LTB Podcast

In today's episode, I welcome on Mike Howard. With over 20 years of practical experience as a personal trainer, online coach, youth fitness specialist, author and presenter, Mike has continuously sought out the best ways to help people achieve sustainable success. He has just completed his second book (first print book) Lean Minded: 50 Days to Mind & Body Transformation. In this conversation, we discuss his new book, how to network, how to deal with the tougher times as a trainer and how and why he runs a yearly fitness retreat. Timestamps [02.15] - how he would approach a career in personal training knowing what he knows about the industry now? [04.48] - what's changed in his approach to working with clients since he started? [11.12] - investing in your networks [16.12] - how to approach gratitude [18.22] - introversion/ extraversion/ ambiversion and why a skill that trainers should develop is to be able to switch between them [22.07] - how he realised that going above 30 client sessions per week was too much for him [23.48] - how he's dealt with the phases of time where he's thought about leaving the industry [29.22] - what he would tell himself during the tougher times he's experienced [38.32] - how and why he runs fitness retreats [46.47] - Mike tells us about his new book called Lean Minded Find More About Mike: Website Instagram Facebook Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In today's episode, I welcome back on Sukh Sidhu from Online Fitness Business. Sukh was on for number 112 in June 2018. In today's show, we cover the realities of running a business, challenges with setting and keeping the momentum of online personal training, where most trainers are going wrong when they enter the online PT and Sukh's new venture called Open Coach. Timestamps [01.01] - why the realities of being an entrepreneur are much harder than is often perceived [07.48] - how to decide if the path you're on is right for you? [10.53] - why networking is an underrated part of running a business [16.10] - how he's feeling about the online personal training space [21.22] - going fully online and then missing in-person PT? [22.51] - why it's so hard to develop any momentum with the number of clients you have for online training [25.48] - what metrics to start tracking [27.00] - why to track retention rates and how to improve those numbers [27.49] - is it a different type of lead for online vs in-person? [30.38] - misconceptions about online training [33.11] - what people do wrong when they are trying to get clients online [40.23] - why it is worth working with an online coach yourself if you're thinking of getting into online PT [41.08] - what Sukh's latest project open coach is and how it'll help personal trainers Find More About Sukh: Website Instagram Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In today's episode, I welcome back on Jason Leenaarts. Jason was a previous guest back in Nov 2018 on episode 142. He's a husband, father, gym owner, podcast host and one of the most genuine guys I know. In this episode, we discuss his new book called "a revolution a day", how he processes losing clients and why it is well worth your time as a personal trainer to post on social media about your clients. Timestamps [02.15] - How does Jason feel about being a personal trainer now he's been in the industry over 15 years? [04.19] - Where does he see his facility going in future? [8.24] - What he tends to see over the Christmas period in terms of retention and growth? [13.54] - Has he got better at dealing with client loss as the years have gone on? [21.09] - Why you need to find ambassadors for your business to increase word of mouth [26.39] - How he asks clients if it's ok to post on social media about them [33.39] - Why he rarely posts about himself but spends a lot of time posting about his clients [35.09] - Do any of his clients ever get jealous about being posted less often? [39.54] - Jason's new book [47.34] - What he wishes the fitness industry would do a better job of Find More About Jason: Jason's Site Jason's Podcast Jason's New Book Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In today's show, I welcome on Ross Stewart from Improve Glasgow to talk about his recent expansion to a bigger facility, how he's achieved consistent growth, important KPIs to track and some book recommendations. Ross has been on three times before (7,23,80) and is someone I always enjoy talking to. He started off running bootcamps in Glasgow before building a multiple trainer business in a commercial gym before now owning a near 200 member facility. Timestamps [2.22] - How Ross has consistently grown and improved his business over the last 10 years? [5.07] - How much of his success he puts down to the initial "grinding stage" he had? [7.15] - Where his desire to grow a business comes from? [18.37] - How many members is his gym working with now? [20.57] - How his new facility is going [22.32] - How he uses he uses his data from his key performance indicators (KPI) to make decisions [30.52] - Leads, conversions to memberships numbers [32.59] - Why he's put so much time into getting to seminars, meet-ups and building relationships with other trainers and business owners [37.22] - What his current marketing campaign looks like [40.52] - If he would recommend PTs do more offline based marketing? [46.22] - Reactivating lapsed members [48.43] - Book recommendations Find More About Ross: Improve Glasgow Website Instagram Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In today's episode, I talk to John O'neil from Cressey Sports Performance (CSP). John has served as the Director of Performance at CSP since the summer of 2017. He returned to CSP after being a part of the first intern group at CSP-Florida during the fall of 2014. Over the past few years, John has coached people of all ages in New York City and New Jersey, as well as working as a high school baseball coach. In this episode, we discuss how to find mentors, why you need to set standards for your own coaching, tips that will make you a more effective coach and much more. Timestamps [1.53] - How John ended up getting an internship at Cressey Sports Performance [5.13] - What is it like working in an environment like CSP? [10.05] - How important mentors have been in his career [11.28] - How to find mentors? [23.13] - What you should do when you're not in your perfect job? [30.13] - How important is the human, connection side of coaching? [34.43] - What it was like when he first started as an intern in CSP [36.43] - What he wishes every single CSP intern knew about coaching [40.43] - Coaching and programming tips Find More About John: CSP Website Instagram Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In today's episode, I welcome on Lawrence Judd from Macros Inc. Lawrence is a good friend and someone I've wanted to have on the podcast for a while. I'm sure a few of you will know of him, and if not, you're in for a treat as one of his superpowers is distilling complicated topics into understandable and practical steps. We dive deep into marketing and talk about a definition for it, where personal trainers go wrong, companies who are doing it well, setting business goals for more effective marketing and why you're likely a yoyo marketer. Timestamps: [04.55] - what has happened to Lawrence's chemical engineering career and how he came into the fitness industry? [10.11] - how his degree in chemical engineering has aided his work in health and fitness [13.30] - what Lawrence means when he wrote "you're probably a yoyo marketer" in his LTB magazine piece [16.20] - does he think personal trainers have a knowledge or habit gap when it comes to marketing? [19.45] - how he explains marketing [24.00] - why it's so easy to forget about your customers when you get into running a business [26.18] - how marketing fits into running a business [29.20] - what companies he thinks are marketing their product/ service effectively [34.15] - where he sees personal trainers going wrong with their marketing? [38.54] - how to compare yourself to your competitors effectively [46.15] - relating your service to a fundamental human need [49.45] - why it's important to set clear business goals and how to set them Find More About Lawrence: Macros Inc Website Instagram Email - lawrence@macrosinc.net Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

