LTB Podcast

In today's reposted episode from back in May of 2021, Stuart welcomes Adam Meakins. Adam, @adammeakins on Instagram, is well known for his evidence-based approach to physiotherapy, strong views and his willingness to call out some of what he describes as nonsense surrounding his profession. They spend most of it discussing what we know about the association between technique and injury. Should you...

In today's episode, Alex is standing in for Stuart as host. He speaks with Kimberley Wilson (@foodandpsych) about the intersection of physical and mental health. They highlight how there may not be a real difference between these two types of health, how this faux distinction came to be and its implications for personal trainers. Along the way, they cover body image, client communication, pseudosc...

In this episode of the Lift The Bar Podcast, Stuart is flying solo to talk about seminars! He outlines why Personal Trainers should run seminars, including how they can be both an effective lead generation tool and a great way to further your personal growth. He then delves into how you can pick the best topic, get people to attend and make your seminar engaging. Finally, and maybe most importantl...

Abi Durrant is the owner of Barbelle in Scarborough, England. She comes on to the podcast to talk about her journey from an in-person 1-1 personal trainer to the owner of a now 6000 sq ft multifunctional facility that includes a cafe and other sublets.       Find Out More About Abi: Website: https://barbellescarborough.uk/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abi.durrant/?hl=en     Find Out More...

Stuart MacDonald is the owner of True Fitness Personal Training in Solihull, England. He comes on to the podcast to discuss how he approaches programming for small-group personal training. Topics covered include: how his programming has changed since he opened his gym, what he learned from our Programme Design Mentorship, how he ensures it flows from one 4-week block to another, the specific frame...

Stuart talks about how to improve the quality of your PT sessions. Broken up into 3 simple phases: pre, during and post-session, you'll learn all about the things you can use in your next session to take them from good to great and ultimately, retain your clients for longer, get better results and have more fun coaching.   Find Out More About LTB: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/  ...

Guy Lochhead is a personal trainer and the founder of the Bristol Cooperative Gym, which is one of the first of its kind in the UK. Stuart and Guy discuss what a Co-Operative gym is, why Guy decided to run his business this way, how the gym makes decisions and some of the things he's learnt that he would love to share with other gym owners.     Find Out More About Guy: Website: https://www.guyloch...

Jenny Rearick runs Fit to Speak, where she helps coaches with their communication and presentation skills. She also runs a gym at her home with her husband, Brendon. These two roles mean she is incredibly well placed to talk about the intersecting worlds of personal training and communication. Stuart and Jenny discuss what is communication and why it is important before getting into 3 specific are...

Alex Pearson is Lift the Bar's Head of Research and the creator of many of our member's site resources including Obesity, Behaviour Change, Client Ambivalence and Hypermobility.   Stuart & Alex discuss what personality is, how it's measured, the five main traits that make up a person's personality, whether or not it can change and why you, the personal trainer, should care.     Find Out More About...

Sukh Sidhu runs Online Fitness Business and the newly launched coaching software, Stridist.   Stuart & Sukh firstly discuss how to get clients online before getting into business lessons and his thoughts on professional development. Then, they finish discussing Stridist - what it is, who it's for, what it does and how you can learn more.     Find Out More About Sukh: Instagram: https://www.instagr...

Nicola Hobbs is an author and Chartered Psychologist. She has just been hired as our Head of Psychology at Lift the Bar, focussing on how she can best support our member's mental and emotional wellbeing. She's going to be running a mental well-being mentorship very soon. If you're a member, keep an eye out for more details about that!   In this episode, Stuart and Nicola discuss not feeling like y...

Gregg Slater is LTB's Head of Education and the creator of some of our most popular courses including general population programme design, hypertrophy, understanding weight loss and practical nutrition coaching. In this reposted conversation from 2020, Stuart & Gregg cover what he's learned in the creation of his hypertrophy course, why hypertrophy is for everyone, what he hopes to see in the rese...

