How to Build an Efficient and Scalable Online Training Business

 

Jon Goodman uncovers the new business trends in client expectations from fitness professionals - Online Personal Training, coupled with in-person training. He then provides tips on selling this new service along with best practices on how to keep clients engaged with the latest apps available for online training.

About the course:

This course includes an online video from ACSM’s Health & Fitness Summit and a corresponding online quiz. All course content will be presented to you electronically upon completion of your purchase. This includes all videos, quizzes, and certificates (certificates awarded upon successful completion of the quizzes).

Available ACSM CECs 3.0

Learning Objectives for How to Build an Efficient and Scalable Online Training Business:

• Identify who online training is right for (and who it isn’t right for).
• Define the benefits of online training to the client, the trainer, and the gym owner.
• Calculate the right kind of packages based on time invested.
• Become empowered to get started today with the 3 big ideas needed to get going.

Purchase and earn CECs

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Recommended CEC Courses

FMS - Move Well then Move Often

 Heart Rate Monitoring Assessment

I first became interested in studying the physical activity and health benefits of dog ownership when I was a postdoc. My dissertation research focused on the brain and cognitive benefits of exercise, so it was quite a shift (that’s right, grad students— I used to scan people’s brains, and now I do dog walking research!). I was working on a paper on social relationships and mortality risk, and I was contemplating how to create real, meaningful social connections for people that are lonely or isolated. While pondering this question I stumbled across a paper on dogs as social facilitators and I never looked back!  Thankfully, I’ve had supportive mentors (Drs. Sara Wilcox and Rena Wing, two of the best!!!).

But, let’s be honest, I obviously had personal inspiration to study this topic—no cat person is typing ‘social facilitation + dog’ into PubMed (although I swear I like cats, too!).  Back when I was a grad student in South Carolina, I was lonely and I found a little dog on Craigslist that needed a foster home. Classic white mutt with black patches and floppy ears. Chloe motivated me to walk every morning and every evening, got me talk to neighbors, kept me company and made me laugh. Every. Single. Day. Of course, I ‘foster-failed’ and she has been my best bud ever since (she will be 15 this year!). Thanks in large part to my experience adopting Chloe, the Behavioral Medicine Lab at UMass Amherst is dedicated to rigorously investigating the physical activity and health benefits of the human-dog bond.

 

I think this area of research is timely for two reasons (please note that dog culture varies tremendously around the world and that my focus is in the United States). First, a ton of people in the U.S. own dogs, which means potential for high-reach interventions. Second, we are in the midst of a massive social movement to increase shelter pet adoptions (have you seen Ariana Grande on the cover of Vogue with her rescue dog, Toulouse!?).  By involving more animal lovers in shelter dog walking or fostering programs, we might be able to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. And it would help get dogs adopted. Big win-win!

Since starting at UMass, I’ve led two pilot intervention studies in this area: one with dog owners and one with non-dog owners. For the BuddyStudy, we partnered with a large foster-based dog rescue organization to pair non-dog owners with foster dogs for 6 weeks. We examined how taking a dog into one’s home affects physical activity and psychosocial well-being (paper in progress!). The Stealth Pet Obedience Training (SPOT) trial tested basic obedience training as a stealth physical activity intervention for inactive dog owners (paper under review!). This summer we are piloting a dog walking obedience course with older adult dog owners (Project Rover). We are examining changes in walking and sedentary behavior with activPALs and looking at changes in physical function, cognitive function and psychosocial well-being. You see the word ‘pilot’ a lot in this paragraph—keep your fingers crossed that this groundwork translates to grant funding for full-scale projects!

Please follow our lab on Twitter (@DrKatiePotter) and Instagram (@umassbmedlab) to see all the latest happenings, including how things go with Project Rover! If you are a prospective graduate student, please reach out, as we are always looking for motivated team players to join our group. If you are a researcher who might want to collaborate on a human-dog bond project, we’d love to hear from you, too!

Thanks for reading! 

Read Dr. Potter’s recent paper, published in Current Sports Medicine Reports: Dogs as Support and Motivation for Physical Activity.

 

Key Points:

1. Your client will inevitably experience injuries outside of the training environment. As a health and fitness practitioner you will want to proactively develop an approach to helping clients through this challenging time, while staying within your scope of practice.

2. If possible, strive to maintain their training routine frequency or consistency. Behavior change is very difficult so try to maintain established behavior patterns when possible.

3. By adjusting and substituting exercises with specific movement patterns and modifications in mind, practitioners can assist clients to maintain or even continue to make health and fitness gains through injuries.

