u/DanNorthFitness

When I got into this industry fourteen years ago, it was common for trainers to dream about having their own gym one day. For many new trainers getting started today, that aspiration has shifted to online coaching. And most of them want to jump straight into it without ever training anyone in-person first.

There’s a lot of BS out there when it comes to online training. So, I thought I’d share some practical advice for any trainers here looking to start coaching clients online. This is based on my own personal experience, working with clients in-person for the past fourteen years and online for the past seven.

You need a service before you can leverage one

Everyone is different, but I'd argue you should train people in-person for at least five years before you even think about going online. Your communication and coaching skills are developed in the gym, actually training people. Not sitting behind a laptop. Without those skills, there is nothing separating you from a free program anyone can find on Google or ChatGPT. Putting "Online Training – Apply Now" in your Instagram bio will not bring you clients.

Training yourself and training other people are two completely different things

You probably started going to the gym, got some great results, and now people are asking how you did it. That's a great start. That said, just because you know how to work out doesn't mean you know how to train other people. Apples and oranges.

The beach doesn't exist

Contrary to what the fitness guru douchebag might have you believe before signing up for their $5,000 mastermind to "10x your business," online coaching isn't sitting on a beach watching the money roll in while you do nothing. 99% of those "fitness business coaches" trying to sell you on their mentorship program are failed trainers telling other trainers how to be successful. They paint a picture of a lifestyle that simply doesn’t exist.

Online coaching is just as much work as training people in-person, if not more. Programming, check-ins, filming instructional videos, acquiring clients, retaining clients, posting content, building an email list, providing check-ins and accountability. The list goes on. There are plenty of trainers who crush it online. For most of them, it was a natural progression from their existing in-person business, not the foundation.

What does your ideal day actually look like?

Most of us became trainers because we love being in the gym, interacting with people face-to-face, and building relationships. Not sitting behind a laptop all day. If that were the case, we'd all have office jobs.

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport talks about lifestyle-centric career planning. Picture your ideal day, then build your business around it. If your ideal day is being in the gym helping people, it's worth asking yourself honestly whether online training will actually fulfill you, or whether you're chasing it for the wrong reasons.

Not every client is an online client

Online training works for some clients, but not all of them. Many people work with trainers specifically for the accountability and social aspect. They wouldn't be going to the gym at all if they didn't have a scheduled appointment. Many of them also need in-person coaching to make sure they're training safely and effectively. That being said, this type of client wouldn’t be a great candidate for online coaching. They won't follow the program on their own, and if they do, they probably won't do it correctly.

Before you go online, take a look at your in-person clients. How many of them are actually good candidates for it? Are there any that would be going to the gym, regardless of whether or not they had a scheduled session with you? Do any of them already have great technique, can push themselves on their own, are self-accountable, and can follow a plan you lay out for them (whether it's homework, etc.)?

How to know when you're ready

Make the decision to go online based on current demand, not projected potential or best-case scenarios. Ask yourself:

• How many sessions are you doing every week?
• Do you have more demand than you can handle?
• Do you have a waitlist of clients wanting to train with you in-person?
• Have you explored semi-private or partner training to expand capacity first and leverage your in-person services?

When you've genuinely maxed out your in-person schedule and built a solid client base, then it might be worth thinking about online training as an extension of what you've already built.

How to transition your first clients online

The easiest first online clients are the ones you already train in-person. Look for clients who are self-accountable. They'd be in the gym regardless of whether they have an appointment with you. They work hard, take feedback well, have solid technique, and trust you. Those are your best online clients.

For example, a client who trains with you three days a week might shift to once a week in-person plus programming.

One of the best things you can do as a trainer is teach your clients to be independent. Equip them with the tools and knowledge to walk confidently into any gym and get a safe, effective workout on their own. The clients who get there are usually the ones who transition online successfully.

Bottom Line

Online training can be a great addition or progression to an existing in-person business. But it's usually an addition, not a foundation. Build the foundation first before you even think about going online.

Hey everyone. I got a question from another trainer this week that I wanted to share here, because I think it's something a lot of us struggle with (I know I have). Particularly, those of us with clients who have been training with us for a long time (i.e. years).

This is what they asked: "I'm struggling with clients who are with me for over a year and I struggle to keep things interesting. I try not to overhaul their program, but it's tempting to switch things up as well. How do you phase programs or keep things interesting?"

I figured I'd share my response here, in case it might help anyone else. For context, I've been a trainer for fourteen years and currently have clients I've been working with for ten-plus years.

