LTB Podcast

Phil Learney has been a personal trainer in the fitness industry since the early 90s and has worked in gyms all over England ranging from small private ones to big commercial ones. At his time of retiring as a trainer, he was the second-highest charging PT in the UK. Now he educates and helps PTs grow their businesses through his company the Advanced Coaching Academy (ACA). In this episode, we discuss online coaching, how to convert inductions into clients, whether you should do single sessions, increasing your prices and more. We had a couple of audio issues which unfortunately took out a bit of the recording around the 40min mark, so if it jumps from one topic to another you know why!

Timestamps:

• [02.27] - Where would Phil go to train clients if he had to start over?
• [15.37] - Education for personal trainers.
• [20.47] - Pricing and free sessions.
• [26.04] - Are single sessions worth it?
• [50.47] - What he did to convert inductions into clients?
• [35.57] - Discussion on the signing up of a client who comes in for an induction.
• [40.57] - Price increases.

Find Out More About Phil:

• ACA Website
• Instagram

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

We have just launched a new podcast at LTB that is going to be run by Chris Burgess called Personal Trainer Daily. It's going to be a daily podcast that is short in length where Chris will take a common question related to being a PT and answer one per episode. In this sample episode, Chris talks you through how to handle clients who disappear after asking for your prices.

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Personal Trainer Daily Podcast

In this short solo episode, Stuart discusses why it's so common for personal trainers to feel guilty about taking time off. During the first section, he talks through why you may feel guilty and in the second, he suggests some strategies that will help you remove the guilt you feel and enjoy the time off you have.

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Tony Cottenden is a returning guest who runs a gym called The Shed, which functions out of his back garden. It was started as a small summer house in May 2014 and he's run a full client base from it since March 2016. In this episode, we talk about a load of topics including lessons that have come lockdown, what he keeps telling people who are thinking about starting their own shed, why lockdown has made him love in-person even more, how he manages 40+ PT sessions a week, why just be yourself is useful advice for personal trainers and much more.

Timestamps:

• [04.35] - What things he's finding himself repeating to people who are asking about opening their own shed/ garage gym?
• [06.25] - The size of his first shed personal training gym.
• [08.05] - Learning from lockdown - finding more ways to progress your clients aside from increasing load.
• [09.35] - 1-1 vs online training.
• [11.20] - Adding value outside of your in-person service.
• [16.20] - How he manages to sustain 40+ PT sessions?
• [25.50] - His onboarding app.
• [26.50] - Has he got clearer on his ideal client/ avatar that he serves as a personal trainer?
• [28.20] - Why a website has been his main way of getting new clients in.
• [30.35] - His longer-term goals.
• [34.35] - How he feels about the potential of a second wave/ lockdown?
• [36.30] - Why LTB has been a huge part of his success.
• [38.50] - Just "be yourself" and why it's an important part of being a PT.

Find Out More About Tony:

• Website
• Instagram

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Alex Pearson runs Alex Pearson Health Coaching where he specialises in helping people with obesity undertake significant weight loss journeys. We discuss the UK's tackling obesity strategy, the link between COVID and obesity, what he would do if he was in charge of public health, the effectiveness of the sugar tax, how important education is in treating obesity and much more.

Timestamps:

• [02.13] - Alex's thoughts on the UK Governments proposed tackling obesity strategy?
• [05.40] - How important and useful is education in treating obesity?
• [07.25] - The '5 fruit and veg a day' campaign.
• [09.05] - How important is exercise in treating obesity?

• [16.09] - Personal responsibility and blame used to combat obesity?
• [19.43] - What about motivation and education?
• [21.48] - The link between trauma and obesity?
• [23.43] - The link between COVID and obesity?
• [29.23] -The link between catching the virus and obesity?
• [32.43] - If he was in charge of public health, what would he propose to combat obesity?
• [34.58] - The sugar tax.
• [36.58] - Making healthy food cheaper?
• [38.43] Having times where companies can and cannot advertise on TV/ the internet?
• [40.12] - Pictures on boxes showing the negative consequences of eating particular types of food? (like cigarettes in the UK)
• [45.13] - Targetting supermarkets and reducing quantity and variety of calorie-dense foods

Find Out More About Alex:

• Website

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tackling Obesity Guidelines

Greg Mikolap was a recent guest who came on for our gym owner roundtable discussion a few months ago (8th of May 2020). He runs the gym Icon in Maidenhead, England and spent over 10 years in a commercial gym prior to that becoming the busiest trainer in that gym. And that is what we mainly explore today. We talk about his lockdown experience so far, how he priced his services in a commercial gym, developing a niche, the differences between trainers who last vs those who don't and why Greg imagined himself wearing a cape before he went into consultations with PT prospects. I know you're going to enjoy this as Greg speaks from the heart and details a lot of experiences that are just so common for the trainer.

Timestamps:

• [01.57] - How Greg's gym has got on during lockdown.
• [07.30] - If what Greg has learnt during lockdown would apply back to when he was working in a commercial gym.
• [13.30] - Why it's slow until it starts to snowball when you're gaining clients as a personal trainer.
• [19.30] - Why it's so common to dread holidays as a personal trainer.
• [23.15] - A story about developing a niche.
• [24.30] - A discussion about block vs month bookings.
• [37.22] - The differences between the commercial gym trainers who last vs the ones who don't.
• [40.30] - Was Greg nervous when he started in his commercial gym?
• [46.30] - The importance of stepping back from where things are going wrong for you in the customer journey.
• [48.30] - What helped Greg get over feeling nervous before he stepped into a consultation.

