Mr.

Fat Loss
​ ROM MILITARY-TRAINED MUSCLE TO
F
BODYBUILDING AND EXTREME FAT LOSS
EMILE JARREAU HAS FINALLY FOUND HIS NICHE

IN THIS ISSUE
PUBLISHED BY

ARE YOU OVERTRAINING?

DESIGNING A PROGRAM THAT BUILDS MUSCLE
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR WEEKLY INCOME
WHAT IS THE BEST NUTRITION CEU FOR YOU?
 INTRODUCTION
PUBLISHING TEAM
NESTA and Spencer Institute
Scott Gaines Personal Trainer Magazine was created
Mark Teahan with you in mind. You love fitness. You
Michelle Adams feel rewarded when you help your
Suzan Askins
Elizabeth Carter
clients reach their goals. You love the
active lifestyle. And, you realize you can
Contact: nestanews@nestacertified.com and deserve to make a great living
while helping people add value to their
lives.
 
For these reasons, PTM brings you the
perfect combination of science,
application, business and personal
development skills. 

Regardless of your niche in the fitness

industry, you will find effective and
easy-to-understand methods for
enhancing the lives of others while you
are personally fulfilled. 

We welcome your comments,

questions and critique of PTM. This is
your magazine. If you want to see
something featured, please let us
know. If you’d like to contribute, our
editorial department would like to hear
from you.

1
CONTENT
CONTENT
4-5

Hanging for Shoulder Pain and

Rehabilitation

7-9 Corporate Wellness: A status report

11-17 Emile Jarreau

19-20 Differences Between Male and Female

Competitive Training Methods

21-23 How to Avoid Overtraining

24-25 Designing a Training Program that Builds

Muscle

27-31 Fitness Side Hustles: How to Increase Your

Weekly Income Fast!

33-35 What is the Best Nutrition CEU for You?

37-40 How to Use Psychological Skill to Motivate

Your Clients

41-43 Assessing The Metabolic Fitness of an

Athlete

2
3
 As a fitness professional who has worked with many clients with
HANGING FOR shoulder pain and who has had a rotator cuff tear myself, my
curiosity peaked when I found some articles discussing a

SHOULDER PAIN AND simple hang to help with shoulder pain and rehabilitation.

Hanging is a simple yet effective exercise that can be used for

REHABILITATION shoulder rehabilitation and overall upper-body strength. It is a
bodyweight exercise that involves hanging from a bar or other
overhead structure and is suitable for individuals of all fitness
levels.
By Scott Gaines
As a review, the shoulder is a complex joint that is made up of
three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder
blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone). It is the most mobile
joint in the body, allowing for a wide range of movements such
as reaching, lifting, and rotating. However, this mobility also
makes the shoulder susceptible to injury and instability.
Common injuries include shoulder impingement and rotator cuff
tears. Shoulder impingement occurs when you raise your arms
The supraspinatus tendon can get pinched between the
humerus and the acromion process of the scapula. That’s
where the pinching and/or pain comes from when you try to
raise an injured or compromised shoulder.

As described in the book Shoulder Pain? The Solution &

Prevention by Dr. John M. Kirsch, hanging stretchings the
brachial arteries and the coracoacromial ligaments. This
improves blood flow and can increase the subacromial space
where impingement occurs. In addition, Dr. Kirsch states that
through Wolf's Law (i.e., bones will adapt to the forces placed
NOMADIC  |  24
upon them), the acromion itself can be reshaped through
4
 hanging, again opening up the space below. easier.

When the arms are raised straight up as in the dead hang,
this gives the supraspinatus tendon room to move and stretch
without getting pinched. This allows you to exercise, stretch,
and reshape this tendon and the surrounding muscles and
bones.
Hanging can also help to improve shoulder stability and
mobility by strengthening the muscles and connective tissue
surrounding the joint. This includes the muscles of the
shoulder girdle (e.g., the trapezius, rhomboids major and
minor, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and levator
scapulae) as well as the muscles of the shoulder joint itself
(i.e., the glenohumeral or GH joint). Muscles of the GH joint
include the four rotator cuff muscles (i.e., the supraspinatus,
infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis), which are
responsible for rotating and stabilizing the joint, as well as the
relatively large muscles which produce the majority of the
movement (i.elk latissimus dorsi (lats), the pectoralis major,
and the deltoid). Other muscles that cross the GH joint
include the coracobrachialis, teres major, the biceps brachii,
and the long head of the triceps brachii. Strengthening these
muscles can help to reduce the risk of shoulder injuries and
improve overall shoulder function.
In addition to shoulder rehabilitation, hanging can also be
used to improve grip strength and upper-body endurance.
Gripping the bar and holding your bodyweight can be
challenging, especially for beginners, and will require the use
of various hand and forearm muscles. As you progress and
become more comfortable with hanging, you can increase the
duration of your hangs to improve upper body endurance.
Another modification is to use a bench or box to elevate
your feet. This will reduce the amount of body weight that
you need to support and make the exercise easier. You can
gradually decrease the height of the bench or box as you
become stronger and able to support more of your body
weight.
In addition to hanging, several other exercises can be
incorporated into a shoulder rehabilitation program. These
may include shoulder presses, lateral raises, and rotator
cuff exercises such as external rotation and internal
rotation. It is important to consult with a physical therapist or
healthcare professional before starting any new exercise
program, especially if your client has a history of shoulder
injuries or other underlying health conditions.
Hanging is a simple, yet effective exercise that can be used
for shoulder rehabilitation and overall upper-body strength.
It is suitable for all fitness levels and can be modified to suit
individual needs and goals. By strengthening the muscles
and connective tissue surrounding the shoulder joint,
hanging can help to improve shoulder stability and mobility,
reduce the risk of injuries, and improve overall shoulder
function. Suppose you want a better understanding of the
structure and function of the shoulder complex, as well as
the mechanics of why the dead hang works so well. In that
case, I recommend checking out NESTA's Biomechanics
Specialist program.

To begin hanging, you will need a bar or other overhead

structure that is sturdy and able to support your bodyweight.
This could be a pull-up bar, monkey bars, or even a tree
branch. It is important to ensure that the bar is secure and at
a comfortable height for you to reach.

To hang:
1. Grip the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away
from your body) and engage your shoulder blades by
squeezing them together.
2. Keep your feet off the ground and try to relax your body Scott Gaines, Ph.D, Senior Vice President, and NESTA ECB Liaison
as much as possible.

3. Hold this position for as long as you can, gradually

increasing the duration as you become stronger.

If hanging is too difficult at first, there are several

modifications that you can try to make the exercise easier.
One option is to use a resistance band to support some of
your bodyweight. Simply loop the band around the bar and
place one foot in the other end of the band. As you hang, the
band will provide some assistance and make the exercise

5
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 As we begin the third year of being in the
CORPORATE COVID pandemic, it seems too premature to
assume that the worst is over; many parts of the
WELLNESS: globe are still seeing continuous waves

A STATUS REPORT cropping up with new variances of the virus at

random times.

But there is no disputing that the return to work

By Mark Teahan
has been a call many have looked forward to,
and have in fact, answered the call. Modern
problems have brought about a need to
restructure the old tried and true model of
corporate wellness coaching. Fun contests and
championing stretch programs is no longer
enough.

