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Early in my career as a personal trainer, I was confused as to why my client base was growing at a glacial speed. After all, I had spent years preparing, applying principles, learning program design and getting certified so that I could have a career that would change people’s lives for the better.

I wanted to be busy. I was prepared to sign as many clients as possible. To accomplish my goal, I attended every social and networking event I could. At these events, I was proud to tell people I was a personal trainer.

A sprained ankle has far-reaching effects that personal trainers need to understand to help clients heal and regain mobility. A sprain tears one of the ligaments that stabilize the ankle. It’s one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries (Doherty et al. 2014), causing pain and other problems that can restrain mobility for up to 2 years (Anandacoomarasamy┬á& Barnsley 2005). As the body compensates to protect the injured ankle, musculoskeletal imbalances can arise that pile on more pain and dysfunction throughout the body (Price & Bratcher 2010).

This fall, the top priority of club owners and operators is to prepare their facilities and staff for the January rush. As they re-evaluate their offerings, instructors and overall business, they ask themselves: Are we ready to give new members the best experience possible and keep them coming back, even after the initial motivation wears off?

Use the habit loop to establish new daily habits that will help to achieve a desired outcome. Follow a six-step approach to creating new, goal-oriented habits with your clients.

Step 1: Establish Goals and Milestones

Unlocking your winning mindset isn’t about training harder or logging more hours. It’s about opening up your mind in such a way that you welcome new opportunities to learn. It’s about finding the things that give you joy and productivity; it’s about finding a work–life balance that makes you more successful both inside and outside the office.

Here are four ways you can use to start unlocking your own winning mindset:

Get inspired. There’s a reason why successful entrepreneurs and athletes are quick to identify their mentors and role models.

Help your students improve lower-body strength by taking them through unique variations of the lunge, squat and deadlift. Round out the routine with basic choreography to rev up heart rates and burn extra calories. Play with tempo, range of motion, power moves and compound exercises to challenge your students.

Obstacle Course Race training is one of the fastest-growing fitness trends in the world, and now is a great time to add some OCR-style training and events to your facility. To find out three ways to use OCR and grow your #fitfam and increase your presence in your local community.

Do any of your clients use a “treadmill desk” or ask about getting one? If so, they may be curious about the results of a new study in which researchers examined whether the dual-task nature of walking while working impairs cognitive function. Findings were released ahead of print on June 29 (article ID 677289) by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

When was the last time you taught a class based solely on using the body as a “machine”? Body-weight exercises are often undervalued and underused. Many people want to advance rapidly and end up neglecting important functional (and foundational) movement patterns. Body-Weight Barrage blends popular strength training moves with cutting-edge training methods in a way that challenges clients at any fitness level without using barbells, dumbbells or any other equipment.

We’re lucky to see our clients 3 hours per week. For this short time, we have great influence over their attitudes and behaviors. However, if we focus only on creating terrific workouts, what about the other 165 hours a week when clients are responsible for behaving in ways that will help them reach their goals? We must think beyond exercise and dive into the scary world of psychology without becoming psychologists.

Within the past 5 years, foam rolling has gotten the attention of scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs. Hundreds of studies have confirmed that foam rolling can improve range of motion, flexibility and performance—in addition to reducing muscle soreness, pain and recovery time. While foam rolling may have begun as a way for therapists to assist in their patients’ rehabilitation, it is now used by the general population to improve movement and quality of life.

This new tool’s unique design makes it extremely versatile, effective, and accessible to everyone.