How to Choose the Right Continuing Education Course for Your Coaching Focus in 2026

May 4

I’ve been in your shoes over and over again. As a medical physician and a fitness professional, I’ve completed more continuing education courses than I can count. I know the feeling of scrolling through lists of CEUs or CECs, wondering what’s truly worth your time and money.

But here’s the truth: choosing a continuing education course isn’t just a checkbox for recertification—it’s one of the best opportunities you have to elevate your skillset and stand out in your field. That’s how I want you to view this as! What is going to make you a BETTER COACH?

Whether you're certified through NBHWC as a health & wellness coach, or through NASM, ACE, AFAA, or ACSM as a fitness professional, the right course can do a number of things for you:

Deepen your knowledge & expertise
Sharpen your coaching skills
Provide you with a skillset that sets you apart from peers
Deliver more lasting impact to your clients

After years in both medicine and fitness, I created these courses to fill the gap I saw again and again. My goal is to bridge the gap between medicine and overall wellness. Our health system is flawed, and if we are really honest about it—we need to change A LOT. I also know that health & wellness coaches and fitness professionals are front-line warriors in our health crisis. I want to help each of you grow to have evidence-based skills in lifestyle optimization so that you can create more effective, long-lasting change to your clients. Often times too many coaches have the heart and desire, but didn’t equip themselves with the correct tools or scientific clarity to get sustainable results. These programs are designed to change that.

Here’s how to choose the course that fits you best—and why I believe our curriculum can take your coaching to the next level.

what client problems do you want to solve

The first question to ask yourself is what area of expertise do you want to improve your knowledge and skills in that will best help your clients. While there are many areas you can dive into, I wholeheartedly believe that lifestyle optimization is as invaluable as any. Why? Because it will not only help your clients get the fitness results they are looking for, but they are also going to be much healthier in the long run—which is the ultimate goal we are trying to achieve for them.

Matching a course to your clients' biggest challenges will ensure you're getting education that’s directly applicable to your daily work.

AtlasMD360 Courses by Focus Area:

Behavior Change: Help clients build sustainable habits with The Power of Change. I’m convinced this is a must-take course for everyone.
Exercise as Medicine: Learn how movement protects against disease in The Exercise Effect. This bridges the gap between medicine and exercise.
Sleep Optimization: Teach clients better rest strategies with Restorative Sleep. This teaches all about the ultimate performance enhancer!
Nutrition: Get evidence-based foundations with Nutrition for Health and Performance. A comprehensive course with many coaching tools.
Mental Wellness: Explore stress, resilience, and emotional health in this course. Mental Health is intimately intertwined with Physical Health.

These are not fluff courses. They are grounded in data, structured by physicians and wellness experts, and designed to be immediately usable in real-world coaching.

2. Look for Structure and Scientific Rigor

Not all Continuing Education courses are created equal. And it’s often very difficult to know what you’re getting. I know firsthand how frustrating it is to invest in something vague or unstructured, and that’s why we built these courses to be:

Clear and modular
Supported by decades of clinical research
Developed by a team of experts in Lifestyle Medicine, Integrative Medicine, Health & Wellness Coaching, and Fitness Professionals
Backed 100% by a Satisfaction, Money-Back Guarantee

AtlasMD360 courses are crafted specifically for professionals who want trustworthy content, not guesswork. The full comprehensive course gives you a true, in-depth look at lifestyle optimization as each Building Block builds upon each other. Collectively, the course teaches complete wellness that can help your clients achieve long-lasting results.

3. Choose a Course That Builds Toward a Bigger Goal

Think long term: What skillsets are you trying to build on for your career? You are going to have a lot of continuing education over the span of your career, and I suggest you use your time wisely. Are you interested in building a specialty area, or are you positioning yourself as a more comprehensive coach? Give this some thought and consider what direction you may want to go into.

One thing I stand by: education should come with support. So whichever direction you choose to go in, make sure that you are surrounding yourself with good people who care about your success. Here at AtlasMD360, we are a small, physician-led team that believes in being accessible to our learners. If you have questions, you can always reach me directly at: DrFrangopoulos@atlasmd360.com

If you are interested in becoming a more well-rounded coach, our 5-course Lifestyle Building Blocks Bundle earns 20+ Continuing Education Credits and gives you a comprehensive system covering behavior, exercise, sleep, nutrition, and mental wellness. With our programs, you’re not just improving your knowledge—you’re building a coaching toolkit that will help your clients for a lifetime.

👉 Explore the full course lineup here: