The Show Up Fitness Podcast

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Read the article here on Showupfitness.com: https://www.showupfitness.com/blogs/blog/chronic-tendon-pain-why-load-beats-rest-and-what-shockwave-actually-does

That nagging Achilles that “felt better with rest” and then flared the second you returned to training isn’t bad luck, and it usually isn’t an inflammation problem you can ice away. Chronic tendon pain is often a capacity problem, which means the fix is not doing less forever, it’s rebuilding tolerance with the right load, the right timeline, and the right rules.

We read a detailed article from Dr. Rob, a physical therapist and clinic owner, and translate it into practical coaching for personal trainers. We break down what tendinopathy actually looks like in chronic cases, why the old “tendinitis” model leads people into months of stop-start training, and how the pain monitoring model gives you guardrails without demanding zero discomfort. The centerpiece is the 24-hour rule: judge your dosage by how the tendon feels tomorrow, not just how it feels mid-set.

From there, we lay out a four-stage tendon rehab and return-to-sport framework you can run with cleared clients: isometrics for high irritability, heavy slow resistance as the main tendon remodeling tool, energy storage work for running and jumping, and a smart return to the real demand while keeping strength work in the plan. We also call out common trainer mistakes, the importance of upstream strength, and the specific red flags that mean you stop and refer out.

We finish by getting honest about shockwave therapy (ESWT): what it is, where evidence is strongest, and why it never builds tendon capacity on its own. If you want more confident programming, better outcomes, and a stronger PT referral network, subscribe, share this with a trainer friend, and leave a review.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

A sales sheet won’t save a shaky consult, but a confident coach can. We’re live at Equinox running a real-time role-play with West, right after a hard chest session, to show what personal training sales actually looks like when the client is excited, hesitant, and ready to bolt with “I’ll think about it.” If you’ve ever fumbled the pricing, overexplained packages, or felt weird about “closing,” you’ll hear exactly where the momentum drops and how to get it back without turning into a pushy salesperson.

We walk through two consult scenarios: the first where the subscription pitch gets muddy, and the second where the client pushes back on price and even complains about the gym being too hot. From there, we break down the fixes that matter in fitness coaching and client acquisition: eliminate decision fatigue, make the plan feel obvious, and ask for the next commitment while the energy is still high. “How does tomorrow look?” beats vague follow-ups, and a service-first response can turn a complaint into trust when you handle it like a luxury, service-based gym should.

Then we zoom out into the deeper skill: selling value. That means connecting training to outcomes people actually want like strength milestones, confidence, consistency, better days outside the gym, and yes, a better life. We also dig into client retention tactics like multiple points of contact, referral energy, and asking for honest feedback so you don’t get ghosted and start doubting your career.

If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with a coach who needs the confidence boost, and leave a review so more trainers can find it.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Hands on learning workshop with SUF x Life Time Fitness partnership. How to train a client who has low back pain? The best hands on learning workshop / seminars for personal trainers. Show Up Fitness Low Body seminar

Low back pain is everywhere, and the worst part is how quickly it turns into fear: fear of bending, fear of lifting, fear of the next flare up, fear of what an MRI might “find.” We’re teaching from Franklin near Nashville with a room full of trainers, using a real world approach that blends pain science with coaching instincts, so you can stop guessing and start making smart decisions inside a personal trainer’s scope.

We dig into the biopsychosocial model of pain and why discs, degeneration, and “abnormal” imaging can show up in people who feel totally fine. Then we shift to what actually helps many backs: movement that is scaled to the person, repeated in pain free ranges, and progressed like any training program. You’ll hear how we use exposure therapy and hope as tools, plus a practical daily flow that builds mobility, stability, and tissue tolerance without poking the bear.

From there we run through clear screens to identify likely pain drivers: flexion, extension, lateral flexion, compression, and thoracic rotation. We talk red flags, when to refer out, and how to avoid cookie cutter plans by matching drills to what the client tolerates today. We also demonstrate quadratus lumborum soft tissue mobilization options and why breathing and positioning can change everything.

If you coach clients with low back pain, want better screening, or simply want your own back to feel more resilient, you’ll leave with a simple framework you can apply immediately. Subscribe, share this with a trainer friend, and leave a review with the biggest back pain myth you want us to tackle next.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Incline bench press has a way of making strong lifters feel brand new under the bar. If you’ve ever wondered why your flat bench numbers don’t carry over, we walk through the real mechanics that make incline pressing so challenging and so valuable for upper chest strength and hypertrophy. 

