When I first started coaching, I was attending 2-3 certifications per year to develop my skills and help my clients on a deeper level.

Some of those certifications would conclusively make me a better coach, and other certifications sometimes created more client issues, not less.

The problem with most certifications I was attending, is that they were strictly focused on the technical aspects of specific modalities; kettlebells, olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, mobility, or pose running.

Every certification was focused on what to coach, but very little focus was placed on how to coach it and create buy-in with the everyday person.

So I would start nerding out on the nuances of a snatch or kettlebell swing, only to see everyone's eyes glazed over.

I quickly realized that coaching has less to do with the knowledge you have, and more to do with how you can relate that knowledge to each client and group you are working with.

In today's episode, we discuss how certain certifications could be making you a worse coach, and how you can formulate a mindset and framework that allows you to get value from. 

As coaches, we want our clients to feel comfortable enough with us to open up about their goals, their struggles, and what's missing from their lives.

But in my experience, coaches can accomplish this in a positive way through a foundational relationship of trust, or they can accomplish this through negative means like gossip, complaining, and venting to their clients.

So we may feel good about clients sharing their secrets with us, or confiding in us about the struggles they are going through, but a client opening up to us as a coach isn't always a positive sign.

When we put out gossip, complaining, and negativity into the world, we often times will attract it in return.

In today's episode, we'll help you distinguish between opening up and gossiping so you can be a more effective coach, teammate, and leader.  We'll help you recognize when you and others on your team are falling into these patterns, so you can address it and continue to level up your team.

One of our favorite exercises that we have all of our employees take on is building out their perfect day.

It can teach someone a lot about themselves and where they thrive, and it allows us as a business to put them in roles that come effortlessly to them, creating a win-win scenario.

But over years of running this exercise, we've also seen downsides to focusing too much attention on the perfect day.

Often, coaches get so focused on their perfect day early in their careers that they become impatient.  They say no to opportunities that could help them grow, because they can't directly connect that opportunity to their perfect day.

Or coaches become so focused on "work/life balance" that they are quick to judge themselves if they are feeling even a little off-balanced.  This begins a cycle of seeing work as an obligation, instead of something they love doing.

In today's episode, we dive into some of the downsides of the perfect day exercise, and how you can use this exercise to help you thrive instead of making you susceptible to burnout.

Have you ever fallen prey to the idea of chasing passive income?

You're rushing so hard to get to a point where you don't have to "trade time for money", that you don't even make enough money to support yourself or your family today.

Most coaches falsely believe that the only way to ever make a living in the fitness industry is to be a gym owner, not a coach.  

The idea that trading time for money is inherently bad, is rooted in a society where most people hate what they do.

But most coaches and gym owners love what they do, and would even do it for free in some cases.

In today's episode, we dive into why in many cases it can be a great thing to trade time for money.  We talk about the importance of finding work that you love, increasing your value to others in that work, and how it's possible to make passive income outside of your day job.

What if you could generate $250k in revenue as an online coach, only to find out that this path wasn't for you?

In 2020/2021, Drew Girton decided to hire out all of his responsibilities for his brick-and-mortar gym Pendulum Fitness in California, so he could move to Austin, Texas with his family to go all-in on online coaching.  

Despite having massive success in terms of revenue and profit ($250k in about 12 months with almost no overhead), Drew found he hated the online coaching space.

He wasn't able to deliver on the results that he could produce in-person, he burnt out his social media following, and lost friends and brick-and-mortar members in the process.

Now he's back in California rebuilding his gym and community, with the added tools and experience he has gained from the online space.  

In today's episode, Drew gives us an honest and behind-the-scenes look at what the online coaching space looks like, and how those skills can be leveraged in an in-person gym.  

Most coaches that pride themselves on being a great coach, would prefer not to believe that the clock or music can have a drastic impact on our ability to be effective coaches.

Most of us see it as a necessary evil, not something that can make or break the results we are providing for our clients.

But like it or not, the clock and music play a significant role in the level of enjoyment and engagement that you will get from your clients.

The clock can help us start and finish on time, maximize the hour, help us manage larger classes, and notify the group on transitions between exercises or intervals.

The music can add energy and fun to the room, signal the intensity we want to see from our athletes, or become a cue to pay attention and listen when the music is turned down.

When used properly, the clock and music can actually make us a better and more effective coach.

In this week's episode, we explore in detail how you can use the clock and music to enhance your class experience, and dedicate even more time and attention to your clients.

I was recently invited to be a part of a really interesting conversation about how personal trainers can level up, and make a lucrative career within a gym.

It's pretty common to see a physical therapist or masseuse renting space out at a CrossFit box or microgym, but it seems to be more rare where a freelancing personal trainer will rent out space at those same gyms.

In the rare cases where it does happen, those relationships usually end poorly if the personal trainer starts to achieve too much success that is then seen as a competing service.

Where we've seen the most success, is personal trainers finding gyms that align with their values, and where they align with the brand of the gym.  When a trainer is invested in the core service of the gym they are a part of, and especially if they are a client themselves of that service, it creates alignment where all parties benefit from the partnership.

The other important thing to note is that early on in this business relationship, the gym is providing most of the value in terms of marketing, training, and stable pay.  As a trainer develops and fills their book of business, they grow their value to the point that the opportunity cost of losing that coach is significant to the business.

In this discussion, we dive into all aspects of the trainer-to-gym relationship, and how that relationship can and should evolve as value is created and shifted over time.

In a recent interview with Stuart Brauer of WTF Gym Talk, we discussed how our programming has evolved over the last decade, and if we made any significant changes since rebranding from CrossFit.

The answer to that is yes, there have been lots of small changes that have been made, but we didn't do it with the goal of differentiating ourselves from CrossFit.

All of the programming changes we have made over the years have been in an effort to create a better product that clients enjoy more, reduce injuries, and improve results.

Some of those changes have taken us away from traditional CrossFit, but we're not trying to be different for different's sake.

In this episode, we discuss a lot of the changes we have made to our programming over the last decade.  Those changes include things like adding more tempo work, incorporating functional bodybuilding, eliminating specific kipping movements, and varying levels of intensities instead of doing all high intensity all the time.

When you make the transition from a coach or staff member into a leadership position like head coach or owner, it can be difficult to now become the authority when you are not used to being the one in charge.

Many new gym owners and managers struggle setting and upholding policies in this new role.  They don't want to be a hard-ass unnecessarily, but they also want to create the systems and structure for their team to thrive.

One simple framework that has helped me become a better manager, is to think about policies in terms of agreements instead of meaningless corporate rules.

Policies are often one-sided rules that benefit the business, but can feel like punishment for the employees.  Many are outdated, or never served an intentional purpose when they were initiated.

Agreements, on the other hand, force us to understand the needs of all parties involved, and create a buy-in to achieving a specific objective or solving a problem.

In today's episode, I dive further into this concept of policies vs agreements to help you become the most effective manager and leader you can be.

A long time listener of the podcast reached out for some quick advice before he opens his first gym later this summer, Gowanus Fitness in Brooklyn, NY.

Instead of answering his questions 1-on-1, I thought it would be fun and valuable to bring him on the podcast and give him some feedback and coaching live for everyone to learn from.

In today's episode, we dive into how to set up your memberships, pricing, and marketing in a way to fill your gym and be successful right from Day 1.

We discuss when and where to use discounts, and how to set up founding member packages that bring clients into the gym, but don't overextend the business and crush the profit margin.