Be sure to especially pay attention to last slide, where I give you the website URL for a brand new mentorship program which I’m starting for triathlon coaches: http://www.SuperhumanCoach.com

Questions or comments? Leave them below.

-How to easily do giveaways on your website

-How to log your diet for your clients and automatically turn it into a blog

-How to post a Google Calendar to Facebook

You can access February’s “Social Media For Fitness Professionals” by clicking here.

1) Evernote – I use an Evernote ”note” to keep track of my daily to-do list. Since it syncs to my Kindle and iPhone, I can access my to-do list from anywhere. I used to use a plain text document for my to-do list, but it was only accessible on my computer, so Evernote is better for this.

2) SendToReader on Kindle – Rather than reading an article on my computer, I am now more typically using the “SendToReader” function on my browser and reading that article on my Kindle when I am standing in line, sitting in an airplane, using the restroom, etc.

3) MyWi app on my iPhone – I jailbroke my iPhone and installed MyWi on it, which lets me tether my laptop to my phone and have an internet connection literally anywhere that I get cell phone access. This is a bit of a technical process, but you can find all the iPhone jailbreak instructions here.  Once your phone is jailbroken, just download MyWi and start using it!

For more of my time-saving tips, check out this video: 10 Of My Personal Favorite Time Saving & Productivity Tips.

How about you? How are you getting more done in a shorter period of time?

…Gamification Catching On…

…How To Use Facebook Sponsored Stories…

…How To Turn Your Gymgoers or Clients Into Social Media Promoters…

Read it all here.

Did that video help you?

Want more?

For one buck, you can get insider access to me, my workouts, my diets, and the way I manage my life. Click here to do it.

P.S. I just launched the Tri-Ripped Triathlon Training Affiliate program (click here for details). Launch date is January 12 and I’m giving away lots of Kindle Fires and money, so be sure to check it out to promote!

-business attorney

-financial advisor

-accountant

-investment advisor

-personal productivity coach

-etc., etc., etc.

I use the team at Freedom Fast Track. Send an email to Jeremiah at jburns@FreedomFastTrack.com and tell him I sent you. One of the better business decisions I made was to work with these folks.

Let me know if you have questions by leaving your comments below.

I want to share one of the transcriptions with you.

In this “Business Of Triathlon Coaching” seminar you’re going to learn:

• The most important trait of a triathlon coach when attempting to map out the pathway to achieving a client’s goals and the tools to be used….

• How to make your resume pop…

• The most common mistakes people make in their first year of coaching….

• In marketing a coaching business, are personal brochures effective?

• Business coaching 101…

Transcript below. 

Ben: Alright, this is Ben Greenfield.  And you’re on the Rock Star Triathlete Business of Coaching Call and whether you’re one of the coaches who are listening right now or one of the coaches who will listen in to this call later, the whole idea behind this business of triathlon coaching session is we want to help you deliver more to your athletes.  And also profit in the mean time.  And a more dynamic relationship than you just going out and getting a book on triathlon coaching or maybe going to a conference.  We want to help you week by week, month by month.  And what I’m doing in the station is address the things that pop up in your business.  Kerry and I both run very successful triathlon coaching businesses.  And we have lots of little tricks and tips that we use.  So, in tonight’s call, we’re going to address some of the questions that you’ve already asked on the webinar Q and A.  And we’re also going to address the questions that you’ve asked in the forum.  So, what do you think, Kerry?  Are you ready to rock n’ roll?

Kerry:  I am indeed.

Ben:  So, the first thing that we have is a question in the forum that talks about getting to know clients.  And I want to fire this to your direction, Kerry.  And then kind of give my own thoughts.  Basically the question goes like this, getting to know a client appears to be an important trait of a triathlon coach when attempting to map out a pathway towards achieving the client’s goals.  Can you provide examples of tools, steps, or processes that one can utilize to get to know the client?

Kerry:  Yeah, that’s a good question.  I think one of the first things to do is set-up a survey.  And just go over some basic things.  First off the main stuff, height and weight, if they’re on any medications, any allergies they have, their sporting background, to know where they’re coming from that way.  Just all the basic stuff that you want to know in terms of that, what kind of bike they’re using, do they have a heart rate monitor, do they have a power tap, are they training with garments.  These are all going to be little things that you’re going to need to know in terms of actually laying out their program to see what tools you have available, too, so you can use pacing or whatever it may be.  So, that’s one of the first things that I would do.  And then really ask them what their goals are.  And the thing is, this is all about them.  It’s really all about giving them quality and helping them get to their goals.  And it’s important to remember that all the time.  You know, sometimes you can look at a client and you can be like oh, why don’t you do this and you get excited and maybe you can do this but they don’t want it.  So, really hone in to what their goals are and figure out what the why is, what their why is for doing this.  So when things really get tough you can remind them.  It might be because they’re celebrating something or they’re turning 50 and they want to prove that they’re still amazing and can accomplish anything.  And really remind them that.  Use that as motivation through the whole thing.  So, those would be the things that I would use to really get to know the client.

Ben:  Now, when you say setting up a survey Kerry, like for the folks who doesn’t really know how to go about doing that, how would you actually set up a survey or set up a way for an athlete to answer those type of questions?

Kerry:  I just keep it nice and simple.  I just make a Google doc or you can make a Word document or whatever you want and you can just send it to them with all the questions they have or the questions you want answered.  And then just have them send it back to you.  I just do it like that.

Ben: Awesome! And a couple other tools.  If you want to survey a larger group of athletes, Survey Monkey is a free tool that you can use that lets you survey up to 100 people.  That’s a great way for getting to know your client.  Creating a survey that you can send out over and over again if you don’t want to have a program or design a survey for you.  Now, what I’ve done is I actually created a survey in a Word document.  Just all the questions, as well as the like whether  yes-no or a multiple choice or whatever but I created it in a Word document.  Just a regular Word document.  And then I went to Elance.com  and there’s a program on Elance.com where you can actually just put up a project and ask people to bid on it.  I asked them to turn that document into a form for me and send me poll instructions for actually putting that form up on my website.  So, now when my clients sign up, they go fill out that form and when they press submit on the form, it goes to my e-mail inbox.  And that’s been a really useful tool not only for getting to know the clients that I’m just beginning to coach because it goes straight in to their files or their folder.  I have all my e-mail set up according to folders in my outlook.  But it also is a good way to sell a potential client.  I’ve actually found that people tend to get a little bit more receptive for signing for coaching with you if they’ve actually gone through the process filling up a form first because it almost fills a trust relationship.  They understand when they’re filling out that form that this isn’t going to be a client in a can; these are really personalized questions that this coach is having me fill out.  And so, it kind of gives the client a little bit more incentive to go with you as a coach.  So that’s what I’ve done in the past.  Another question, in your experience with dealing with average age group athletes who are either completely new to the sport of triathlon or only a limited exposure, what are the traits or characteristics of a coach that these type of athletes are attracted to which would likely tend to influence their decision to request assistance from a coach or to become a client of that coach?  What do you think, Kerry?

Kerry: It really depends on the person in what they’re looking for in a coach.  Some people are going to click together and other people aren’t for whatever reasons.  It’s just like why you have friends or whatever and whatever they’re looking for in a coach.  So it really depends.  The thing I would say more than anything though is people will go with people that they know, like and trust.  And so if you build a relationship with them former to starting to coach them whether it’d be through videos online or actually in person doing clinics or whatever it maybe.  It’s usually going to take a few contact points for you to actually flip them over and really see what’s going on there.  So, it really depends on what the athlete is looking for.  A lot of the times they might want coaches with experience with working with Ironman or they might want a female coach or a male coach.  It really depends.  So, it’s tough to really say.  Like I’ve said, obviously people are going to go with someone that they know, like and trust the most.

