Hot towel cabinets are a convenient way to keep cloth, disposable towels or neck wraps etc. warm, within reach and provide your clients with a luxurious massage experience. These stylish cabinets also look good in your studio or salon as they sanitize the towels and ensure they are safe to use.
This guide will walk you through the application process, exam content, study strategies, and test-taking tips to help you prepare for the MBLEx
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As a health coach, you can become an expert in multiple areas: nutrition, behavior change psychology, fitness and athletic performance, stress management and recovery, and more.
However, no matter how many certifications you earn, you’ll invariably encounter clients with progress-blocking problems you don’t have the skills, training, expertise, or legal right to solve.
Here’s the thing…
You may not be an expert at fixing marriages, treating GERD, or counseling someone with an eating disorder, but someone else is.
Here’s where a healthy referral network comes in.
By connecting your client with such a person, you get to stay within your scope of practice, give welcome business to respected colleagues, and help your client solve their problem.
(Total. Supercoach. Move.)
All of our certification programs include sections devoted to teaching coaches how to build robust referral networks of professionals skilled at solving common client problems.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to do that—by exploring the top mistakes we see coaches make. Avoid them, and you’ll be able to refer out with confidence.
A referral network is a list of supplementary professionals, businesses, and resources that benefit clients.
Your network might include local or virtual:
Medical doctors, psychologists, registered dietitians, and other professionals with the training and credentials to help clients with problems outside of your scope of practice. (For an in-depth refresher, see our Scope of Practice worksheet.)
Fellow health coaches and personal trainers with deep knowledge in an area outside your experience. (For example, maybe a client is interested in learning yoga, but you haven’t the faintest idea of how to salute the sun.)
Workshops, fitness groups, webinars, food services, and other resources that support clients during their behavior change journey.
To confidently refer clients to skilled practitioners with excellent reputations, you’ll want to do some legwork. That brings us to the top mistakes to avoid.
For recently certified health coaches, the task “create a referral network” can double as a procrastination tool, says PN’s Director of Community Engagement Kate Solovieva.
Rather than take on clients, these coaches search for an increasing number of professionals, valiantly trying to be prepared for every potential referral situation. Yet, as much as they continue to work on it, their list is never “complete.”
That’s because…
“We can’t be prepared for everything,” says Solovieva.
Take on clients as soon as you’re certified.
Yes! That might sound scary, but the best way to figure out your “gaps” is to begin your practice, and see where your clients actually need help beyond what you can offer.
Add folks to your referral network over time as you:
Connect with professionals on LinkedIn and other virtual networking sites
Lean into peer networks (such as the Precision Nutrition Facebook communities)
Mingle with members of your local Chamber of Commerce
Chat with family, friends, and clients about professionals and resources they love
Attend health conventions and other local events where a variety of health professionals tend to congregate
Search for (and try out!) providers based on your own health needs
Use the following resource list as inspiration.
Resource
Name
Website
Contact information
Acupuncturist
Chiropractor
Cooking class
Cycling, hiking, walking, or running club
Exercise physiologist
Coach who specializes in plant-based diets / pre- or post-natal fitness / other coaching niche you don’t cater to
Marriage / family counselor
Massage therapist
Meal delivery service
Mental health professional
Orthopedist
Pelvic floor therapist
Primary care physician
Physiotherapist
Registered dietitian
Stress management class
Other
As we mentioned above, you’ll never be able to anticipate every referral or client question ahead of time—and that’s okay.
This is especially true if you coach virtually with clients worldwide.
(You might know three fantastic massage therapists where you live in Toronto, Canada, but that knowledge won’t help if your client is based in Wellington, New Zealand.)
Similarly, some professionals or resources might work for some clients, but not others.
(You might, for example, know of several meal delivery options, yet none are suitable for that plant-based client who’s on a strict gluten-free diet.)
Learn how to help clients find the professionals and resources they need.
