recently visited my optometrist for an annual exam. He has a pleasant bedside manner and happens to be among the 40% of the U.S. adult population who are obese. As I stepped into his office, I noticed he looked different but couldn’t quite pinpoint...
By Laura Quaglio As NASM Senior Fitness Specialists well know, older adults are a growing segment of the population—and a rewarding group to work with. Check out these amazing perks that your senior clients can enjoy, thanks to your work. A CLEARER MIND ALL DAY LONG A...
By STACEY PENNEY, MS, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, FNS New clients, or even those that you’ve been working with for some time, can all benefit from focusing some of their training on stabilization work. Without a strong structural base to move from, how can we continue to...
By Lisa Quigley Many are aware of the touted benefits of meditation: increased awareness, decreased anxiety, enhanced peace of mind and an improved connection with the present moment. In The Artist’s Way(Penguin Random House 2016), Julia Cameron describes it like...
By Krista Popowych The dawning of true winter—and holiday gifts of down-filled jackets and cozy snow gloves—may have clients eagerly anticipating a day on the slopes. For those who have yet to start schussing down the mountain, circling the ice rink or shredding it on...
By Dana Bender Are you planning to renovate the flooring in your group fitness classroom? Or perhaps you need to complete a construction project at your yoga studio in the near future? If so, you may be worried about the impact the work will have on your clients’...
By Scott Josephson American consumers today have a multitude of options when it comes to choosing low- or no-calorie sweeteners to cut down on sugar and carbs. For those who favor natural products over artificial ones, honey and agave are far from the only options on...
By Alexandra Williams Differences in taste perception may explain, in part, why people diagnosed with obesity tend to eat more than their counterparts with a lower body mass index, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. Recently, a team at UI conducted a...
By April Durrett After “James” earned his exercise physiology degree, he was eager to get certified as a personal trainer and begin his career. A college athlete, he had dreams of putting clients through rigorous programs that yielded results, and he envisioned owning...
By Maria Luque Lack of physical activity and an increase in sedentary behaviors are leading an overall upward trend in obesity, but the effects on children and adolescents are especially alarming. Today, obesity-associated disorders previously found only in...
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