Ben:  Yeah, I think that’s a great point.  And for me, a big part of it was building up that expert status that really makes an athlete realize that you know what you’re talking about rather than choose you out of the blue based on your yellow pages advertisement or your bios that you have on your website.  Then I can read about your certifications.  And who you’ve coached or what you’ve accomplished as an athlete.  But the difference between that and actually reading valuable information that you’ve provided and it kind goes to almost like a premium model.  And what I mean by that is that you give a whole bunch of stuff away for free and it comes back.  It’s almost like its good karma to you in the end because people learn to respect your opinion, to trust you, to almost follow the type of information that you provide.  And a lot of times I’ll find that someone’s been reading my articles on the internet for 11 months and then decided to sign up for me as a coach in the 12^th month.  But it’s all free information that I’m giving away.  Now, of course the nice part is that when you give away free information on the internet you can always include a link back to your website or to your bio or to your coaching services.  It’s not like when you sit down for 45 minutes or an hour to write an article on how to transition faster that you’re completely wasting that time and giving everything away for free because it comes back in the end to help you out quite a bit.  So I think that’s really important that you be the type of coach that people can really approach in that sense or to trust in that sense in terms of providing valuable information.  And the other thing that I think is really important, depending on the type of athlete you want to coach, it could be really humble and not super arrogant in your approach.  Now, I say for some people because I think that there are some athletes and I’ve worked with some athletes like this where they need you to be that person of authority that just says whatever you know is B.S, listen to what I say, do what I say, and you’re going to go where you want to go.  And then there are other athletes that need a lot softer handling than that.  Bret Sutton would be an example of a coach that’s pretty hard nose and tend to be authoritative with his athletes.  Some athletes need you to be a little bit more of like a friend to them and it really depends on the athlete.  And you can’t be everything to everyone.  So I think it returns to what your personality is as a coach.  Are you really the kind of laid-back type of personality who’s maybe going to jive better with the beginner age group athlete who doesn’t want the fist of steel running the program or are you wanting to more work with the really super busy like CEO types who want to go to Kona.  Who need you to tell them hey, do this, do this, do this.  No questions about it, get it done, here’s your schedule.  So I think it depends on what type of coach you are.

Kerry: Those are all excellent points for sure.  I forgot the fact that a lot of people come to me through articles and things like that like you’re saying.  So that’s definitely a good point.

Ben: There’s kind of a follow up question on that same post that says in your experience which traits and characteristics seem to turn off a group from seeking instructions from a coach?  I think we kind of answered that.  You’re going to turn on some people and turn off some people based on your approach.  But what do you think, Kerry?  Anything that you want to add to that part of the question?

Kerry: Just be yourself, that’s it.  And that’s why I say you really just be yourself.  And you’re naturally going to attract people that you’re going to want to work with.  And you’re going to repel the people that you probably wouldn’t want to work with.  So that’s what I’d say more than anything.  I mean, we all know people who are total a-holes that no one likes.  I can’t say that of coaches really.  I don’t know any coaches like that but just people in general life that you run into.  And so, it’s probably some of the coach.  But really, just be yourself and everything is going to fall into place.

Ben: Here’s the next question, another one from the forum.   It’s says, I’m having trouble marketing myself effectively.  I’m young.  Certified through a lesser known body, the ISFDA but my degree is not in the fitness field.  That said, I’m a sponge for new learning.  Studying to be a CISSN or an ISSNSNS and have 3 years of experience at racing sprints all the way up to Ironman.  How can I make my resume pop?

Kerry:  Well, the first thing is if you’re training for yourself or assuming this person that’s training is going to start their own business, honestly I wouldn’t really worry about your resume.  I really wouldn’t.  I would really concentrate on just giving people real good quality information in building a good relationship with them.  End of the day, I don’t think I’ve had anyone ask anything about any of my certifications or schooling or anything like that prior to coaching with me or training with me.  I really can’t think of a time when anyone’s done that.  I wouldn’t get too caught up in all the certifications and everything.  I really wouldn’t.  So again, I would just really concentrate on making yourself speak out in terms of giving really good quality content in being yourself, in giving that content whether it’d be things online or doing different camps or clinics or whatever they may be, that’s what I’d say to you on that.  Ben, what do you think?

Ben: I think that resumes are outdated to old school.  And you’re really not going to get much off the resumes so I agree with Kerry in that sense.  If you’re after formality, you may want a resume to help pave the way.  But ultimately, this is a business of relationships.  And the only thing you should really be saying on your resume is essentially what your certifications are and what your experience is that don’t count on the resume to do much at all.  For example, when I hire a coach for Pacific Elite Fitness, I give the resume a once over.  I check up the references because I’ll need those in the future.  And I really get the most, frankly, out of calling that person on the phone and talking to them.  Sometimes it’s just a 15-minute conversation but I can tell right off the bat if they’re a people person and they’re an effective communicator or not.  So really with what you said that your degree’s in Mass Communication, that’s awesome because that’s going to help you out quite a bit in terms of marketing yourself and communicating with potential employers if that’s what you’re planning on doing.  Now, as far as marketing your own business effectively, and I’ll specifically answer the part about making your resume pop, although I’d really say more about making your website pop or your bio pop, or your articles pop, or whatever.  A few things that you can do is, I would say take the knowledge that you have gained in your three years of experience racing sprint all the way up to Ironman triathlon.  Write down everything that you’ve learned.  Every little tip or trick that you’ve learned.  And think outside the box.  Don’t be a sheep and write something that somebody’s already read a million times in the triathlete’s training bible or wherever else.  Find the stuff that’s really interesting.  You tripped over a post on Xterra trail run and you’re going to write an entire article on how to sight effectively while you’re running during Xterra.  Just stuff that goes way beyond and sets you apart.  And then when you write that article and you submit it to Ezine articles or maybe you have a blog and you’re posting it on a blog.  Always have a very strong resource box that makes you readily available to an athlete that’s says for more tips and tricks, highly practical tips and tricks just like this, here’s my e-mail, here’s my website if you have one, or here’s my Training Peaks plans store URL.  And basically give people the resource so that they can click that call to action in the resource box.  But just give them fireworks in terms of the information that you provide.  It’s going to go a lot longer than you can kind of return an athlete coming across your bio and reading about what you’ve done.  But I mean there are probably a thousand pro triathletes that have bios that are way better than yours.  And frankly, you have to show that you’re able to communicate the knowledge that you’ve gained effectively in order for somebody to really think that you’re “resume” pops.  So, again, it returns to providing valuable information that blows people’s minds.  So that’s what I would recommend.

Kerry: Let’s hit up the other questions we got here.  First question we got from David in California. In beginning or establishing a coaching business, in your opinion what are some of the common or biggest mistakes people make during their first year of coaching?  That’s a really good question.  What do you think, Ben?

Ben: The biggest mistakes that people make during their first year of coaching.  Okay, I’m going to tell you the biggest mistakes that I made in my first year of coaching.  Number one was trying to have a perfect plan.  Meaning that I wanted all my ducks lined up in a row.  I wanted a perfect website.  I wanted a perfect 8-week outline of the triathlon clinic that I was going to be teaching at the local health club.  I wanted the perfect triathlon resume.  I wanted the USA swimming, and the USA cycling, and USA triathlon certification.  And I wasted a lot of time just trying to get all that done instead of just charging out in the field and starting to just teach people what I knew.  Granted, you want to cover your ass for the liability perspective.  And you want to have your waivers and your liability worked out and everything.  And I was fortunate in that.  I started off by going through a gym so people paid the gym, the gym turned around and paid me.  And I just brought people in through the door to them.  So that helped out quite a bit in terms of me not having to hire a lawyer to write all that stuff for me.  But I wasted a lot of time just sitting in front of my computer wanting to make sure that everything was just so.  And it was just one day where I thought you know what, screw this.  I’m just going to go throw this 8 ½ by 11 flyer up at the gym.  Tell people I’m teaching a class.  And I had 2 weeks of the class planned.  And I was planning out like Saturday mornings triathlon class at midnight on Friday night.  And it all worked out.  And people had a blast.  And what it comes down to is that a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.  So just get out there and make things happen.  Get in front of people.  You don’t have to be 100% prepared with a perfect plan.  Just go out and start to tell people what you know.  And if you are a good coach and you’re able to relay information to people, identify weaknesses and limitations, and help people out, then you’re going to do okay.  You can plan things as you go.  I mean do you guys listening into the call think that Kerry and I have 12-months of Rock Star Triathlete Academy contents all in a big folder somewhere?  Are you kidding me? No!  We’re going out and shooting videos.  Like on the weekends when people write us and tell us what they want to see.   And we’re looking for articles to make sure that we get that month’s quota of articles based off of what the members would like to know more about.  And we’re lining up our experts sometimes in some cases the week before the call.  And it’s just the perfect example that people love it.  They’re getting a lot out of it.  But it’s not like you have to have this 150-page business plan.  And then I guess the other big mistake that I made was trying to do too much myself.  I mean finding websites like elance.com or Odesk.com or get replacemyself.com.  All these websites so you can get people to do stuff for that you really would not want to waste your time doing.  The time you’d rather spend with your family or your kids or playing sports or whatever.  Don’t try freaking design all websites and learn html because there’s always going to be some guy in India or whatever who could do ten times faster than you for nine or ten bucks an hour.  So, I would really focus on doing very well the stuff that you already know how to do and leaving the tech stuff up to the people who are going to get it done a lot faster than you do. And so you save yourself those opportunity costs.  So those are my recommendations.