You might:
Ask clients to describe their preferences. (Do they prefer working with a specific gender? Do they want to meet in person or online? Do they like the eagerness and creativity of a newer professional, or the “I’ve seen it all” sageness of a more seasoned pro?)
Devote a coaching session to searching online for potential professionals and services together.
Encourage clients to contact three practitioners, ask questions, and use what they learn to pick a winner.
Reaching out to a stranger requires some bravery. You have to put yourself out there, explain who you are and what your motives are, and risk being ignored or turned down.
This is where many coaches get stuck, says Toni Bauer, PN’s Director of Coaching and Education Operations.
As a result, many coaches may put off the conversation.
Turn networking into a challenge. Coach Solovieva calls it “Operation 100.”
Set a goal to contact 100 professionals over 12 months.
Work toward your goal every week for about 20 minutes.
Follow up with each non-responder once or twice.
Instead of expecting a “yes” from every person you approach, understand that only about 10 percent of people will get back to you.
To ease yourself into the challenge, draft your elevator pitch, suggests Bauer.
Don’t overthink this. Your pitch doesn’t have to be a multi-page persuasive essay. Nor does it have to contain magical talking points. Just be yourself.
As you work on your elevator pitch, use the examples below for inspiration.
“I’m a health coach who works with corporate executives. However, some of my clients would benefit from someone with your expertise. I would like to recommend you to my clients as those needs arise. Are you open to that?”
Or:
“I’m a health coach who works with athletes. Occasionally, my clients need guidance that I can’t always provide. I admire the work you’re doing, and I’d love to be able to refer people to you. If you’re open to that, could we have a quick 15- or 20-minute meeting to discuss what that arrangement would look like?”
Or simply:
“I’m a health coach and I’m building a referral list of practitioners. I would love to refer clients to you. Are you taking new patients right now?”
If you use LinkedIn, then you’ve likely been on the receiving end of old-school cold sales tactics. We’re talking direct messages from strangers who clearly haven’t read anything on your profile and know nothing about you.
These spammy messages are as welcome as a stranger who sidles up to you at a bar and says, “So, wanna come back to my place?”
We’re not here to discourage you from using cold outreach. It has a place. However, to increase your response rate, we’d like to introduce you to a rarely used technique.
Get to know people before making an online ask, suggests Coach Solovieva.
Follow them, read their content, download and consume their free resources, comment on their posts, congratulate them on career wins, and become a part of their online life.
Do that, and people will remember you. More of them will respond to your messages, too. Plus, the intel you gather by forming a relationship will help you avoid…
How do you ensure you refer clients to compassionate professionals who truly know what they’re doing?
It involves more than checking someone’s website or social media profile.
If you only look at someone’s website or social media posts, “You’re just vetting their confidence and copywriting skills,” says Solovieva. “If we’re fortunate, confidence and copywriting go hand in hand with ability, but not always.”
Try out their services. Take someone’s yoga or Zumba class. Book a massage. Ask a medical professional to look at your creaky knee.
That way, you can see the professional in action.
If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t need some of the services my clients need!’ you’ve got a couple of options:
Offer to pay a professional to meet with you for 30 to 60 minutes so you can ask some questions, get a sense of their treatment philosophy, and chat about referring clients to them.
Interact with people in local social networking communities like NextDoor.com. Ask group members if they’ve seen a practitioner and, if so, whether they’d recommend the person.
When you recommend a professional you’ve personally vetted, it’s natural to want your client to take action.
However, despite your hard work, some clients just won’t make an appointment with the professional in question—and that’s okay.
“Let your clients be adults,” says Coach Bauer.
Clients have their reasons. Maybe their insurance won’t cover the service in question. Or, maybe they decided to see someone else.
“It’s not your responsibility for the relationships to be perfect or to flourish,“ says Bauer.
Some coaches fear referrals because they see them as “giving business away.”
In reality, however, when you refer clients to solid pros, your clients simply feel like you have their back. (Which means they’ll be more likely to refer friends and family to you.)