But it just feels better to see workers arriving

back to work without face masks, diligently
pursuing a days’ work. It’s almost reassuring, as
a sign of relief for the entire world to see. It’s a
sign of hope, it points to a better time - one
where we could fall asleep without worry,
7
 believing that our pandemic is over and that good
times can resume. We don’t have to be
concerned about isolating ourselves, staying
inside and away from others, while trying to
collaborate and work like everything is normal.
So the call to return to work is very real for some
and even welcome by most. In the middle of the
COVID pandemic, many companies tried to
strategize how a return work could happen. Must
could not see into the future, where subsequent
waves would follow the worst early stages of the
pandemic. In their rush to return to normal, some
may have pulled the trigger early. Still, these
ambitious employers that called workers back can
contribute some insight if we study the trial and
error of returning to work during multiple COVID
waves. Their efforts showed that old models in
place didn’t match the needs of workers who were
now skeptical or afraid of being in groups while a
virus took the lives of so many.
It’s not that older models were not working; in fact
it is quite the opposite. In one study, CIGNA found
that integrating medical, pharmacy and behavioral
benefits lead to substantial savings for employers
who offer worksite wellness programs, a staple in
our current times. You cannot bring workers back
to their place of employment without considering
ways to keep them safe and well.
Furthermore, CIGNA’s report states that benefits
related to costs for health insurance, and even
workers comp, were also impacted, experiencing
impressive savings of $148.00 per member in the
year 2021.
Not only were premiums down for members or
employees, the savings were also seen for
individuals taking medication‘s, whereby nearly
$9000.00 per member per year was experienced
according to CIGNA in a news release in early
January 2023. The savings experienced by major
corporations is ideally passed along to employees
and represents a great value for employers who
8
wish to have a holistic view across a continuum of
care within their workforce.
How does wellness coaching work in corporate
settings? It can be really different, depending on
where it’s done. for a wellness coach working at a
distribution center, they can expect to probably
work with other wellness coaches due to the
amount of employees needed service. In addition
to the larger numbers or groups at distribution
centers, there is often shift work, requiring
multiple wellness coaches to coordinate their
delivery of service on site.
In the coaching landscape, the main benefits are
not as much medical or pharmaceutical, but the
behavioral changes that result in benefits, derived
from participating in health improvement
programs, like wellness-based initiatives, in
addition to integration of the benefits listed above.
When combined with wellness coaching
programs, the savings per employee or even
greater, estimated to be over $1400 per member
per year in 2021. So the need to actually use
coaching skills is still intact. The pandemic only
shined a light on the salience of preventative
health practices for the individual. It is both
impressive and encouraging to see that
corporations have taken one of the main
cornerstones of coaching to heart: charting a new
path by co-creating the relationship with their
employees. Organizations and workers now have
to work together to learn how to navigate the new
work environment together by co-creating new
rules, new boundaries and in fact, new
relationships. These relationships also foster trust
and cooperation. It’s a double win for all involved
and willing to participate.
The corporate wellness coaching option is a really
diverse opportunity for a coach lucky enough to
land one of these accounts; a distribution center
will have a human resource and administrative
staff, they also typically have a sales staff,
transportation employees and warehouse staff.
 These operations require diverse programming,
where wellness is not just a health benefit. It is
more than a promise to onboarding new recruits.
It is also tied to a reduction in workers comp
compensation cases through a reduction of
injuries. There is an expectation tied to results for
the coach. Of course, injuries are not 100%
preventable, but when they do occur, the use of a
skilled wellness coach who can sync with a return
to work coordinator can help ease costs and
burdens to both the Worker’s Comp. system, and
the human costs to the injured employee. In
addition to the physical toll, productivity is also
hampered.

It is ideal when a wellness coach, and a corporate

setting can be proactive and prevent health
problems and improve metrics amongst the
population they serve. this can be more
challenging in the middle of a pandemic, or as we
emerge from the COVID-19 waves that continue
to hit certain parts of the world.

No longer enough to provide weight-loss contests,

a skilled wellness coach, and a corporate setting
will also need to work with human resource
administrators to help document how their service
is impacting the worksite population in a positive
manner. Often times this includes working with an
occupational medicine nurse, an environmental
health and safety manager, or safety teams that
are put in place to keep workers injury free. It is
also common to see employees rewarded for
consecutive injury free days.

Getting certified as a corporate wellness coach is

just the beginning. True, it will help you on eat
business end of things as you seek new
accounts, but eventually a coach has to deliver
the service(s) promised. This only means that
coaching will always remain the anchor to the
success of modern corporate wellness programs -
but the needs of how these programs is proving to
be in a state of transition.
Mark Teahan, Director of the Spencer Institute
9
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10
11
 Like many others in this industry, Emile Jarreau
began his fitness journey as a middle and high
school athlete with a multi-sport path in primary
sports, track and field, wrestling, and football.
Despite his interest in sports, Emile struggled to
find his footing.
“I was always picked last and never fit in with
other boys because I was so tiny. I wrestled in
the 98 lb class at 88-90 lbs as a freshman. I
later realized I was very undernourished and
not only did it impact my physical ability, but
also my academics.”
After graduating high school, Emile began a full-
time job in retail sales. Despite his employment,
Emile felt aimless and as a result, found himself
getting into trouble. One night, after hitting several
discos he had an interesting conversation with a
girlfriend's uncle who had been in the Navy, and
how fantastic it had been to see the world while
enlisted.
Inspired, at 20 Emile enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
While completing basic training in Orlando
Florida, Emile was selected to become his
company's Recruit Chief Petty Officer. His
responsibilities included ensuring that his
12
company was disciplined and in excellent shape.
He instructed the daily PT for his company. As the
Recruit Chief Petty Officer, Emile began
developing the skill sets to work with large groups
of people, which would become important working
as a trainer.
After completing boot camp, Emile was assigned
to an LHA carrier en route to Beirut. Stationed on
this carrier were a variety of units including
marine recon, helicopter and fighter jet units, and
the highly admired SEAL team.
Members of the SEAL team wear a special
symbol known as the “SEAL Trident” — a gold pin
that identifies the wearer as part of a select group
that has endured SEAL training, earning them the
title of certified special warfare operator.
“These individuals were the elite. At the time, I
didn't recognize the scope of what the trident
meant or what it entailed, but I knew it would
open doors as a career-minded individual.”
One of the SEAL team officers, Gumma Toa Toa,
took an interest in Emile and encouraged him to
channel that alpha energy into advanced PT,
weight training, and swimming.
“He recognized that I wasn't one of the
biggest guys and that I was probably carrying
a chip on my shoulder. Gumma Toa Toa
helped me understand the ability that we all
 have, and unless you have someone that
helps, sometimes what you don't see you can
sometimes give up on yourself.”
Eventually, Emile was accepted into Pilot Rescue
School, and then became a candidate for the
Navy SEAL Team -- a remarkable opportunity in
itself. The Navy seal training program is one of
the most difficult human conditioning and military
training tests in the world. BUD/S training is
notoriously difficult, with an attrition rate hovering
at between 70 percent and 85 percent for enlisted
and over 90 percent for officers. This is partly to
the rigorous physical fitness component of SEAL
training. To graduate from Navy SEAL training,
you must meet physical fitness standards that are
more challenging than those required for entry
into the program.
Much of what Emile learned during the SEAL
training has informed the programs he has
created and the systems he uses with clients
today. Emile ultimately did not earn the Navy
SEAL distinction, but the experience was still
incredibly transformative.
“Given the academic and physical readiness I
needed just to be a candidate, it helped me
recognize I could do anything else I choose to
do. It proved to me that if this was possible, I
should start asking myself, ‘what else do I
desire?'"
As his time with the Navy began to wind down,
Emile started to look toward the future and
consider what he was going to do as a civilian.
Eager to dive deeper into the health and fitness
space, in 1987, while at port, Emile enrolled at
Long Beach City College and night classes at
UCLA studying anatomy and physiology and
earning his personal trainer certification.
This eventually led Emile to start his first personal
training business, “Body Lines”. He partnered with
a local gym where Emile could train clients, and
was able to charge $25 per session.
13
“You just want to get started. Get that one
certification and use it. So often I have
trainers messaging me wanting to know what
other courses they should take or what
additional certification will make them more
successful, but they haven't even tried to
work with any clients. They aren’t using the
knowledge and skills they gained from the
course they just finished.”
Through the 90s, Emile continued to grow his
personal training business, establishing one of the
most popular boot camp classes in the Long
Beach area. At the same time, he started training
for and placing in numerous bodybuilding
competitions throughout the U.S. Not only was
this beneficial for Emile’s physical and mental
health, but his continued participation in the sport
would inform his approach with clients as he
continued to develop his training business and
coaching offerings.
In 2000, with his partner Bea Fox, Emile opened
the first iteration of M2 Fitness Pros, his brick-
and-mortar studio where he ran semi-private
training sessions, working with 6-8 clients at a
time. Emile and Bea’s clients came from a variety
of backgrounds including business executives,
celebrities, entertainers, professional athletes,
soccer moms, weekend warriors, and everyday
fitness enthusiasts. What connected his clients
was the desire to drastically reduce body fat and
improve how they felt, performed, and looked.
“The “one-on-one” was not it. You top out the
dollars per hour, and even the best trainer in the
world will hit a price ceiling.”
Ever motivated to improve his business, Emile
joined and stayed active in a variety of online
business courses and coaching groups. He
quickly recognized that these were something he
could replicate for his own business. Already
having years of invaluable experience and
programming materials, Emile just needed to
bundle them up into a great-looking, user-friendly