Kerry: I think those are excellent.  I think my biggest mistake was probably being ignorant about doing things online.  I just had no idea how to do anything.  And I fell into getting my hands on some good marketing, online marketing information which made all the difference in the world.  But the other thing also is I was probably afraid to give away information.  And I was thinking well my information is all I have and I don’t want to give away too much knowledge and information because when people take it and like they won’t want to be coached by me.  What I realized is exactly the opposite of that.  You give people good information; people are just going to keep coming to you.  And it’s not like people are going to be able to put all together and form their own triathlon coaching plan.  It just doesn’t work that way.  Like right now I can go out to home depot, I could buy a whole kitchen and bring it back to my house; does that mean I know how to put a kitchen together?  Absolutely not!  I wouldn’t even know where to start.  And coaching is the exact same way.  You give people a lot of information.  You can them a sink.  You can give some cabinets and things like that.  But would that mean they know how to use it and put it together?  Absolutely not!  So, just give a lot of good information.  And get on some really good stuff that you want to do things online.  I really highly possess learning from other people on how to do that. So that’s what I would say on that.  Alright, let’s go to the next question with David.  In marketing a coaching business, are personal brochures effective? Ones which may be left at an athletic club, cycling shop, etc?

Kerry: No.  That’s what I would say.  I mean pretty much I’d say no for the most parts of that unless you are giving the people in the store or the shop incentive to actually put those in a good area and market them.  And the way I do that is I actually give the people who are allowing you to put your card or your brochure in the shop, I’d give them commission for any athletes that they get for you to sign up.  Cut them some money back.  And that’s going to build a good relationship.  They’re going to love you because they can point people to the coach that they like.  And on top of that, they’re going to be able to get some money back on it.  So, that’s what I’d say to you on that.  I don’t think brochures are particularly, I don’t know.  People give me brochures and I throw them away immediately.  But I’m just being ADD and stuff like that.  Maybe some people will work for but that’s what I’d say to you on that.  I’d say really unless people are really pushing it for you and things like that, it’s probably not going to do a ton.  What do you think, Ben?

Ben: When I’m looking for advice on anything whether it’d be fixing my computer, learning how to repair my bike, trying to find a way to clean my carpet with toxin free cleaning chemicals, the last thing I do is go to the carpet shop and look at the bulletin board and take a business card off the bulletin board.  Or go to the bike shop and grab a brochure or a card over there.  Or go to my local running store and go to the little brochure-magazine calendar section and find somebody that looks really good and grab their card.  In the age of the internet that stuff is pretty out dated.  I mean considering the fact that with cell phones now, it’s to the point where you can literally for 10 cents a click, market to everybody’s cell phones in your community who has ever experienced an interest in triathlons, cycling, swimming, marathoning or running.  And have it appear on their cell phones when their surfing the internet.  Whenever somebody is searching for google maps for a gym, you can have not only your contact details show up but also even youtube videos that you’ve shot.  Obviously the online articles, you can always tag back to your website which we already talked about.  But the personal brochure’s kind of like attacking all the telephone polls in the city and all the walls in your gym.  It doesn’t really get you that much with one exception.  And the exception is that let’s say that you are a recognized face at the place where you’re posting these brochures because I still use this tactic.  People know who you are already.  You’ve got kind of this celebrity expert status and whatever.  You’re teaching triathlon clinic.  You’re teaching a camp.  You’re doing a seminar.  And you just want to get a bunch of people signed up.  If people already have a relationship with you and they already affiliate your name with the place that they’re going to, and they see your brochure there or you flyer on the wall, that when there’s that trust relationship built.  And they’re likely to actually sign up for whatever it is you are offering.  The other thing is that if you’re working at a gym and you have that approach, the people at the gym know you.  And they’re able to answer questions.  And they’re able to help out in that way.  Randomly putting flyers over shops, half the time somebody approaches the bike shop person and says they’ll think about this.  Unless you got that trust relationship built and your name affiliated with that shop, it’s likely that they don’t.  And they’re just going to say I’m not sure why don’t you just call the number on the brochure or whatever.  So, there are a lot more powerful things you can do.  And a lot better ways you can use your time than the personal brochures.  But if you have a location where you’ve already built up a trust relationship with the people who are frequenting that location, it can help you out a little bit.  So, next question is from David from California.  “Can you start from the basics, a sort of business coaching 101?  Suppose one has become certified and now wishes to begin building the business, what are the very first 3-5 steps someone should do to begin building the business?”  Prior to attempting to seek clients and obviously kind of a loaded question.  Kerry, what I was thinking was for this question that because we’re going to be doing these calls each month, we should each give out maybe three steps to start.  And then we can tackle this question again in the next call.

Kerry: Yeah.  So, you want me to give one.  And then you give one.  You want to do it like that until three?

Ben:  Yeah.  Let’s do it that way.

Kerry: Okay.  So, the first thing I would say is sit down and write out your ideal client, what you’re really going after.  Whether it’d be beginners, maybe it’s all females, maybe just Ironman, whatever it is.  Just sit down and write out exactly what you want in terms of clients that you want to attract.  Ben, number two.

Ben: Let’s see you’re certified.  I’m sorry I lost the question.  Okay, development stage prior to attempting seeking clients, so you have become certified.  Okay, good!  Prior to actually building your business and attempting to seek clients, I would say that you’re going to need some sort of client management system.  And the one that Kerry uses or the one that I use that I would recommend that you sign up for, watch all the training videos for, and learn how to utilize is Training Peaks.  That will allow you to actually be able to do something with the athletes who are coming to you.

Kerry: Yes, excellent!  And then number three would be actually going out there and producing some number and some good information to start attracting people.  So that can be through doing clinics.  That can be through doing information online, writing articles, and videos.  These are all options of things you can do.  Partnering up with a shop would be a good way to do it with clinics, and things.  And like I said before, if they generated any clients for you, cut them some money.  So it’s going to be beneficial for both of you.  Make it a mutual benefit for the both of you involved.  And usually the finance stuff is what really makes these guys tick at the end of the day.  So, that’s what I’m saying on that.  Ben?

Ben: The next thing that you should do as you’re setting all these up, is make sure that you have either incorporated yourself as an LLC or you have established yourself as a sole proprietorship.  If you’ve established yourself as a sole proprietorship, you can use your social security number and just roll with that to do your taxes.  And to identify your business, start your bank account, whatever.  I recommend that just for the liability perspective.  You keep your business separate from your personal finances.  And you actually start with your business name, you’re looking at maybe a couple of hundred dollars and a little bit of time upfront cost.  Most of the websites for your local Secretary of State will have all the forms that you need.  You fill them out.  You get your Federal tax I.D number.  And once you have that, you’ll be able to actually begin to jump through the hoops that you need to jump through such as getting a local business license, things of that nature.  So, make sure that you actually establish yourself as a recognizable business entity.

