Each Sunday, the PTDC publishes a list of the top fitness content from around the web in four different categories: Articles, Videos, Social Media Posts, and Podcasts.


ending-mental-illness-stigma-October-18-2020

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Best Content of the Week

Depression. Stress. Frustration. Sticking to your principles. They’re all different challenges, but they share a common theme: When we experience them, we feel like we have to figure them out on our own. And if we feel that way, imagine the silent struggles your clients are going through.

This week’s best content tackles each of them in surprising and revelatory ways.

From the stigma of mental illness to the ego-crushing pursuit of a fitness goal, the non-caloric roadblocks to weight loss, and the “nice problem to have” pitfalls of internet fitness popularity, you’ll get unique and personal insights into the lives of our colleagues and clients.

— Esther Avant

Best Article

Training Through the Struggle — Chris Cooper, Personal Care for Personal Trainers

It’s hard to admit when you’re struggling. It’s even harder to tell the world about it. By sharing his battle with anxiety and depression, and offering actionable suggestions, Chris Cooper hopes to help others get support. Even if you don’t have the challenges he describes, you probably have a client or loved one who would benefit from reading this article.  

— Shane McLean

Best Video

How to Do Your First Pull-Up — Lucy Lismore

Coaching a client to their first pull-up can be a long process. Lucy Lismore says it took her eight or nine months to reach the top of the bar. In fact, she says, it might take a month or more just to get from one of these variations to the next. Ultimately, though, she also has an encouraging message for your clients: Enjoy the process now—the frustrations as well as the triumphs—because you’re only a beginner once.

— Esther Avant

Best Social Media Post

Posted by Joelle Cavagnaro on Thursday, October 15, 2020

Every client we help educate about the science behind fat loss is one fewer person who’ll get duped by “fat-burning” foods and unnecessary supplements. But that education needs to go beyond caloric deficits to address lifestyle factors that are often misunderstood and overlooked. Joelle Cavagnaro focuses on two crucial ones: sleep and stress. 

— Esther Avant

Best Podcast

What Evidence-Based Actually Means — Steve Hall with guest Layne Norton, Revive Stronger 

As Layne Norton explains, being one of the most prominent members of the “ruthlessly evidence-based community” is more complicated than it sounds. Along with practical advice about dieting, he shares stories about navigating his growing popularity without selling out or choosing the wrong hill to die on.

Two great quotes:

  • “There are very smart people who believe very, very dumb things.”
  • “Only attorneys win in lawsuits.”

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

[Article] The 10 Commandments of Health — Shane McLean, Breaking Muscle

[Article] What Everybody Gets Wrong About Artificial Sweeteners  — Adam Bornstein, Born Fitness

[Video] Six Best Dynamic Stretching Warm-Up Exercises — Cori Lefkowith, Redefining Strength 

[Podcast] On Weightlifting, Technique, and Bureaucracy — Pennie Varvarides with guest Michaela Breeze, Strong Habits 

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The Author

Esther Avant is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, sports nutritionist, pre- and postnatal coach, mom, and military wife who coaches women online. As the owner of Esther Avant Wellness Coaching and founder of the Gone For Good weight-loss program, she specializes in helping women lose weight and keep it off without another diet or gym challenge. You can find her at her website, on Instagram, and on Facebook.