FAQ: PN Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification
Answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Just like your clients or patients can’t out-train a bad diet, they also can’t afford to overlook sleep, stress management, and recovery (SSR) as vital components to their health and fitness.

Your clients may spend just a few hours per week exercising, but how they manage the other 160+ hours is what truly drives their results.

In other words: If they’re feeling exhausted, lacking motivation to exercise, or simply not progressing, it’s often not the workouts—it’s their lifestyle.

That’s because improvements in health and fitness happen during recovery, not during training.

Furthermore, they can try to exercise consistently and eat healthier… but if they’re feeling stressed and exhausted, it’s much harder for them to form and sustain healthy habits that make a real difference.

This is why real, sustainable results come from consistently prioritizing the essentials: sleep, stress management, and recovery.

These aren’t just “nice-to-haves”—they’re non-negotiables that help your clients perform their best and live a longer, healthier life.

As an SSR Certified Coach, you’ll learn how to develop personalized plans to optimize your clients’ health outside the gym—and help them feel more rested, recovered, and resilient!

Perhaps not as obvious, SSR coaches also help people…

• feel more energetic, in control, and capable of taking action.
• overcome the invisible issues that are holding them back.
• change their mindset about who they are and what they can do.
• change their ability to make choices and try new things—as well as to fully experience the world around them.
• take small simple everyday actions that yield big effects for their overall wellbeing.

When you help your clients in these ways, EVERY area of your their health and life improves…

… from their nutrition and fitness, to their mindset, emotions, relationships, work performance, and more.

Their ability to build and sustain healthy habits suddenly skyrockets, giving them the momentum they need to reach all their goals…

And once they start to experience these results? They stick around longer, achieve more, and bring you more referrals!

Everyone knows that movement and nutrition are important.

Now, more and more people are accepting that sleep, stress management, and recovery are crucial, foundational pieces of the overall health puzzle.

Those people include:

✅ Fitness and nutrition professionals who know that stress and lack of sleep affects what their clients are able to do in the gym—and in the kitchen (not to mention whether their clients show up for their sessions at all)

✅ Doctors, nurses, and therapists who know that stress and sleep are among the top issues affecting their patients’ health and wellbeing

✅ Athletes and fitness enthusiasts who see sleep, stress management, and recovery as important turnkeys to improved performance

✅ Massage therapists who continually work to release stress from their clients’ soft tissues, only to see that stress re-knot their clients’ muscles within a week’s time

✅ Yoga teachers who understand the physical and mental challenge of dealing with life’s never-ending curveballs—and value the practice of finding balance over, and over, again

✅ Health, life, and business coaches whose clients can’t afford to decrease their productivity—but have a hard time making time to recover from the stress of their responsibilities

For all of those professions—and more—understanding a client’s hidden stressors, sleep problems, and recovery issues serves as the key that unlocks positive steps towards progress.

Not only that, but once you address these core roadblocks—everything else in your (and your client’s lives) becomes easier.

• Your clients feel heard, seen, and supported—and refer their friends and family to the person that gets it.
• Your clients progress faster and easier through nutrition, health, and fitness goals because they have fewer cravings, more energy, a growth mindset, and a step-by-step action plan for how to positively cope with new (inevitable) challenges.
• You become a credible, respected resource who can manage anything clients throw your way with empathy, grace, and understanding.
• You retain more clients because you’ve mastered the rare skill of giving clients what they need—without overloading them with high expectations and demanding routines that only add more stress to their overflowing plates. 

Most coaches aren’t well-versed in this topic because, until recently, there hasn’t been a cohesive training on it. That has left clients on their own to wade through surface-level advice like “stop using your smartphone before bedtime,” “avoid too much stress,” and “meditate for 20 minutes a day.”

Your clients need more than Google to make real progress.

They need YOU.

Becoming certified in SSR will help you build a framework and a language for helping clients move through those invisible issues that hold them back.

The skills you’ll learn in this certification will help you become the go-to coach who can confidently guide clients through underlying sleep, stress, and recovery issues—that many others don’t know what to do with—and in doing so, set the bar for what modern health coaching looks like in the 2020s.

Since we first introduced our revolutionary nutrition and lifestyle coaching approach nearly two decades ago, our certification programs have become the industry’s gold standard for coaches who want to help people eat better, get fitter, and live healthier lives.

Here are a few reasons why we’re the obvious choice:

1. This is the industry’s first-ever comprehensive certification that gives coaches a reliable, repeatable process for helping their clients sleep better, recover more effectively, and become more resilient to stress. At the moment, you can’t gain these skills and tools anywhere else.
2. We’ve gathered some of the world’s biggest experts in the physiology and psychology of sleep, stress, and mental performance, along with leading health and fitness coaches to contribute to this world-class program. Now you’ll know what the experts know, so you can get better results than ever.
3. We’re the only certification company that actively coaches people every single day (150,000+ to date). We help them eat better, get fitter, sleep more, recover more effectively, and live healthier lives. We take all our learnings from coaching and put them into our certification programs. That means everything you’ll learn is based on hands-on results in the real world.
4. We invented behavior-change coaching. Learning the science is important, but it only matters if you can actually help someone change. That’s what we began specializing in behavior change nearly two decades ago (long before anyone else). And it’s why we’re trusted by over 175,000 health and fitness professionals around the world.

