Ltb Podcast

In today's episode, Stuart talks to Steve Hall about how to coach clients online, charging for consultations, technique and hypertrophy, managing hunger, mini cuts, business lessons, developing rapport with online clients and much more. Steve is the founder of Revive Stronger. The name was inspired by a life changing head injury Steve suffered whilst at University. After which Steve fell in love with bodybuilding as it allowed him to build up not only his physique but also confidence. Effectively he ‘Revived Stronger’ and in doing so developed a huge passion to help others do the same. Now a competitive natural bodybuilder with his best performance to date being a top 5 placing in the UKDFBA international finals in 2017. In addition with over 10 years in the gym and more than 5 years coaching experience, he uses this in combination with the latest science to drive results.          Timestamps: [01.28] - Steve's tells us how he got started in the fitness industry. [05.19] - How he's grown to understand the

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

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] - Hi

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? [

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

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

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 per

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 payme

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 Ser

Laura Dubler and Will Holmes are a couple who run a small personal training facility called Core Training in Switzerland. Switzerland announced that gyms could be opened from early May, so they've had 6+ weeks worth of reopening experience now. I asked them to come on talk about what they've learnt during that time. We cover whether or not they've kept their online offering, how their clients have found coming back into the gym, how they've found coaching while social distancing and a bunch of unexpected things that will help you plan for your gym reopening.               Timestamps:   [02.45] - How Laura and Will ended up opening a gym in Switzerland [05.58] - How their business model works [09.43] - How they have found reopening their gym since lockdown has been lifted in Switzerland [11.55] - Did they keep their online offering alongside reopening their gym? [16.25] - How many of their members came straight back in as they announced their gym was back open? [17.25] - Have they had any clients who have le

In today's episode, Stuart talks to Molly Galbraith about entrepreneurial lessons, why success takes time, the power of a shitty first draft, conducting deep market research on your clients and clients who have left and why it's still so normal for male personal trainers to shy away from topics surrounding coaching women.   Molly Galbraith is the co-founder of Girls Gone Strong, the world’s largest platform providing evidence-based, interdisciplinary health, fitness, and nutrition education for women and the health and fitness professionals who work with them—including industry-leading certification programs and coaching. Molly has been heavily involved in the fitness industry since 2004 and this is her third appearance on the podcast. Number 88 and 144 in case you'd like to go back!         Timestamps:   [05.45] - The concept of a rubbish first draft. [08.50] - Does it surprise Molly seeing where Girls Gone Strong as a company is now? [10.30] - Molly tells a story about loaning her father money when she w

In today's episode, Stuart talks to Nick Winkelman about the power of tough to hear feedback, reflective practice, creating coaching cues with your clients, coaching the push-up using a framework called the coaching communication loop and what Nick's favourite analogy/ coaching cue is. The section on the push up is a masterclass in coaching so even if you skip ahead and listen to that I promise you'll get a tonne from this episode!   Nick is the Head of Athletic Performance for the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and has just released his new book, The Language of Coaching. We at LTB would like to show our support for his book so we're running a competition to win a copy. If you'd like to enter and have a chance of winning 1 of 5 copies of the book, all you need to do is 1. review the show on iTunes and take a screenshot and email it to me and 2. email me over your favourite cue. It can be any type or kind of cue. If you've already reviewed the show, you can still enter by sending over your favourite cue.

In today's episode, Stuart talks to Danny Lennon from Sigma Nutrition about the considerations you should have if you're thinking about starting a podcast, what he thinks has helped his podcast grow to the level it has, Danny's three-part framework for describing what is health and what he thinks about to ensure he's living a meaningful life. It gets deep at points but I wouldn't have it any other way as this was one of the most enjoyable interviews I've done in a long time! Danny is the founder of Sigma Nutrition and head of content creation for the company. Known for hosting the top-ranked podcast Sigma Nutrition Radio, Danny is also a respected educator in the field. He has spoken at conferences and events all over Europe (including London, Dublin, Amsterdam and Vienna), as well as the United States and Australia. Danny has a master’s degree (MSc.) in Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork, during which time Danny took classes in biochemistry, clinical nutrition, micronutrient interactions an

