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This week’s Throwback Thursday piece is “The Trainer Fuel Experiment”, written by Acea Theroux on February 23, 2013.

“As fitness professionals, we sometimes go a little overboard when trying to prove a point, or, at least, I know I do. This article and 6-day wellness journal are based on a true story of a personal nutrition experiment I conducted (on myself) back in 2009.”

December 13th Sunday 2009

Today I’m going to start an experiment to help a few of my clients better understand some of the nutritional theories and methodologies that I have learned, used and applied over the years. Why am I doing this experiment? Well, I have a few clients who are on the fence regarding the importance of specified energy sources and daily healthy food choices for each individual person. And, some still have doubts that everyone is different and will react differently to all sorts of foods (the good, bad and indifferent). Now, I’m not saying it is an easy process to figure this out, but it is important and it is well worth it, trust me! There has been a lot of trial and error for my clients and me over the years (and let’s not count how many total years it has been, we can just say a lot).

This week’s Throwback Thursday piece is “Glorious (Injurious) Gluten”, written by Kristy Mox on January 18, 2013. 

Every now and then I am reminded of, what has become old hat to me,  the new “shiny object” (to avoid) for some. This particular shiny object I am referring to is Gluten.

Before I even venture down this path, I want to be very clear about something; while I may have done enough independent research, out of sheer necessity, and visited enough healthcare facilities to be awarded an honorary degree, I am NOT a Doctor. I’m not even a Phlebotomist.

All my life I’ve been a bit of a medical oddity. There’s been nothing textbook about my body, and the way it responds to “modern” medicine. I could ramble about my medical history for days. Unfortunately, no matter how many times, or how many people have attempted to dissect it, the puzzle pieces never seem to match up. I won’t bore you with my complete medical history, as there simply isn’t enough Ritalin in this world to hold anyone’s attention for that. Not even my own. Yes, you can add Attention Deficit Disorder to that loooooooong list.

This week’s Throwback Thursday piece is “The Importance of Stretching and Flexibility for You and Your Clients”, written by Acea Theroux in January 21, 2013. 

Flexibility is one of the five essential components (Strength Training, Cardiovascular Training, Proper Nutrition, Flexibility & Rest) that we as fitness professionals preach to our clients, yet it’s frequently abandoned. Let’s all be open and honest here for a second. How often do you personally, or have you seen exercisers, go through a routine and then decide to skip stretching for any number of reasons like:

This week’s Throwback Thursday piece is “7 Extraordinary simple, hard exercises on the floor”, written by Karsten Jensen in June 8, 2013. 

In the pursuit of world class strength, power, speed or endurance, we can afford to leave no potentially beneficial training method on the table. The best strength coaches and personal trainers embrace the whole spectrum of training methods from extremely simple, no equipment methods, like bodyweight exercises on the floor, to high tech measurement tools like myo test (www.myotest.com).

This article is about one of the simplest, yet most effective, new bodyweight exercises on the floor.

The key to any successful marketing strategy is to be a resource. Forums present an excellent opportunity for companies to practice what they preach by providing valuable, trustworthy information to real people experiencing real problems. Becoming a part of forum conversations not only spreads your brand awareness, but also helps build trust between the community and your company.

Read the 7 steps to successful forum marketing listed below in order to take advantage of what this medium has to offer.

This week’s Throwback Thursday piece is “Is Age Just A Number: Training with older clients”, written by James Berges in May 8, 2013. 

As one of the largest populations, the baby-boomer generation will have an undeniable impact on the world. The over-65 crowd will almost double in size by the year 2030. Not to mention people are living longer and more health-conscious than ever, setting the stage for a generous influx of senior citizens seeking personal training services. Exercise is beneficial for every age group, but must be tailored accordingly for this population.

Before actually delving into any specific workouts, educate the client’s family about what type of program you offer. Print out your routines that you have planned and instruct the family so they may offer the best support possible. Ask your client and their family members what types of activities they currently engage in as well as possible activities they wish they were able to take part in. This will inform your workout program, focusing on exercises that are representative of your client’s most common activities.

This weeks Throwback Thursday piece is “The Last 30 Seconds”, written by Warren Martin in March 2014. 

Does your training show when it matters the most in a fight?

Watching MMA fights at all levels, we notice the athletes that are at peak speeds, strengths, sharpness, etc., during the first minute of the fight, right? But as the rounds move on and the time ticks down we notice these peaks can change for most. Even at the highest levels, one instance in lack of judgment, decrease in reaction time, or decrease in power of a kick or punch can lose the battle. That fighter loses not because the other fighter had more skill but because he wasn’t more mentally or physically prepared. These are crushing reasons to lose. In everyone’s eyes it is known that the outcome was preventable. What happened? Yes, fighters most of the time will use a loss to motivate them to train even harder for the next fight. The important question is, “What went wrong?” I believe when a fighter finally reaches an opponent that has equal or slightly more/less talent and conditioning, there is one thing that guarantees victory. “Training Carry Over”, how much of the preparation for the fight actually carries over into the ring with situations like fatigue that happen in the” last 30 seconds” of the fight or later rounds. This is also seen in the boxing world as well.

Life would be much easier if everyone respected everyone else’s time, right?  BUT occasionally there is that one PT client who notoriously cancels and reschedules… and cancels and reschedules again and again.

Your time is valuable so make sure clients know this… set your boundaries from the start!

Here are some practices to follow to make PT cancellations the exception, not the norm:

1. Enforce a cancellation policy– A 24-hour cancellation notice is the standard at my fitness center and we have clients sign a sheet stating that they understand this.  If they cancel within this time frame (or no-show), they will be charged for the session.  Late cancellations mean we’re less likely to fill that time slot with another client which, in turn, means loss of income.