What Fitness Professionals Should Be Reading

As a fitness professional who not only trains people on a daily basis, but who is also a fitness writer, marketing consultant, and read-a-holic, I like to think that I’m fairly well versed on what’s happening within the industry and in the world in general.

But even I feel overwhelmed by all the information that’s out there—there’s so much available that I just don’t have time to read it all. Should I be reading the Journal of the American Medical Association, or Fitness Magazine, or neither, or both? What online and print publications should I be reading on a monthly basis? What resources are out there that I don’t even know about?

To make sure that I’m not missing out on anything, and to sort out all the information for you, I posed these questions to fitness industry professionals.

The panel of experts agreed that we should be reading as much as we can, both from the clinical side and the consumer side. But their specific recommendations varied and were as diverse as they were.

“The JAMA publications help define and explain the clinical research and help “prove” out theories and concepts,” says Jay Blahnik, an Advisory Board member for the Nautilus Institute, the star of 25 award winning exercise videos, and the author of Full-Body Flexibility. “But the fitness publications also help you understand what is on the mind of the consumer and what interests them. Since it is so easy to get this information on line now, there is no reason you can’t always be perusing the wide spectrum of information available,” he says.

Dominique Adair, MS, RD, director of Adair Fitness and Nutrition, a consulting company created to improve wellness through healthy eating and movement (www.adairfit.com), concurs. “I recommend reading as much as you can get your hands on. It is important to know what members or clients are reading (Oxygen, Fitness RX, etc.) but it is also important to read the actual studies (Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Exercise Physiology, etc.) I ask my students to at the very least use PubMed/MedLine (www.medlineplus.gov) to get the abstracts of the studies so they can see if they have interest in reading the complete study.”

Even those in the academic world agree. Melissa Layne, MSEd, a college professor of exercise science, personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and fitness presenter, says, “I am in a rather fortunate position as not only a fitness presenter but also a full time college professor. I am lucky enough to have colleagues that present the latest research from forums they have attended as well as graduate students that are working on thesis studies. So I read it all and have access to all the medical and sport journals. However, I also read the publications off the newsstands for a variety of reasons. Number one being, I need to know what my students, clients, and participants are reading and how it is being interpreted. I also need to know which newsstand publications are staying up-to-date and presenting things without flip flopping study results. So I believe that it is of utmost importance to read all that we possibly can from both categories or print!”

Dorette Nysewander, MS, AFP, NBFE, provides consulting services in health education training and development. She is also an Aerobics and Fitness Association or America (AFAA) Master Certification Specialist, AFAA Fitness Practitioner, fellow of the National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE), lecturer, author, workshop leader, personal trainer, and career mentor worldwide. She cautions, “In our business, we have a common focus, but you need to have a world focus, too.” She recommends The Economist: “I think everybody should read it, no matter what business you’re in.”

Several professionals offered specific recommendations. Chris Freytag is a personal trainer and author of the new book, Shortcuts to Big Weight Loss. She says, “I of course suggest Prevention Magazine since I write a column in the magazine and I am their fitness expert. It is geared towards the consumer but often has very relevant and realistic information and advice for women. I also recommend the Nutrition Action Health Letter by the CSPI. The CSPI is the watchdog out there helping us weed through all the hype and media confusing us about food and nutrition. I read Experience Life Magazine also from Life Time Fitness. Geared towards the consumer, it is still FILLED with great information that all fitness professionals can benefit from reading. I also work at Life Time Fitness and it comes free with membership—it’s truly an amazing publication and full of up-to-date information on training and nutrition.”

Lawrence Biscontini, MA, intenational wellness educator and spa consultant based in Europe and USA, says, “I always check out ideafit.com and the free articles on drlenkravitz.com and scwfitness.com. The ACSM site allows me to set it up so articles come to ME instead of having to search for my topics. I also use ptonthenet.com, which is for a fee.

Jill Casey, AFAA master specialist and fitness consultant, prefers to have information emailed to her. “I believe that because we are so busy, we don’t read as much as we should. So I read electronic newsletters that are emailed to me.” Her specific recommendations include InteliHealth.com, Medscape.com, ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal (acsm.org), and strongwomen.com.

Casey also recommends reading specific authors you know and trust. “I read by author. There are people who I really respect, so I periodically Google them. Wayne Wescott, Tom Seabourne, Cedric Bryant, and Len Kravitz have been around so long that you can trust what they have to say.”

The experts also recommended reading the magazines produced by your certifying organizations, such as SCW Fitness and the American Council of Exercise.

One of my favorite web sites is sparkpeople.com, one of the largest free diet and health-related sites in the world. I receive periodic emails from them. I also devour my emails from Runners World, and I enjoy reading what the Diet Detective has to say.

Since starting my research for this article, I have added the Nutrition Action Health Letter by the CSPI to my list of about half a dozen magazines subscriptions. I’ve also added myself to some email lists from InteliHealth, and I have some new ideas of where to search if I need information for clients.

In the end, it boils down to this: read as much as you can, but don’t sweat it if you can’t get to everything. Sign up for a few electronic newsletters and periodically Google the writers you trust and the subjects you are interested in. Go through life with an open mind, a desire to learn, and a mission to help people get fit.