How to Start a Gym with Less Than $20K
How to Start a Gym with Less Than $20K
Believe it or not, it took less than $20,000 to get my gym, THIRST, up and running. It’s a little over a year old now, and it’s still going strong. Point is, you don’t have to be a millionaire to start up your own gym. Here’s how I did it with THIRST.
Equipment Purchasing Considerations for Fitness Centers
Equipment Purchasing Considerations for Fitness Centers
Purchasing equipment is a big investment for rec centers and fitness establishments alike. Making sure you’re getting what that you’re clientele needs is equally as important.
December's GPP for Your Business
December's GPP for Your Business
How can you bulk up your gym’s profits during the holiday season? These 5 steps will help your gym get those financial gains.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What is NEVERsate?
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What is NEVERsate?
NEVERsate started off as a band name and became the name of Brian Alruhe’s gym — but there’s more to the name than that.
November's GPP for Your Business
November's GPP for Your Business
You write programs for your athletes, but have you programmed anything for your business? Think about GPP for your clients and then create a GPP program for your gym.
How to Build Careers for Other Coaches
How to Build Careers for Other Coaches
I thought the problem was just economics: that coaches could only make an hourly wage, but owners make profits. But that wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was that I could have made more, but I didn’t know how. And my boss didn’t know how, either.
Collegiate vs. Private Sector Strength and Conditioning with Brian Bott
Collegiate vs. Private Sector Strength and Conditioning with Brian Bott
What are the pros and cons of being a strength coach at the collegiate level or in the private sector? The similarities? The differences? Coach Brian Bott, former University of Wisconsin strength coach-turned-founder of Sports AdvantEDGE, tells all in an interview.
What I've Learned From the Mistakes I've Made as A Trainer
What I've Learned From the Mistakes I've Made as A Trainer
It’s great you can point out each origin and insertion of every muscle, but your client doesn’t care. Your end goal is to get your client results and to make them feel better about themselves — not getting them to the point where they’re limping out of your gym.
How to Communicate Clearly to Potential Clients
How to Communicate Clearly to Potential Clients
Ever heard the saying, “If you can’t explain something simply, you probably don’t understand it?” If you’re going to bring in clients, you need to make your pitch short, sweet, and simple.
8 Levels of Delegation for Successful Management
8 Levels of Delegation for Successful Management
Your employees are like your clients in the gym. They want to build their skills and strengths and hopefully, are able to do it on their own. If you’re unable to manage your management, you are doing your employees and yourself a major disservice.
Plyometrics for Group Programming
Plyometrics for Group Programming
Plyometric work is easy to teach, and depending on the variation you choose, easy to recover from. It doesn’t need a huge investment of time from both a learning curve and application perspective. Its inclusion is a no-brainer!
It's On Us to Become Better Strength Coaches
It's On Us to Become Better Strength Coaches
I’m here to remind everyone that we all have a part to play in making our field better and safer for our athletes. It’s on us to ensure our athletes, schools, and overall profession are all the best they can be. Start by implementing these 5 simple steps in your program.
Social Media Eliminates the Small Pond
Social Media Eliminates the Small Pond
I love the Internet. I really do. But at the same time, I can tell you that I absolutely miss those days where I was able to feel like a big fish in a small pond before the Internet came about. It’s a paradox for us as we’re all small fish in a very big pond.
Universal Pro Gym: Full Service With a Personal Touch
Universal Pro Gym: Full Service With a Personal Touch
Universal Pro Gym’s clientele might mostly be made up of bodybuilders, but that doesn’t stop owner Bob Caron from ensuring that all people who walk through the doors get a personalized experience and a variety of services — including an on-site barbershop.
Start Here: Your 3 Core Offerings
Start Here: Your 3 Core Offerings
From a revenue standpoint, you should consider packages to be your gold standard. Combining nutrition coaching with exercise coaching (either personal or group training) will get a client to their goals faster but should bring you more value for your time.
Safe Sport Act Update: Keep Your Gym Up to Code
Safe Sport Act Update: Keep Your Gym Up to Code
Gym owners: Here's a quick reminder that the Safe Sport Act will extend to your businesses starting December 1st, 2020. Not sure about the requirements? Listen to this Two-Brain Business podcast episode for a refresher course.
Disruptive Innovation and Blue Ocean Strategies
Disruptive Innovation and Blue Ocean Strategies
Don’t compete for fish in chum-filled waters. Instead, go where no one else has ever gone before. Be the next Takeru Kobayashi. Be the next CrossFit. Be the next elitefts. Become whatever it is you want and change the game.
Focus on Success
Focus on Success
Two people see the same situation; one person sees the opportunity, and one person sees the obstacle. In order to overcome the obstacle, it takes a different perspective — a positive one.
JL Holdsworth Pens Feature Article on T-Nation.com
JL Holdsworth Pens Feature Article on T-Nation.com
Owner of The Spot Athletics and recent elitefts seminar speaker JL Holdsworth co-wrote a feature article about the deadlift on T-Nation.com. Be sure to check it out!