Stuart talks about how to improve your retention rates. Why retention matters for personal training businesses, how to make sense of client retention and a breakdown of Stuart's 'retention pyramid' are all covered in this episode.   Find Out More About LTB: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/   Website:  https://liftthebar.com/   14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/lt...

Paul Standell is a fitness coach and educator who has been in the industry for 10 years. He is part of the team that make up the Muscle Mentors. Stuart & Paul talk about all things exercise mechanics - why you should care about it as a personal trainer, whether it'll make your programming and sessions boring, and a basic introduction to it from someone who is doing great work to make the subject l...

Stuart talks about some offline marketing methods you can use to market your personal training business. How to grow relationships with local business owners, how to start a podcast and use it for local lead gen, why seminars are great and more ideas for marketing your business offline are covered in this episode.   Find Out More About LTB: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/   Websit...

Tally Rye is a personal trainer and class instructor and the author of two books - Train Happy and The Train Happy Journal. Stuart chats to Tally about how she found her place in the industry after initially struggling, why she no longer works with weight loss clients, alternative ways of marketing PT on social media other than using transformation pictures and how trainers can integrate a more in...

Jamie and Sophie Harper run BFastFitness, a small-group PT facility in Birmingham. In this episode, they talk to Stuart about what it's like being married and running a gym, how Sophie became a coach after being a client and how her fresh perspective has helped the business, how they run a small-group setup and what they'd say to a trainer who is thinking about moving into small-group PT.     Find...

Dr. Lisa Lewis joins Stuart for today's episode. Lisa is a returning guest who is a licensed psychologist with a passion for strength training, fitness, and wellness. In this episode, they discuss how to help difficult PT clients, how to set appropriate boundaries with your clients and how to approach a conversation about alcohol.     Find Out More About Lisa: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/...

Miriam Taylor joins Stuart for today's episode. Miriam is a personal trainer and co-owner of a facility based in Glasgow, Scotland. She started 4 years ago and has gone on to open a gym and build up a loyal client base. In this episode, they discuss the things she learned co-opening a facility so early on in her career, the importance of the client experience, recovering from a large client loss,...

Simon Mitchell joins Stuart for today's episode. Simon, @iamsimonmitchell, used to work in marketing and run two successful online coaching businesses. He now spends his time helping fit pros with content coaching. In this episode, they discuss email marketing, using Instagram to grow your business, setting up your IG bio, using testimonials and how to never run out of post ideas again. If you use...

Claire Winter, LTBs head of operations, joins Stuart for today's episode. They discuss an article Claire wrote for the LTB magazine on the stages of a personal training business. They talk through the stages - starting out, growth, secure, developing, established - and what each one entails as well as advice for thriving in each stage.     Find Out More About LTB: Instagram: https://www.instagram....

Alex Pearson, LTB's behaviour change and obesity expert, joins Stuart for today's reposted episode. They discuss helping clients with ambivalence, change and sustain talk, ways to encourage more change talk, using reflections and more. It's a practical discussion about motivational interviewing - a core practice you can use to help your clients change their behaviours.     Find Out More About LTB:...

Emma Storey-Gordon, @esgfitness, joins Stuart for today's episode. They discuss how to run a successful online group training programme. How to set one up, how long to run it for, how to price it, how to sign clients up and onboard them plus tips for building a thriving community are covered in this episode.      Find Out More About ESG: Website: https://esgfitness.co.uk/   Instagram: https://www....

Greg Smith, owner of Core Results in Chichester, joins Stuart for today's episode. They discuss dealing with the ups & downs of being a PT, why he's stuck with PT for such a long time, his advice to a new trainer, approaching people on the gym floor, becoming financially literate and much more.     Find Out More About Greg: Website: https://www.coreresults.co.uk/   Email: greg@coreresults.co.uk  ...

Dan Smith, founder of Dan Mac Fitness and Head of Mentoring & Education at Online Fitness Business, joins Stuart for today's episode. They discuss why coaches need to stop selling online coaching, how to feel less emotional about the highs and lows of business, handling a client loss, creating better client testimonials, improving your marketing messaging, transformation pictures and much more.  ...