Kerry: Cool.  And then after that, I’d say start coaching then.  That’s what I think.

Ben: Cool.  And then for my third, kind of going on from what I’ve just said you’ve got your Training Peaks account set up and or you start to work on a website.  It’s not necessary but it’s nice to have Training Peaks though.  You could go off to a pretty good start.  You’ve got your certification.  You’ve got your business name.  You’re providing the information that Kerry recommended.  You’re starting to look at finding clients which we’ll talk more about in the next teleseminar.  And then the other thing that you’re going to need to do is actually open a bank account which I referred to in the other point.  But you need to go to your bank and opening a business bank account is different than opening a personal account.  You’re going to want all your LLC information first or all your sole proprietorship information first.  And then you open that account.  And from that point, you’re going to need a way to actually accept payments from the clients you’re coaching.  You don’t have that mail, you check that mail.  That gets to be a pain in the butt really quickly.  You use Paypal.  You use Google store if you want to kind of go the cheap route. Otherwise, go to a website like TrainForTopDollar.com where I have an article there that lays out how to get signed with a merchant processor, get signed up with a shopping cart.   And learn how to actually accept money from people online.  I would definitely recommend that you do that.

Kerry: That I would also say is you’re just going to be taking a lot of hassle out of it.  And people are more likely to stick with you when you do it that way, too.  You’re going to have higher client stakes.  Let’s move on to the next question then.  We got Patrick in Nashville, Tennessee.  “I didn’t get into the USA triathlon coaching class I wanted to.  Is there a USA triathlon class in September I could attend?  Should I hit that up or go to a different body such as ITCA or should I just start coaching without a certification?”

Kerry: This is what I would do in that situation.  I’d go to the USA triathlon class in September.  And I’d start coaching now.  I really would.  There are some coaches out there that are great coaches that don’t have any certification.  So, I’d go with it and just probably get a good relationship with people and prove to them why you should be their coach.  That’s what I would say.  Ben, what do you think?

Ben:  You definitely don’t have to have a USAT certification to begin coaching.  Be cautious with going through any type of certification that’s a study at home type of thing.  Just because you kind of cheapen the experience a little bit.  Patrick, the one thing that I don’t know and if you’re here you could answer this right now if you’re in the webcast, I don’t know if you’re a personal trainer or if you have a certification as a personal trainer, as a strength conditioning coach.  Any of those type of certifications; those are fine to kind of roll with.  The issue here is if anything happens to you from a liability perspective and you’re not certified, that can really come back and bite you in the ass just from a negligence perspective.  So, if you don’t have a USAT certification and no other certifications and nothing else to back you up at all, not even an education like a degree in sports science and something like that, I would really proceed with caution.  And you can just say, well I have this body and knowledge and I want to start coaching people and you know, that’s something that people do.  But for me, I would just be careful because what if somebody falls off their bike and they sue you.  And it turns out that you were just some guy kind of like practicing medicine without a license.  It’s not quite as bad as that but it could come back to bite you.  But for me, I just started when I had my personal training certification, that’s all I had.  But it was a certification.  I did have a college degree in physical education, as well.  And we got looks like our final question from Patrick.  “What is your opinion on USAT’s insurance policy that it offers its coaches?”  Kerry, do you have that policy?

Kerry: Yes, I do.  It’s basic.  It covers some stuff.  I also have coverage through an NSCA for my CSCS certification which covers me that much more.  So I kind of get done with coverage there.  It’s pretty solid.  I don’t really get too much into that stuff.  It’s probably a weak point of mine for sure.  I think Ben should probably draw into this a little bit deeper than me.  It’s just something I don’t really worry about to be honest with you. I just make sure I get people to really know that they could trust me and it’s not just something I really focus on.  And that might not be the best thing but it is the truth.  So that’s what I have to say on that.

Ben:  Patrick, I don’t personally have the USAT insurance policy.  I go through the NSCA.  And what they lined me up with is you can choose $1 million or $2 million personal professional liability insurance.  And then for an extra, $50 to $75, you can name any of the places where you’re doing physical work on to a general liability.  So basically, if you carry personal professional liability insurance as a coach, you’re going to be covered anywhere on the planet.  Anywhere that you coach an athlete.  But if you’re working out of a gym or out of a facility or out of a freaking grocery store, most of those businesses will require that you name them on a general liability policy that you carry.  And that basically covers their ass.  So if somebody gets hurt working out with you at their facility, then your insurance will help cover that general liability that you can tack on to your personal professional liability.  So that being said, I pay right around $450 a year or my personal professional liability and then I tack a couple of facilities that I work at, that I do consulting at, teach seminars at, do some physiology testing at.  I name them unto general liability insurance and that’s the way I roll.  I guarantee that for triathlon coaching, the USAT does know what they’re doing and their insurance policy especially if you’re a USA resident, they’re going to cover you just fine.  But make sure that you look into the general liability component of that, too.  And don’t be afraid to shop around.  There are websites that offer professional liability insurance to people in fitness.  And a lot of times you can get a really good deal.  One of the places that I’ve gone to that has a great deal Hagen Benefits.  They can typically broker some pretty dang good deals especially if you need the combination of the professional along with the general liability.  And I see that you’ve actually told us a couple more things on here, Patrick, about the insurance that’s a selling point for the USAT’s coaching classes.  It doesn’t cover client and doesn’t have much breadth.  I actually haven’t read the legal small text, fine points of the USAT insurance.  It’s like if you’re a good coach anyways, you’re going to cover your butt quite a bit from that perspective.  But I really don’t think that the USAT is going to be nickel and dime in people based on the insurance and trying to get mad profit from.  And I’m sure they’re making a little bit there.  And that’s why if you go to an independent organization outside the USAT, you may be able to shop around and find something a little bit better.  And then when you say you’re wellness coach at the YMCA, your degree is on exercise science.  You’re certified through the ISFTA.  So there you go.  You got a certification.  So what I would do is get onto the schedule for USAT coaching certification.  But just start coaching.  I mean you got that ISFTA, that’s something.  And again, it returns to one of the things we talked about in the very beginning of this call, a good plan now is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.  So, just jump in.  Get your feet wet.  And work on that certification as you go.  Since I’ve started coaching, I’ve gotten a bike fit cert.  And I’ve gotten PSDS cert.  And nutrition cert and just basically pick things up as they went.  I didn’t do all that and then start coaching.  I did it as I was coaching.  So Kerry, do you have any final thoughts?

Kerry: No.  That’s basically it.  You just get out there and start coaching and start kicking ass more than anything.  Don’t be cautious.  No matter what, you’re going to make mistakes and you know what, just learn from them and move on.  And that’s it.   That’s all you got to do.  Just keep taking action whatever it is.  Patrick also should note there’s a lot of whining at slowtwitch that insurance is a selling point for USAT’s triathlon coaching process but doesn’t cover the client and doesn’t have much breadth.  That’s why ask just the consumers perspective.  That’s what people slowtwitch do, they complain.  That’s what I have to say on that.  If you’re that concerned about it just get some other insurance to cover your ass on top of that.  So that’s what I have.

Ben: And the last thing I’d say and we’ll probably close after this is first of all, all these calls will be available for download in the exclusive forum for triathlon coaches.  But then the other thing is speaking of forums, the one redeeming quality of slowtwitch is there are some good discussions on their forums.  And there are discussions that can give you a lot of visibility and good link backs to your website.  So if you put your website in your signature if you’re a triathlon coach, if you’re contributing good, valuable information.  I’ve had a lot of questions.  Slowtwitch I think is in my top 20 sources of traffic actually to PacificFit.net just because I frequently engage in discussion over there.  So you have that at least.