Plus, when you send business towards another respected colleague, it also puts you on their radar for a cross-referral.
It’s good for your clients, good for business, and good for your community of health pros at large.
You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.
If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.
The post How to build a referral network with confidence appeared first on Precision Nutrition.
To get your massage business ahead, you need to understand the marketing side of the massage therapy business and the subtleties of promoting your massage services, connecting with your ideal clients, and standing out in a crowded market.
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I had been struggling with my weight for about six years, and my obsession with how I looked was starting to dominate my life.
I only had two to three shirts that I felt comfortable in. The only thing that mattered was that they didn’t make me “feel fat.” Even those chosen shirts were always under my West 49 sweater, for extra coverage.
The cherry on top of this presentation was my slouched shoulders—a defense mechanism to protect against exposing my “man boobs,” the body part that had dynastic reign for being my biggest insecurity.
I felt that my body held me back from enjoying countless moments of my life, and by the ripe age of 13, I decided I was sick of it.
I figured the only way I could change this purgatory was by changing my body.
I started exercising three to four times a day. For my first two meals a day, I drank a sludge of water mixed with “weight loss smoothie powder” (really just a glorified protein shake). Whenever I “cheated,” I punished myself the next day by eating even less or exercising even more.
In about 5 months, I lost 60 lbs. One third of my body weight to be exact.
This was how I spent the summer transitioning from elementary school to high school. Counting calories over making memories.
To no surprise, this was met with endless praise. And it felt good. Scratch that, it felt incredible.
I had experienced both sides now: One where I felt valueless because I was in a fatter body, and one where I felt accepted and prized because I was in a thinner body.
In another version of this story, I might’ve learned something from my newly widened perspective: I might’ve gained empathy, seeing the unfair stigma projected at people in larger bodies. I might’ve gained bravery, advocating for more body acceptance, regardless of someone’s size.
But instead, I participated in the problem.
I built up the identity of being a “former fat person” who is proof that “anybody can lose weight.”
However, as this script typically goes, over the next few years, I gained a lot of the weight back.
This sent me into a depression. I felt like I had lost my value; like I had won the lottery and blew through my fortune.
That was the pattern I repeated for almost 15 years.
For me, adopting a more body-neutral approach created a paradigm shift—it offered a way to uncouple my appearance with my happiness. It also caused me to ask some deep questions about my body, and the kind of life I wanted.
Questions like:
“Do I want my self worth to be defined by my external appearance?”
“Do I want to continue this cycle—and potentially pass it on to any future kids I might have?”
“What would my life look like if I fought to value myself for who I am as opposed to what I look like?”
My answers weren’t immediately clear. But body neutrality created an opportunity to step off the hamster wheel of chasing aesthetic goals—and finally, truly reflect.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of adopting a more body neutral approach to your own self image and self-care.
You’ll learn:
What body neutrality is
How to think about your body and your health—in a way that isn’t dependent on appearance
Five actionable, body neutral strategies you can apply today—if you want to stop letting your weight, size, or shape dictate your happiness
Let’s begin.
Body neutrality is a mindset that encourages you to value how your body functions and feels over how it looks. This perspective helps you develop self-acceptance, while still working to care for yourself in ways that promote overall health.
In practice, this looks like:
You exercise and eat nutritiously—not because it makes you look a certain way—but because it makes you feel good.
You still have treats (because life is too short to be deprived of pizza!) but you don’t eat them to excess because they don’t make you feel the best, physically.
You wear clothes and celebrate your appearance in ways that feel authentic, but how you “display” yourself isn’t the foundation of your self-worth.
You don’t always love all aspects of your body, but you don’t let that stop you from enjoying your life; Improving your appearance doesn’t “earn” you the right to be happy.
You might still care about how you look, but you broaden your self-concept so it also includes your values and your inherent worthiness as a human.
I value seeing friends and family. I value playing rec sports. I value new experiences.
When I’ve been heavier, I’ve neglected these things in favor of isolating myself.
“I’ll do them again when I lose weight” is something I’ve uttered to myself more times than I can count.
Body neutrality helped me realize I still deserved these things—no matter how I looked.
Body neutrality isn’t just for people in larger, or otherwise marginalized bodies.
It’s also useful for people with “ideal bodies,” who’ve been the recipients of validation and privilege because of the way they look.
“I’ve worked with clients who are fairly satisfied with their appearance, but they still struggle with their body image because their self-worth relies on it,” says Shannon Beer, registered nutritionist and body image coach.
People with idealized bodies sometimes aren’t living the life they want either, because they have to exhaust their energy to maintain an image of “perfection.”
(If you want to know what kind of sacrifices it takes to meet those “ideal” standards, check out: The cost of getting lean: Is it really worth the trade-off?)
That’s a quote from Jessi Kneeland, body neutrality coach and author of Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues, when they sat down with some PN coaches to talk about body-neutrality.
(Want to listen in on the whole conversation? Watch it here: PN Coaches discuss body neutrality and negative self-talk)
The goal with body neutrality isn’t to love your body and all of its parts all of the time. Nor is it to be so toxically positive that you ignore real—and sometimes negative—feelings about your body.
That just isn’t realistic for most people.
Instead, an underrated goal is to feel sort of… meh.
You’re not overly glorifying or criticizing your body; its appearance just doesn’t hold that much importance.
In practice, you may love certain parts about your body—but also feel ambivalent or mildly negative about other parts.
For example, you may see your stomach and feel ashamed because you don’t like what you see.
This feeling is uncomfortable, but it’s not “right” or “wrong.” You just don’t want that feeling to dictate your behavior. (Such as seeing your stomach and then saying, “Alright, I’m not going out tonight,” or, “Diet starts tomorrow!”)
To give you a personal example:
As a dude living in North America, I feel pretty ‘meh’ about being 5’9” tall.
Would I love to be 6’2”?
Sure.
But I’m not 6’2”—and I can’t change that. My height won’t ruin my day and I surely won’t be depriving myself from the things I enjoy most in this life because of it.
Some people worry that if they adopt a more body neutral approach to their health and fitness, it means they have to relinquish any desire for physical change.
They also might worry that being more body neutral might make them lose certain aspects of their appearance that they like (such as muscular legs or a slim torso).
Here’s the thing: Body neutrality advocates for health.
Being body neutral doesn’t mean your body can’t change.
It just means your self-worth isn’t dependent on that change, and that your whole life isn’t consumed by the pursuit of a physique goal.
If you’ve been starving yourself and overexercising to the point of burnout, body neutral principles will encourage you to disengage from those extreme activities in the pursuit of a specific physique.
If you’ve been overeating and avoiding exercise because you can’t stand your body, body neutral principles will encourage you to tune into your genuine sense of care and love for yourself, and help you choose food and movement that support your body—regardless of its shape.
In this sense, body neutrality can have a balancing effect on health and fitness behaviors, and, according to Beer, is unlikely to take away from physical health, if applied correctly.
Plus…
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having an aesthetic goal.
Body neutrality rejects physical or aesthetic change only if it’s to the detriment of your overall mental, emotional, social, physical, and existential health.
Congratulations: Just setting the intention to step away from an appearance-centric approach to health and fitness is a great start.
But, ultimately, it’s only action that creates deep, lasting change.
So, here are five tangible strategies you can work on immediately to develop a more body neutral approach.
Stop waiting to achieve the “ideal” body in order to be able to enjoy your life, and start doing more of what you love now.
Start with something easy that you tend to stop yourself from doing when you feel insecure about your appearance.
When I was in my worst spots, I stayed inside too much—even though I love being outside. It might sound silly but even reading outdoors in nice weather was helpful for me.
The point is: It can be that small.
