OBESITY AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT EXERCISE SPECIALIST

Dr. Batrakoulis has been involved in the health and fitness industry for the past 30 years and currently works as a lecturer, adjunct professor, part-time personal trainer and exercise physiologist, fitness educator, subject matter expert, author, and speaker presenting in 45 countries across five continents, and is based in Greece. He holds a B.S. in Physical Education and Sports Science with an emphasis on fitness, an M.S. in Exercise and Health with an emphasis on exercise and obesity, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Exercise Physiology with an emphasis on exercise and obesity.

His primary research interests focus on the role of hybrid-type, multicomponent interval training in obesity. He has authored over 90 international peer-reviewed publications on exercise, including research articles and textbook chapters with over 2000 citations. Recently, he was selected to author a chapter in the latest edition of the ACSM’s and NSCA’s Personal Training textbooks. He is also the Editor of the “Obesity and Weight Management: The Exercise Professional’s Guide to Fitness Programming” textbook. He has also earned numerous professional credentials through ACSM (EP, CPT, and EIM), NSCA (CSCS, CSPS, and NSCA-CPT), ACE (CMES, CHC, CPT, WMS, YFS, SFS, TES, and FNS), and NASM (CES, PES, and WLS). When he is not at home training clients or teaching students as a lecturer and adjunct professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science at the University of Thessaly, the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Thessaly, and the Department of Physical Education and
Sport Science at Democritus University of Thrace, he is traveling around the globe sharing his knowledge as the founder of the International Obesity Exercise Training Institute (IOETI).

More specifically, he teaches in-person and online continuing education courses for health and fitness professionals approved by ACE, ACSM, AFAA, NASM, and NSCA. Additionally, he has been an ACE subject matter expert and international master trainer as well as a deputy director of the Professional Standards Committee at EuropeActive, which leads the development of educational standards, oversees the accreditation process for all courses, and registers qualified exercise professionals for all occupational roles in the European fitness sector. More specifically, he has respectively led and contributed to the Technical Experts Groups that developed standards for the occupational roles of Weight Management Exercise Specialist and Pre/Diabetes Exercise Specialist in Europe.

Additionally, he has been serving on several ACSM and NSCA Committees, has been the Chair of the ACSM’s Committee for Certification and Registry Boards International Subcommittee, and has also been involved in the NSCA Education Recognition Program as the CSCS and NSCA-CPT Sponsor for the Undergraduate and Personal Training programs at the University of Thessaly in Greece. He is an ACSM Fellow and serves on the NSCA Board of Directors as the Personal Trainer Representative. He is also a Lead External Consultant for the International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals’ (ICREPs) Global Standards Advisory Committee. He received global recognition as the 2017 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year Finalist, 2018 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, 2019 IDEA China Fitness Innovator, 2020 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year, 2020 MedFit Professional of the Year Finalist, 2021 PFP Trainer of the Year, 2021 ACSM Certified Professional of the Year Finalist, and 2022 ACSM Certified Professional of the Year.