Kerry: We can wrap it up.  Like I said, Ben and I definitely share similarities but we also have some differences.  He likes the forums while I stay away from them.  Just because there’s a lot of shit talking going on there.  Things that I don’t want to be anywhere near it.  We both built our businesses very differently or not so differently.  We have some similarities.  But go with what feels good with you in the end of the day.  So that’s it.  I think we can close in on that.

Ben: Alright, we’ll wrap it up there.  And remember if you have questions this month, leave them in the academy in the forum.  And again, one of the things that we really want to begin offering to you guys who are triathlon coaches in the Rock Star Triathlete Academy the ability to do, after you’ve been into a few calls, we’ve taught you a lot of things.  We want to start to hook you up with an article out there and participating in the academy.  And possibly join us as an academy coach.  And helping out a little bit, really getting you in front a lot of athletes.  There are a lot of athletes in the Rock Star Triathlete Academy.  And we would love for you as coaches to be able to provide them with valuable information and good health of your up for that.  So, we’ll be developing that as we go.  And just leave us questions if you have more questions about that in the forum.  And have a great Sunday night.

If you’re not yet a member of the Rock Star Triathlete Academy “Business Of Triathlon Coaching” section, this it’s simple to join: 1)click here to join the Rock Star Triathlete Academy; 2) once you’re in, upgrade to a coach option.

#1: Power Hour. Every morning, I do 1) devotions; 2) a morning stretch routine; 3) review my day on ImOnTime; 4) snuggle with the kids. This is far superior to leaping out of bed and making phone calls or checking e-mail.

#2: ImOnTime. I load my entire month, week and individual days into this app on my computer, and it pops up reminders when I need them. There are other similar solutions, like Remember The Milk and Outlook reminders, but this is the one I use.

#3: Stickies. I use the Stickies Post-It app that came free with my Macbook, and have a separate post-it for each of my clients, tasks, books, websites, etc. Any random note goes onto the Post-It associated with that task.

#4: Whiteboard. I have a giant whiteboard in my office, on which I plan out my day, plan out individual tasks, scheme and brainstorm. Far superior to a piece of paper or napkin!

#5: Voice Memo App. Any time I have an idea or brainstorm, I open the free Voice Memo app on my iPhone and record it, then e-mail it to myself. Once it’s out of my head and recorded on the app, I have one less thing to think about.

#6: Bcc e-mails. Whenever I respond to an important e-mail, like to a client or customer, I blind carbon copy myself so that I can refer or follow-up to that e-mail later.

#7: Hootsuite. I use the social networking app Hootsuite to monitor my multiple Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, to schedule tweets and Facebook posts, track conversations and save myself a ton of social networking time.

#8: Google Reader. I follow about 20 blogs, and never visit any of them. Instead, I use Google Reader to feed in each blog that I follow and get automatically alerted when there is a new post.

#9: The Library. Most of the books I read, I get from the library. Because I know I need to return the book, usually within 14 days, I am forced to read fast and retain content. As a result, I typically read 4-6 books per month.

#10: Nutrition. I stay far away from processed foods, sugars, artificial sweeteners and any food that will interfere with my neural processing. I also take probiotics, digestive enzymes, vitamin D, fish oil, CoQ10, magnesium, amino acids and a green supplement as part of my daily protocol. This massively supports both my physical and mental productivity.

Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this article? Just leave them below. Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

#2: Use a 36 point font size for the header, a Tahoma style font in a dark red color, and preferably put a drop shadow.

This is a drop cap font.

Check out this month’s episode at: http://www.ptonthenet.com/blog/the-inner-unit/social-media-tips-for-fitness-professionals-september-2011-355

In a new USA Triathlon webinar that I taught, you’ll learn how to structure your business, set-up pricing and fees, collect payment from clients, advertise, design your web presence, and much more!

Just go here, and look for the talk entitled: “How To Start A Successful Triathlon Coaching Business“

These are really worth a read, so click here for PTOnTheNet’s Social Media Tips For Fitness Professionals, August edition.

Enjoy!

But things change.

Based on ongoing research, recommendations on everything from carbohydrates, to proteins, to fats, to hydration, to electrolytes and supplements will constantly change.

So how do you stay on top of things, so that you can deliver to your clients the most cutting edge knowledge possible?

Here are some of my top resources for continuing education in all things nutrition:

-Stone Hearth Newsletters – At this website, you can subscribe to a series of newsletters on specific topics about nutrition and science. They’re free, and delivered straight to your inbox.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - Publication with nutrition topics, health news, FDA regulations, and legislative events.

Nutrition.org - Publication from the American Academy of Nutritional Sciences. Includes past and current issues online with subscription information.

Danone Institute For Health – At this site, you can find a comprehensive list of nutrition journals and the latest in diet research publications.

Twitter – Yes, that’s right. Follow the most respected folks you can find in nutrition and diet research, because they’ll often include links to studies in their tweets.

This list is just enough to get your creative juices flowing. Just comment below if you have questions about any of this, or your own resources to add.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

I first met Chris at a fitness expo in California, and he is an interesting character.

This is what Chris looks like:

Anyways, Chris has some very good insight into why blogging is the most powerful thing you can do for your fitness business. Here is what he has to say:

Dear Friend,

Blogging alone has made me a fortune… That’s a fact.

Listen…

• Do you want money coming in on autopilot while you’re off doing whatever you want… whenever you want?
• Do you want to be seen as a top expert, trusted advisor and leading authority in the fitness industry?
• Would you like to build a tribe of lifelong hyper-loyal clients and customers who will buy just about anything you tell them to the buy?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the above… then you’re gonna wanna listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you…

HOWEVER, I wanna warn you… there’s a pretty damn good chance what I’m about to tell you is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what the other “experts” have been telling you… and I’ll probably even make a large portion of our industry mad at me … so be it… it wouldn’t be the first time.

The sad fact is that the average fitness professional 
only makes 29k a year…

It’s true… most fitness trainers barely make enough to cover the bills… and very rarely do they have any money saved…

Most are just kinda “gettin’ by”…

If this sounds like you, I want you to know it’s not your fault… my ENTIRE business used to suck outloud… until I had the rare chance to become friends with one of the top marketers in the world, who I’ll call “The General”… and ever since then everything changed… and FAST.

I learned what the top money-making marketers, who also have the most freedom, do… that 99.9% of the rest of the worlds marketers and entrepreneurs don’t.

Just like most people who take pride in what they do…

FAR too many fitness professionals are only focused on being great at getting people into shape… but they’re HORRIBLE at marketing themselves…

Like it or not… when it comes to making money, getting people into shape is FAR LESS important than marketing.

There’s a joke that me and a few of my friends have… and it’s that the trainers with the most certifications ALMOST ALWAYS make the least money.

You know the ones… they have seven different certifications and can name every bone, muscle and organ in the human body … yet they’re always broke!

That’s simply because they’re so focused on being good at what they do, that they COMPLETELY neglect becoming good at the MARKETING of what they do.

If they’d just take some of that time and money they spend on all those certifications and invest it into their marketing education… they could EASILY make five to ten times what they’re making right now.

In fact, certifications will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to get you more clients or make you more money…

Proven marketing systems and strategies are what it REALLY takes.

But I want to warn you… MARKETING HAS CHANGED

Because of all the hype and scams out there… people are naturally distrustful and highly suspicious of anyone trying to sell them on just about anything… ESPECIALLY on the Internet.

There IS one way to thrive however in this world of
skeptics and suspicion… and it’s Blogging

A blog actually allows you to ethically sneak in under their radar, and become a trusted and well-liked friend… a friend who they’ll look to for ALL their fitness needs.

With a blog, you develop win/win relationships with your customers… you start by helping them get what they REALLY want in life, THEN THEY give you some money, you then help them get MORE of what they really want in life, and then they give you MORE money.

You keep helping them get what they want.

They keep giving you money.

It’s a win/win relationship.

And not only that, but…

Blogging Allows You To Create Clients and Customers For Life

With a blog you’re able to connect with your audience in a way that just isn’t possible using any other form of mass communication.

