Newly certified Personal Trainer?

When my business partner and I started our company FitProAcademy,  we recruited ( and still are) quite a number of new fitness trainers. As I prepare to leave the company ( not the industry!) with good faith and in good hands, here are my thoughts or advice to all aspiring trainers.

1.There will be time when gym equipments will not be available. So being familiar with bodyweight exercuses, resistance bands and free weights will be helpful.

2. When you are practicing yourself ask how you would cue. Say it out aloud.

3. Complex moves - if you have never trained the client before, or the client is struggling, quickly break down the moves. Remember you want the client to feel successful.

4. Order of exercises - the hows, whys, whats and where are important.

5. Great coaches like Charles Poliquin ( RIP) have done and shared their research on training. Read them. Practice. Question.

6. Be prepared to take any reviews or feedback as part of your learning journey. If you want to be great coach especially PT, get used to being uncomfortable.

7. Do ask if you could observe each others training . Get feedback and reflect. Close friends and family members might not give you the best feedback; they would probably want to make you feel good and not give honest feedback.

8. Lets change the perception that Personal Training is "Bro Science" or "You are working out your bodies but not your brain". Question established views.

Finally, am I qualified to advise new trainers? 12 years on, I am still learning.

Yoga for the rest of us!

Do you yoga??? Looking at how yoga has branched out,  I would say it has become more aesthetic focused and something to the effect of Cirque du Soleil. (And then there is naked yoga, beer yoga etc... we are living in an exciting time!)




As part of my Women's wellness especially the 3rd age group or those with stressful lifestyles, I would add Yoga as a rehab tool. I have come across women who do HITT training mostly and still complain of not loosing the weight or their recovery is slower. If you have recently done some blood work, check your E.S.R reading. The ESR reading can be used to to monitor inflammation though it does not pinpoint the cause of inflammation. 

There are research done on how yoga can reduce the ESR reading. Here is a research link here.

Along with strength training, balance and coordination workouts, including yoga particularly relaxation yoga can enhance the general well-being of our health. Depending on my client's needs, I incorporate sports yoga or/and Yin Yoga.


How is Yoga (not the HIIT YOGA type please) compared to conventional exercise?



What are the  PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS of yoga?

• Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium, with a tendency toward parasympathetic nervous system dominance rather than the usual stress-induced sympathetic nervous system dominance.

• Pulse rate decreases

• Respiratory rate decreases

• Blood pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)

• Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases

• EEG - alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation)

• EMG activity decreases

• Cardiovascular efficiency increases

• Respiratory efficiency increases (respiratory amplitude and smoothness increase, tidal volume increases, vital capacity increases, breath-holding time increases)

• Gastrointestinal function normalizes

• Endocrine function normalizes

• Excretory functions improve

• Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase

• Posture improves

• Strength and resiliency increase

• Endurance increases

• Energy level increases

• Sleep improves

• Immunity increases

• Pain decreases

(NESTA Sports Yoga, 2018)

Integrated approach of Yoga therapy can improve hot flushes and night sweats. There is increasing evidence suggesting that even the short-term practice of Yoga can decrease both psychological and physiological risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies conclude that our age old therapy, Yoga, is fairly effective in managing menopausal symptoms.

In one study, it has been shown that ,

“…Yoga practices may provide a source of distraction from daily life and enhancement of self-esteem, helping women to focus on the simplicity of movement and forget about work responsibility and demands, and thus reduce anxiety, depression and thus reduce anxiety as well as depression.[7]

“….can improve hot flushes and night sweats. It can also improve cognitive functions such as remote memory, mental balance, attention and concentration, delayed and immediate verbal retention and recognition test.[8] A pilot study of a Hatha Yoga treatment for menopausal symptoms also showed improvement in menopausal symptoms except hot flushes.[9] Even eight weeks of an intergrated approach to yoga therapy resulted in better outcome as compared to physical activity in reducing climacteric symptoms, perceived stress and neuroticism in perimenopausal women." 

(Extracted from:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122509/)

So what are you waiting for? Your workout programing shouldn't be to complicated. If you are aiming to be a pretzel, start with the dough!

(Note: I can't pretzel in this live! I am a yinyoga practitioner as well as a sports yoga practitioner. I like to call my practice as Functional Yoga. Sometimes I use clubbell in my private fitness classes for a Captain Caveman type session!)