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Within our fitness centers, sports complexes, and strength and conditioning programs there are bound to be countless members coming through the doors each day with a broad range of injuries and other physical limitations. Despite these physical challenges, most members are likely able to perform some form of training program. Although it is extremely important for health and fitness practitioners to stay within their scope of practice, strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers alike can play an integral part in helping clients establish and maintain healthy routines.

 

One of the clients at our 8,000 member medical fitness center recently broke her foot stepping off the edge of a sidewalk at her workplace. This resulted in her being placed in a fixed ankle boot and utilizing one of those half-kneeling steerable scooters we’ve seen people zooming around on. When her injury occurred she was in the middle of an 8-week training cycle in our small group strength training program. Among other challenges, this left her with two choices:

1. Continue her training program with modifications and limitations as lined out by her physical and occupational therapists or
2. Take a complete break from exercise while her ankle healed. After that she could do her best to slowly ease her way back into physical activity and reintroduce the behavioral choice of going to the gym three times per week.

 

For her, her occupational therapist, and our strength and conditioning coaches the choice was clear. However, it’s not as clear as it could be in many injury situations. In my experience as a personal trainer, wellness coach, and strength and conditioning coach, I’ve seen countless people experience injuries and consequently discontinue their entire physical activity routine when they were cleared for some form of activity. Many of these people (assuming they’re cleared by a physical therapist or other health care provider for some form of activity) could have benefited from performing a modified training program.

 

As health and fitness practitioners, we can support our clients through injuries by providing modified and safe training programs that focus on strengthening other areas while physical therapists and other providers focus on treatment of injuries.  It is a beautiful thing when the health and fitness practitioner and physical or occupational therapist work together to help clients maintain some form of their current stage of change, even if it is at a decreased level. Maintaining the behavioral pattern and support system (i.e., relatedness) can be a powerful influence on sustaining behavior.

It is a beautiful thing when the health and fitness practitioner and physical or occupational therapist work together to help clients maintain some form of their current stage of change, even if it is at a decreased level.

Transtheoretical model of behavior change.

Reprinted with permission from Pekmezi, Dori; Barbera, Brooke; Marcus, Bess H. USING THE TRANSTHEORETICAL MODEL TO PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal 14(4):8-13, July-August 2010. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/pages/default.aspx

 

There is a strong chance that clients will have an easier time trying to maintain their stage of change than regressing back stages and then trying to return to stages like action and maintenance.

 

How to modify programs for clients with physical limitations

Well-designed strength and conditioning programs lend themselves to modifications and adjustments. Modifications may be based on many factors including but not limited to: programming structure (i.e., muscular power or strength-based exercise), movement patterns involved, weight bearing or not (body position), joint angles utilized, muscular imbalances, etc. You might consider asking yourself the following questions when trying to assist clients in need of modifications:

• Based on the client’s program structure, what type of exercise needs to be modified/replaced?
• What type of movement pattern is limited?
• What type of exercises can they do without experiencing pain?
• As in the ankle example, can these exercises be done in a non-weight bearing way?
• What joint angles are limited or need to be adjusted?

 

When health and fitness professionals start asking these types of questions, we discover there may still be a great number of exercises the client can continue to do. This may allow them to maintain their stage of change related to physical activity and may be a better option than stopping exercise completely (depending on the type of injury, the diagnosis and the prescription from an appropriate healthcare provider).

Author:

Kyle Kercher currently leads a program called Competitive Edge at The Summit Medical Fitness Center in Kalispell, Montana which consists of adult barbell training, a youth training academy, athletic training services and general fitness. He is an ACSM-EP, ACSM-CPT, and Wellcoaches HWC. Kyle graduated from California University of Pennsylvania with his Masters in Exercise Science with a focus in Sport Psychology.

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More from Kyle

5 Things You Need to Know | Starting a Strength Program in your Facility

The second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans was published by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2018 along with the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report. In addition, the American College of Sports Medicine has published a series of manuscript focused on the guidelines and accompanying scientific report in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise in June 2019. These guidelines highlight the importance of physical activity across numerous health-related parameters.

One area that was included in the guidelines report is the influence of physical activity on weight gain prevention and prevention of obesity. This is an extremely important consideration given the high prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in the United States. Thus, efforts to minimize or prevent weight gain are of public health importance to curtail the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. 

It is clear from the scientific evidence that physical activity is an important lifestyle behavior that will prevent weight gain and contribute to the prevention of obesity in adults. This benefit is found for both men and women and appears to be mostly observed in young and middle-aged adults, as this benefit is less consistent with increasing age. However, as highlighted in other aspects of the report and guidelines, there are health benefits of physical activity across the entire age span regardless of the impact on weight gain prevention or body weight status.