Your audience will like and trust you… allowing you to convert many of them into lifelong clients and customers.

This is just one of the ways that blogging can make your life easy.

Automation, working where you want and when you want, doing work once and getting paid for it over and over, being seen as one of the top fitness experts in the world…

I Can’t Think Of One Tool That Can Add As Much Freedom To
Your Life as Having Your Very Own High Authority Blog

Here’s what I mean…

Years ago I used to work six days a week as a trainer, and while I actually made pretty decent money, I had no freedom…  if I wanted to make more money, I had to work more hours… but the thing is… I DIDN’T WANT TO WORK MORE HOURS…

I was already working six days a week… and it seemed to make more money I’d have to work so much I’d end up neglecting my friends, my family, my hobbies, would have zero free time and would eventually burn out and be miserable.

Fast forward to just a few years down the road… because of my blog ( that serves a tiny little niche mind you) I’m able to pull-in just under seven-figures a year working only part-time hours. (And this year I’m actually on pace to do seven figures… it’s crazy)

My typical day looks like this…

Click here to keep reading, and to learn exactly what Chris’s typical day looks like…

But if these barriers are removed, you will vastly improve your ability to gain maximum benefits from a good nutrition plan.

As you explain the importance of stress and sleep to your clients, here is what to tell them:

The body has several neurotransmitters that are actively involved in control of appetite and mental motivation. Dopamine, one neurotransmitter, is your body’s pleasure molecule, acting to significantly affect desire for activity, eating satisfaction and food cravings. Inadequate dopamine increases the chances that you will have a decreased drive to exercise and be less effective at regulating your nutritional intake.

Serotonin, another neurotransmitter, plays a significant role in the regulation of sleep, mood, and appetite. If serotonin levels are too low, one result is carbohydrate and sugar cravings, since these nutrients actually increase productin of serotonin. Another result is sleep loss, since low serotonin results in low melatonin levels, and melatonin is necessary for deep sleep.

Low levels of another neuorotransmitter, GABA, can result in mood swings, sleep loss, anxiety, and lack of self-control. So what causes low levels of these key neurotransmitters? Stress, and lack of sleep. This makes for a vicious cycle.

Insensitivity to dopamine and serotonin simply makes grabbing a handful of M&M’s or a Snickers bar that much easier.

In addition, cortisol is a steroid hormone that is secreted in response to repetitive negative stress. Although there are many harmful results from elevated cortisol levels, some of the more common effects include high blood pressure, decreased blood sugar regulation, a suppressed immune system, depression, anxiety, and excess fat around the mid-section.

Not only can this subtract significant years from your life, but the high levels of the stress molecules released in conjunction with cortisol, called catecholamines, can decrease testosterone levels and sex drive. If you are the type of person who has difficulty with breathing throughout the day, has constant hectic deadlines or work projects, feel “spread too thin”, and do not have time to relax until the wee evening hours, then you may have high cortisol levels. In addition, lack of sleep can directly lower testosterone levels, which as an anabolic hormone basically does the good opposite of everything bad that cortisol does!

Finally, when it comes to appetite control, leptin is responsible for appetite satiety, while ghrelin is response for appetite cravings. Can you guess which goes up and which goes down when you’re stressed out or low on sleep?

That’s right, ghrelin goes up, while leptin sensitivity decreases.

So, in an nutshell, inadequate sleep affects insulin sensitivity, appetite control hormones (increased leptin, decreased ghrelin), weight loss hormones (decreased testosterone, increased cortisol) and appetite neurotransmitters (decreased GABA, serotonin, dopamine).

What can your clients do?

Here are my recommendations:

• Increase sleep

o Goal is 6-8 hours

o Stop eating 2 hours prior to bedtime, especially from carbohydrates

o Keep room dark as possible

o No TV before bed

o No computer use in bed

o Keep pen and pad next to bed

o Avoid afternoon caffeine intake

o Keep bedroom temp close to 70 degrees or less

o Take hot bath or shower before bed

o Keep alarm quiet or use natural light source to awake

o Try to go to sleep before 11pm

o Take melatonin and magnesium

• Decrease stress

o 4, 7, 8 breathing (breathe in 4 count, hold for 7 count, breathe out for 8 count)

o Progressive Muscular Relaxation (contract-relax style stretching)

o Exercise

o Word association/imagery (associating words like “Blue” with relaxation, then reciting that word when stressed).

o Yoga/stretching

o Music (no loud rock music, focus instead on classical, acoustic, jazz, etc.)

o Control (remind yourself what you can/can’t control)

So remember – the best nutrition plan on the planet is useless if you’re stressed out or low on sleep. Tell you clients to take care of their body, and they’ll feel and perform much better.

Just comment below if you have questions about any of this.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

Half a billion people use it, for crying out loud.

So are your products on Facebook?

And can people buy those products using Facebook credits?

I asked myself the same question last month, and decided to do something about it. Turns out, it can be done…

So to see how I turned an E-book into a Facebook app, and how you can do it too, go check out the Shape21 App on Facebook. Leave your questions below.

Wrong.

Here are 5 powerful reasons that you explain to your clients about why they need to take a multi-vitamin, no matter how healthy their lifestyle may be.

1. Nutrient depletion in the soil. Modern farming techniques utilize fertilizers that actually deplete the soil of essential nutrients. Agriculture relies on the elements in the soil for absorption of proper amounts of minerals, and when this process is interrupted, the plant does not contain essential minerals and cannot form essential vitamins. And if the plant doesn’t have it then you’re not going to get it from eating the plant!

2.Your ability to absorb nutrients from food actually decreases as you age. So while growing children should absolutely be taking a multivitamin to support healthy tissue and bone formation, supplementation becomes equally important for the older population. Sure, you could just eat more food, but this introduces a problem with caloric balance. Beware that many medications also interfere with proper nutrient absorption.

3. Commercial harvesting, shipping processes, long term food storage, processing, and addition of preservatives degrades the nutrient content of food. Therefore, unless you’re eating a very fresh plant, it is a far different species at consumption than it was when initially harvested. In addition, compounds added to the food during many of these processes, such as MSG, saccharine, nutrasweet, splenda, colorings, and flavors will increase your body’s need for nutrients to deal with these damaging synthetic derivatives.

4. Pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals found in the modern food supply are combined with chemicals in water, environmental contamination from elements such as degraded plastic, air pollution from carbon monoxide, lead and mercury. These synergestic elements vastly increase our need for extra vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to combat formation of free radicals and the attack upon our metabolism and immune system.

5. Exercise increases nutrient needs. Are you an athlete or frequent exerciser? The vast amount of extra oxygen and energy used by active individuals will necessitate nutrient consumption that far exceeds the typical RDA of the average population. Consuming just the stated RDA can actually limit your athletic performance.

So now that you have five reasons for your clients to take supplements, what are some supplements that I recommend you encourage your clients to take?

• Probiotic or active live culture supplementation with probiotics for digestive health. If probiotic capsules aren’t an option, then organic, natural yogurt or kefir can assist with getting natural dietary probtotic sources.
• Vitamin E supplementation can help with omega-3 absorption and is crucial as an antioxidant for very active individuals. Lipoic acid is also a good natural antioxidant if you exercise frequently.
• Cod liver oil and omega-3 fat capsules can assist with proper hormonal production and cellular health. Flax seed oil or fish oil are two options.
• Chromium supplementation can help with sugar cravings. Vanadium, biotin, and magnesium are also helpful for glucose control and insulin sensitivity.
• If your clients are completely avoiding dairy, consider recommending a calcium supplement, preferably with magnesium, an important co-factor to help calcium work properly. Chelated calcium is the most bioavailable source, and topical magnesium is a good way to get magnesium. Vitamin D and Boron also important for bone density, calcium sparing effect (Vitamin D, incidentally, is one of my most highly recommended supplements for all individuals).
• Athletes and growing children usually benefit from a multivitamin, but most major brands have high levels of unnecessary fillers and preservatives.

