The PT Roadmap

A weekly newsletter for personal trainers to guide you to become a better coach and build a better business.

Hey!

Thanks for opening up today's newsletter. I appreciate you being here.

I watched The Alpinist (I streamed it on Prime) again this week. If you’re a documentary lover, please watch it. You will not be disappointed. It’s like Free Solo but crazier.

In today’s issue:

✅ One business tip

✅ One coaching tip

✅ One coaching cue

✅ One social post worth your time

❌ One exercise recommendation

Let's get into it!

Better Business

Last week, I tried float therapy for the first time.

It was nice.

No phone, chill music, amazing shower, peaceful environment - y’know, all the things we don’t get much of nowadays.

I’d recommend it if you’ve got a facility near you.

But my story isn’t about the actual float experience, it was about what the business did after I left.

They texted me the day after to ask how my experience was.

Nice touch, I thought.

But then they texted me to ask when I’d like to schedule my next float.

This might sound silly, but I hadn’t considered this.

I’d thought of it as a one-off.

But here this business was, encouraging me to book back in.

So, I did. And I plan on buying a membership so I can do it a few times a month.

They did something simple - they followed up with me.

So many businesses do not do this.

They get an enquiry, they reply and things go quiet. And that’s it.

Nothing else happens.

You have to follow up nowadays.

People are busy.

They forget what they’ve clicked on or shown interest in.

By following up, you’re demonstrating your commitment to service before they’ve even started with you.

Here’s your task today: check over your messages on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and email and follow up with any lead who has gone quiet.

It’s not fancy.

It’s just a simple check-in message.

You’re leaving money on the table by not doing it.

Better Coaching

Be careful what you pair.

I occasionally go to train at a local commercial gym.

One of the reasons I like it is because there are always trainers training clients on the floor.

This always gives me endless content ideas.

I watched one yesterday give a client a superset of DB rows and DB single-leg deadlifts.

Halfway through doing set one of the first leg on the SLRDL, their client dropped the weights.

This superset makes very little sense.

Unless the goal is to build grip strength, the first thing that fatigues is not the client’s back, arms or legs, it’s their grip.

I think there’s a simple fix to programming challenges like this - do it yourself.

If you do a set of rows straight into SLRDLs, you’ll learn quickly that it’s not an effective combination.

Rows into swiss ball leg curls or hip thrusts would work way better.

Another example of this I discovered in my own training recently was super setting seated hamstring curls & standing bicep curls. Two totally different muscle groups, right? But what you find the minute you start doing your bicep work is your hamstrings are still burning from the seated curls. You can barely focus on your biceps. Sitting down makes a big difference.

Here’s the take-home for this section: Be careful when you pair two exercises. Always try them yourself so you get a feel for how they work together.

One Coaching Cue

I used this one a few days ago with a client struggling to grasp the supine hip extension leg curl (SHELC).

It worked well!

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

I gave this short countdown ladder workout from Luka Hocever a shot yesterday.

I did swings and push-ups.

There are plenty of variations you could do with your clients.

This is from Luka’s caption:

▶️ KB Swings & Push Ups
▶️ KB Goblet Squats & TRX Rows
▶️ Single Arm KB Snatches + Pull Ups (this is a very tough combo)
▶️ Sit Outs (per side) + Hollow Hold V-Sits
▶️ Jumping Lunges + Downward Dog Push Ups

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

Whenever you're ready, here is how I help in-person PTs like you build businesses they love:

• 1-1 Mentoring - I work closely with a small number of in-person PTs 1-1 to help them build, grow and mould their business into how they’d love to have it run. I'm not your mentor if you want to go online or open a gym. But I work incredibly well with in-person PTs who want a better work-life balance, a more resilient business and more income. I’m fully booked for the rest of August for this service. However, if you’re interested in chatting for a potential September start, ping me a reply, and we can see if my service is a good fit.