In today's episode, Stuart talks to Brett Barthomolew about burnout, where it comes from and how to spot the things that may end up with you burning yourself out, why working on your communication skills is an essential aspect of being a coach and whether or not you can build buy-in with your clients quickly.  Brett Bartholomew is a strength and conditioning coach, author of the excellent Conscious Coaching, consultant, and Founder of the performance coaching and consulting company, The Bridge Human Performance®. His experience includes working with athletes both in the team environment and private sector along with members of the United States Special Forces and members of Fortune 500 companies. You can find out more about Brett and all of his work by heading to artofcoaching.com         Timestamps:   [02.20] - How he's finding being a new parent [05.15] - A discussion about burnout [20.35] - What doesn't work for preventing burnout [23.00] - Why he takes so much inspiration from other fields unrelat

In today's episode, Stuart welcomes on Claire Winter and Maggie Elliott to discuss whether or not you should consider training your clients outdoors (if your country allows it) whilst gyms are unavailable. They chat through how to make the decision about training outdoors, considerations for what to do if you decide you're going to do it, equipment recommendations, programming structure, whether you should use music, what to do about the weather and much more. Claire Winter is LTB's Head of Operations and Maggie Elliott runs Spark Fitness, a personal training studio based out of Prestwich, England.       Timestamps Claire Winter's portion of the discussion [02.47] - Would Claire train her clients outside just now? [05.54] - Why there's a chance you might be feeling guilty about doing mobile personal training [08.30] - Should you consider training your clients outside considering it may be months before all of them feel safe going indoors? [10.50] - What kind of things should you consider if you do decide to

Nicola Hobbs is an author, counsellor and international yoga and meditation teacher. She has an MSc in Sport Psychology and her work is grounded in the interface of ancient wisdom and modern science, integrating the time-honoured practices of yoga, meditation and spiritual living with modern mindfulness, psychology, and mental fitness. In the episode, we discuss Nicola's journey through an eating disorder that was diagnosed when she was just 15 and then we get into all things writing.         Timestamps:   [02.49] - How she's finding teaching Yoga through Zoom. [04.06] - What first got Nicola interested in health, fitness and nutrition. [07.16] - Stuart and Nicola discuss her eating disorder (ED). [13.26] - What her recovery from the ED looked like. [19.58] - How long it's taken Nicola to feel like she's able and willing to share her story around her ED. [22.53] - How Nicola has come up with the ideas for each of her books. [25.58] - Does she always enjoy writing? [29.58] - Stuart and Nicola discuss her

Jonny Stephens works as a head coach out of Curious Gym, which was previously named the LTB gym. We discuss how he's used cook-a-longs, step challenges and other engagement methods to keep the members of his gym feeling like they are part of a community while they can't come to the gym, how he's maintaining his own exercise during the lockdown, why sharing your struggles and challenges with exercise and nutrition will help you connect with your client base and more.           Timestamps: [01.49] - How he is finding lockdown. [05.19] - Has this reinforced how much he enjoys the in-person aspect of personal training? [11.49] - How Jonny has found living alone during lockdown. [16.12] - A discussion around our struggles with maintaining exercise/ movement habits during lockdown. [23.10] - What the gym Jonny works out of, Curious Gym, have used to keep their clients engaged and interacting. [32.02] - If he was a 1-1 trainer with a smaller client base would he still try as many things as he has to engage his

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). Phil tells some fantastic stories about being a PT in this episode and there are so many lessons about how to get more clients and run a better run business. We cover getting your finances in check, how to get a waiting list as a PT, early career mistakes trainers make, marketing and much more.           Timestamps: [02.18] - How he would be handling things if he was a PT having to go through COVID-19 just now? [05.43] - Is he anxious or worried about the industry because of what's happening? [07.48] - Phil tells a story about having to smash a whisky bottle to pay his apartment rent [19.18] - Phil talks about why the hourly rate tha