Smell your vitamins! Don’t take them if they smell bad. Also limit use of “sport” supplements, like protein powders, meal replacement powders, and any other processed, packaged, or canned health food. When choosing energy bars, which I do consider as a form of “supplementation”, look for:

Please be careful not to “prescribe” any of the supplements described in this article (you can’t legally do that unless you’re a registered dietitian or physician).

But as long as you’re not doing so to manage a disease or medical condition, you can make supplement recommendations and give advice – and now you’re equipped with the knowledge to do so!

For more information and resources, and a 1 hour audio where I give specific recommendations on supplement brand choices, please visit http://www.pacificfit.net/supplements.php, where I’ve handpicked some of the best supplements that I’ve found during my experience as a sports nutritionist.

Just comment below if you have questions about any of this.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

Nine time out of ten, I’ll perform a nutritional analysis on an individual who tells me they’re “eating their fiber”, and this consists of a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, a small salad with lunch, and some roasted veggies with dinner. With all the benefits that fiber gives, there’s no excuse not be eating more of it. Unfortunately, it’s a rare person that has time to actually count how many grams of fiber they’re getting, so general recommendations make a lot more sense.

Not that your clients have to stock their refrigerator with wood chips, dump a gallon-size ziplock bag of flax seed on their morning cereal, or stroll around chewing on a crumpled wad of paper, but proper fiber intake *is* important – and offers free health benefits that shouldn’t be ignored. If they can decrease how much they spend on health care, increase the benefit of their exercise routine, and feel more energy and less stress, then they should take that extra step to hunt down some fiber!

In case you want some pointers on how your clients can get more fiber, at the end of this article, I’ll explain how I get mine – but first, you’ll need to explain the benefits to your personal training clients. Here is what you can tell them: the 5 rock solid reasons to eat fiber.

1) Your Heart – increased fiber intake means decreased cardiovascular problems. A Harvard study found that for every 10 grams of fiber eaten daily, heart attack risk drops by 14 percent, and the chance of dying from other cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes, decreases by 27 percent. To give you an idea of what 10 grams of fiber actually is, think 1 apple and 1 banana. While it is recommended that we consume over 20 grams of fiber per day, the typical Western diet usually offers about 15 grams. In comparison, countries with a lower rate of heart disease actually can average over 100 grams of fiber per day (not recommended unless you really enjoy your bathroom)!

2) Your Blood Pressure – Hypertension is a big problem, especially with the amount of stress most individuals experience in a hectic daily routine. Soluble fiber, which is the type of fiber that partially dissolves in water and forms a gel in your digestive tract, slows the rate of digestion and absorption. Since food is digested more slowly, the pancreatic release of insulin occurs more slowly. If you read my article on the health risks of sugar, you learned that sugar results in an enormous and quick release of insulin, which can increase blood sugar! In slowing this process, fiber assists in controlling blood pressure. More specifically, fiber lowers the systolic blood pressure, which is the pressure exerted as your heart beats. Since high blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, adequate consumption of fiber can help your heart live longer and healthier!

3) Your Waistline – Soluble fiber also binds to “bile acids” and removes them from the small intestine. Since bile acids aid in fat digestion, this means that your body is less likely to absorb and use fat, and more likely to simply pass it through. Since bile acids also transport cholesterol, reduced bile acids in the small intestine results in lower cholesterol! Since soluble fiber also regulates blood sugar levels and controls insulin levels, it assists in maintaining a high metabolism and a greater utilization of fatty acids as a fuel. Insoluble fiber, which does not dissovle in water (i.e. roughage), increases the bulk in your gut. As a result, digested food sits for a shorter period of time in the intestine, and less starches and sugars are absorbed into the body. You also feel fuller faster! But while increased fiber intake can greatly assist in weight control, be warned that too much fiber intake will result in inadequate nutrient absorption – which can decrease energy levels and lower the metabolism. So hold back on munching down that giant bag of spinach, and space your fiber out evenly throughout the day.

4) Your Colon – Let’s face it: many of the foods that we consume contain carcinogens and toxins, whether from processing chemicals, pesticides, or cooking. These potential cancer causing agents, especially when consumed in high concentrations, can remain in contact with the colon wall for long periods of time. A high fiber diet will not only reduce colonic pressure by reducing constipation, but will also produce a large and bulky stool that passes through the bowel more quickly. That means less exposure to toxins, lower risk of pressure related health problems like diverticulitis, and decreased risk of colon cancer.

5) Your Diabetes Risk – I’ve already explained how a high-fiber diet reduces that absorption of glucose into the blood, thus slowing the insulin response and stabilizing the blood sugar levels. This reduces stress on the pancreas, and lowers the risk of developing insulin resistance, which is one of the chronic problems that can arise with “roller-coaster” blood sugar levels. This decreases your chance of developing diabetes, which can occur when the body becomes resistant to insulin due to constantly fluctuating levels. As a bonus, whole grains (a big source of fiber) contain magnesium, which can also control the body’s glucose and insulin response.

So how should your clients ensure that they’re taking advantage of these health benefits by consuming sufficient fiber?

Here’s my personal strategy:

1) a bowl of oatmeal or quinoa in the morning, consumed with sliced fruit, like apples, bananas or strawberries;

2) a fresh piece of fruit and/or handful of nuts as a mid-morning snack;

3) a large salad for lunch or in the afternoon, usually with 3-4 different types of vegetables or fruits, like carrots, alfalfa sprouts, diced cucumbers, tomatoes or pears; and

4) one handful of whole, raw almonds in the afternoon as a snack;

5) one large serving of vegetables with dinner, such as sauteed asparagus, a handful of mini carrots, or a bowl of steamed broccoli.

Once every two to three days, I’ll literally eat an entire bag of spinach while watching TV, or mow down a head of cabbage while I’m reading a magazine. I once witness a vegan Ironman triathlete eat eight salads the night before a race. This may seem like a lot, especially for a sensitive GI tract, but once the body gets used to the increased fiber, which takes about a week, the gas and bloating goes away.

Use concrete examples like this, and it will open your clients’ eyes about how much fiber they really need.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

This is a link to a webinar I taught for USA Triathlon, entitled “The Triathlon Lifestyle: How To Train For Triathlon & Still Have Time For Friends, Family & Career.” This will be an invaluable set of resources for you as both a coach with busy life, and for getting better results from your athletes. You can get the webinar, with slides and audio, by clicking here.

Enjoy, and leave your comments or questions below!

When you consider the fact that over 75% of active athletes are deficient in magnesium, – an electrolyte that is crucial for muscular contraction, the pacemaker activity of the heart, and muscle repair and recovery – it becomes pretty easy to understand why so many individuals just aren’t able to perform to their desired capabilities during fitness sessions, and why they just don’t recover properly afterwards.

So what is the best way to explain electrolytes to your clients?

In order to educate you on electrolytes, I have actually prepared a special slideshow, entitled “6 Things Water Can’t Give You”.

You can access this slideshow, along with the crucial notes that accompany it, at the following URL:

http://www.slideshare.net/bengreenfield/6-things-water-cant-give-you

If you’re lucky enough to have a projector in your personal training studio or fitness facility, you can even show this slideshow to your client during part of a session! Enjoy.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

Consider the following facts:

• Your speed on a bike decreases about 2% for each 1% of body weight lost through dehydration

• By the time you feel thirsty, you can already be at 2% body weight loss

• A 3% weight loss indicates dehydration has occurred

• Loss of fluid during exercise varies, but averages about 34 ounces per hour (3x that much in hot and humid conditions!)

• Hyponatremia, which is just as dangerous as dehydration, is a term used to describe “water intoxication” and can occur with excess water intake

• Acclimatized individuals who are used to training in hot climates or hot rooms can reduce fluid loss by up to 50%

Based on these facts, it would pretty important to make sure your personal training clients know all about proper water intake.

After you’ve introduced the facts above, teach your clients the proper formulas and rules for determining regular daily hydration and exercise hydration:

• Divide your weight in half to determine the ounces of water you should drink per day. So a 160 pound cyclist would consume about 80 ounces of water, or 10 8 ounce servings.