internet package.
“I've learned the “trial and error” method got
me moving, and I polished it up on the fly.”
Emile launched M2 ProDesign, an advanced
online coaching program for weight loss and rapid
body transformation. With in-person training,
Emile was limited to clients in Long Beach and
the surrounding area, but with his online coaching
program location was no longer a factor and he
and Bea would be able to work with people from
all over — other states, other countries — the
doors were open. Since its inception, Emile and
Bea have helped thousands of people transform
and shed excess body fat, all the while guiding
them to accomplish their health, fitness, and life
goals.
In 2015, while attending the “Changing the Game”
Fitness and Business event, Emile was
introduced to the team at NESTA and the
Spencer Institute. At the time, NESTA had their
NCAA-certified personal fitness training course as
well as a handful of other sports, fitness, and
nutrition-focused educational courses, but nothing
that specifically appealed to men and women
interested in entering physique, figure or
14
bodybuilding competitions.
Emile and the NESTA team began discussing the
creation of a course that would encapsulate
Emile’s knowledge of the competitive physique
world and the training and dieting disciplines that
could make you successful in it. The course
would also need to meet the requirements for
CEU credits. In 2016, after a year of research and
development, the Physique and Figure Training
Specialist course launched and has since been a
popular choice for new and veteran NESTA
students.
Emile continued to stay busy and his businesses
continued to grow which required moving
M2Fitness to bigger spaces every few years. It
was also during these years that he and Bea
formed a women’s competitive figure team. He
made TV appearances in Dr. 90210, Bravo’s
Ballroom Bootcamp a chance opportunity to have
their studio used in Danika Patrickks Go Daddy
commercial. Emile's hard work was paying off and
he was definitely enjoying the notoriety, but the
hustle would eventually bring some challenges.
Emile became responsible for his ailing mother
and getting her settled in a dependable assisted
living facility. Along with the emotional toll of
taking care of an elderly parent, Emile still needed
to maintain his training space and staff, and keep
a core group of clients moving toward their goals.
It all felt a little too off balance and something
needed to change.
After nearly 19 years, Emile decided to close the
doors of his brick-and-mortar studio and retrace
his steps, taking his clients to a local Anytime
Fitness where had would have 24-hour access to
all of the equipment and machines needed to
keep training clients. He and Bea could come in
when it was convenient for their schedules and
the schedules of their clients but did not need to
stay late worrying about the often tedious and
time-consuming responsibilities of facility
ownership.
 “I didn’t have to clean it. I didn’t have to do
everything I did with my previous studios, so
that was a massive aha moment.”
We know that the pandemic took an outsized toll
on public health and a far-reaching impact on all
business sectors, including the fitness industry.
State mandates (48 of the 50 states mandated
gym closures by the beginning of April 2020),
social distancing, remote work, and contactless
everything led to billions in lost revenue for gyms,
studios, and self-employed fitness professionals.
Prior to the pandemic, the fitness industry
employed 3 million part-time and full-time
employees, by the end of 2020 nearly 500,000
jobs had been lost.
The pandemic changed the entire job of a
personal trainer — one that is solely based on
human interaction in a time where interacting
meant potentially contracting a deadly virus.
Trainers had to become more creative and more
entrepreneurial.
15
“With COVID-19, we had to scramble and do
whatever was necessary to keep the lights
on.”
Like many trainers, Emile did what he could to
keep his clients motivated and moving through
the pandemic, but the Anytime Fitness location he
had been using would likely not fare the same.
Emile needed to find a new training facility.
About this time, a friend who owns a Max Muscle
in Long Beach mentioned a new franchise, Self
Made Training Facility (SMTF), opening just two
blocks away. Intrigued, Emile took to the internet
to find out more about the Temecula-based Self
Made and its CEO Miguel Aguilar.
“There were maybe only twenty-five facilities
at the time, maybe even fewer. But after
reading about the brand's ethos and learning
a little more about Miguel, and finding
similarities between our stories, I absolutely
needed to see more.”
 The Self Made facilities were designed to have
small overhead and are equipped with all of the
top-of-the-line equipment that a young
bodybuilder, physique, boxing, or grappling
athlete would want. Emile inquired about the
timeline for opening the new SMTF location in
Long Beach, and he made it apparent that he
wanted to come by and check it out.
“I made sure that I was one of the first trainers
to see it. I was there on day one while it was
practically still an empty space. They had just
begun to lay the rubber flooring.”
The Self Made facility was only a couple of blocks
from the Anywhere Fitness Emile had been
running his sessions, Emile let all of his current
clients know that they should expect a change in
their training location. Emile of course had
experience building out his own facilities and
continued to monitor the progress of the SMTF
buildout. As new equipment and machines were
brought in he kept his clients at Anywhere Fitness
16
in the loop.
“I told my clients, ‘I’m going to send you a text
and the next day we will be training at Self
Made.’ It was an incredibly seamless
transition. Nobody missed a workout.”
Emile walked in the SMTF door with 30 clients,
providing him with an ideal starting point for this
next phase.
Now at SMTF, Emile has decided to refine his
semi-private model further, dropping his number
of clients per session from six or eight, down to
four, and encouraging those clients to refer
friends and family. Fewer clients per session
mean Emile is able to put more of himself into
each client interaction. He may be working with
four clients at a time, but he ensures that each
one feels like they are getting the one-on-one
treatment.
"We start our career, in this case, as personal
 “With a model like we have at Self-Made
Training Facility Long Beach, we can control
our economy and choose to generate as much
income as independent contractors.”

More clients mean that Emile has needed to grow

his team further and rather than pulling
candidates from outside his SMTF family, Emile
saw the potential of the people he was already
working and training with. To start, he hired one
female trainer who had already spent a year
training as a client.

“She automatically picked up the process,

using many of the principles in the Physique
and Figure Training Specialist course, which
helped her achieve a stronger physical look
than most people. She has become my #1
coach.”

Emile now has three coaches helping him tackle

his growing list of clientele. He has also brought in
marketing and sales support.

“Outsourcing is essential for your sanity.

They’re still part of the team, not actively on
the floor training people but outside the gym
getting more traction in the community.”

trainers working typically in a big box gym for It's been said that “A journey of a thousand miles
a company or corporation and working begins with a single step.” At times, he feels like
endless amounts of hours to collect a decent he has surpassed a thousand, but Emile is still
paycheck. Until we learn that there’s more going strong.
than one way to train people and make a
livable wage, we keep doing what we've “It’s not about us. When we think about our
always done.” clients we should be asking ourselves,
‘What’s in it for them?’ What we do as fitness
His clients were meeting goals and seeing results professionals, not for ourselves but in the
quicker than ever and in turn sharing these results service of others is what will propel us higher.
with friends and family who would invariably want
to start their own body transformation journey with ***
Emile. Emile has been able to harness three A special thank you goes out to Bea Fox for all
decades' worth of knowledge, share his expertise the years she's supported and stood by me as
with fellow trainers at Self-Made, and grow an she's watched me pour my heart and soul into a
even larger client list than he had walking into business I've sworn to master. I still feel like I've
SMTF. only just begun.
17
18
DIFFERENCES The difference between male and female
competitors is evident in all levels of
BETWEEN MALE AND competition.

