[The Best] The Mindset that Helps You Thrive in a Pandemic, and More

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Best Content of the Week

Best Article

Amor Fati: How Loving Your Fate Helps You Grow — Michael McCastle, Breaking Muscle

Gym owners and trainers across the U.S. have been hit hard by COVID-19. Some have lost everything, while others have thrived. Michael McCastle explains this difference through the concept of amor fati:

“The size and scope of the challenges you face may change from day to day, but the mindset that you utilize when you face these challenges should remain the same,” he says.

That equilibrium allows you to avoid panic and find solutions to problems, even when you encounter an existential threat like a pandemic. 

— Shane McLean

Best Video

Tracking Calories but Not Losing Weight? — Ben Carpenter

Having clients keep food journals can provide us, and them, with useful data. But it can also lead to frustration when a client insists they’re eating [insert unreasonably small number of calories] and not losing weight.

Our challenge is to provide support and encouragement without pretending we don’t see the elephant in the room: They’re eating more than they’re documenting.

Ben Carpenter’s short video concisely summarizes the research, giving you a tool to help your clients see the problem without you having to state the obvious.

— Esther Avant

Best Social Media Post

Having knowledge or skills at the start of a personal training career isn’t as important as we think. Those things can be taught. But no one can teach a new trainer how to have an engaging personality. That’s something a trainer has to develop on their own, if it doesn’t come naturally. 

— Christina Abbey

Best Podcast

How to Train Clients with Autism — Jason Leenaarts with guest Eric Chessen

Eric Chessen doesn’t just specialize in training clients on the autism spectrum. He developed two certifications to help trainers work with this emerging client population. 

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

[Podcast] The Psychology of Weight Loss in a Post-Lockdown World — Simon Mitchell with guests Gabrielle Fundaro and Shannon Beer

[Video] How Do You Know if You’re Eating too Little? — Jordan Syatt





[Article] Is Mindfulness a Legitimate Tool for Fat Loss? — Jeb Stuart Johnston, Food on the Mind

[Article] Returning to the Squat After Recovering From Tendinopathy — Dani LaMartina, Elite FTS

Tired of training clients at 5 a.m.?

We all have to pay our dues. For many fitness pros, that means training clients or teaching classes or opening your gym long before the sun comes up.

But if you’ve been paying those dues for years on end, maybe it’s time for a change. Time to try something different. Time to consider another way to make a living while still doing what you love.

That’s why we created the Online Trainer Academy.

Since 2016, we’ve helped thousands of personal trainers, nutrition coaches, and gym owners—serious, passionate fitness professionals like you—launch online training businesses.

Some now do all their coaching online. Others do a combination of in-person and online training. Still others work part-time with online clients to supplement their income from another business.

They all have one thing in common: What they were doing before wasn’t working for them.

They needed a change, and their Online Trainer Academy Level 1 Certification gave them the knowledge and skills to make it happen.

If you love coaching but hate doing it on someone else’s schedule, maybe it’s time to try online training.

Consider this your wake-up call.