FITLETE Radio | A Personal Training News and Fitness Industry Q&A Show

Meet Coach Matt McKinley

Matt McKinley is a Nashville-based personal trainer and head coach at Integra Fitness Nashville, where he leads client training and coach development. With nearly 15 years in the industry, he began in Issaquah, Washington, before moving to Nashville. Matt describes himself as a “coach to the coaches,” mentoring other trainers while maintaining his own client roster. His coaching philosophy has evolved from a heavy emphasis on maximal strength and big bilateral lifts to a more flexible, client-centered approach that prioritizes sustainability, enjoyment, and pain-free progress.

Matt's approach to working with hesitant or resistant clients is patient, curiosity-driven, and non-pushy, focusing on phone conversations, thoughtful follow-ups, and explaining how his programming meets people where they are rather than forcing commitment. When clients resist advice, he avoids the "I know best" stance and instead leads with questions, education, and collaboration. Sometimes finding one small habit they will follow and builds from there. For clients with big aspirational goals, he digs into the "why" behind the goal, uses pre-mortem planning to prepare for setbacks, breaks outcomes into daily process-based habits, and has honest conversations about whether goals realistically fit their lifestyle and confidence level.

For aspiring or stalled coaches, Matt's number-one piece of advice is that the learning never stops, warning that getting a first certification and then stopping education is a recipe for not reaching full potential or building a lasting career. He recommends continuing education through certifications when possible, reading books on training and behavior change, following credible voices on social media without making it the only learning source, listening to top podcasts, and finding a mentor early who will show you their system, give feedback, and help you avoid common mistakes. His own career trajectory reflects this philosophy, crediting his first boss as a great mentor who forced him to grow through challenging situations while teaching him what to read, who to follow, and how to build a long, fulfilling career without stalling.

"Getting your first certification and then being done learning forever is a recipe for not reaching your peak full potential or actually building a career out of being a trainer or a coach."

Connect With Matt

* Instagram: @Coachmatt_mckinley

* Gym: Integra Fitness Nashville

Arlan Carroll is an aerospace engineer–turned fitness professional who now runs AC Fitness and Sports Training and serves as director of training at Palm Beach Personal Fitness in Jupiter, Florida. He trains a wide range of clients from youth athletes (ages 10–13) to adults in their 80s and 90s—with a focus on strength, longevity, and helping people “get their life back” through smart, individualized programming.

Connect with Arlan

* Website: https://www.actraining.fit/

* Instagram: @arlancarroll

* Training location: Jupiter, Florida (AC Fitness and Sports Training / Palm Beach Personal Fitness)

Episode overview

In this FITLETE Radio Coach’s Spotlight, Bryce breaks down how he coaches people who are stuck in that cycle of starting over, why not everyone needs to live under a barbell, and how he builds sustainable programs around real life instead of fitness perfectionism. You’ll hear his origin story, the moment he realized coaching was his calling, and the mindset that keeps him learning and evolving in the industry.

Who is Bryce?

Bryce, a dedicated personal trainer and proud owner of B3 Coaching in Edmonton, Alberta, is well-trained through NAIT’s two-year diploma program, holds a CSEP-CPT certification, and stays committed to ongoing learning through Prescript and mentoring. His passion is helping people who often find themselves restarting their fitness journeys, guiding them to build lasting mental and physical resilience. He focuses on intention-driven workouts, correct movement techniques, and small, manageable lifestyle changes to support lasting habits.

Connect with Bryce

* Website: b3coaching.ca

* Instagram: @brycemacarthur

Dominic Frazier is a human performance and nutrition coach who specializes in helping athletes and busy high‑performers improve body composition, performance, and long‑term health through stress‑reduced, habit‑based coaching.

What Dominic does

Dominic runs Frazier Fitness Human Performance and Nutrition Consulting and Perfect Health Consulting, coaching body composition, performance, and long‑term health through individualized programs. His work blends performance training with advanced nutrition strategies, teaching clients how to eat for energy, recovery, and physique goals while respecting their real‑world constraints. He offers online coaching for athletes and busy professionals, positioning himself as a “human performance and nutrition coach” rather than just a trainer, which shapes how he approaches stress, sleep, and mindset in every plan.

