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 started watching The Blue Zones Documentary this week. I’m no scientist or researcher, but even the nutrition recommendations seemed reasonable. Carbs aren’t the devil for once. Well worth a watch to learn about communities from around the world who live the longest and most vibrant lives.

I’ve also started writing a course. It’s going to be called The PTs Roadmap to: Getting Clients on Social Media. If you feel like you are haphazardly posting on social media hoping it gets you clients, this will be for you. If you find social media time-consuming and confusing, this will be for you. It’ll be hyper focussed on using SM as a personal trainer. Not an online coach, gym owner, or influencer after more followers, but the PT who works with clients face-to-face. I’m offering 10 super early bird spots at a big discount to gauge interest. If you want one of those spots, ping me a reply.

In today’s issue:

✅ One business tip

✅ One coaching tip

✅ One exercise recommendation

✅ One social post worth your time

❌ One coaching cue

Let's get into it!

Better Business

In 2016, I asked a local photographer to come in to my gym for 2 hours and take photos.

I still use those pictures 7 years on.

If you’ve never gotten professional pictures done, I highly recommend it.

Get a range of pictures done.

If you’re mainly 1-1, get a bunch of your clients to come in and have you coach them through 10-15 min workouts. Get some headshots and action shots so you can use them as social proof for case studies, spotlights or testimonials.

You can use them to up your social media game.

Better quality images = more trust.

Plus, better images show more emotion.

If your images show your clients achieving cool things, having fun and laughing, this is much more convincing than a stock image (or an iPhone one) trying to do the same thing.

Better Coaching

Why I don’t coach nutrition anymore.

This has been a key part of the way I’ve restarted my personal training business this time around: I no longer coach nutrition.

I want to coach training.

I love running personal training sessions. It’s where I’m strongest and it’s where I find the most joy.

I don’t find this in nutrition.

This is not said to say you shouldn’t.

If you do weight loss or transformations or you just love it, then please, keep doing it.

I don’t offer those things.

I’ve spoken to lots of PTs over the years who just don’t like coaching nutrition. It becomes a stress, and for many, they become unsure about how much to coach for the price they are paying.

And it takes away from the thing they love: coaching exercise.

It also an entirely different skillset.

And an entirely different service.

By separating the two (training & nutrition), you can better focus on the thing you love.

If a client asks me for help with their nutrition, I give them basic advice.

• Sufficient protein

• Eat to 80% full

• Water intake

• Fruit & veg

But if they want or need more, I refer them out. I haven’t had to yet, but Body Matters Coaching is who I’ll use if and when that happens.

I’m now enjoying my job more.

And my session quality is higher.

Because I’m fully focussed on my core skillset.

You run your own business, which means you get decide what it offers. Maybe nutrition coaching is perfect for you and you love it, but maybe it’s not and you feel a bit like I used to.

You can decide not to offer it anymore.

If anything, I reckon my clients appreciate what I offer more now as they know where my line is. I’ve had a couple of enquiries go south because I don’t coach nutrition, but that’s ok as I’d have taken on clients I’m not best placed to work with.

H/T to Chris @liftthebar for the inspiration behind this section.

One Exercise Variation

Recommended Exercise: Suitcase Deadlifts

I’m in a phase of my training where I’m enjoying throwing in novel lifts.

The suitcase deadlift is one I’ve been playing around with.

Think about how often you pick stuff up with one side of your body? Backpack, child or groceries - it’s a daily thing.

The suitcase dead is perfect for strengthening and training all of the muscles in those movements.

You get a heck of a lot of grip work too.

In the video above, I use my right arm for a comfortable 6 reps. My left side, however, does not find this weight easy. I’m not worried as its normal to have strength differences between left & right, but it is interesting how much stronger my right is in this movement.

I programmed it as a B1 exercise (after back squats as an A1) for 3 sets of 6 each side. It fitted in well there, and I think it fits in best as an accessory.

You could also do it with less weight as a filler exercise, or part of a finisher.

I’d also recommend starting with a kettlebell as a bar is awkward to lift with one hand and will be challenging for your beginner clients.

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

Typically excellent post from Andrew Coates on something I’ve thought about a lot over the years:

Make my PT sessions so good my clients want to keep coming back.

There’s two parts to this for me:

1. Great training sessions

2. Great communication during sessions

As I’ve said in many of the coaching sections gone by in this newsletter, I make an effort to get to know my clients.

I want to know what makes them tick.

What makes them laugh.

Their music tastes, and favourite movies.

Basically, I want them to think of me as someone who likes hearing about their life and pays attention.

The better I do that, the better chance I have of keeping them coming back.

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

Here is how I help in-person PTs like you build businesses they love:

1-1 Mentoring

I work closely with in-person PTs to help them fix & grow their business so it’s filled with clients they love, profitable and rewarding.

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, more profit, and a more well-structured business.

If you’re interested in chatting about how I might be able to help, ping me a reply, and we can see if my service is a good fit.