Articles

Gluten is a big nutritional buzzword these days, but do your clients really understand what it means to have to give it up? A lot of people are skimping on gluten and grains for health reasons, but for someone with celiac disease, eating gluten can actually cause serious illness. Learn more about this disease, how it’s related to gluten, and how you can help a newly-diagnosed celiac client maintain good fitness and nutrition.

For the first time here at the ISSA, we’ve decided to do a follow-up article addressing the best questions we received in our comments section and on our social media platforms. We received many great responses to the “Protein Myths” article that we published not too long ago, and along with that response, more great questions surfaced that we wanted to answer in more depth.

Should you really be cutting back on carbs to achieve weight loss and muscle mass?  Ever since low-carb diets exploded onto the weight-loss scene, carbohydrates have been demonized, avoided, and targeted as a dietary evil.   But here’s the truth: we all need carbohydrates in our diets, every single day. Period.

Have you wondered whether people should eat before or after a workout? Maybe you have heard of nutrient timing and the anabolic window, but the theories about when and how to use it are confusing. Let's take a closer look at the science of nutrient timing.

As a personal trainer, you've become the go-to expert that people in your circle turn to for reliable advice on anything related to fitness and nutrition.  One question that can be overheard across the training floors of just about every gym these days has do with the topic of fasted training.  So how do you answer the question “is it better for me to exercise on an empty stomach?”

As a personal trainer, you already carry a TON of responsibility on your shoulders.  You're accountable for safely guiding your clients through the fitness and lifestyle protocols that will help them achieve the results they’re paying you good money for....

Go, go, go. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Grab a bite here, grab a bite there. We all live such busy lives these day and so busy at times, that too often, do not fuel our bodies with the essential nutrients they need to function optimally. So slow down and take a breather and refresh yourself with our complimentary infographics on vitamins and minerals, why you need them, and in what foods you can get them from.

As a fitness professional, one question you will likely get asked more than any other is which “nutrition camp” you fall into. Are you into Paleo? What about vegan? Intermittent fasting? Those are probably the wrong questions to ask in the first place.

One category of dietary supplements that continues to experience controversy is the so-called prohormones or testosterone precursors. For purported muscle building enhancement these products typically contain DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and Andro (androstenedione). Controversy aside, both Andro and DHEA are actually hormones made by the body. They are also the precursors of testosterone and estrogens.

Many aspiring bodybuilders are hoping that this is the year that their bodies will transform into the bodies of their dreams. Unfortunately, bodybuilders love for protein puts them at the mercy of protein manufacturers and vulnerable to protein manufacturers marketing ploys. Fledgling bodybuilders may not know as much as veteran bodybuilders but they inevitably know that protein plays a role in their future bodybuilding success.