Coaching philosophy

Dominic has evolved from a “no pain, no gain” mindset rooted in his college football background to a philosophy centered on stress‑reduced fat loss and habit‑based lifestyle change. He emphasizes lowering chronic stress, improving breath work, upgrading nutrition quality, and prioritizing sleep and recovery as non‑negotiable pillars of sustainable results. He repeatedly returns to the idea that everyone is capable of reaching their goals, but each person’s path looks different, so coaching must be individualized and grounded in who they are and where they’re starting.

One of his core beliefs is that clients need simple, progressive habits rather than rigid perfection: that might mean moving from skipping breakfast to a daily protein shake, or from not tracking anything to just taking food photos before worrying about macros. He sees these “small wins” as momentum builders, arguing that when people consistently stack small wins, “success has to happen” over time.

“Everybody needs to really focus on reducing their stress, breath work, lowering their energy levels, better nutrition, better mindset, better sleep, and better recovery.”

How he works with clients

Dominic talks a lot about “meeting clients where they are” and building a clear roadmap with them from day one. In consults, he lays out a plan of attack that shows how their goals, timelines, and current behaviors connect, helping them understand what it will realistically take and what first steps make sense. For people who feel they’re “not ready” for coaching yet, he uses this roadmap to break the process into approachable habits and to show that readiness is created through action, not something you wait for.

When clients show resistance, he revisits why they reached out to him specifically, highlighting the emotional trigger or pain point that made his message resonate. He then pairs that with honest education, cutting through detoxes, gimmicks, and quick fixes—and showing best practices for their goals so they can decide to lean into the work with eyes wide open. Dominic believes that fitness information is widely available; the differentiator is which coach a client is willing to listen to and implement with.

“The biggest thing that I try to do with prospective clients is show them that plan of attack from jump so they can see what it’s going to look like and then really focus on meeting them where they are so they can first and foremost start to collect those small wins.”

Balancing goals with real life

Dominic’s coaching style is deliberately built for “real people living real lives”, clients with careers, families, travel, and unpredictable schedules. He relies heavily on regular check‑ins, data feedback, and weekly affirmations to keep clients focused on what they are doing right, not just what’s left to fix. He frames progress as painting a big picture “one brushstroke at a time,” reminding clients that each checked box, steps, meals, sleep, lifts, adds up to the long‑term result even when weeks look messy.

He also helps clients navigate roadblocks by reframing obstacles as part of the coaching process rather than failures, guiding them to adjust plans while still moving forward. For Dominic, true lifestyle coaching means showing clients where they are, how to move through those obstacles, and how to stay successful despite life’s chaos, not only when conditions are perfect.

“You’re usually only one conversation away from your unlocked potential.”

Advice to coaches

Dominic’s biggest piece of advice for aspiring and stalled coaches is straightforward: “Coaches have coaches.” He encourages trainers to hire mentors across domains- business, marketing, coaching, communication- especially in areas where they feel stuck or lack clarity. In his view, you’re often “only one conversation away from your unlocked potential,” and that conversation usually happens when a mentor helps you see your situation through a different lens.

This emphasis on mentorship echoes his own path of higher‑level education and specialization, suggesting that coaches who invest in learning, coaching, and perspective shifts will build more durable careers and better serve their clients.

Connect with Dominic Frazier Here

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdfrazier/

Perfect Health Website: https://myperfect.health/personal-training-frazier-fitness

Stephanie Frykberg is a Reno-based personal trainer, nutrition coach, and IFBB Pro who coaches clients ranging from beginners to Hyrox athletes and bodybuilders. Her approach centers on individualized programming, sustainable habits, and making fitness support real life instead of taking it over.

What makes her coaching stand out

Stephanie’s biggest message is that there is no one-size-fits-all method. She emphasizes meeting people where they are, building plans around their goals and lifestyle, and helping them stay consistent long enough to actually see progress. That perspective came through clearly when she talked about how the best program is not always the most aggressive one, but the one a client can truly follow.

She also brings a strong competitor’s perspective to the coaching side. Having competed for about nine years and gone pro a couple of years ago, she understands what it takes to prepare for the stage, but she is equally energized by helping someone else step into that experience for the first time.

Key Takeaways

A major theme in the episode is confidence. Stephanie said her favorite coaching moments are when clients realize they are capable of more than they believed, and she described how meaningful it was to watch a first-time competitor gain confidence on stage after months of preparation. That story captures how she sees coaching as more than training and macros; for her, it is about helping people become stronger, healthier, and more confident in every area of life.