Here are some things I've learned along the way on keeping programs interesting for clients.

You Get Bored Before Your Clients Do

The first thing worth recognizing is that, as trainers, we often get bored of our own programs way before our clients do. We're the ones writing the programs, coaching the same exercises to a dozen different clients, watching the same movement patterns all day, giving the same cues. Of course, it starts to feel stale to us.

Your client isn't living in that world. They show up two or three times a week, do the work, and get on with their life. The repetition that feels monotonous to you often feels like welcome structure to them.

That's not to say that variety isn't important. It just means the urge to overhaul a program is usually coming from you, not your client, and it's worth considering before you act on it.

Give Your Clients Some Autonomy

At the end of the day, people are coming to you for direction. A good client wants you to lead the session and tell them what's best, because you're the expert. I wouldn't walk into a barber shop and grab the scissors. It would look like Stevie Wonder cut my hair.

That said, giving your clients some control over their workouts creates a sense of ownership and a little more buy-in to their plan. For example, when a client signs up to train with me, I ask if there are any exercises they hate or enjoy doing. I try to blend in exercises they enjoy so they actually look forward to their workouts, and avoid the ones they hate so they don't dread showing up, as long as it still makes sense for their program.

Once we've been training for a while, I send a feedback form before every new phase and ask if there's anything they'd like to change or add. I'll take it into consideration, as long as it fits the program.

Follow the Same Workouts for Three to Four Weeks

In general, I keep clients on the same plan for three to four weeks before moving into a new phase. That's usually enough time for someone to get comfortable with the movements and build some confidence, while progressing them with heavier weights, more reps, and so on, without things getting stale.

Switching things up too early and doing something new every other session doesn't give your client much of a chance to get better at anything. It's like trying to learn guitar and never practicing the same chords more than a few times. Strength training is a skill, and like any skill, your clients need to practice it to improve.

That said, if you wait too long to switch things up, boredom can creep in.

Three to four weeks tends to be the sweet spot for my clients. But as always, it depends on the client and their program.

Vary Your Rep Ranges

All rep ranges work. You just have to vary them. This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep things interesting for your clients without overhauling their program.

On one end, some might say you need to constantly change everything to "confuse your muscles." On the other, you've got trainers doing the same 3x10 or 3x5 and rarely stepping outside of it. As with most training topics, the answer usually lives somewhere in the middle.

A quote I love from Poliquin is that there are a lot of effective rep schemes, but the problem with all of them is that they're only as good as the time it takes your body to adapt to them. And out of all the training variables, the body adapts to reps the fastest. So, it's worth considering varying them throughout your clients' programs.

Personally, I use an undulating approach with most of my clients, where the reps go up and down over time, either on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. One way to do it is to stick to the same rep scheme for a few weeks, then switch it up. For example:

• Weeks 1-3: 8-12 reps
• Weeks 4-6: 6-8 reps
• Weeks 7-9: 8-10 reps
• Weeks 10-12: 5-7 reps

Some phases might focus on higher reps and lighter weights, while other phases might focus on lower reps and heavier weights, before cycling back and repeating. This gives clients a sense of progression and variation without requiring you to reinvent the program every few weeks. I have clients who have been following this format for years with great results.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this isn't the only way to structure a program. Just one example of many.

Use Same, But Different Exercises

10% of the exercises your clients do will deliver 90% of their results (aka the fundamentals). They'll make faster, more sustainable progress with this approach rather than cycling through an exhaustive list of exercises pulled from Instagram.

That said, most clients don't want to do the same stuff over and over. Eventually, they'll get bored. The solution isn't concocting a bunch of random exercises for the sake of novelty. It's making small, deliberate tweaks to the exercises that already work.

Take the split squat, for example. A few small changes make this exercise feel completely different to your client without overhauling their program:

• Change the tempo. Slow down the eccentric or add a pause.
• Change the load position. Two dumbbells at the sides instead of one, or a goblet position instead.
• Elevate the rear foot.
• Elevate the front foot.
• Elevate both feet.

The same goes for something like a dumbbell bench press:

• Change the angle. Start with a flat bench, then use an inclined bench.
• Change the tempo. Slow it down or add pauses.
• Go from bilateral to unilateral. Hold one dumbbell and press with one arm at a time. Or hold two and alternate.
• Use a different grip. Turn the palms in for neutral grip, instead of pronated.

