Meet Tara De Leon, a former collegiate strength and conditioning coach who now works as a personal trainer in Edgewater, MD. De Leon shares insight with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, and episode co-host, NSCA Personal Training Program Manager, Blake Brightwell, on alternate routes for strength and conditioning coaches through personal training, group fitness, and private sector coaching. This episode discusses the “coaching identity” as it exists and impacts coaches’ beliefs across various stages of professional development. With the growth of the strength and conditioning field, De Leon challenges us to expand our thinking and perceptions around personal training, while holding true to our values and expertise as coaches. Regardless of your current role in the profession, learn more about how the NSCA can help you grow your career. You can connect with Tara on Instagram: @tara_de_leon_fitness or tara@edgewaterfit.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Beyond the programming, exercise technique, and human physiology, it is also important to create a customized system for sales success. Re-framing the purpose of the sales presentation in the proper light and creating a customized system that will allow a fitness professional to sell their services with integrity can allow them to help more clients.

A problem facing personal trainers is the lack of awareness needed to work with clients who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This article aims to bring awareness of the symptoms of ADHD to personal trainers, discuss how they potentially affect training of various clients, and present programing considerations for training clients with ADHD.

This article walks personal trainers through how to present a program for the common goals and what to do if the process does not produce a sale.

This article demonstrates the benefits and limitations of the front squat and goblet squat in training for the abdominals.

Should personal trainers include the crunch exercise in an exercise program? The answer should always be, “it depends;” however, arriving at the best answer requires a process.

This article will explain the interference effect and provide a rationale for why low-intensity steady-state (LISS) cardiovascular training may be a useful tool for those interested in improving their body composition.

This article explains different ways personal trainers can successfully retain their clients through coaching, accountability, attentiveness, knowledge, and service.

This Personal Training Quarterly article shares ways that personal trainers can help clients develop a growth mindset for success in their physical fitness. Visit NSCA online to read more on health science and fitness news.

Due to the principle of specificity, training should be tailored to the goal of the lifter in terms of the prioritization of strength, hypertrophy, health, and functional outcomes. If the goal is muscular hypertrophy, it may be beneficial to vary the repetition range, and to utilize a variety of loads and loading strategies in the pursuit of maximizing hypertrophy.