Get in Touch with Stephanie Frykberg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sfrykberg_ifbbpro/

Website: https://frykinfitness.com

Dana works with a wide range of clients from HYROX competitors and goal‑driven lifters to people simply trying to build healthier habits and she also teaches swim lessons to swimmers of all ages. In this conversation, she breaks down why “more” isn’t always better, how she helps intimidated beginners transform into confident lifters, and why the best programs are the ones you can actually recover from and stay consistent with week after week.

Outside the gym, Dana’s role in public service addressing homelessness and improving access to housing reinforces her belief that coaching is a partnership and that fitness should support your life, not take it over. She shares how she navigates clients’ careers, families, and responsibilities while still helping them chase big goals sometimes by simply finding the best workout that fits into a busy Tuesday.

For coaches, Dana talks about the importance of continuing education, highlights her experience at the Real Coaches Summit, and explains why you need to “coach the person before you coach the program.” She closes by giving credit to her mentor, Courtney Dorsey of Premier Athletics, and the role that feedback, community, and long‑term relationships have played in her evolution as a coach, mom, and human.

Great quotes from Dana.

“Consistency beats intensity almost every time. The best programs are the ones people can recover from and actually stick with.”

“Fitness should support your life, not take over it.”

“People may forget the workout you wrote, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel and how you helped them believe in themselves.”

Connect with Dana

Train with Dana and learn more about Premier Athletics:Website: https://www.premierathleticsfitness.com

Follow Dana on Instagram: @coachd_cpt

Nathan Jones is a servant-hearted strength and conditioning coach and co-owner of Elevation Athletic Performance in Cassville, Missouri, where he and his wife help athletes of all ages build strength, confidence, and better lives through training.

Who is Nathan Jones?

Nathan Jones is the co-owner of Elevation Athletic Performance, a semi-private strength and conditioning facility in Cassville, Missouri, where he trains athletes and adults alongside his wife, Johnica. They started Elevation in their garage and have grown it into a 4,800-square-foot facility focused on group strength and conditioning for athletes, one-on-one coaching both in person and online, and sport skill development with an emphasis on baseball. Elevation’s ethos is to “meet you where you are” and help you reach your training goals, with a strong culture of accountability and buy-in rather than quick fixes.

Nathan’s background includes heavy influence from Westside-style powerlifting methods early in his career, which shaped his focus on strength numbers and high-intensity environments. Over time, he’s shifted toward a blended systems approach and now prioritizes getting to know each athlete and tailoring methods to the individual rather than forcing everyone through the same template.

Elevation Athletic Performance website: https://elevationap.comInstagram: @elevationap – Nathan and Johnica share training clips, athlete highlights, and behind-the-scenes looks at their semi-private environment.

Stephanie Rojas is a nutritional therapy practitioner, certified macro coach, and personal trainer based in Miami, Florida, working with clients both in person and online. Coming from a background in accounting as a CPA, she spent years treating fitness and nutrition as a personal passion before transitioning into coaching and is now in the process of making it her full-time business. Stephanie specializes in helping women who have “tried everything” in diet culture finally understand what their bodies need so they can feel stronger, increase their energy, and genuinely feel comfortable in their own skin. Her approach combines evidence-based nutrition, an emphasis on metabolic health, and deep mindset work that helps clients move past guilt, all-or-nothing thinking, and years of fear around food. You can connect with her on Instagram at @healthylifewithsteph and join her email list and resources through the WellBuilt Method community at https://wellbuiltmethod.com/subscribe

Key takeaways in this episode...

Dr. David Skolnik is a doctor of physical therapy, strength coach, and educator working at the intersection of rehab and performance for adults who have “been through some things” physically. He primarily coaches clients between 40 and 75 years old who show up with real injury histories, chronic pain, and the usual wear-and-tear that makes the average cookie-cutter program a non-starter. Through his company Stronger In Motion, David helps clients move from pain management and medical dependency toward confident, capable strength that shows up in day-to-day life, not just on a spreadsheet.

On the education side, you’ll find David teaching coaches how to think, not just what to cue, so they can better serve the “in-between” clients who are too complex for standard PT discharge but not ready for high-intensity group fitness either. He also hosts the Smarter Strength podcast, where he digs into coaching, critical thinking, and the messy reality of helping humans get stronger, healthier, and more resilient.