Find Out More About Greg:

• Greg's Gym
• Greg's Course at LTB

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Chris Burgess is the owner of Lift The Bar and Curious Gym (prev called the LTB Gym). He comes on to talk about how personal trainers should approach their marketing now that a lot of countries have dates for reopening as well as the countries that don't. We discuss how to use a countdown approach to your gym reopening, why creating a video that shows off what you think of being a PT is so important just now, if he's planning for a second wave and how to touch base with clients who left you during the lockdown.

Timestamps:

• [02.01] - Does Chris think consumers will be receptive to buying gym memberships/ PT services post lockdown?
• [05.55] - What his marketing strategy is for reopening his gym just now.
• [10.16] - What his strategy would be if he was going back to a commercial gym?
• [12.57] - How he's going to internally market to ensure his old and previous clients come back to his gym?
• [17.28] - Will he be giving discounted prices to clients who lose their job or have reduced hours?
• [19.38] - How listeners who don't have a reopening date should approach their marketing just now.
• [22.16] - If he's planning for a second wave and potential closure of his gym again.

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

I asked Travis and Akil to come on to discuss the intersection between being a personal trainer and delving into the world of rehab and injury. They both run a company called 3M Athletic Performance. Akil is a practising physical therapist who used to be a personal trainer and Travis is a full-time personal trainer with a keen interest and academic background in the rehab and injury world. We discuss how trainers can build relationships with physios, how to find good physios, injury prevention for trainers, whether form and technique contribute to injury, posture, how life stress affects peoples perception of pain and more!

Timestamps:

• [02.46] - Akil and then Travis talk about personal trainers developing relationships with physiotherapists/ physical therapists
• [08.38] - How to go about finding good evidence-based physiotherapists
• [12.53] - Why it's well worth going to see the physio yourself before sending your clients to them.
• [18.08] - How to troubleshoot when a client is having pain in a personal training session and how to decide when to refer out.
• [26.53] - Knowing what both Akil and Travis know about the world of physio and personal training, what would they say to their younger selves?
• [31.38] - Why injury prevention isn't all about activating inactive muscles and lengthening tight ones.
• [34.04] - Does form/ technique contribute to injury risk?
• [38.48] - What should a personal trainer look for in a consult/ assessment to prevent injury?
• [41.28] - Does posture contribute to injury risk?
• [44.58] - Why does life stress affect pain?

Find Out More About Travis and Akil:

• 3M Performance Athletic Website
• 3M Instagram
• Travis Instagram
• Akil Instagram

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Mark Laws has been coaching people for over 20 years, working full time in the fitness industry for 15 years, working with elite athletes for 12 years and teaching courses to fitness professionals for 6 years. He continues to work with regular clients on a daily basis as well as delivering workshops and presentations around the world. We chat about his career as a PT and what he'd go back and tell himself about doing a better job.

Timestamps:

• [01.58] - Mark tells a story about how his Mum sat him down and told him he should stop being a personal trainer early in his career.
• [09.58] - A discussion about Mark's first few years as a personal trainer.
• [14.51] - Earning the right to say no to prospects you don't want to work with.
• [19.58] - What does Mark wish he could go back and tell himself about being a new PT?
• [32.28] - How much did he change the way he ran his PT business after going to China to work in S&C for a year?
• [43.08] - Why you should consider getting your clients onto a monthly payment plan.

Find Out More About Mark:

• Facebook
• Instagram

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Cath Baxter is a professional voice and impact coach. We cover why your voice is such an important aspect of communication, common areas for improvement when speaking, the power of the pause, enthusiasm and whether we should try to eliminate the 'umms', 'emms' and 'likes' from our speech. Cath is one of the UK's leading voice coaches and a Public Speaking expert. For 14 years she was Head of Voice at Mountview, one of the top 5 drama schools in the UK, where she trained some of the UK's best actors and musical theatre performers. Her time is now spent working with a wide range of business clients and companies, helping them to add greater impact to their communications. She has most recently been working with the following Organisations: IFBA, RBS, Cancer Research, NHS England, NHS Improvement, Office of Rail and Road, DVLA, Independent Office for Police Conduct, Scottish Government, Crown Commercial Service, Companies House, MOD (Guards Service), UK Government Investments and the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Timestamps:

• [01.40] - Cath explains what it is she does.
• [05.30] - How Cath's work applies to the work that personal trainers do.
• [13.48] - Where to begin if you'd like to start working on how you use your voice as a personal trainer.
• [17.20] - How to correct speaking too quickly.
• [19.55] - Improving eloquence.
• [21.40] - Becoming less self-conscious and more confident when speaking.
• [33.00] - How important is enthusiasm when speaking?
• [36.50] - Tips to gather attention when talking online to clients or on a video that you're sharing on social media.
• [43.30] - Umms, emms, likes and other hesitation sounds/ filler sounds.

Find Out More About Cath:

• Website
• Twitter

Find Out More About LTB:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook