Articles

Fitness Professional Online (FPO) is happy to offer a place for you to expand your knowledge as a health and fitness professional. It is our mission to better the fitness industry and those that serve the public by providing as much content as possible for free to fitness professionals all over the world. Fitness Professional Online - Giving a voice to Fitness Professionals all over the world!

Safe and Responsible Fitness Programming for the Postnatal Client

Posted On October 17, 2016
Athor Image Andrea White Marinas
0

Working in the fitness world, I’m sure you’ve been approached by a new mom dying for you to help her get back into her pre-pregnancy skinny jeans.

We celebrate women who do amazing physical feats quickly after having a baby (running a marathon for example) without realizing we may be encouraging something that nature is not intending to happen so soon.

A woman getting her post-baby body toned and fit again is entirely possible.  The problem with women rushing to the gym too soon to get that “sick body” is that they often speed through a vital stage of healing.  It’s essential that the body have time to properly repair and strengthen muscles that go through immense changes through a pregnancy, namely the pelvic floor and transverse abdominals.  

The Medication You Want To Be Hooked On

Posted On October 15, 2016
Athor Image Taylor Bosco
0

WARNING: Side effects include more energy, a clear mind, enhanced quality of life, lowered stress, more smiles, and a killer physique!

According to Times Magazine, “Molecular biologists and neurologists have begun to show that exercise may alter brain chemistry in much the same way that antidepressant drugs do – regulating the key neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine.” It’s about time doctors get on board with one of the most powerful medications for depression: exercise. Not only can exercise work in the same way antidepressants do, but it also comes with positive side effects rather than negative ones.

Of course, there are those who really benefit and heal their depression using medication, however, there are also those, like myself, who try medications to heal depression and completely lose their personality while only getting a tiny bit less depressed. Instead of numbing your personality and just feeling “okay”, schedule yourself on a regular exercise regimen, put the work in, and feel absolutely enhanced and empowered.

5 Tips for Improving Posture in Your Classes (and a little science fun!)

Posted On October 10, 2016
Athor Image Summer Sides
0

“Stand up tall.”

“Shoulders up, back, and down.”

“Sit that butt down and back onto a chair”

How often do you find yourself saying these cues over and over in classes in order to “fix” your participant’s poor posture? Do you find yourself getting annoyed when you have said it for the 100th time and no one seems to be listening? Or do you find ways to dynamically correct their posture in ways that they are not aware of?

Have you ever considered that participants may completely understand and hear you, but that due to limitations in mobility or strength they physically just are not able to do what you are asking?

5 Creative Tips on How to Create a Recharging Habit

Posted On October 08, 2016
Athor Image Avital Miller
0

As fitness professionals, we can create all sorts of wonderful programs for our clients, but they do no good unless we figure out how to inspire them to take action and maintain new habits. One of my favorite quotes from the great yoga guru Paramhansa Yogananda is “Your trials may be great, but the greatest enemy of yourself is yourself!” In order for people to create a new habit that feels recharging, they have to figure out how to get themselves out of the way.

We commonly talk about developing a buddy system where someone or a class holds you accountable. Or we encourage people to push themselves for a small amount of time when beginning new activities which will automatically develop a habit. We set up calendars, competitions, and offer rewards for accomplishing goals. Below are five creative tips which we do not commonly think about on how to develop a recharging habit.

How important is emotional fitness to gaining physical fitness?

Posted On October 05, 2016
Athor Image Maureen Faherty
0

How important is emotional fitness to gaining physical fitness?  Is this something that I should be teaching my clients?

In a word, YES!  There’s been a shift recently within the fitness industry towards a more holistic, wellbeing approach to attaining a fit lifestyle by encompassing other aspects besides the physical components.  As the World Health Organization reminds us, wellness goes beyond simply being disease-free.  It includes other dimensions such as mental, social, spiritual, and emotional.  We train our clients (and ourselves) to make good decisions when it comes to physical wellness such as exercise and nutrition… but do you focus on training emotional fitness?  If not, here are some reasons why you should.

Instagram Business Crash Course

Posted On October 03, 2016
Athor Image Darcy Curry
1 Comment

Instagram is one of the leading social media platforms for both individuals and businesses. It’s the perfect community to build a presence with support and credibility. You may think you know the in’s and out’s of Instagram but there are more tips and tricks than you think that will earn you more followers and activity, which is essential for your business to grow.

Typically we only release these ‘courses’ to those who are in our mastermind groups, however, it added so much value to one of our mastermind groups that we knew we had to give all the Fit Pros on FPO an opportunity to learn from it as well. We received really positive feedback from those who were on the call that we really encourage you to grab a notebook, grab a pen, sit down with a ready-to-learn spirit and press play!

How To Go About a Motivational Interview

Posted On October 03, 2016
Athor Image Noel Lyons
0

I introduced the key principles behind “Motivational Interviewing” (MI) in my last article: “Getting Clients to Change Their Habits!” and why it can be a valuable tool to add to your skill set.

In this follow-up article, I would like to run through a typical (brief) MI conversation.

A Typical MI Conversation Format:

Start with the usual greetings & introductions

Then set the Agenda and the time you have available together.

5 Golden Rules That Can Help Make You Get Rich

Posted On September 29, 2016
Athor Image Julie Rammal
0

Do you work a regular job from 8-5 or do you have your own business? Do you want to get richer? If you’re a business owner are you waiting for the big business boom? Probably all of us would not mind earning a couple extra thousand dollars and taking a couple extra vacations per year or owning your own jet and yacht.

The truth is: to get rich, you need to be smart and you need to believe in yourself. There are 5 golden rules that can help make you get rich and improve your chances to boost your revenues.

Rule #1: Dream Big

Do you remember when you were a child and you had all these dreams? Or did you have a vision? What happened to your dreams? Did you give them up or build them? Re-assess your dreams, and see if you can bring them to reality. Think about what steps and actions would you need to take to give birth to your dream.

Practicing for Marathon Race Day

Posted On September 13, 2016
Athor Image Laurie Lasseter
0

If you are training for a fall marathon, by now your long runs are approaching 20 miles. It is time to start practicing for your marathon. You should use your remaining long runs (or at least the last two) as ‘rehearsals’ for the race:

Meals and Pre-run Fueling – dinner the night before your long run and morning pre-run food should be exactly what you plan to eat before your marathon race to make sure it will not upset your stomach and/or cause unplanned bathroom visits. You also want to make sure your meal the night before fuels your muscles sufficiently for the long run effort. It is best to keep a good balance of nutrients the night before – try to stick with these approximate numbers: 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat.   Your morning pre-run food should be consumed at least 2 hours before the run and should consist of a simple carbohydrate, low fiber, low protein snack – such as a bagel with a small amount of peanut butter. You’ll need to experiment a bit with the pre-run snack to see what works best for you and your digestive system.

Full Body Exercises – Large Number of Muscles Used

Posted On September 09, 2016
Athor Image Monalisa Vadi
0

Jumping jack is a bodyweight exercise. It can also be an effective way to turn into aerobic exercises if performed for a longer duration. It is one of the boot camp workouts and targets the entire body. It is a fun loving exercise and can be performed anywhere at home/ gym/ outdoor. Jumping jack is an exercise to use for warm up exercise if done at a low-level intensity. It is also great calories burner if done at high intensity and works the majority of muscles of your body at one time.

This is also a good aquatic exercise i.e. it can be performed by jumping in water where the water is at chest level.

In short, you can use the jumping jack in warm-up training, aerobic training, strength training, plyometric training and dynamic flexibility exercise.

Listen Podcast

Listen Podcast
Giving a Voice to the Fitness Industry!
Listen Podcast
The Fitness Blitz Podcast
Listen Podcast
Fitness Professional Online Radio Show

Browse

News collects all the stories you want to read
What is a visual schedule?

Education

It is about HOW you are using periodization to improve your business.

Business

Fitness Revenue Book Sales

Books

Ask an Expert Fit Pro Online

Ask An Expert

I’m confident in saying that the website should come first. Here’s why…

Articles

SEE IF YOU QUALIFY FOR THE FITNESS INDUSTRY'S FASTEST GROWING BUSINESS NETWORKING GROUP