An important consideration is that physical activity appears to be most effective for prevention of weight gain and obesity if performed at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity, with less evidence to support that lighter intensity activity will result in this benefit. This suggests that activities that cause a noticeable increase in heart rate and breathing rate, such as brisk walking, are the preferred types of activity to prevent weight gain. Moreover, it appears that the benefit to preventing weight gain and obesity is more likely to occur when the activity accumulates to at least 150 minutes per week.  This does not suggest, however, that less intense or lower amounts of activity are not beneficial. The guidelines highlight the numerous health benefits with the various intensities or amounts of physical activity.

Currently there is also a public health emphasis on decreasing sedentary behavior to improve health.  The guidelines report examined the available studies and concluded that there is only limited evidence supporting that the amount of sedentary behavior may be greater in individuals at a higher body weight or level of adiposity. This suggests that focusing solely on reducing sedentary behavior may not be sufficient to reduce weight gain and prevent obesity. Rather, it may be important that any reduction in sedentary behavior results in an increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that accumulates to at least 150 minutes per week to minimize weight gain in adults. 

Despite the findings to support the importance of physical activity to reduce weight gain and prevent overweight and obesity, there are additional areas of research that are needed. These include examining the amount of light intensity physical activity that may be required to result in this health benefit, and examining whether the type of activity (e.g., aerobic activity, resistance training, etc.) might be an important factor to consider. It will also be important to study whether the amount or intensity of physical activity to prevent weight gain is influenced by other behaviors such as dietary intake.

Learn more about the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition

John M. Jakicic, PhD, FACSM, FTOS, is a Distinguished Professor and Chair in the Department of Health and Physical Activity, and is the Director of the Healthy Lifestyle Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Jakicic Chairs the Strategic Health Initiative for the American College of Sports Medicine and received the Citation Award in 2019.

The WheatFoods Council and ACSM recently hosted an industry-presented webinar with Corrie Whisner, PhD entitled Wheat, Microbiome and Health.

Watch the full webinar here

Several questions were asked by attendees during the webinar and the answers pertaining to Exercise, Diets, and more are below.

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Exercise and the Microbiome:

 

How does exercise affect the gut microbiome? Is the exercise weightlifting or cardio training?

Exercise appears to have an impact on the gut microbiome. Interestingly, the effects of physical activity and exercise seem to be different from those elicited by dietary intake. This means that both diet and exercise are important, and perhaps engaging in only one is not going to get you the health benefits that you want. So far, only self-reported physical activity and aerobic (biking and running) exercise have been evaluated for associations with the gut microbiome. Some studies show lower microbial diversity while others show increased diversity as a result of exercise. We don’t know what this means just yet, but it definitely looks like our microbial passengers also enjoy a little bit of active time each day. Stay on the lookout for more in this exciting area!

 

Diet: Keto, Vegan and the Microbiome

How does a Keto diet affect bacteria populations and if the effect is negative, is it negative enough to avoid the keto diet altogether?

Keto diets are very high in fat and low in carbohydrates. As a result, they are also often low in dietary fiber, which we know is important for building a healthy gut microbiome. For some individuals, especially those with autism spectrum disorders, ketogenic diets are proving beneficial but careful oversight from a physician and dietitian is needed when carbohydrate levels are very low. Carbs are important for fueling many of the cells in the human body. In fact, glucose is the preferred energy sources of many tissues, meaning that to process and metabolize fat takes more up-front energy and puts extra stress on the body.

When weight loss is attributed to following a keto diet, it is may be the loss of water weight and not real fat losses. While this is often shared on social media and blogs, be wary. Trust your microbes to help in your weight loss endeavors by letting them ferment healthy fiber and polyphenol-rich foods that reduce inflammation throughout the body.

 

What is your opinion on the pros and cons of a vegan diet?

Vegan diets are one of the few dietary approaches that have never been followed by a large group of people in a society out of necessity.  Nearly all traditional societies have been omnivores, eating both plant and animal foods. Since vegan diets are highly restrictive and require additional nutrient supplementation in order to meet basic requirements, it is hard to consider this eating pattern as a “healthy” approach to eating for most people.  With very careful planning and attention to protein intake, as well as vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, and calcium, a vegan diet can work.  And, certainly it can be very high in fibers that benefit the microbiome, as can a vegetarian or traditional diet that focuses on getting proteins from plant and animal sources. 

What are your thoughts regarding fasting and modified fasts that proponents argue help to balance out the bacteria in the microbiome if the person's issues stem from SIBO?

