Dan Ritchie

Dan Ritchie, PhD, is the Co-Founder and President of Functional Aging Institute and also owner of Miracles Fitness in Indiana. Dan has a broad background in the fitness industry including training and management in commercial and university/hospital-based fitness, for-profit, not-for-profit and educational facilities. His primary areas of expertise are in personal training for special populations: the athletes, pregnancy, blind, stroke recovery, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimers, etc. Dan was the winner of the 2014 PFP Trainer of the Year.

Lunging and School Bus Driving

April 9 2025

Dual-task training is the number one way to train brain/cognitive fitness... View More

Why Train Seniors?

March 11 2025

These are the clients with the most need, the most spending power and often the most available time to be great consistent clients!... View More

Standing Lat Pulldown

Feb. 12 2025

We always stress training on your feet whenever possible! So here is a standing lat pull down on a cable column... View More

Full-Body Functional Circuit Workout

Jan. 8 2025

Dr. Cody Sipe takes me through a full-body workout for a Level 2 client. Think of a Level 2 client as an advanced beginner, or lower fitness level... View More

Functional Metabolic Circuits

Dec. 10 2024

Sometimes you just need a fast simple workout that can be as short as 8 minutes or as long as 20 minutes.Keep it simple with just 3-4 exercises that you repeat as many rounds as you can... View More

Gait Performance Enhancement

Nov. 12 2024

When training dynamic balance we like to use a wide range of exercises to force people to change their gait. This is also called Gait Performance Enhancement... View More

Functional Metabolic Circuit or Finisher

Oct. 9 2024

Use this exercise circuit as a 3-minute finisher at the end of your workouts, or you can use it as a full 20-minute workout. It's really simple — just 4 exercises in total... View More

Dual-Task Training: Using the Squat Pattern While Training Your Brain

Sept. 3 2024

In this video with Dawn the basic movement pattern is the squat, but we will add some more dual-task sequences to add challenges to work brain health as we train... View More

Train Your Clients for What They Like to Do and Want to Do in Life

Aug. 6 2024

Think and talk less about fitness and communicate more about what people want and dream for their lives... View More

Balance, Reaction Time and Cognitive Speed Drills

July 9 2024

Again, we have a series of balance and reaction time drills that will not only challenge our clients' balance system but their cognitive system as well... View More

The Hierarchy of Physical Function

June 12 2024

What are you currently doing to prevent the frailty progression?... View More

Front Plank Variations

May 13 2024

So while the front plank is useful, why don't you try a few more variations — the combinations really become endless... View More

Hurdler Warm-Up Exercise

April 10 2024

The Hurdler warm up exercise is great for static balance on top of warming up our hips for activity... View More

Jumping Jacks 6 Ways

March 12 2024

Jumping jacks can be a great warmup exercise, or simply a great transition exercise to get clients heart rate elevated.There are endless combinations and here we show just six varieties... View More

At-Home Balance Drills

Feb. 12 2024

Winter is a great time to create extra at-home drills for your clients... View More

Balance Training Combined with Dual-Task Training for Cognitive Fitness

Jan. 9 2024

This exercise is a simple march in place — a simple exercise for most, but it can challenge balance as it prolongs our single leg stance since our foot is off the ground a little longer than normal

Training Your Clients for What They Like to Do and Want to Do in Life

Jan. 5 2024

At Functional Aging Institute (FAI), we talk all the time about training your clients for ‘need to do,’ ‘like to do,’ and ‘want to do’ activities... View More

Train Your Mature Clients Towards their Dreams

June 27 2023

When clients say they are now doing things they haven’t done in years or never even dreamed possible, you know you are changing lives!... View More

Power Training: Important for Maintaining Function as We Age

April 17 2023

Personal training has evolved beyond sets and reps. We’re learning more and more that strength is just one component of our program design... View More

You’re Not Selling Fitness, You’re Selling Dreams

Dec. 15 2022

We say often that mature clients need fitness, but that doesn’t mean they want fitness. If we are really honest, dozens of things sound more interesting and enticing for people... View More