Four Hot Topics Every Personal Trainer Should Know About in 2023

If you aspire to become a more capable personal trainer, expand your services to help different kinds of people or discover new ways to create a career you can be proud of, IDEA® Personal Trainer Institute is the place to be. Since 2009, forward-thinking fit pros have headed to Alexandria, Virginia, because they know their ability to get ahead requires in-person, hands-on education and peer-to-peer networking.

“I often say that this wastheevent that gave me the confidence, the clarity and the momentum I needed when I was first getting started as a fit pro,” saysDane Robinson, Atlanta, Georgia-based fitness coach for the Daily Burn. “I didn’t know anything other than I enjoyed fitness and wanted to turn this into a full-fledged career. I needed direction. I needed the opportunity to connect with those that have been there and those still figuring it out. I needed to be around other energetic fitness professionals that lived, breathed and ate this stuff. As I look at where my career and life in this industry is—Dane the group fitness coach, the on-demand TV fitness coach, the presenter and educator—

I needed IDEA Personal Trainer Institute to catapult me forward in ways I only understand now.”

Featuring more than 75 cutting-edge sessions led by 30 industry leaders, IDEA Personal Trainer Institute, held in Alexandria, March 9-12, will set you up for success in 2023 and beyond.

Here are some of the exciting topics you can expect to learn about.

Keep Cardio and Muscle-Building Programs Separate. Or Should You?

Referred to as “the interference effect,” combining cardiovascular activity and hypertrophy programming has been hotly contested in gyms; it’s widely believed that your time on a treadmill strips your ability to build muscle. However, it appears that the interference effect might be a myth, according toZachary Mang, PhD, postdoctoral research associate for the wellness program at the Los Alamos National Lab.

“An abundance of recent randomized-controlled trials, meta-analyses and review articles have indicated that the interference effect is not quite as profound as we once believed,” he says.

In his session, “The Interference Effect: Does Cardio Blunt Your Gains?”, Mang will share this recent research and why, in many cases, it’s a good idea to build concurrent training programs—aka plans that include both cardiovascular and hypertrophy training.

He says, “Attendees can expect to learn that, although there are exceptions, resistance and cardio exercise are very compatible, and there are many simple, practical ways to maximize adaptations to concurrent training programs.”

Learn the Simple Science on When—and how Much—to Eat

There is endless advice about food intake—specifically, frequency and timing. Should you eat two meals per day or five? Is fasting ever a good idea? Does all this change on workout days?

米歇尔·阿伦卡尔博士, associate professor in kinesiology at California State University, Long Beach and co-founder and Chief Science Officer for inHealth Lifestyle Therapeutics, Inc., has the answers to these burning questions.

“营养时间历来保留for pre-, during, and post -exercise, but other important questions like eating frequency, protein patterns and nighttime feeding has forced an expansion of what’s traditionally considered to be nutrient timing,” she explains.

She’ll talk about the latest nutrient timing research and clear up the misinformation about it during her session, “Eating Frequency and Timing: From Fasting to Feasting.” Alencar will also provide strategies that you can share with clients while staying within scope of practice.

“As fit pros, it’s important to understand the literature and evidence to support our clients using what the research tells us and how—andifcl -可以应用ient.”

It’s Time to Discuss Your Female Clients’ Cycles

Personal trainers that want to help female clients succeed need to understand them entirely—and that means talking about menstruation, insistsSarah Zahab, kinesiologist and co-founder of Continuum Fitness & Movement Performance in Ottawa, Ontario.

She explains, “Males operate on a 24-hour hormonal cycle. Females have a 28-ish day hormonal cycle. Our physiology varies day to day. Understanding the hormonal fluctuations in females and the resulting physiological changes can help trainers and coaches identify when to take advantage of higher reps, PRs, endurance and more.”

Zahab’s “Cycle-Sync Your Female Client Training Programs” session will help you understand the impact a woman’s cycle has on performance and why it’s an important factor when developing training programs. She’ll also offer strategies to become more comfortable discussing the topic with clients.

“Why are we so hesitant and/or uncomfortable discussing such an important topic?” She asks. “My inspiration in creating this session is to remove the taboo surrounding female cycles and help trainers and coaches be cycle-savvy in their programming to maximize output, efficiency and physiological outcomes.”

Make Retention a Top Goal in 2023

Do you struggle to build a roster of loyal, happy clients? Do you spend more time hustling to bring in new prospects than you do creating training plans? Then, you’ll want to make time for Robinson’s session, “Attention to Retention: Top Strategies to Keep Your Clientele.”

He says, “‘A penny saved is a penny earned.’ This also applies to the clients we serve. Building your community is one thing;keepingyour community is the major key that provides stability, consistency and success to your career as a fit pro.”

Robinson will take the guesswork out of how to keep clients engaged and coming back for more.

“The best part of this session is you will get myexactRetention Roadmap. I’ve used this 12-month plan to great success in regional health club management, online with our community on Daily Burn and with my private clients. The Retention Roadmap is a done-for-you playbook that you can make your own to keep the backdoor closed and clients more focused and more loyal than ever!”

Take Core Training to the Next Level

Core training continues to be one of the most popular modalities in fitness. But is there anything new to learn about it?Jonathan Mike, PhD, Professor of exercise science and sports performance at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, thinks so. He’ll share his insights and core training ideas during his session, “Unconventional Core Training That Everyone Should Be Doing.”

“我是由于激发了创建这个报告e I want to provide trainers and coaches with more of a three-dimensional approach to core training,” Mike says. “I want to offer options that use different equipment in various planes of motion incorporating single-arm, single-leg and alternating movements.”

The result, he says, is unique and exciting programming that offers innovative core training experiences and challenges clients will love.

This just scrapes the surface of the exciting content you will explore at IDEA Personal Trainer Institute. To learn more about this premier event and to register, visitwww.fosternp.com/ptrainer.