LISTEN: The Iron Life Podcast #7 with Joe DeFranco
In The Iron Life Podcast #7, Chris Tutela talks with world-renowned strength and conditioning coach Joe DeFranco about success, programming, things trainers should never do, and more.
Outlast the Fitness Industry Copycat, Critic, and Cutter
The only way to REALLY keep your clients away from the snake oil is to teach them about it, but you’ve got to do a couple of things before you have their trust and attention…
Three Things I Would Change About the Fitness Industry
Two decades of working in this industry—and even longer being part of it as a lifter—has shown me a lot of great things, but I’ve got a few suggestions as well.
WATCH: Steve Pulcinella Visits the S5 Compound
After a long, miserable drive to Ohio, we stuck a camera in Steve’s face and forced him to talk about his life. The results are about what you’d expect.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Don't Be A Big Fish i...
The fitness industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s the war you want to be in.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Marketing and Branding in the Fitness In...
Whether you’re starting your business or have been around for years, one of the most important parts of your success is understanding and controlling consumer perception of your brand.
Steps Toward Success: Your First Year as a Personal Trainer
The first year is tough, and that’s when most trainers fail. If they stick with it they start to break through their second year — but only if they put in the ground work their first year.
How to Make Money as a Personal Trainer
My last year as a personal trainer I averaged over 40 billable training hours a week and sometimes did over 60 hours a week. The tactics I used to get to that point are now the basis of our trainer development program.
Our Gym, Our Destiny
Through minor challenges and major setbacks, Elite Custom Fitness has thrived since 2012. Now it’s time to find a new five-year goal.
WATCH: Coach Kav Returns to the S4 Compound
Every topic they discuss leads to one crucial point: We’re all here to make this industry a better place. What are you doing to make that happen?
5 Leadership Mistakes in Personal Training
Having recently read Michael Speidel’s “5 Lessons from 13 Years in Leadership”, I reframed it to personal training.
The SWIS Symposium — Everything That's Right with the Fitness Industry
I could write a book on everything I learned from the 30-plus pages of notes I took from the weekend. Instead, I’m going to give you the Cliffs Notes version.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Current State of the Fitness Industry
What do you think of the fitness community today and all the shitty gurus on social media?
Why Fitness Articles Suck — Confessions of a Content Mill Author
If you’ve been in the fitness industry for a couple of decades like I have, you may be wondering what the hell happened. Fitness articles weren’t this bad when we were starting out, were they?
Novel Stimulus or Stupid Human Trick?
Cutting through the clutter of fitness information out there, here’s a checklist to help you to figure out what works (and what doesn’t) for your training and the training advice you offer others.
An Introduction to Affinity Marketing — F Your Funnel
If you want your gym to be successful and your clientele base to grow, you need to take that traditional sales funnel and flip it upside down.
Perspectives on Hypertrophy
My viewpoint runs counter to much of the current climate, which is dominated by the short-term perspective of a “hypertrophy phase.”
WATCH: Table Talk — Analyzing Training Methods
The people who really don’t know what the fuck they are doing are the ones that are taking the business from you because you are too wrapped up in the wrong things.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed…Someone’s Blue
There’s a difference between using someone’s ideas or concepts and flat-out stealing them. It’s very simple to figure out, even though a lot of you blow it.
Madison Press: elitefts Creates Global Success from London Headquarters
Our local paper breaks down the "grey brick building next to the train tracks on Maple Street."
Everything Starts at Zero
For most things in life, you start with nothing. Get comfortable with this.
Personal Training Is NOT Easy
To be a successful trainer, it takes more than showing up and looking the part. It takes more than you think.
My SWIS 2015 Experience
The best come together for a weekend to educate each other on business, strength training, rehab, and nutrition. My head is still spinning.
Four Ways to Become a Strong(her) Boss
If you’re a woman who holds a supervisory role in a male-dominated field, you’re going to encounter unique challenges. These four principles have helped me improve management processes.
Tanner Baze: The Unspoken Truth About Online Fitness
"The fitness industry is getting its ass kicked, and not in the way you might think."
Integrity (Or a Lack Thereof)
Why is our industry full of morally corrupt lifters and unoriginal thieves? Isn’t there something we can do?
Competence is Confidence
Belief in yourself is only useful if you take the time to build your abilities. Here’s the formula to turn bravado into skilled-mastery.
Arrogance vs Relevance: Fix Your Business Practices
If you’re relying on the wave of popularity to bring you clients, what will you do when the dry season comes.
StrengthPortal Interviews Alexander Juan Antonio Cortes
Starting out as a personal trainer? Considering moving these efforts online? This interview will help guide your efforts.
Bring On the Regulation
This industry is a sea of turds, full of ‘coaches’ with no credentials and no right to be training anyone. Let’s fix that.
Every Industry is "corrupt", not just Fitness
The common thread through all of this? Everyone is always in the “right”, the other party or persons is always in the “wrong”.
Every Industry is Corrupt
The common thread through all of this? Everyone is always in the "right", the other party or persons is always in the "wrong".
When There is Money to Be Made
If there is more money to be made from telling a lie, will the truth ever come out?
Dump Out Your Toolbox
If you don't know how to properly use what is at your disposal, then YOU are the tool.
Fast Tips for Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has recently emerged as a hot topic, particularly for those seeking an effective tool for reducing or maintaining body fat levels.
Losing the Race to the Bottom
I’ve been contemplating for a while whether the training industry is in a race to the bottom.
Personal Training 101
For many people, having the ability to train people for a living is a dream come true.
From The Mill 12/16/2009
Dave Tate answers your business and training questions while…. On The Mill. Topics include reading material, mentoring and bicep pain.