Outlast the Fitness Industry Copycat, Critic, and Cutter
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…
Important Business Considerations for Gym Owners
Important Business Considerations for Gym Owners
All questions and no answers here. That’s good, though — it’ll make you aware of issues that may need to be addressed in your gym business and figure out how to fix these issues before they become an issue.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #8 with Tony Montgomery
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #8 with Tony Montgomery
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate announces a new member of Team elitefts: Tony Montgomery. They talk about training for the U.S. Marines, running gyms, furthering education, and more.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #7 with the Hypertrophy Coach (Joe Bennett)
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #7 with the Hypertrophy Coach (Joe Bennett)
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate and Joe Bennett (aka the Hypertrophy Coach) discuss pursuing knowledge, balancing family and work, online coaching, Dave Bautista, and more.
Power in Motion is Coming Soon to Gahanna, Ohio
Power in Motion is Coming Soon to Gahanna, Ohio
What sets Power in Motion apart from other Gahanna, Ohio, gyms? Here, members won’t just be a number — they'll all have individualized programs. Luckily for owner Alex Powers, elitefts has equipment that's just as unique as future gym members.
Running Cycles at Boxes: Stop Wasting Your Clients' Time
Running Cycles at Boxes: Stop Wasting Your Clients' Time
I’m not going to waste your time today, so I’ll get right to the point. Here is my list of reasons why you should avoid linear programming for group box classes at your facility like the plague. Your clients will thank you — maybe not directly, but at least by continuing to show up for class.
WATCH: Into The Void
WATCH: Into The Void
This is pain that you crave, because the load you’ve been carrying all your life is now resting on your back — and you have the power to smash it.
GALLERY: NBS Fitness April 1 Renovation
GALLERY: NBS Fitness April 1 Renovation
David Allen’s gym looked a little different than expected when he arrived to train this morning…
How to Use Fundamental Movements to Develop Youth Athletes
How to Use Fundamental Movements to Develop Youth Athletes
Follow this step-by-step outline to build the basic skills needed in young athletes.
Will Failure To Inovate Kill Your Business?
Will Failure To Inovate Kill Your Business?
Do you know what factors determine if your gym will thrive or die?
Don't Blink
Don't Blink
In addition to winning local bodybuilding shows, Skip holds the Rocky Mountain staring contest title.
Off-Site Training: Considerations for Training Children with Special Needs
Off-Site Training: Considerations for Training Children with Special Needs
If done incorrectly, leaving the comfort of the traditional training environment can become chaotic. These basic guidelines will make it a positive experience.
Pursuit of Greatness
Pursuit of Greatness
For Steve Tria of Team 13, overcoming failure is the first step.
Beast Reality: Considerations When Opening a Training Facility
Beast Reality: Considerations When Opening a Training Facility
Opening your own gym is not for the faint of heart…but it is worth every penny, moment, and tear.
Beast Reality: The Bipolar Beast, Part 1
Beast Reality: The Bipolar Beast, Part 1
Let’s face it. Owning a gym certainly has it’s highs and lows.
How to Avoid the Freshman Fifteen
How to Avoid the Freshman Fifteen
The key to maintaining a healthy body and living a healthy lifestyle lies in the choices we make.
Advice from Dad
Advice from Dad
I do hope this is the one time my dad was wrong.
Spacial Awareness
Spacial Awareness
Yeah, I’m pissing and moaning a lot about bullshit, but this just isn’t necessary.
A "No Bull Shit" Q&A with David Allen
A "No Bull Shit" Q&A with David Allen
NBS stood for “No Bull Shit” and was our “mantra” for our approach to training for the meet.
Get to the Edge with Mike Spagnola
Get to the Edge with Mike Spagnola
If you train at our gym, you better be ready to become awesome.
Under The Bar: Can Aggression Be Good?
Under The Bar: Can Aggression Be Good?
Can aggression be good? Can this serve your training or business in any positive way? If so, how can and should it be used? How often and by whom?
An Inside Look at VIP Training and Strength Sport
An Inside Look at VIP Training and Strength Sport
The faults and failures of commercial gyms were holding him back.
Planet Fatness
Planet Fatness
It’s a trap!
Planet Meathead
Planet Meathead
What planet are you on?
Inside Dynamic Sports Development
Inside Dynamic Sports Development
They sure as hell won’t have you squatting on a physioball.
Defranco's Gym Gets a Boost of Power
Defranco's Gym Gets a Boost of Power
As many of you probably already know, two months ago I moved my gym into a bigger, more badass facility!
Beast Reality, Volume 1
Beast Reality, Volume 1
Before you read this, if you’re impatient, don’t go any further.
Better Performance with a Gym Full of elitefts Equipment
Better Performance with a Gym Full of elitefts Equipment
If you were to ask anyone who knows me and what I’m passionate about, it’d be easy for them to answer.
Get Out of The Gym!
Get Out of The Gym!
After you spend an appreciable number of years in the weight room and only the weight room, you start to really look for ways to spice up your training program and get some results.
Under the Bar - The Primary Aim
Under the Bar - The Primary Aim
Since my first Under the Bar article and now after the release of the Under the Bar book I have been asked one question more than any other.

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