Andrew Coates is an Edmonton, Canada based personal trainer who has been training clients for 9 years. He is a fitness writer and contributor to T-Nation and the writer and co-host of The Fitness Devil Podcast. He is also the co-founder/organizer of The Evolve Canadian Strength Symposium. In this episode, we discuss why you should attend in-person fitness events, why one client can easily turn into ten and using social media to gain business. Timestamps: [04.36] - Why has he put so much time into attending different fitness seminars and conferences? [14.33] - Does he think you can attend too many events? [16.58] - Does he do anything post-event to ensure he's applying what he's learning? [20.46] - How Andrew's career as a PT started? [27.13] - How his first client set off a chain of referrals [30.13] - Has he found that you get less "energy vampire" type clients as the years go on? [40.35] - Why it's useful to question your own bullshit [42.56] - How many personal training sessions he tends to do per month [46.23] - What he's done to generate business [49.33] - Closing messages. Find More About Andrew: Website Podcast Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

In this episode, I'm joined by Alex for another fitness industry conversational episode. We start by discussing where Alex would work if he had to go back to being a brand new PT and then get into a discussion around employed vs self-employed PT. Then we get into a discussion about why you should aim to stick with and work through the tough situations rather than just deciding to get out right away. Timestamps: [5.42] - If Alex was a brand new personal trainer and he was deciding where to work, where would he choose? [12.37] - Should you move for a job in PT? [14.52] - Why working in a commercial gym can be a great place to start [23.37] - Why having many options for a career in fitness can be a hindrance rather than a help [25.52 onwards] - Alex talks about how the more final a decision is the more chance we will begin to like it Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

On today's episode, I chat with Tom Hamilton. Tom has been coaching for almost ten years, working with a wide range of clients from the gen pop to world record holders. He currently coaches at W10 in London, is the Head of Education at the IFBA and runs his own online coaching business. Tom has also competed at both bodybuilding and powerlifting, with a highlight being winning the world drug-free powerlifting championships in 2016. In this episode, we discuss low hanging fruit trainers that you can add to their coaching tomorrow morning, how to programme and get your clients strong and dealing with serious injuries. It's one of those "take notes and get actioning some practical stuff" kinda episodes. Timestamps [4.11] - What does he wish he knew about programming back when he started? [7.26] - Why results don't have to mean getting a client stronger or seeing weight loss [10.37] - Low hanging fruit that trainers can fix that will make their lives easier when coaching and training clients [12.47] - How to be a more commanding coach when managing sessions [15.21] - When Tom noticed he had to start adapting and improving the way he coached people [19.06] - The importance of covering a variety of learning styles and a few other coaching tips [21.11] - How Tom thinks about getting clients strong from a programming standpoint [25.36] - Why do you increase intensity and decrease volume as training blocks progress? [29.28] - How and why he tests every 12 weeks [32.41] - Why you should vary the loads you programme for clients [34.51] - How he's dealt with overcoming some horrible injuries in the past [37.21] - How his injuries affected his identity as a personal trainer [39.58] - The importance of having mentors Find Out More About Tom: Website Instagram The IFBA Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook

I always have such enjoyable conversations about business with Sally, who is a returning guest after her first appearance on episode 164. Her journey into now owning a facility is incredibly relatable and I always appreciate her honesty about the challenges she's had. One of those challenges was how tough her first few years were, and how much she doubted herself and her business during that time. 99% of us go through that stage but we don't talk about it anywhere near as often as we should, so that's where we begin this podcast. We also discuss why managing your money is a huge part of business success as well as how she decided to she wanted to go into facility ownership. Timestamps: [03.05] - How Sally's business has progressed over the years [07.19] - Why she has had to be incredibly patient with business over the years [10.42] - Why we need to have more discussions about the harder aspects of business [11.50] - Why Sally decided to get a business coach [21.50] - Did she have a vision in her head for what she wanted her business to look like? [23.57] - Have her doubts reduced over time? [29.40] - What does she wish she had known about business? [29.50] - Money management and why this was a huge thing for Sally. [37.50] - How she has gone about making the decision about jumping into facility ownership. [45.20] - How much of her business is the gym going to take? Find Out More About Sally: Website Instagram Facebook Find Out More About LTB: Website Instagram Facebook