Bottom line: If you want to learn the latest science of sleep, stress, and recovery—along with a proven process for coaching your clients to better results than ever—you’ve come to the right place.

By the time you finish the program, you’ll have a pro-level understanding of the science behind sleep, stress, and recovery—along with a reliable, repeatable step-by-step playbook for coaching your clients through it all.

When working with clients, you’ll be able to…

• Fully assess their situation—What kind of stress load are they under? How’s their sleep? What’s standing in the way of their goals? What, if any, recovery practices do they already have in place?

• Help them identify and articulate their goals—How can they limit some stressors while better managing others? How can they incorporate useful recovery practices into their daily life?

• Develop an individualized sleep, stress management, and recovery plan that fits seamlessly with any existing nutrition and fitness habits they’re practicing. You’ll provide a roadmap they can easily follow—even on tough days.

• Help them navigate the inevitable ups and downs of change—as you highlight bright spots and discover new opportunities.

• Strategize, troubleshoot, and adjust their plan along the way—based on what’s working for them—as you help them achieve better results than ever before.

All of the above means better results for your clients, in all areas of their lives—from their health and fitness, to their relationships, career, mindset, emotions, and resilience.

And it means a stronger business for you, as you help clients achieve better, and deeper, results than ever before. You’ll develop deeper, more valuable relationships with your clients—which naturally leads to better retention and more referrals. And you’ll stand out from the competition like never before, because you’ll be able to help your clients in ways that 99% of other coaches simply can’t.

This first-of-its-kind certification program gives you the comprehensive science and the advanced coaching methods you need to guide your clients (and yourself) to improved sleep, effective recovery, and more resilience to stress.

This program digs into the physiology and psychology of how your body responds to stress, as well as how it naturally heals and grows. This cutting-edge understanding will help you coach for higher- and lower-level needs that the world—and your clients—really need right now.

The program is broken into 4 comprehensive units—all easily accessed online, from any device. Here’s a breakdown of what’s included.

Unit 1

This introductory unit sets up your coaching fundamentals. You’ll gain insight into…

• what makes a great coach
• how to set yourself up for the best learning experience
• our deep approach to coaching that transforms lives, not just bodies
• how to help people change—in a way that works for them
• our proven framework for helping anyone achieve their goals

Unit 2

We’ll dig into big questions like: What is stress? What is recovery? And how do they relate to the 6 dimensions of “deep health?”

You’ll dive deep into…

• physical stressors such as an illness or physical fatigue
• mental or cognitive stressors like information overload
• emotional stressors like grief and loss
• social stress in your relationships
• existential stress during a life transition
• environmental stressors in your workplace

Unit 3

Here we’ll take a deeper look into the science of sleep. Plus we’ll look at the four key areas where we can focus our recovery efforts: Sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress management. You’ll discover:

• how to track progress in improving recovery behaviors such as sleep
• what nutrition habits can support recovery
• what types of movement can help improve our long-term physical performance
• which mental skills could help us manage and even embrace stressors, when we can’t reduce them
• the complexity of sleep and its role in recovery

Unit 4

This unit brings everything together by showing you how to apply what you’ve learned—so you can create personalized sleep, stress management, and recovery plans for yourself and your clients.

You’ll climb into the driver’s seat, test things out, and experience the process in real time. Rather than more information, you’ll get experiments, activities, reflection questions, and challenges.

Each unit offers plenty of “learn by doing” opportunities, including case studies based on real-world clients, and simulated coaching conversations to hone your skills.

By the end of the program, you’ll know how to apply our reliable, repeatable 6-step process for helping yourself and others make sustainable changes to how they sleep, manage stress, and recover.

This program is self-paced, so there’s no deadline. You can take as much or as little time as you like.

If you’d like some guidelines, however, the pace that seems to work best for most of our students is completing 1-2 chapters per week. That means:

• Reading the chapter
• Supplementing your learning with audio and video
• Completing “learn by doing” activities that deepen your learning and put your new knowledge into practice
• Taking the chapter exam (for most chapters), once you’re ready.

If you follow that structure, you can expect to spend about 2-3 hours per week on the certification materials. Since there are 30 total chapters, you’d earn your PN1-SSRC Certificate in about 4-6 months. Although you can move more quickly or slowly depending on your situation.

But here’s the best part: You don’t need to wait to get certified in order to start coaching your clients to better rest, recovery, and resilience. Since you’ll be learning and practicing from day one of the program, you’ll be in a perfect position to start helping your clients immediately.

There are 25 short exams with 10-15 questions each (280 questions in all). Questions are either multiple choice or true or false.

The exams are delivered online; they can be accessed whenever you’re ready. Also, each exam corresponds with the chapter you just studied, and completing the exam unlocks the next chapter.

For instance, if you read Chapter 2 of the program, watch/listen to the video and audio, and tackle the study guide questions, you’ll be ready to take the Chapter 2 exam. Once the Chapter 2 exam is completed, you’ll instantly see your results.