• During exercise, the goal should be to consume about17-25 ounces per hour, or around 4-8 ounces every 15-20 minutes. A typical large water bottle is 20-25 ounces.

• Before a long exercise session, such as a multi-hour spin class or trip to the gym, the goal should be to consume 17-25 ounces per hour for 2-3 hours leading up to event (always taper off consumption about 20 minutes before to eliminate “stomach sloshing”.

• Unless in very hot and humid conditions, over 28 ounces per hour can cause water dilution in the blood, which disrupts normal cellular metabolism and physiology, often with dangerous consequences, such as swelling around the brain. High-end intake above these values should only occur during exercise in hot and humid conditions.

There are a few other good quick tips to share with your class, that they’re sure to appreciate:

• To avoid taking in too much water, you can combine hydration with doses of external water to control heat stress, such as squirting some cold water over your head.

• For people who tend to sweat and cramp excessively, glycerol supplementation can help maximize water storage.

• Cold water is absorbed more rapidly than warm water

• Pay attention to urine color – pale to light yellow is optimal

• You can lose up to a pound in glycogen, fat and muscle tissue during a 3+ hour training session, so account for this when re-hydrating, or when weighing yourself after exercise to see how much you’ve lost

• Remember…you still evaporate water in cooler training environments!

No discussion of water would be complete without emphasizing that liquid compounds that are full of fructose, glucose or artificial colorings and sweeteners are not to be considered normal hydration methods, and should only be consumed when completely necessary, such as during a multi-hour training session during which calories are necessary.

You should also emphasize to your clients the importance of choosing clean, filtered water, and avoiding heavy consumption of water from plastic bottled sources, especially in the heat.

In Part 5 of this series, we’ll cover the other crucial aspect of hydration: electrolyte intake.

Do you like this series so far? Ben Greenfield is the author of the book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”, and in the book, he teaches more concepts just like this.

This means that you feel free to put your own spin on the information if you want to add more for your class. For example, if you’re into more plant-based protein sources, tell your clients about hemp can and flax seeds, quinoa, nuts and rice protein. If you are more a paleo-type, introduce them to healthy beef jerky, lamb, or cold-water fish. You can also include discussions about omega-3 eggs, greek yogurt, whey protein and other dairy based sources.

Speaking of omega-3’s, this article is going to cover the essentials of fat!

As you know, fat has gotten a bad rap for most of this century, being blamed for everything from cardiovascular risk to obesity to chronic disease. In reality, fat is enormously important for health and performance, and contributes to hormone production, joint lubrication, cell membrane formation, and much more. The culprit for our calorically derived health issues is a lack of self-control and eating too much – not the presence of fat consumption, which has actually decreased as our diet related woes have increased (for more on this, see this article: http://pacificfit.net/newsletters/newsletter16.html )

The trick is to choose the fats that are actually healthy and can be readily utilized by the body as an energy source during exercise. Here are the fats too look for:

1) monounsaturated fats or “MUFA’s”, which can be found in an enormous range of foods, including (just name a few of these for your clients so you don’t “feed them through the firehose”):

Wheat Germ Sunflower Seeds Italian Salad Dressing (Olive Oil + Balsamic) Oils: Poppyseed, Safflower, Grapeseed Sesame Seeds Almonds Walnut Filberts/Hazelnuts Salmon Sardine & Herring Oil Fortified Cereals Rice & Wheat Bran Macadamia Nuts Olives Cashews Natural Peanut Butter Poppyseeds Pumpkin Seeds Buckwheat Flour Lima Beans Brazil Nuts Wild Rice Pine Nuts Banana Chips Pecans Anchovies Flax Seed Oil Spirulina Seaweed Soybeans Prunes Pea Pods Leeks Shellfish Garbanzo Beans Chickpeas Avocado Guacamole

2) Medium Chain Triglycerides, or MCT’s, which are found in abundance in coconut foods, such as coconut milk and coconut oil; and 3) healthy saturated fats (in moderation), such as omega-3 eggs, unsalted butter and organic beef, bison or buffalo.

In addition to including the 3 sources above to form about 25-30% of your dietary intake, it is important to increase your ratio of healthy omega 3’s to omega 6’s by supplementing with a fish oil or flax seed oil capsule.

Prior to training sessions and workouts, fats, like proteins, should be tapered and reduced, and instead should be used within the main meals of the day, rather than being relied on as workout fuel. The only exception to this rule are medium chain triglycerides, which can be tolerated without gastrointestinal distress by some individuals, who can rely on them for long term sources of energy during multi-hour workouts.

To avoid weight gain, formation of free radicals, and other debilitating chronic issues, you should avoid the wrong types of fats, which are typically processed, preserved, chemically modified, or exposed to high pressures and temperatures during production. These fats include the following:

Trans Fats
Shortening
French fries
Cookies
Pastries, muffins, scones, biscotti
Soup mixes
Potato chips
Doughnuts
Frozen foods
Packaged crackers and snacks
Most fast food
Peanut butter (non-stir)
Cream cheese
Margarine

Polyunsaturated Fats
Corn based oils
Sunflower oil
Sesame oil
Soybean oil
Safflower oil
Canola oil

This is not to say that every now and again you grab a bag of soybean oil soaked vegetable chips from the health food store, or get a bowl of vegetable stir-fry sautéed in sesame oil, but these should be exceptions to the rule, and if these type of foods are staples in your diet, you’re doing yourself a health and performance disservice.

Finally, here’s a practical take-away tip: a typical day of healthy fat eating might include a tablespoon of almond butter and a couple fish oil capsules with breakfast, extra-virgin olive oil and avocadoes on a lunch salad, a handful of cashews in the afternoon, and a small filet of salmon with dinner. See how easy it is to eat fat and still eat healthy?

In part 4, we’ll be discussing water and hydration. Until then, have a healthy week and enjoy teaching your personal training clients more about nutrition!

You’d be surprised at the number of people in your class who have only a very basic understand of protein, and often simply think that it is derived from meat and should be eaten with dinner.

Begin your discussion of protein with an explanation to your client of what proteins actually are: vital components of every organ and action within the human body, without which we would simply cease to function. In the absence of proper nutritional building blocks for protein, the human body will cannibalize it’s own lean muscle mass and organs, and experience a weakened immune system, poor performance, and inadequate recovery and fitness response. Proteins are comprised of amino acids – many of which the body cannot make on it’s own unless complete proteins are present in the diet.

But it’s a myth that your client needs to get your complete protein from meat. While healthy cold-water fish, free range chicken, lean beef, bison and buffalo, and even pork area all complete amino acid sources, it’s often not practical to eat these immediately after a workout, especially during the magical “20 minute post-exercise window” during which protein consumption is vital.

Instead, think using about protein sources such as whey, rice, hemp or soy protein powder, all of which can be mixed in fruit, coconut water, regular water, almond milk, rice milk or soy milk and consumed as a post exercise treat. Real whole grain foods such as quinoa, amaranth and millet are very easy to prepare and offer an impressive protein profile. Combined proteins, specifically from grains like whole wheat bread with nuts from something like almond butter, can also offer protein in the absence of meat.

When consumed closer than 2 hours prior to exercise, proteins will draw water and blood into the stomach, and can potentially inhibit intense exercise performance or cause gastric distress. Due to increased time of gastric emptying and digestion, any complete proteins should instead be eaten at least 2 hours prior or immediately after a workout. Proteins really only need to be consumed during a workout if an exercise session is lasting more than 2 hours, after which the body may begin to rely on protein increasingly as a  fuel source.

Finally, although the RDA  is 0.8 grams of protein per pound, very active individuals, people attempting fat loss or lean muscle gain, or athletes may need as much as 1.5-3.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight (there are 4 calories in one gram of protein, and 2.2 pounds in 1 kg)

Now your client has an idea of what types of proteins they can eat, when they should eat those proteins, and how much protein to consume!