We break it down into five clear drivers: anatomy (the clavicular head of the pectoralis major has less “real estate” to contribute), torque (more distance and tougher angles), leg drive (harder to wedge and get that back-and-up bar path), the SAID principle (you adapt to what you practice, and most people don’t practice incline enough), and range of motion (which can expose flexibility limits fast). Along the way, we talk shoulder discomfort on incline bench press, why it shows up, and how to troubleshoot it with better mobility, soft tissue work, and smart exercise selection. 

We also get practical about programming: when it makes sense to keep barbell incline, when to run a short block with dumbbell incline for a friendlier shoulder position, and how changing fly angles can shift chest emphasis depending on what you’re trying to build. If you care about pressing strength, powerlifting carryover, or getting that upper chest to finally show up, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a training partner, and leave a review with your biggest incline bench struggle or PR so we can talk about it next.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Location: Austin C4 / Nutrabolt. Time 8-4

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigating-low-back-pain-in-training-with-katie-dabrowski-and-q-willey-tickets-1996909407794

CODE: SHOWUPFITNESS $50 off

Doc Q IG: Coach_Q_Physio & Doc Katie: Ktdabrowski

Back pain is one of the fastest ways to make a confident lifter feel fragile and it’s also one of the easiest places for bad information to hijack a training plan. We sit down with physical therapists Doc Q and Doc Katie to talk about what actually feels “scary” in both personal training and physical therapy: flare-ups, client anxiety, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to deliver a perfect fix when pain doesn’t behave like a neat checklist. 

We dig into pain science and the biopsychosocial model of pain, including why fear based language and over-medicalization can create nocebos that shrink someone’s life. You’ll hear how they think about progressive overload in rehab, why many posture and biomechanics stories don’t hold up well in research, and how to stop treating every ache as a crisis. A key takeaway is the “trainable menu” for low back pain: keep a list of movements someone can train right now, then build smart entry points back into the positions they fear or avoid. 

We also cover when imaging makes sense, when surgery is truly appropriate, and why population level data often favors conservative care while still leaving room for individual exceptions like progressive neurological symptoms. If you coach clients, treat patients, or manage your own low back pain, you’ll walk away with clearer language, better decision making, and more confidence under the bar. Subscribe, share this with a coach or clinician, and leave a review with the biggest back pain myth you want gone.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Show Up Fitness hands on learning seminar at Life Time in Franklin Tennessee. If you want to become a successful personal trainer, find personal training certifications and specializations like SUF STM to make you an elite personal trainer. Next personal training seminar Tampa September 25/26.

That deep “right there” ache in your low back can make you feel stuck, especially when stretching and foam rolling do nothing. We walk you through a practical way to determine when the quadratus lumborum (QL) might be involved and how to stop guessing with your hands. If you work with clients or you’re trying to manage your own low back tightness, this is a clear, anatomy-based approach you can use immediately.

We demo a QL release in a prone position, including the detail most people miss: you have to get under the erectors and direct pressure toward the spine, not just press straight down on the surface. Then we layer in the simplest performance upgrade we know for soft tissue work, 360-degree breathing. When someone can breathe into the back and sides instead of only the chest, the tissue response changes fast, and the release becomes more comfortable and more effective.

We also compare positioning options, because bodies are different. Side-lying can give better leverage for bigger bodies or anyone who’s hard to access prone, and we share a third variation using a supported deep squat with a reach. Finally, we connect the dots for runners and high-intensity training: the QL is a frontal plane stabilizer, so repetitive impact and stabilization demands can keep it irritated unless you address it directly and safely with the right landmarks.

If this helped you think differently about low back pain, subscribe, share the show with a training partner, and leave a quick review so more people can find it. What’s the most stubborn spot in your low back right now?

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Blaming hormones is comforting because it gives us a villain and a shortcut. We go the other direction and build the real foundation: calories in versus calories out, plus the three forces that quietly drive the whole system, stress, sleep, and daily movement. From cortisol to insulin to thyroid hormones, we explain what these signals actually do, where they come from, and why “too much” and “too little” are both problems. No fear mongering, no miracle cocktails, just physiology you can use.

We also unpack how nutrition misinformation spreads. “Sugar is bad” sells, “insulin is the bad guy” sells, and “fix your adrenal fatigue” sells, but simplification is not the same as truth. We talk about why sugar feels addictive in combination foods, how cortisol can be anti-inflammatory, why insulin is essential, and what to do in real-world scenarios like low blood sugar. Then we connect appetite hormones like leptin and ghrelin to sleep loss, chronic dieting, and the difference between psychological hunger and actual physiological hunger.