Fasting and modified fasts affect all of digestion and metabolism.  Since SIBO is a condition of bacterial overgrowth, fasting might “starve” the bacteria in the small bowel but it also starves ALL of the bacteria in the gut.  Typically, SIBO is treated with a course of antibiotics followed by a diet that repopulates the gut.  It should also be understood that SIBO can arise from a number of conditions that are not dietary:  there are anatomical and other health conditions that can lead to SIBO.  This is definitely something that should be thoroughly checked by a gastroenterologist familiar with this condition.

 

Is it good for me to eat only veggies as I am vegetarian?

A healthy diet requires foods from all the food groups:  fruits and vegetables, grains and starches, proteins from a variety of sources, calcium sources and healthier fats and oils.

 

How does a diet such as the Whole 30 or Paleo affect the microbiome?

Any diet that increases fruits, vegetables and fibers from grains and legumes can benefit the microbiome.  To my knowledge, Whole30 allows any “whole” food but Paleo excludes grains and beans.  Both diets exclude dairy which means yogurt and kefir (probiotics) are excluded as well.  Any dietary plan followed for a short while will not have lasting impacts on the microbiome, but eating patterns that exclude dietary fibers and probiotics are not as healthy for the microbiome as other patterns.

Most “Blue zone” regions have mostly plant based diets and little to no dairy. How would you compare their microbiome to the Western diet specifically with dairy consumption?

Blue Zones, where people are reported to live longer and healthier lives, offer a unique glimpse into longevity.  The other longevity factors that have to be considered are the communal support offered in these areas, the shared meals, and the active lifestyle based on natural movement not gyms.  We know that certain gut bacteria respond well to fermented dairy (yogurt and kefir). We also know that a more plant-based diet seems to be a healthier overall approach. Bone health depends on an adequate intake of calcium, vitamin D and perhaps the right luminal acidity from plant fibers.  

Read this journal article for more on Blue Zones (offsite)

 

Effects of Birth, Geography on the Microbiome:

 

Are you likely to have more or less microbes if you were delivered by cesarean section?

Babies delivered by C-section seem to have a lower gut microbial diversity, compared to infants delivered vaginally. The members of the gut microbial community also differ with mode of delivery. C-section deliveries tend to result in a gut microbiome in the infant that looks more like the skin community while vaginal deliveries result in greater Bifidobacteria and Bacteroides species. Further, c-section deliveries have been associated with a delayed colonization of Bacteroidetes in infants. How long these differences persist is still under debate but has been reported to last anywhere from 1 to 2 years of age.

Stinson LF, Payne MS, Keelan JA. A Critical Review of the Bacterial Baptism Hypothesis and the Impact of Cesarean Delivery on the Infant Microbiome. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018;5:135. Published 2018 May 4. doi:10.3389/fmed.2018.00135

 

You mentioned that there is a difference in one's microbiome between someone who was born vaginally vs by c-section. What are the differences? Is one better?

C-section deliveries are life-saving medical procedures that are sometimes needed to protect mothers and infants from dangerous delivery outcomes. Being delivered by c-section has been associated with increased risk for childhood asthma, skin infections, allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases, and type I diabetes mellitus. As a result of these links, vaginal deliveries are better than elected (non-medical need) c-section deliveries. Vaginal deliveries are believed to seed the infant’s gut (sometimes called a bacterial baptism) with vaginal fluid containing beneficial microbes. Specific differences in the abundance of microbial groups include greater Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium and Propionibacterium in babies delivered by c-section and greater Lactobacillus, Prevotella and Sneathia in infants delivered vaginally.

Stinson LF, Payne MS, Keelan JA. A Critical Review of the Bacterial Baptism Hypothesis and the Impact of Cesarean Delivery on the Infant Microbiome. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018;5:135. Published 2018 May 4. doi:10.3389/fmed.2018.00135

Matamoros S, Gras-Leguen Christele, Le Vacon F, Potel G, de La Cochetiere M-F. Development of intestinal microbiota infants and its impact on health. Trends in Microbiology. 2013;21(4):167-173. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2012.12.001

 

On the influences of microbes, how exactly is geography responsible?

Geography may influence the microbiome in various ways. For example, individuals who live in rural areas tend to have more diverse gut microbiome communities than those living in urban settings. A recent paper by He et al. in Nature Medicine suggests that geography has important influences on the composition of our gut microbiome, which may provide context for how microbes correlate with disease. This could be useful for identifying more accurate and personalized treatments for individuals with similar conditions living in different locations.

He Y, Wu W, Zheng H-M, Li P, McDonald D, Sheng H-F, et al. Regional variation limits applications of healthy gut microbiome reference ranges and disease models. Nature Medicine. 2018;24:1532-1535.

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Watch the full webinar here See Part I - Industry-Presented Webinar FAQ on Pre/Probiotics