FEMALE COMPETITIVE Women don’t have as much testosterone as

TRAINING METHODS men and when on a level playing field, men

have significantly more muscle mass. The ratio
of gains is 1:10 (women: men). Most women are
not able to gain muscle mass as quickly as men.
The way that both genders mobilize and
metabolize fats is totally different.

Females tend to store fat in the hips/thighs and

men in the belly area. The body can mobilize
fats far quicker and more effectively from the
belly area compared to the hip/thigh region.

At this point, the amount of dedication and

commitment that is needed by all athletes
should not be underestimated. All the
competitors are judged by the same standards
and both have to go through the bulking and
NOMADIC  |  24
cutting up phases.
19
 Nevertheless, training at a competitive level is
very similar between males and females.
The training practices that have been used during
the bulking phase are similar as both sexes need
to increase the weights, reps or intensity to build
muscle mass. This ensures that a muscle
adaptation occurs in both genders and a
progressive workload is needed to increase
muscle growth.
Both male and female athletes use advanced
methods such as forced reps and supersets to
increase workout intensity and stretching to
maintain overall flexibility.
A male’s upper body tends to react and respond
quicker to the progressive workload. This has
been attributed to increased testosterone levels
and better shoulder strength. This is not the case
in the lower body and the advantage is not
proportional to the upper parts of the body.
The same approach should be evident when in
the cutting phase. Some competitors use cardio
as a tool to create a negative energy deficit.
Although, this is all dependent on the client’s
goals as female bodybuilders tend to use a
training strategy of increased cardio and higher
reps while resistance training. This helps them
“tighten up” in certain areas.
Female bodybuilders also require more time to
recovery and more time doing cardio-type activity
to reduce their % of body fat.
A female physique competitor tends to use a
training plan based around more toning and
shaping their bodies by including a lot more HIIT
workouts in addition to their bodybuilding to
decrease their % body fat. Women also tend to
have an increase in water retention especially
when they are about to start their menstrual cycle
(MC). Some athletes sync their training plans with
their MC.
20
The key to long-term success as a trainer is
focusing on client retention. Make sure to
consistently follow up with clients on how they are
enjoying your training services, and most
importantly, do what it takes to help your clients
see results. Add value by offering them training
solutions on days when you’re not training them
one on one.
Adding online training to complement in-person
training can be a great combination for clients
who want to work out on days you’re unable to
train them in person.
The Physique & Figure Training Specialist
program will give you everything you need to
coach and train clients who want to compete on
stage or just have the body of a competitor. This
is perfect for weight loss/fat loss services as well.
As you know, body transformation contests are
popular and very profitable. Use these new skills
and professional credentials to skyrocket your
transformation contests, or become a successful
fitness, figure, bikini, and physique coach.
It’s time to take action. There is no other
program like this anywhere in the world. The
Figure & Physique Training Specialist program is
the only professional training course that gives
you everything you need to be a successful
physique, figure, and fitness competition coach
while enhancing your body transformation
business.
HOW TO AVOID It’s not unusual for clients to push and to train
according to the slogan “no pain, no gain.”
OVERTRAINING Indeed, this could be a worthy idea for a
competitive athlete but for our normal everyday
client, it tends to lead to overtraining.

Overtraining can be defined as an exercise

program that leads to “an undesired outcome of
fatigue and performance decrements.” We know
from the GAS that this is very real. Now we also
know it may have psychological or mental
consequences including:

Muscle pain or soreness

Weight loss
Gastrointestinal disturbance
Overuse injuries
Loss of self-confidence
Anxiety
Emotional/motivational changes

How Do You Know if a Client is

NOMADIC  |  24
21 Overtraining?: The easiest way to see if your
 client is experiencing overtraining is by
assessment – such as taking their resting heart
rate after a full night’s rest, upon waking up.
Some trainers also encourage this practice to be
done before the client retires to bed in the
evening. Usually, a well-conditioned client will see
resting heart rates decrease through positive
adaptations to training, but if your program design
is overly intense, your client may actually
experience an increase in their resting heart rate.
Not only would this have a physiological effect,
but it most certainly would affect the client’s
mental states as well.
The Importance of Recovery: Most clients don’t
enjoy (or even feel like themselves) when taking
excessive days off, as some believe that it
detracts from their ultimate goal. The best feature
of recovery, though, is that it can take many
forms. Giving the body proper time to recover is
essential to regenerate emotional and physical
energy and is generally considered to be the easy
part of an exercise program design. Try promoting
practicing relaxation techniques such as
progressive relaxation, autogenic relaxation, or
guided imagery.
Think of recovery as just one supporting factor to
reduce stress in all areas of your client’s life. For
example, if your client is overwhelmed with work-
life being too challenging or certain relationships
are causing them undue stress, try to encourage
the client to lessen or alleviate those stressors
during those times when they are not working with
you. Without this, clients may see stress as a
significant barrier. In most cases, this is a
contraindication in terms of their goals.
The 3 Levels of Recovery: Recovery has three
levels: physical, social, and environmental.
Eating right, practicing yoga or taking a hike on
days off are all practical suggestions for your
client to use physically based strategies in order
to better recover. Consider social recovery –
meaning that one will participate with people that
22
they like in social activities that are relaxing and
rejuvenating. This is often overlooked by trainers
because it occurs outside of the environment
where work with your client is done.
Environmental recovery can be as simple as
changing your training locale. This can also
include where the time spent in session with the
trainer occurs. A trainer in tune with the needs of
his or her client should monitor client reactions
and responses to training variables to ensure that
the client is not overtraining. This will help to
prevent burnout. The trainer should also try to
understand their client’s needs as completely as
possible.
Your Client’s Focus: Focus, from a client’s
perspective, helps concentration and hopefully,
competency. The term “attentional field” is used to
describe the thoughts, emotions, and physical
responses coming from within the client as well as
the outside sights and sounds that they are
focusing on. Trainers could view this as the ability
for your client to attend to internal and external
cues in your attentional field at the same time.
This will also require practice and cueing from the
trainer. When attentional focus decreases, so
does the risk of injury or at the very least, poor
performance.
A well-coached client knows where to focus their
attention on the best results while training. Some
people find success through an internal focus
style; they will concentrate on their form and
technique while training, while being comfortable
knowing that there may be distractions or activity
in their immediate surroundings.
Other clients who lack this experience of feeling
comfortable are far more likely to be distracted
and thus, injured. In terms of personality traits,
those who are more competitive tend to do best
with an external focus style, focusing on outside
sights and sounds right up until the moment of
exercise execution. During training, they are also
 aware that if they over-thinking about anything,
they may be misdirecting their focus or
concentrating too much.
What type of focus works best for your client?
Trainers should be able to analyze past exercise
experiences with their clients and contemplate the
techniques used successfully with them, in order
to have a repeat performance. This should seem
fairly logical.
One of the simplest ways to improve focus on
your client is to instruct them to place their eyes
where you want them to focus. To eliminate
external distractions a trainer might encourage a
client to keep the eyes averted during the time
used under load or during a particular activity.
The topic of focus is sometimes viewed as similar
to mindfulness, or the complete attention on the
present. The current body of scientific evidence
suggests that the effects of mindfulness impact
the thoughts, emotions, and performance of the
client.
Focus also reaches into other areas of the
dynamics between a trainer and client, including
mental toughness, imagery, relaxation, and self-
talk. For some activities, the exerciser’s thought
processes must be congruent with their ecology
and environment. Having clients mentally ‘psyche
up’ might include challenging some clients with
more demanding tasks, while meaning that you
may find it necessary to hold others back from
levels of progression until you feel that their
attentional focus is acceptable.
Promote the idea of focusing only on what your
client can control. The only real control your client
has will have to come from within, but good
feedback and cues from the trainers always
helpful. In order to help your client to help align
their focus, have your client try the following:
23
Positive: Avoid negative thinking or replace
each negative thought with a positive
statement.
Process: Focus on what your client needs to
do in order to stay engaged and to put forth
their best, from training to mastery of
technique.
Present: The past is over and positive goal
outcomes are to be in the future. What is your
client doing at this very moment? Keep them
in the moment by encouraging them to focus
on the here and now.
Progress: Comparing themselves to others is
a no-win situation. Promote the idea of clients
focusing only on their own improvement.
Focus may seem simple, but developing the right
type of concentration to facilitate focus is vital for
each client. A trainer who is fully engaged with
their client can create the focus needed to
exercise safely and optimize client outcomes or
results.
If a fitness professional has more tools to
evaluate the client, and if they have additional
skills to help understand the client's motivations
or other important behaviors, then the client
should have a better experience. We could also
take this one step further by saying that a trainer
with more knowledge will be better able to help
get clients to their goals in the quickest and safest
way possible.
Your reputation, as well as your success as a
trainer, are somewhat influenced by your ability to
get your client results – and this is done more
easily when we know more about our client’s
personality traits, perspectives, and responses to
our training directives.
DESIGNING A TRAINING In addition to losing weight, one of the main
goals for many of your personal training clients
PROGRAM THAT is building more muscle.