Finally, we zoom out to the big picture: life stages. As we move from school to work to family life, NEAT drops, stress rises, sleep gets crushed, alcohol and caffeine creep in, and processed convenience foods become the default. That shift looks like “a slow metabolism,” but it is usually a predictable pattern we can measure and change. We share the coaching tools we rely on, sleep logs, stress questionnaires, measured food tracking, and meal photos, so progress is based on awareness, not guesses.

If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who keeps saying “it’s my hormones,” and leave a review with the biggest myth you want us to tackle next.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Passing a personal trainer certification feels like you’ve earned the keys to the gym, until a real client shows up with knee pain, shoulder history, and questions you can’t answer with a multiple-choice memory dump. We talk honestly about whether NASM is worth it, why so many “gold standard” certifications still leave trainers with shaky programming skills, and how the industry sets beginners up to confuse a piece of paper with professional competence. 

We also pull a Reddit-style case study into the spotlight: a trainer using AI to write workout plans, getting better client feedback, even raising prices, and still feeling like a fraud. We break down the line between smart leverage and dangerous dependency, and why AI can support great coaching but can’t replace the craft. Real value comes from cueing, judgment, and adapting on the fly, not from reciting overactive muscles or hiding behind acronyms. 

From there we zoom out to what actually builds a sustainable personal training career: hands-on learning, mentorship, supervised reps, and a team approach that includes referrals to a physical therapist or registered dietitian when it’s appropriate. We get into the uncomfortable business truths too, like why so many trainers struggle to sell, why confidence collapses when your product is generic, and how skilled coaches think about pricing and multiple revenue streams. 

If you’re serious about becoming a respected, high-earning trainer, this is a roadmap for what to learn next and what to stop trusting. Subscribe for more honest coaching talk, share this with a trainer who’s feeling stuck, and leave a review with the biggest skill you’re working on right now.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Your client doesn’t need to feel wrecked to get ready for the trail. We walk through a real program design for a 68-year-old retired client who trains three days per week and does Pilates, with a primary goal of lower body strength and endurance for an upcoming hiking vacation and a secondary goal of longevity, mobility, and overall health. 

We start with how to think like a coach from minute one: warm-ups that respect an older adult’s response to volume, how to watch breathing and fatigue, and why “just add more rounds” can backfire. Then we dig into smart circuit construction using core movement patterns, with a big focus on sequencing. If your accessories are too demanding (think step-ups placed where they crush the next squat set), you can accidentally compromise force production and turn a strength builder into a slow grind. We share simple fixes that keep the main lift strong while still building hiking-specific endurance. 

From there we review the rest of the three-day split, highlight what’s already solid, and add practical ideas for hiking performance: trunk work, frontal-plane stability, carries, and optional drills for reacting to uneven ground. We also explain how to progress the plan with progressive overload, how to keep sessions fresh by rotating accessories, and when to use linear periodization vs daily undulating periodization for real clients. If you coach active older adults, build hiking workouts, or want better personal training programming systems, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a trainer friend, and leave a review with your biggest programming question.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!

Become a successful nutrition coach making 30k+ annually: https://www.showupfitness.com/products/suf-nutrition-course

Most people think “nutrition coaching” means macros and a food list. We don’t. We talk through what it looks like when a trainer treats nutrition like a real service with clear boundaries, a structured assessment, and an actual registered dietitian on the team. The difference is immediate: clients stop getting vague advice during rest periods and start getting a process they can follow, measure, and trust.

We get into the nuts and bolts of onboarding: setting expectations up front, keeping nutrition as a separate paid service, and using simple objective measures like blood pressure to stand out in a gym full of coaches who skip the basics. From there we go deeper into behavior change, because fat loss is rarely about knowing what a calorie is. It’s stress, sleep, decision fatigue, and the shame loop that makes clients hide what they eat. We break down how to coach weekends, binges, and “off plan” meals without punishment, using habit loops and practical next-step strategies clients can actually execute.

You’ll also hear the tangible tools that make this work in the real world: food photos, food scales, portion plates, hydration tracking, RD-built snack options, and stress tracking sheets that turn emotions into action steps. If you want to build a professional nutrition coaching offer that gets results and creates a dependable second revenue stream, this gives you the roadmap. Subscribe, share this with a trainer friend, and leave a review with the system you want to implement first.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email [email protected] with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com