When you’re a busy studio owner, you barely have time to breathe, much less scout out what are reputable sources to learn from your peers about how to grow your business. We’re sharing eight top fitness blogs. Authors range from fitness influencers backing up their success with the know-how it took to get there to associations’ blogs to an ultramarathoner and podcaster with his finger on the pulse.
As you’ll see from the blogs below, running a successful fitness business involves more than just knowing how to fill a fitness class. You’ll learn about everything from marketing to mindset tips to new fitness modalities.
1. National Academy of Sports Medicine
Check out this post: Sports Performance: 8 Reasons to Train Athletes
2. Athletics and Fitness Association of America
The AFAA certification is considered the gold standard for group fitness instructors, so if group classes are your bread and butter, you’ll want to check out the AFAA blog. It covers everything from mindset tips to work-life balance, to creating programming for specific populations (i.e. seniors) and how to adapt one-on-one workouts to group fitness.
Check out this post: Navigating Fitness Re-Entry with Mindfulness
3. Rich Roll
Rich Roll is an ultramarathoner, blogger and podcaster who covers trends in training, nutrition, business and mindset. He speaks with doctors, athletes and psychologists to take a 360-degree look at health—from climate change to food inequality to trends in veganism. An influencer in the truest sense of the word, he introduces seemingly obscure wellness trends into the world that get people talking.
Check out this post: Keep Showing Up
4. Fitness Mentors
We all could use our own fitness mentors, right? That’s the premise of this site—advising you everything you need to know to run your business successfully. If you’re just starting out, the site helps you decide between certifications and provides tips on how to work through the self-paced courses quickly. You’ll also learn about the best courses for your continuing education credits and helpful books for you to further your education.
Check out this post: How Trainers Will Know When They’re Ready to Open a Gym
5. Thomas Plummer
A long-time industry veteran, Thomas Plummer founded the National Fitness Business Alliance in 2003. The organization provides strategic advice to fitness business owners, including 24 trainings throughout the year. On his blog, Plummer writes about pricing strategy, contract structures and coaching tips.
Check out this post: The Illogical Logic of the Fitness Business
6. Create Freedom
Written by Canada-based entrepreneurs, Create Freedom is a site meant to empower fitness business professionals to build wealth and create their own freedom through scaling their businesses. On their site, you can learn about expanding your business, finding a niche, how to invest wisely, and—the dream!—how to work less and make more.
Check out this post: How to Build a Business with No Money
7. Chalene Johnson
You might know about fitness expert and author Chalene Johnson from her workout videos (remember those?) or as the face of some of the major brands she’s worked for. She’s been in the biz for more than 30 years, so she’s amassed quite a bit of knowledge about what does and doesn’t work in the fitness space. She shares everything from her favorite productivity tools to marketing tips to psychological concepts to help you understand the psyche of your client.
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8. Jill Fit
Blogger and podcast host Jill Coleman has been writing online since 2010. The personal trainer and former fitness model writes both about fitness, life and business. She uses her 10 years of industry experience to provide tips about using online marketing for your fitness business, including mindset hacks like using jealousy as a motivator. She also runs mentoring groups for female fitness entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses.
Check out this post: 4 Ways to Make Jealousy Work for You