BUILDS MUSCLE However, sometimes in the quest to lose weight

and build muscle, our clients can unintentionally
neglect some of the basic rules to achieving a
strong and toned body.

Here are some fundamentals to building muscle

to keep in mind and also teach your personal
training clients:

Align the Training Program With Your

Client’s Goals: Make sure your client’s goals
and their training program align. If the goal is to
add lean tissue, your client’s weight and
resistance training program should include
specific parameters to facilitate muscle growth.

A quality hypertrophy (the process by which

your skeletal muscles grow as a result of
NOMADIC  |  24
exercise, specifically weight and resistance
24
 training) program generally favors a high training
volume with relatively brief rest (about 60
seconds) in between sets of an exercise. Ideally,
you want to design a program that trains each
major muscle group twice a week.
Consistency is Key: Building muscle takes time
and the rate at which it occurs will vary for each
individual. Further, muscle growth is influenced by
a number of factors including age, hormonal
profile, nutrient intake, hydration, genetics, etc.
With the right program everyone can build
strength and muscle.
Re-Assess: In order to ensure your client’s
weight training regimen is leading toward
progress, it’s important to schedule assessments.
Not only will new data provide information about
the efficacy of the program you have designed,
but it will also help you and your client avoid
hitting a plateau and experiencing a detraining
effect.
Building muscle requires dedication and there are
rules to the muscle gain game. You can help your
client achieve their optimal muscle-building
potential by following these basic rules.

One key is consistency in training. It’s not enough

to train two days a week at random. If the goal is
to gain muscle mass, clients must be consistent in
their frequency and duration of exercise as well
as their adherence to the program itself.

Sleep is Vital for Muscle Growth: Sleep is not

only necessary for clear cognitive function; the
body needs it for physical recovery. When the
body sleeps, the real work of repair and growth
occurs. During an intense lifting session,
“damage” is done to the lean tissue in the body.

For muscle to repair and grow and, thus gain

strength, rest is a required component of the
formula. Clients should establish a healthy sleep
routine in order to facilitate protein synthesis and
repair. Quality and quantity of sleep matters for all
physiological functions of the body.

Nourish Your Body Appropriately: While caloric

control is necessary for long-term weight
management and healthy body composition,
restricting calories too much will be detrimental to
achieving muscle growth.

You can help your clients find the right balance of

nutrient intake by teaching them how to fuel
before and after their workouts as well as
referring them to a registered dietitian to optimize
their meal planning and timing, and hydration.
25
26
FITNESS SIDE HUSTLES: If you’re like many people, an extra $200 a week
would make a big difference in your budget and
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR your lifestyle. Here’s the good news; it’s easier
than you think when you learn how many ways
WEEKLY INCOME there are to add a side hustle that takes little or
no time to implement. You may already have the
education and professional certification to start.
And, if you don’t yet, NESTA and Spencer
Institute have professional education and
certification programs that let you quickly earn a
professional credential for less than $18 a
month. We will discuss that later.

Right now, let’s talk about why you may want a

side hustle in the health, fitness, wellness and
nutrition industries. First, you love fitness and
living a healthy lifestyle. And, people want your
help. No matter what’s happening in the world,
people still workout and want to look great.
They still need you.