All links below are current and active within the last six months or represent David’s evergreen home bases.

* Instagram – @dr.davidskolnik.dpt (online coach, educator, and host)https://www.instagram.com/dr.davidskolnik.dpt/

* Smarter Strength Podcast:

https://smarterstrength.buzzsprout.com/

* Stronger In Motion – Coaching & Programshttps://www.strongerinmotion.com/

Who is Ashley Beeman?

Ashley is an online fitness and nutrition coach for women, a bikini athlete, wife, and mom of two teens. She shares her decade-long experience with yo‑yo dieting to inspire her coaching. Now, she helps women in their late 30s and 40s achieve strength, leanness, and confidence through macro-based nutrition and strength training tailored to real life. She also creates programs on Podia aimed at ending the yo‑yo diet cycle and fostering sustainable habits. As an NPC bikini athlete and content creator, she shares her prep, lifestyle, and business behind the scenes on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and her podcast.

Ashley’s coaching lane and philosophy

Ashley helps ambitious women ditch crash diets by using macros, strength training, and mindset work to build sustainable skills and habits. She aims for clients to become independent of coaches and rigid plans, boosting confidence and healthier habits. Her approach, inspired by her own yo-yo dieting, empowers women to feel powerful in their bodies and see strength as vital to an “unstoppable life.’

Her coaching philosophy was shaped by her yo-yo dieting and quick fixes. Now, she aims to help women feel powerful, not just smaller, viewing a strong body as the gateway to an “unstoppable life.” She uses mindset work, referencing her NLP and personal training background, to boost self-confidence, consistency, and food relationships.

The moment that changed how she coaches

Ashley recalls a client who lost 50 pounds. Beyond the impressive scale result, Ashley was inspired by the client’s mindset shift from seeking quick weight loss to embracing sustainable living. Months later, the client maintained the weight without struggle, which Ashley considers “the real win.”

That experience reinforced for her that the outcome isn’t just the weight loss; it’s sustainable autonomy. Watching a client move from dependence on a coach or plan to genuine confidence in their own skills and habits has become one of the core metrics of success in her practice. It’s also why she structures her programs around education and self‑trust rather than rigid compliance.

From “perfect plans” to real‑world behavior change

Ashley, as a newer coach, believed giving a perfect plan would lead to results, thinking, “Here’s your macros, here’s your training, go be consistent.” When it didn’t work, she assumed the plan needed tweaking. Over time, she learned that the plan is rarely the main problem; instead, it’s whether the plan fits real life and if the client has the skills, support, and belief to follow it.

She now emphasizes aligning coaching with a client’s real life, not an idealized one. Instead of fixing programs, she targets scheduling, stress, beliefs, and behaviors to help clients follow through. This shift from perfect programs to human behavior has made her more patient, collaborative, and focused on long-term transformation.

What she wants newer coaches to remember

Ashley emphasizes that no coach begins with a perfect system, and beliefs, methods, and approaches evolve over time. Many enter the industry with good intentions—wanting to help—and refine their craft with experience, education, and exposure to clients. She highlights that “no one’s perfect when we start” and stresses the importance of being open to learning and change.

Her key lesson is that coaching involves meeting people where they are and building from there, not enforcing strict protocols. She urges coaches to see their growth as parallel to their clients': both are continuously evolving, becoming clearer, and more effective.

Where to find more about Ashley

Ashley runs her coaching offers and free experiences through her WEBSITE, where women can join programs focused on fit-freedom. She also hosts The Fit Freedom Podcast, where she shares mindset shifts, “real talk,” and no‑BS strategies for sustainable weight loss and strength. Across platforms like Instagram (@the.ashley.beeman), where she documents her life as an NPC bikini athlete and coach, mixing education with a very human, relatable lens.

Key takeaways for listeners

* “My job is to teach you the skills that build the habits so that the results are yours for life.”

* “I yo‑yo dieted for over a decade… now I help ambitious women get shredded strong without giving up their entire lives to do it.”

* “The 50 pounds, that’s amazing. But the fact that she kept it off without white‑knuckling her way through life—that is the real win.”

Ashley’s story is a masterclass in evolving from a plan‑centric trainer to a behavior‑centric coach. She shows how lived experience with yo‑yo dieting can become an asset when used to build empathy, realistic structures, and a focus on autonomy for clients.