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.


simplify-online-personal-training-sales-October-11-2020

Want to put great fitness content on our radar? Post on Facebook and include #PTDCBestSubmission. 

Best Content of the Week

This week’s roundup has something for everybody:

  • A counterintuitive look at binge eating
  • A step-by-step guide to simplifying your online sales process
  • A close reading of the multiple fitness myths expressed in a single comment on a social media post
  • A conversation with two successful fitness entrepreneurs about resilience in a time of unprecedented challenges

— Esther Avant

Best Article

How Binge Eating Is Actually Your Inner Advocate — Stefanie Bonastia, jessikneeland.com

Binge eating is simultaneously the “least glamorous,” “least talked about,” and most common form of disordered eating, says Stefanie Bonastia, who argues that it’s also misunderstood. She sees it as “a radical, albeit misguided,” act of rebellion against a system that demands restriction. Whether you agree or disagree, it’s a provocative thesis. 

— Shane McLean

Best Video

Sales Process for Online Personal Trainers — Sukh Sidhu, Online Fitness Business

How many sales do you lose because of a clunky process, one that places too many steps between connecting with your prospects online and signing them up as clients? It frustrates both parties, who want to work with each other but too often lose momentum and drift apart. In this 14-minute video, Sukh Sidhu shows you a simpler, more streamlined process, which you can put in place today.

— Esther Avant

Best Social Media Post

View this post on Instagram

We have a lot of work to do, my friends. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This is one of the comments I received on one of my recent posts. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ How does misinformation spread? Through ill-informed “advice” like this. One individual, who confuses correlation for causation, tells three of her friends, who again confuse correlation for causation, and they each tell three of their friends, and so on and so forth. We end up with a never-ending uphill battle of busting myths left and right. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Asking people in the military for fitness advice (because why? they exercise?) is like asking any random person for sound nutrition advice because… they… eat food. 👀 ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Here are the facts: ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💥It’s entirely possible to gain body fat while performing cardio – or any form of exercise, in fact. All it takes is consuming more energy than you burn off. ⁣⁣ 💥No single form of exercise is solely responsible for shedding body fat. You need an energy deficit for this to happen. You could technically see plenty of fat loss progress without any formal exercise (not that I’m recommending this per se; I’m simply driving home a point) if you eat less than you expend. ⁣⁣ 💥The “toned” look is best achieved by lifting weights with an emphasis on progressive overload and dialing in your nutrition. ⁣⁣ 💥“Just ask so and so” is really great for when you need to ask your mom what time dinner is being served, for example, or when you need to ask Google to pull up a video of pandas being silly. 🐼 Not so much for when you’re trying to support your (incorrect) argument that lifting makes people bulky. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Once again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be bulky. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to shed body fat. As I always say, how you ultimately want to look is up to you. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Swipe for a mere handful of scientific references, plus one of my memes that addresses this misconception. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This is the kind of fear-mongering that scares women from lifting – and I won’t tolerate it. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Don’t be afraid to lift weights, and don’t let anyone scare you away from getting strong as hell 💪👊⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #eatliftthrive #mythbusting

A post shared by Sohee Lee, MS, CSCS*D, CISSN (@soheefit) on

Posted by Sohee Lee on Thursday, October 8, 2020

Fitness professionals are often too busy arguing with each other to notice that our clients and followers still believe long-debunked fitness myths. Sohee Lee highlights several of them in a single comment from a reader: 1) Running makes you lean; 2) Lifting makes you bulky; 3) People who look a certain way are experts on how to achieve that look. As long as that misinformation is still out there, it’s on us to correct it when we see it. 

— Christina Abbey

GO DEEPER: 10 Myths Your New Clients Probably Believe

Best Podcast

Closing Down One Gym, Marketing, and Business Partnerships — Stuart Aitken with guests Mark Fisher and Michael Keeler, Lift the Bar

Michael Keeler and Mark Fisher, cofounders of Mark Fisher Fitness and Business for Unicorns, recently had to close one of their two gyms. They talk about the emotional toll of making that decision, how to build brand awareness and leverage social media for lead generation, and the keys to their longtime business partnership.

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

[Article] How “Influence” Actually Works — Shane Snow, Forbes 

[Social Media] Do You Trust Yourself? — Shanté Cofield, The Movement Maestro

[Video] How to Change the Personal Trainer Scarcity Money Mindset — Chris and Eric Martinez

[Podcast] Comprehensive Coaching and Behavior Change — James Cerbie with guest Gabrielle Fundaro, Rebel Performance

Tired of training clients at 5 a.m.?

We all have to pay our dues. For many fitness pros, that means training clients or teaching classes or opening your gym long before the sun comes up.

But if you’ve been paying those dues for years on end, maybe it’s time for a change. Time to try something different. Time to consider another way to make a living while still doing what you love.

That’s why we created the Online Trainer Academy.

Since 2016, we’ve helped thousands of personal trainers, nutrition coaches, and gym owners—serious, passionate fitness professionals like you—launch online training businesses.

They all have one thing in common: What they were doing before wasn’t working for them.

They needed a change, and their Online Trainer Academy Level 1 Certification gave them the knowledge and skills to make it happen.

Already training clients online? If you make more than $1,000 a month from online coaching, and looking for a more scalable business model, you may be a better fit for the Online Trainer Academy Level 2.

Or maybe you want help getting your own fitness back on track? If so, we can help. Click here to learn more about Online Trainer Coaching—the world’s first online training program specifically designed for fitness and nutrition professionals.

​

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.