There are two ways to interpret the side hustle

NOMADIC  |  24
listed below:
27
 If you are an existing fitness or coaching pro, look
at this list and consider additional ways you can
add to your weekly income. Some side hustle
may make more sense to offer in the morning,
evening, or weekend (or just in the summer).
If you are new to the industry, review the list and
decide which side hustles can be added to your
current occupation (after hours, or on the
weekends). It’s possible if you can start 2-3 side
hustles, you may let go of your other career. It’s
certainly not required. These are just things you
may consider over time.
Kitchen Clean Out Service: Offer families the
opportunity to learn about their eating habits and
how the food currently in their kitchen may not be
optimal for their health and well-being. You teach
about food and cooking as you clean out the
pantry, fridge, and cupboards. This is simple, fast,
fun and puts money in your pocket the same day.
Time: 2-3 hours. Income $200.
Helpful certifications: Certified Personal Fitness
Chef, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified
Holistic Nutrition Coach
Grocery Shopping Tour: You can offer private
or small group educational tours of the local
grocery store. Speak to the manager before you
go. The manager will most often be very
supportive of your service. The store gets more
customers, generates more sales, and has
positive word-of-mouth advertising. If the
manager says “no”, simply go to another store
and repeat the process. While doing these tours,
you speak in positive terms, give the “better”
choices, and explain how to come up with
creative, healthy, and tasty solutions for the entire
family of the class participants. Small group sizes
can range from 4-10 people per tour/class.
Time: 2 hours. Income $50-250. Charge $50 for
an individual. In a group, you can charge
$25/person
28
Helpful certifications: Certified Personal Fitness
Chef, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified
Holistic Nutrition Coach
Do a free fitness and weight management talk
to the local PTO or similar group: It’s unlikely
these groups have a budget to pay you.
However, in a group of 20 – 100 people, you will
get 1-4 new clients for some type of training or
coaching service. That makes it well worth your
time. You would choose a topic related to “weight”
because it is the topic that will most likely
resonate with the highest percentage of
participants. More than 50% of Americans need to
lose weight. Use this unfortunate fact as a way to
ensure your topic resonates with the most people
in the group.
Time: 2 hours. Income? How much will you earn
with 2 new training clients working with you 2
times a week for 6 weeks?
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach,
Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management
Specialist
Turn your garage into a personal training
studio: Yes, this concept has been around for a
long time. Why? Because it works. Always has.
Always will. You don’t need a lot of equipment.
You can do a lot with your intelligence and proper
credentials and a few pieces of equipment such
as a kettlebell, jump rope, Swiss ball, medicine
ball, yoga mat, and resistance tubes. Anything
else is just a bonus. You can take your client
outside and do a run, sprints, plyometrics or walk
to cool down. You will also want to grab this free
training that shows you exactly how to turn your
garage (or spare bedroom) into a profitable gym.
FREE GIFT: Home Gym Profit Center Complete
Training System
Time: 1 hour. Income: $50 – $90/hr
 Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer, Certified Kettlebell Coach,
Certified Sport Yoga Instructor
Offer martial arts conditioning as an additional
service: If you have experience in martial arts,
kettlebells, Olympic lifting, Crossfit, or sports
coaching, this is a natural progression. It does not
combat. It’s the conditioning used by different
types of fighters (boxing, MMA, muay Thai,
jiujitsu, judo, etc). You can do individual or group
instruction in a gym, in your garage or in a park.
Equipment needs vary widely depending on your
focus.
Time: 1 hour. Income: $50 – $100/hr
Helpful certifications: Certified MMA
Conditioning Coach, Certified Muay Thai Fitness
Instructor, NESTA Certified Personal Fitness
Trainer, Certified Kettlebell Coach, Certified Sport
Yoga Instructor, Certified SAQ Coach.
“Old School” travel to a client’s home to train
them in their home gym: This still works. It
always works. It’s easy and fast to get started. In
short, clients who can afford to have you come to
their homes for training will most likely always.
Have the ability regardless of the economy.
Follow the money. If they want convenience and
are willing to pay for it, provide the service they
want. In most cases, they already have the
equipment needed. If they need more, they will
buy it.
Time: 1 hour. Income: $70 – $90/hr
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach,
Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management
Specialist, Certified Wellness Coach
Become the “go-to-guru” in the alternative
and complementary health and well-being
space: Being fit is far more than counting reps,
29
grunting, and getting close to your anaerobic
threshold. As your clients get older, they want a
better quality of life. They perceive this much
differently than someone in their 20s. It’s about
overall wellness and contentment. You need
special skills for this side hustle. And, you should
know a couple of things. First, the clients who
want this type of service historically have more
discretionary income to hire you for these
services. Secondly, this can be so lucrative, it
may become far more than a side hustle. It seems
to work best when you blend in a variety of skills
and services into a hybrid model (sleep, stress,
fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, brain function, and
quality of life).
Time: Monthly retainer for “x” sessions her month.
You can create different service package options.
Income: $500 – $1,500/month
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach,
Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management
Specialist, Certified Wellness Coach, Certified
Master Health and Wellness Coach, Certified
Integrative Health Coach, Certified Sleep Science
Coach, Certified Brain Fitness Coach.
Work as a NESTA Certified Personal Fitness
Trainer at a local health club or gym: This is
the fastest and easiest way to earn extra weekly
income. It’s likely you will earn less than the other
options on this list. However, you can have
health benefits, an environment where you can
learn, and a quarantined amount you will earn per
week (with some exceptions).
Time: 10-40 hours per week. Income: $15 –
$40/hr
Required Certification: NESTA Certified
Personal Fitness Trainer
Document your weight loss or muscle-
building journey, then invite others on social
 media to try your system: There are a few
different ways to make this work. People always
want to see what someone has accomplished
before they try it themselves. We have two
distinct, yet complementary business systems
that will give you everything you need. You will
learn the step-by-step process for quickly setting
up this side hustle and getting money in the bank
fast.
Time: 4-6 hours per week. Income:
$100-$300/week
Helpful certifications/courses: Fit for Photos
Business System, Certified Physique & Figure
Training Specialist, Certified Personal Fitness
Trainer
Start a running program for your community:
Why is this such a great idea? It required no
gym, no equipment, no rent, no lease, no
franchise fees, and no problems. You simply
need to learn the nuances of running coaching
and use proven business models. Decide which
side hustle you want to implement; a camp, a
clinic, a weekly program, a marathon training
group or something else. We show you how to do
it all. Just choose 1 or more options and
implement them. You are on the fast track to
running coach business success.
Time: 5-6 hours per week. Income:
$150-$300/week
Helpful certifications: Certified Revolution
Running Coach
Work with seniors in a retirement community:
This will be one of the most rewarding things you
can ever do. This group of people will be so
grateful for your help. There are many ways to
offer your services. You may call a local senior
center and learn what they want or need in terms
of physical or community activities. It’s just
important to remember to slow down, be patient,
30
listen and always focus on safety and fun. You
can teach classes on brain health and how to
keep their memory sharp. You can offer balance
classes. You can do seated aerobics classes or
slow range of motion “movement” classes. Safety
first. Fun Second.
Time: 3-4 hours per week. Income:
$150-$200/week
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer, NESTA Certified Group Exercise
Instructor, Sleep Science Coach, Certified Brain
Fitness Coach
Do You Want More of a Traditional Career
Path?
If you are more interested in gaining employment
at a health club, gym or fitness center, these
statistics will be of interest. The good news is that
you have endless options as a trainer or coach:
You can have a part-time side hustle as an
entrepreneur, a part-time gig at a club, a full-time
home-based business, or a full-time career with
benefits at a large health club chain.
NESTA and Spencer Institute have what you
need to succeed.
Choose your path, earn your certification(s), and
let us guide you along the way. We’re always
here to help.
Here’s some data for your reference: Bureau of
Labor Statistics employment growth projections
from 2020 to 2030 per occupation. For this report,
we only considered occupations that require no
degree and that have a positive projected
employment growth. Occupations were ranked
based on the projected employment growth from
lowest to highest. The median annual wage is for
2021, also from the BLS.
#2 out of all occupations:
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
 Employment growth projection (2020-2030):
39.3%
Median annual wage: $40,700 — #169 highest
out of 350 jobs
Total employment: 309,800– #79 highest out of
350 jobs

Yes, fitness careers ranked #2 out of all jobs for

growth opportunities in the U.S.

Employment of fitness trainers and instructors is

projected to grow 39% from 2020 to 2030, much
faster than the average for all occupations.
About 69,100 openings for fitness trainers
Personal Fitness Trainers and Group Exercise
Instructors are projected each year, on average,
over the decade. Many of those openings are
expected to result from the need to replace
workers who transfer to different occupations or
exit the labor force, such as to retire.

According to Zippia.com, By the end of 2028, the

expected revenue for the fitness industry in the
United States is expected to be $434.74 billion.
By 2030, there are predictions that the fitness
industry will have 230 million members.

Currently, the United States has the highest gym

industry revenue in the world. If the US wants to
retain its leadership in the fitness industry, it
would need to increase by 15.6 million members
by 2030, or 1.33 million new gym members each
year.

So, you can see, that there are opportunities, and

there is significant growth for the foreseeable
future.

As you can see, there are always ways to

generate income as a fitness pro. Creating a side
hustle while serving others is a great way to go.
NESTA and Spencer Institute help you each step
of the way. Our courses are designed with you in
mind. They are appropriately challenging, easy to
follow, and give you specific skills to help you
reach your goals.
31
32
WHICH IS THE BEST Which Nutrition Certification Course is Best
for Your CEU Requirements? We should talk
NUTRITION CEU about why continuing education units are so

FOR YOU? important. It’s this simple — things change.

Technology advances. Trends come and go.
New scientific discoveries are revealed. New
products become available, and your clients
want answers. And, from a completely different
perspective, it’s important to keep your brain
sharp with new information.

The first step in discovering a coach or trainer

who will “fail” in the long term is quite simple.
Find out if that person values and seeks
continual knowledge and keeps their credentials
impeccable. Those who are lifelong learners,
seekers of knowledge, and those who value
respected credentials, are those who will go the
furthest and have a more enduring career.

With very few exceptions, there is a direct and

linear relationship between those
N O M Awho
D I C value
 |  24
33
 knowledge, seek knowledge, and can apply their
newfound knowledge, and those who earn more,
contribute more, and become leaders. Your
clients understand this. Your potential clients
understand this. Your employer understands this.
And now, it’s time for you to deeply understand
this fact. Seek. Apply. Share. Prosper.
When it comes to nutrition, maintaining your
credential and gaining valued continuing
education is especially important. Perhaps, even
more so than other aspects of training and
coaching. Why? This is a complex question. We
will touch on some key aspects here.
Why are CEUs Important for Nutrition
Coaches? First, it is widely understood, and
excepted by industry leaders, that politics,
policies, influence, legislation, and lobbyists,
collectively affect what is grown, what is sold,
prices, labeling, quality, distribution, and the
nutritional value of many, if not all, foods. This is
true in the United States, and likely many other
countries as well.
In addition to the political aspects of nutrition,
there are frequent scientific breakthroughs. As an
example, case studies from universities can
reveal new neuroprotective factors from specific
foods which can reduce the onset of dementia or
Alzheimer’s. In other studies, it may be revealed
that certain foods are better cooked at various
temperatures to make different nutrients more
bio-available, which has a greater health benefit.
Of course, there are thousands of these
examples, and you need to stay up to date with
those which are most important.
Why Do Employers Care About You
Maintaining Your Nutrition Certification with
CEUs? There are many reasons why your boss
cares about your certification maintaining a valid
standing. If there were ever any issues with
liability from a member of a gym or health club,
one of the first things an attorney would do is to
34
try to discredit the person providing the service. In
what is called “discovery”, you would be required
to show your certifications, continue education,
and the company’s liability insurance, etc. These
situations are incredibly rare. Perhaps one in
20,000 clients. However, we live in a litigious
society. It’s unfortunate. It is true.
Again, this type of thing almost never occurs. In
all our years in service, since 1992, we can recall
two or three instances that came to our attention.
But, as a business owner, you need to be
thoughtful and prepared for anything. In addition,
your boss will want to know that you care enough
about your education to maintain proper status
with your certifying agency. Because you earn
additional certificates or certifications as part of
your continuing education process, this makes
you better educated, more well-rounded, and
generally more knowledgeable on the specific
topic for which you were hired. This also makes
your boss very happy.
If you work for a large health club chain, many
times your hourly pay is dependent on
maintaining certifications, earning continuing
education credits, and the total number of
certificates or certifications you have earned
during your employment. Although it varies
widely, in some cases, each certification can bring
in between three dollars and $10 more per hour.
This should be incentive enough for you to
continue your education and earn credits.
If you are a fitness professional working either as
a personal trainer, sports coach or group exercise
instructor, your first nutrition certification should
be the NESTA Fitness Nutrition Coach. It gives
you the science, psychology, and step-by-step
process of coaching your client to improve their
nutrition and eating habits. It is both foundational
and complete. You also earn many educational
units.
If you are a sports conditioning expert of any type,
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Because of the unfortunate fact that our world
has thousands of chemicals, toxins, herbicides,

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 As we have seen before, motivation is one of
HOW TO USE the main psychological processes behind
PSYCHOLOGICAL exercise behavior. A lot of trainers fail to
understand the importance of motivating their
SKILLS TO MOTIVATE clients or take an overly simplified attitude
toward motivation. The concept is complicated
YOUR CLIENTS and there are certain features to be known and
understood in order to be not only an effective
trainer but also an effective motivator for the
client.

Motivation is a key attribute for personal fitness

trainers. The development of the personal
training profession has changed over the years,
requiring more trainers. Because exercise
science has become more accessible to the
general public by way of the Internet, personal
fitness trainers are being tapped as much for
inspiration as they are for the knowledge and
information they possess. Being able to act as a
motivational figure to your client can take an
exhaustive amount of energy and effort. There-
NOMADIC  |  24
fore it’s important to hone your motivation skills
37
 to ensure your training methods are the most to speed with strength training vernacular. For
effective they can be. instance, tell your client the difference between
“active stretching” and “passive stretching”.
We must be aware that 50% of the clients will Increase the client’s confidence by explaining
drop out of exercise programs after 6 months strength training phrases and terms and by using
(Kravitz). We cannot keep every single client, but this vocabulary in corresponding conversations.
we should try to reduce the amount of those who Motivating clients is most definitely an art form
are lost through negligence or incompetence from that takes practice. Many trainers will make
the trainer, or those who leave due to a lack of mistakes along the way. Treating the client as the
motivation. subject of an experiment is one common mistake
seen in the field. When this style is deployed, the
Should You Personalize the Goals For Each of trainer only punishes or rewards the client, mostly
Your Clients? Try to avoid basic, generalized the former. This method can also have some
goals such as losing weight or gaining muscular positive effects, but the main problems with this
size. Instead, goals should be very detailed, and approach are the simplifying effect and the short
you will want to discuss specific measurable goals time frame of interaction.
for the client to ensure that your client can clearly
understand a summary of their precise desires to Additionally, the biggest concern is remembering
achieve. Instead of losing weight (general), find that your clients are individuals who deserve the
out how much weight each client would like to utmost respect, positive feedback, and a positive
lose (specific). Define personal goals and map out coactive relationship. The trainer is there to help
a schedule of activities to achieve those goals in the client to better themselves. It is very difficult to
specific periods of time. get positive outcomes from a trainer who is
always yelling, punishing, and humiliating their
Keeping goals personal helps you connect with client. Yes, some people do respond favorably to
clients on a deeper, more intimate level. Remain this technique of motivation or treatment, but most
confident and true to your own unique personality. clients won’t fit into this category.
Your natural charisma and energy levels tend to
be of great influence on clients, who are typically Another very simple, but inappropriate
looking to you as their leader. Understand that motivational approach is seen in trainers who
clients look to personal fitness trainers for believe in a particular motivational approach and
knowledge, and inspiration and for opening doors expect each client to respond to it accordingly.
to enhanced levels of health, fitness, and This technique is only about the instructor. But the
wellness. Project these attributes always and you one-size-fits-all approach disregards the unique
will be more likely to facilitate a client’s belief in characteristics of the client.
your leadership and your abilities – and most
importantly – a client’s belief in him or herself. A common belief among trainers that when an
exerciser is not doing everything the way the
Showing how much you enjoy your job and your instructor orders, is that he or she lacks
client is easily done by using encouraging words, motivation and is rebelling. This is not true, as
congratulating them on all goals and certain clients want to learn in their own way and
accomplishments – regardless of whether they are very motivated and determined to do so. To
are great or small – and continuing to challenge consider this as lacking motivation is a great
clients to strive to achieve their personal goals. misunderstanding, which can have a detrimental
effect on the effectiveness of training and the
Expand the client’s vocabulary. Bring the client up relationship between the client and the trainer.
38
 Positive Motivational Strategies: After seeing a inner drives and motives of the clients. It is
few examples of how not to motivate our clients, possible to undermine the intrinsic motivation of
let’s take a look at how motivation really works. the client when they feel we are trying to control
or manipulate them. This must be avoided.
First, we need to be aware of what we want to However, extrinsic motivation can act as a
achieve, and what we must do to motivate the reinforcement of intrinsic motivation, when the
client. The basic question is quite simple: How person feels that extrinsic motivation is a reward
can I compel a client to change their behavior? for competence.
Psychologically, motivation is seen to have two
fundamental dimensions: direction and Direct vs Indirect Motivational Techniques:
intensity. The second important aspect of motivation is its
directness. Both direct and indirect motivational
Direction shows us how much a person techniques can and should be used. We can
actively seeks challenges, how and why they distinguish three basic forms of direct motivation;
avoid them, and how they set goals. permissiveness, identification, and internalization.
Intensity is the amount of effort needed for the
individual to achieve a certain goal, it The first, “permissiveness” is not only related to
describes the person’s activity and energy praise and re- wards but to punishment as well.
levels. For example, “you did an excellent job today, you
get a day off” or “you were terrible today,
Motivation has distinct characteristics. These tomorrow you will have to do an extra set.” This
characteristics are easy to understand and every method tends to be the result when the client has
trainer should be aware of these in order to use no solid rules of behavior and has a weak self.
them as an effective option to bring the best out of Overusing it will be counterproductive because
their clients. clients are more easily motivated by positive
feedback.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation
can have two sources. Intrinsically motivated Identification is based on the relationship between
people have their own innate drive o be better, the client and the trainer. In other words, “I’ll do
and to do something. Competence, success, self- (or don’t do) something, because in most cases
determination, and excellence are the keywords their performance has clear consequences, either
for a client who has inner motivation. Extrinsic positive or negative. In contrast, a person with an
motivation derives from the feedback of other external locus of control is tending to attribute life
people, e. g. the trainer. The positive or negative events to luck, chance, the influence of others or
reinforcements from an outer source can reduce any situational characteristic.
or increase the occurrence of certain behavior. It
is important to notice that both intrinsic and Age should not be ignored either. Children are
extrinsic motivation are working at the same time less likely motivated by internalized values
within most clients. It would be advisable to because they still probably lack them. Adults with
consider only one and make that the primary crystallized values will not be happy with simple
focus. permissive tricks. Indirect techniques do target
not directly the client, rather they change or adjust
Good motivators provide feedback to shape the the situation or the environment, both physically
behavior of their clients in the desired way. But at and psychologically. The sites of exercise, the
the same time, they try to elicit and strengthen the attitude of the trainer, and granting greater control
39
 to the client are just a few examples of indirect stress. If you think about it, what do we know to
techniques. be the best approach when life hits us with a big
stressor — such as the death of a loved one, a
Locus of Control Theory: The next topic to be move across the country or the end of an
discussed about motivation is the so-called “locus important personal relationship? We seek
of control”. Simply put, this means how different professional help. This is normal if our client’s
people perceive their responsibility for reward and coping skills are not up to an acceptable level. An
punishment. Someone with an internal locus of exercise psychologist can both teach everyday
control is far more likely to attribute the events of coping skills and help a client deal with major life
his life dependent on their own behavior. They stressors. Taking deliberate steps to try and
think that better to identify, internal control with reduce stress can help lower the chance of
internalization. incurring more stress through suffering an injury.
In short, it is not the trainer’s sole responsibility to
The Impact of Stress on Motivation: You fix clients in this way.
probably have never realized how much lowering
stress levels, keeps injuries at bay. Of course, this The third form of direct motivation, internalization,
isn’t a common point of knowledge for a trainer uses the beliefs and values of the client instead of
lacking awareness of exercise psychology. Still, external sources. How and when these methods
three decades of research show that a work depend on various factors, such as the
combination of conditions puts athletes at a personality of both the client and the trainer and
greater risk of injury. These conditions include the trainer’s expertise in all these diverse
negative life stresses, an increase in daily techniques.
hassles, previous injuries, and poor coping
responses.

