Have you been coaching for a while and now it's time to prove your know-how in print? Are you tired of answering the same questions again and again, and wishing all the answers were written down somewhere? Do you have a miraculous system that could improve the lives of coaches and athletes around the world? Maybe it’s time to pick up the pen yourself.
There are a lot of ways to write a decent fitness article or blog post. These straightforward principles will get your brain kicking, and I’ve included some exercises you can do to better understand them and to get you on the way towards writing your first post.

1. Choose a topic that you could explain in your sleep

If you find writing this first article to be a breeze, you're much more likely to write another, so make writing this first piece an easy win. Choose a topic you've had many, many conversations about. You’ll want your writing style to be conversational, and this will be much easier if you've actually had the conversation. If you've spoken about the topic either in front of large groups or in one-on-one situations, you're much more likely to have a comprehensive grasp of it. Pick topics that people ask you about a lot. Some examples: Why is strength training important? How much sleep do I need every night? What does a healthy plate look like?

2. Know your audience

You speak differently to your best friend then you do your mother. While your writing should be clear enough for both parties to understand, the tone with which you write can be crafted to suit one of them more so than the other. If you’re writing for a general audience, your article must be digestible, so try to avoid slang or buzzwords (or anything that’s potentially offensive). If you’re writing for a more advanced audience, you’ll want to include more detail.

Exercise: Take three unique individuals through a tour of your local fitness facility. As you walk around, pay close attention to the different ways you describe things depending on your audience. What stories do you tell? What types of questions do they ask? What are you pointing out? What is your general tone? Joking around? Serious? Academic? What is the pace (and length) of the entire tour? Being aware of how you modulate your speech and behavior in person depending on the audience will help you do the same with your writing.

3. Write a simple outline

Your outline is a journey from where your audience is to where you want them to be. We all love the story of Frodo Baggins because it has a clear beginning, middle, and end. You feel as if you are taking the journey with them. This is how a good fitness article should read as well. You, the trustee narrator, hold your readers’ hands and lead them from their current knowledge level to the knowledge level you would like them to have.

An outline lays out the beginning, middle, and end of your article. It's much easier to write an article when you're simply connecting the dots, and it’ll also stop you from writing a piece that’s hard to follow. Consider having someone else read your outline. This little bit of feedback may help you write a stronger piece. If you're writing it for an existing publication, consider sharing your outline with your editor before you start your rough draft. They may have some ideas to strengthen your piece right away.

4. Pour yourself a stiff drink and write

You don't actually have to drink, though it's not a terrible idea. The goal, though, is to take a bit of the pressure off while working on your rough draft. If you put too much pressure on yourself, not only is your writing going to suffer, but you'll also be less than thrilled about doing it again, and it’ll be painful to get words on the page at all. Writing an article for the first time is like vomiting: you just need to get it all out. Then during the editing process you can be stricter with yourself. Writing is the process of getting an idea out of your brain and onto paper. Editing is the process of making that paper more shareable with other human beings.
Exercise: Boot up your favorite word processor; it’s time to do a writing workout. Remember, try to type constantly, don’t censor yourself, and have fun.

Write for two minutes on your favorite outdoor activity.
Rest one minute.
Write for two minutes on: a sport you played growing up.
Rest one minute.
Write for two minutes on: the last book you read or movie you saw.
Rest one minute.
Write for two minutes: on: Something you did today.
Make sure not to edit and just to write for now.

5. Go to bed and edit later

It’s a good idea to take some time between writing and editing. You want to separate yourself from the material a bit before revising. If you're still too close to it, you won't be able to read it for what it is. Take your mind completely away from the subject before coming back to your rough draft. Perhaps some fresh ideas will pop in that you want to add, also you'll be a much better judge of the readability and conversational tone of the writing a day or more later.

6. Revise your first draft

Don't pour yourself a drink when it comes time to make revisions. You want to have a clear head so that you can improve the quality of the product.

To make the piece as conversational as possible, read your draft out loud. Your tongue will notice odd or awkward spots much better than your brain. If you have a friend in the room with you, consider reading it to them. They will be able to tell you exactly how your piece actually reads.

You’ll want to edit for spelling and grammar, as well. Make your high school English teachers proud, and use correct spelling and punctuation. Just because your piece is conversational doesn't mean it has to be sloppy.

Make sure our piece is fun to read. If you're bored, your reader will be bored. Write a piece that you would want to read. You’ll also want to ask yourself if you accomplished what you set out to do in the outline.

7. Share for critique

Remember, you're not writing a journal entry. You’re writing to help improve others’ lives. At some point, you've got to get it out there. Share the piece with an expert, a peer, and someone in your target audience. Make sure to edit again to incorporate any feedback.

8. Go time: Share for consumption

Now it's time to share your piece with the world. Where are you going to share it? If you’re posting it to your own blog, be sure to share it on social media and to share it with people who have asked you the same question the post or article is addressing. Starting off, much of what you write won't be read by that many people. That's okay. This is your time to practice your craft. Use every article as an opportunity to learn more about your writing style, what you care about, and your readers. And if you get any useful feedback, you can use that to guide your next piece.

If you would like me to read a rough draft, or finished piece you have, tweet at me @kjs_37.