At least 75%, which most students easily achieve or surpass.

By the end of the course, you’ll have completed 25 short, 10-15 question exams, for a total of 280 questions. Get at least 210 of the questions correct (75%) to earn your PN Level 1 Certified Coach credentials in SSRC. We’ll send your official certificate immediately after you pass.

Your score for the course is cumulative. So if you do very poorly on a few exams, you can still  pass the course as long as you answer 210 out of 280 questions by the end of the course.

If you don’t earn 210 out of 280 points in the course, you can take a re-do exam at the end of the course.

Yes! Here’s a breakdown of CEUs you can earn with Level 1 SSR Certification:

• ACE: 4.0 CECs
• ACSM: 5.5 CECs
• AFAA: 15 CEUs
• CIMSPA: 10 CPD points
• CPTN: 14 CECs
• EREPS: 10 hours
• ISSA: 20 CECs
• NASM: 1.9 CEUs
• NBHWC: 15 CEs

Don’t see your certification organization listed? No problem. Many organizations accept our course for CEUs on a one-off basis.

To do that, you’ll just submit a summary of the course and a copy of your certificate to the organization for review once you’ve graduated.

The Level 1 SSR Certification is a self-paced digital program that teaches you how to address the critical, often-overlooked issues that block most clients from making progress in their health and fitness: poor sleep, chronic stress, and inadequate recovery.

Without first addressing these issues, your clients will struggle to make progress, and you’ll struggle to help them—even if you already have a well-designed nutrition and fitness program.

As an SSR Certified Coach, you’ll help your clients identify, address, and overcome their limiting factors—like emotional/stress eating, low energy, poor sleep routines, procrastination, fatigue, and more.

You’ll develop personalized, practical SSR action plans to help them optimize the other 23+ hours they spend outside the gym every day—so they can thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally.

If you want to go beyond nutrition and fitness, transform lives in ways other coaches can’t, and stay competitive in this evolving field, the SSR Certification is for you.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s covered in the program:

Unit 1: The PN Approach

Kickstart your coaching journey by discovering what makes a great coach, embracing the “Deep Health” philosophy, and learning how to guide clients through resistance to achieve their goals.

Unit 2: Deep Health, Stress, and Recovery

Explore the nature of stress and recovery, delving into physical, mental, emotional, and social stressors, and uncover how to thrive through life’s challenges.

Unit 3: The Science of Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery

Get the lowdown on sleep science and discover effective strategies in nutrition, movement, and stress management to optimize recovery and overall performance.

Unit 4: Coaching in Practice

Put theory into action by creating personalized plans for sleep, stress management, and recovery. You’ll engage in hands-on experiments and activities to test and refine your coaching skills.

The Level 2 Master Health Coaching Certification is an elite, practice-based mentorship known for creating the best coaches in the world.

Throughout 20 weeks of live online coaching workshops, case studies, and small group role-playing sessions, you’ll work closely with PN mentor coaches and your peers—as you learn and practice advanced coaching and communication skills in challenging client scenarios.

Instead of diving deeply into specific topics like nutrition or SSR, Level 2 focuses mainly on mastering the art of behavior-change coaching—which is the #1 skill that sets world-class health and fitness coaches apart from everyone else.

In other words: Everything you learn and practice in Level 2 will enhance your current knowledge base and skill set.

As a PN Certified Master Health Coach, you’ll join the top 1% of your field, and you’ll use your new skills to improve ANY area of your clients’ health where you specialize as a coach—from nutrition and fitness, to sleep, stress management, recovery, mindset, and more.

You’ll also be eligible to become a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (through the NBHWC), and a Registered Health Coach (through the HCA)—two of the most respected professional designations in this industry.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s covered in the Level 2 program:

Weeks 1-5: Master the essential skills for building a successful coaching practice, from client-centered coaching to effective goal-setting to managing long-term client or patient relationships.

Weeks 6-11: Deepen your coaching expertise with advanced communication strategies, motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral techniques, effective action planning, and support for clients or patients in difficult situations.

Weeks 11-15: Learn strategies for mindset and confidence, somatic psychology (the connection between the body and mind), motivation, environmental influences, and managing coaching challenges and personal well-being.

Weeks 16-20: Gain advanced skills for managing complex client conversations, embracing diversity and inclusivity, supporting body positivity, and continuing your professional growth.

Note: The coaches who benefit the most from Level 2 have already gone through our Level 1 Nutrition and/or SSR Certifications (or a similar Level 1 program from another organization), or have a health or fitness background working with clients or patients.

While we’ve offered textbooks for some of our courses in the past, this certification is 100% digital to align with the way our students tell us they prefer to learn.

(BTW: We’re always open to hearing from our students about how we can improve our offers to help them learn best.)

The digital format also allows students to take their learning on-the-go, wherever they are.

However, to accommodate different types of learners, we’ve recently added:

• A printable PDF package for all 70+ worksheets included in the course
• Printable study guides, for people who prefer to reflect on their learning with pen and paper
• Bookmarks for chapter activities (so you can always come back to the gems you found throughout the course)
• Estimated time to completion—so you can budget your studying accordingly