Find one thing you’ve deprived yourself of in the past and do it—even if it’s a small dose, regardless of how you feel. Re-teach yourself that you don’t need a certain body shape or size to allow joy into your life.
(If you want more ideas on how to stop thinking you’re simply [insert thing you think you need] away from being happy, check out: “I’ll be happier when I lose weight” is a recipe for regret. Here’s the counterintuitive solution)
This is a gamechanger in my coaching experience. I’ve seen clients transform their relationship with exercise when they focus more on what they can do as opposed to how they look. “I feel so much better but I haven’t lost any weight,” is a sentence I’ve heard repeatedly.
When you’re overly appearance-centered or focused on weight, you risk missing other indicators of progress—like how good you feel.
If your fitness goals tend to be aesthetic-centric, try setting a goal that has nothing to do with how you look.
This can look like:
Setting strength and performance goals in fitness (such as beating a deadlift PR, or a sprint time)
Practicing slow, mindful eating at more meals (if you usually inhale your meals in seven minutes tops, see if you can make a meal last 20 minutes, chewing your food well and savoring each bite)
Working to develop a new a skill in the gym (like your first pull-up, or a cool Olympic lift, like a clean and jerk)
None of these depend on your appearance; They’re all focused on what you can do. (And chances are, you’ll feel more empowered than ever when you start achieving them.)
Take control of the parts of your environment that feed the body-image obsessed wolf. Starve that beast wherever you can.
Here are some ideas:
Unfollow social media accounts that prey on insecurity or promote unrealistic ideals. Follow more that are body-neutral, or inspire other aspects of your personality (like comedy, or crafting).
See what it’s like to reduce your exposure to your own appearance. This can look like having fewer mirrors (or covering some up for a period of time), or turning off the self-view on Zoom.
Consider ditching the scale. Most people struggle to stay “neutral” about whatever number that shows up.
Set boundaries around body talk. Some environments are rife with commentary about body hang ups or goals. If someone begins talking about their new weight loss diet or “disgusting gut,” try changing the topic, or just exit the conversation. Eventually, people will realize you’re not the right audience.
Body neutrality won’t be the most common approach you’ll run into in the fitness world.
But, intentionally seeking out and surrounding yourself with more body neutral folks can keep you from constantly getting sucked back into an appearance-centric mindset.
There are body neutral, body positive, or HAES (health at every size) community groups all over social media and the internet, and this can be parlayed into finding local groups near you too.
Seeking out these spaces will only provide more support—and positive momentum—as you pursue a more body neutral approach.
You don’t need to be a body-neutral icon or master. The expectation is not that you 100 percent divest from focusing on your appearance.
Body neutrality exists on a continuum.
Assess where you are right now in terms of how appearance-centric you are when it comes to health and fitness. If all your eggs are in the “aesthetics basket,” then even taking one metaphorical egg out (and say, putting it in the “gardening” basket) is progress.
Use the list of suggestions above to set some small goals, and just begin where you can.
You might always care about your appearance (maybe even more than average), but if it’s progress from where you started, you’re winning.
Even after sharing all of this, I won’t sit here and lie to you by saying I’m pure-bred body-neutral, all the time.
But I like to think I’ve grown a lot since my days of hiding out inside during “fat days.”
I’m better at doing the things I love, even when I don’t feel confident in my body.
I’m better at wearing comfortable clothing when I don’t feel good about my body— instead of cramming myself into something that’s too tight and suffering all day.
And, I’ve expanded the way I see fitness for myself and my clients, focusing more on feel and function, rather than achieving a certain look.
For me, this is progress.
Yours might look different.
Be kind to yourself, and acknowledge that you might be working through decades of programming. Body neutrality sure isn’t a quick fix, but the lasting freedom, joy, and genuine sense of self-worth it offers is worth it.
You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.
If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.
The post Too focused on how you look? Body neutrality might be your key to body image freedom appeared first on Precision Nutrition.