BEING AHEAD OF THE PACK

A couple weeks ago I was sent an email from our nutrition mentor, Dr. John Berardi, PhD, founder of Precision Nutrition. The email included a video presentation he did several weeks prior titled The Future of Fitness and Nutrition. In that video, JB noted several paradigm shifts that will affect the manner in which fitness professionals train their clients. I want to share a few of them with you.

> "Personal Trainers" will have to move from simply instructing exercises to helping their clients manage their lifestyles. This means helping people move better before they move more, make better food choices AND help with their eating behaviors. It also entails helping their clients manage their lives and caring for themselves in a more holistic way. 

This sounds a lot like what we are already doing. Success Health & Fitness does not employ
personal trainers--we are Professional Health & Fitness Coaches. In other words, we have the
credentialed knowledge and experience to do more than just carry a clipboard and watch you
exercise. We are movement, exercise, and nutrition certified to help you manage your health   
and fitness lifestyle.

> Trainers will need to move from studying solely exercise science to understanding how to help their clients make lasting changes. Many trainers don't realize that their methods of training may actually hinder their clients' progress. Most adults won't respond well to the in-your-face, Biggest Loser trainer.

The fitness professional of the future will need to meet their clients where they are physically,
emotionally, socially, and financially. The present "one-workout-fits-all" (ie: Crossfit or big-box 
gym) mentality will not fly as people become more demanding for professionals that will tailor
health and fitness programs that work for them specifically.

> The move from telling clients what to do and eat to helping clients understand what's presently holding them back and working with them to find solutions. Trainers, especially those new to the business, are more concerned about telling and showing their clients what they know, and what they think the client should do rather than taking the time to listen to their clients' needs and reasons.

> Stop giving your clients too many things to work on at once. If you've ever had a personal        trainer, this scenario may sound familiar: "I want you to eat breakfast every day within 1 hour   of waking up, followed by 5 more 300 calorie meals. And drink 96 ounces of water today. And come to the gym at 5PM to blast your chest and back. And take 10 grams of creatine. And..."      

Fitness trainers will need to give their clients the one strategic, clear practice that will make the
biggest difference for them at that time. As we tell our members here, it's baby steps...We have to
move better before we move more; we have to eat clean before we think about counting calories; we
need to do some soft tissue work before we stretch.

Thanks again to JB for putting out more good information, and affirming that we are in the top 10% of fitness professionals who are leading health and fitness into the future. Thanks also to all of you reading this post. We truly appreciate you taking the time to follow us.