Stress, inadequate coping skills, and personality

traits do not just make for a bad mood. These
factors create an elevated stress response. What
does this mean for a client? People who have
elevated stress responses suffer from more
muscle tension are more easily distracted and
have a smaller attention span. This means your
client may not notice that they are not holding
their body in the proper form as they execute a
movement under your watch as their trainer.
Being under stress for long periods of time
actually changes the body’s endocrine system,
making a person more susceptible to illness and
slowing down the healing process when we are
sick or injured.

We all know stress is unavoidable, but how do we

help clients manage life stresses and lower their
injury risk? We need to promote and develop
coping skills for the client to use to deal with

40
ASSESSING THE Why is it Important to Assess an Athlete’s
Fitness and the Metabolic Demands of their
METABOLIC FITNESS Sport?

OF AN ATHLETE Verifying the individual’s starting level is

paramount to designing the optimal program.
This is also true for sports. Before the start of
any season, coaches run a series of basic
assessments specific to their sport in order to
evaluate each player for talent as well as their
metabolic efficiency (Note: for all those who
ever participated in any sport, these were called
“try-outs” testing your athletic ability for this
sport!).

Remember, each sport’s basic testing

procedures are not only specific to the
fundamental movement patterns of the
respective sport but also the sport’s primary
energy system. Once the coach chooses the
team, the ‘conditioning’ program ensues.
Depending on the primary energy system of the
NOMADIC  |  24
41
 sport, the bulk of the conditioning program will Metabolic Needs Analysis for Athletes:
focus on developing the activity’s primary energy Research and applied science have clearly shown
system. This is also where coaches can each sport has specific needs, mainly referring to
determine and establish individual conditioning metabolic conditioning when training anaerobic
programs for not only position-specific but athletes. The days of all athletes needing a firm
individual-specific training. aerobic base of conditioning are long gone.
However, designing the right general physical
Proper training intensity (along with adequate preparation plan for developing a foundation of
rest) is essential for the proper physiological metabolic conditioning before moving to a sport-
adaptations (results). It should also be clear that specific training program will enhance an athlete’s
the needed physiological adaptations for athletes performance while decreasing the risk of injury.
are specific to their sport. So, the training intensity
must be correlated with the type of strength and Different sports (as well as different positions
energy systems demanded by the sport. within a sport) have different metabolic demands.
A fitness professional’s job is to analyze an
To assess the needs of an athlete, the athlete’s metabolic needs (phosphagen,
trainer/coach has to evaluate the individual (their anaerobic glycolysis or aerobic metabolism).
current capabilities and limitations) and the needs Certain events will focus primarily on one energy
of the specific sport and position. It’s not different system (ex: a marathon runner would mainly
from assessing a health and fitness client, except concentrate on aerobic metabolism for energy).
that the goals are now based on performance Other events will combine all three systems (ex:
needs. Performance goals are much more ice hockey). The fitness professional/coach must
specific than general goals (i.e., “lose weight,” determine the predominant energy system(s) for
“tone up,” “get big”). the athlete’s sport and position.

Assessing the Athlete: Assessing an athlete is Why is this important? Athletes must be careful
not the same as assessing a general fitness to develop appropriate energy systems and not
client. When evaluating a client, the fitness overtrain an inappropriate energy system.
professional will assess the fitness components Overdevelopment can cause a substantial
related to health and fitness. decrease in performance (particularly in high-
power output-based sports). Once the primary
These Health-Related Fitness (HRF) components energy system is determined, a proper training
of fitness are related to performing activities of program can be developed with the appropriate
daily living (ADL) with vigor and are associated amount of stress/overload.
with a low risk of premature development of
hypokinetic disease (disease from physical How do we determine the proper energy
inactivity). When assessing an athlete, however, systems? First, determine the overall duration of
the fitness professional will also need to include the event. Then, look at the intensity of effort and
Skill-Related Components of Fitness (SRF) which the amount of time spent at that intensity. Many
are sport-specific. events will have multiple energy systems with
varying durations. High-intensity, short-duration
But think about it – do all athletes need the same events will primarily be in the phosphagen
levels of cardiovascular endurance? Of course system. The moderate-to-high intensity with
not. The key to proper assessments of athletes is moderate duration (approximately 30 seconds to
an accurate metabolic needs analysis. 3 minutes) will be in anaerobic glycolysis. Lastly,

42
 low intensity and longer duration will primarily be
in aerobic metabolism. When the amount of time
spent in each energy system is determined,
design the appropriate training program with the
percent of emphasis that should be placed on
training a specific system or various systems.
What is the average length of play for each
play, volley, carry, etc.?
What is the average rest between each play?
(work/rest ratio)
By answering these questions, you will have a
good idea of the metabolic demands of the sport
and the athlete’s specific position in the sport.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can
assess the current metabolic status of an athlete
through VO2max and Anaerobic Threshold
testing.

So, when working with athletes, ask yourself

these questions:

What is the primary energy system for each

sport?
Is there a secondary energy system utilized
for this sport on a limited basis?
Are there multiple positions within this sport?
Does the primary energy system apply to
each position?
What is the dominant type of strength for this
sport?
Are there multiple categories of strength
within the sport and for each position?
Is there a dominant type of strength
performed for an extended period of time
during competition and in a pro-longed
fatigued state?
What is the length of play for each
competition/game?
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