Same exercises with the same high return on investment, with just enough variation to keep it feeling new and interesting for your client.

Don't overthink it. We tend to think we have to constantly impress our clients by reinventing their workouts every few weeks. We don't. Sometimes I'll throw in something I saw another coach do, or make one small tweak to an exercise we've been doing for months. That's enough. What feels like a minor change to us is usually a meaningful change to them.

Hope this helps.

As trainers, we're quick to preach consistency and patience to our clients. Then we turn around and fall into “shiny object syndrome”, chasing the next “quick fix” to get more clients or grow our business.

The best trainers I know who've built successful, sustainable careers didn't get there because of a marketing funnel or a sales tactic. They're just doing small things that make a big difference, repeatedly, for a long time. I wanted to share a few that have made a real difference in my fourteen years.

1. Put birthdays and milestones in your calendar. When your client signs up, they’ve filled out an intake form with their birthday on it. Put it in your calendar and set it to repeat annually. If they're still training with you, you never forget. If they've moved on, it's a natural, low-pressure way to stay in touch and potentially rekindle the relationship. If your client's running a charity 5k, set a reminder in your calendar and send them a quick message wishing them luck the morning of. Takes less than 30 sec and makes a huge impact.
2. Send a quick follow-up the day after their workout. “How are you feeling after yesterday’s workout?" This shows you actually give a shit. Some of my clients don’t always answer. But I do it anyway.
3. Make it about them. Be early. Have their equipment set up before they walk in. Play the music they like. These are small things that cost you nothing. This is where it’s disturbingly easy to set yourself apart from other trainers. The number of people who've told me their trainer was always on their phone, walked away mid-set, or spent the whole session talking about themselves; it's baffling. Make your client's session the best part of their day. Say their name. Make them feel safe and understood. Ask them questions and show genuine interest. Interesting people are interested in people.

Most of the "fitness business coaches" you see online are failed trainers trying to make money by telling other trainers how to be successful. The next time you see an ad for a $10k mastermind, ask yourself what you'd tell a client who wanted to try a crash diet. Be patient, be consistent, and do the simple things repeatedly for a long time.

If it ain't sustainable, it ain't successful.

Hope this helps.

Since joining this group, I’ve noticed a lot of questions on how to get started as a personal trainer. So, I decided to put together a step-by-step guide on how to actually get started and set yourself up for a successful, fulfilling career in our field, based on my own experience over the last fourteen years as a trainer. For perspective, I’ve worked at commercial gyms, private healthcare clinics, and currently have my own studio at home where I see clients in-person and online today. I say this so you know that all of the information here is coming from real experience and based on what I’ve actually done and continue to do every day. I'm not some douchebag on a beach trying to sell you on a new marketing funnel I discovered to 10x your business. I’m sitting in my office between clients, in the mood to share some (hopefully) useful tips.

Step 1: Choosing the “Right” Certification

Deciding which certification to get can feel overwhelming. I think some people go into it thinking that they’re going to learn everything they need to know about personal training based on this one decision. So, they make a mountain out of a molehill and get paralysis analysis with all the potential options available. Kinda like how our clients get confused with all of the various programs and diets out there.

Here’s the thing…

Your initial personal training certification, along with CPR, is basically just to get you hired and covered for insurance at any gym. The specific certification doesn’t matter nearly as much as you probably think. Plus, your future clients don’t know what these certifications even mean. I’ve been training for fourteen years, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a client ask me which certification I have.

With that said, don’t overthink which one to get, as they all cover similar material, and your learning will really start once you actually start training people. You’ll learn more by keeping a white belt mentality forever and reading books, taking other courses, and actually training people. There will always be more to learn. Your knowledge doesn’t end with your certification, it’s just getting started.

ISSA, NASM, CanFitPro, ACE. It doesn’t matter. Get one and get hired.

Step 2: Getting Hired

First, there are some common misconceptions among new and aspiring trainers that I’d like to clear the air on.

The first is wanting to immediately start online training. Not to be an asshole, but no one is going to hire you to be their online trainer because you put “Online Training – Apply Here” in your Instagram bio. There’s so much that goes into training, and without that in-person experience, you don’t have the know-how to translate that into an online service for other people yet. Just because you know how to train yourself does not mean you know how to train other people, let alone online. For perspective, I think I trained people in-person for seven or eight years before I did any online training.

Leveraging your services is great, but you need a service to leverage first. Get some practice reps in. Plus, it's worth mentioning that most of us got into personal training because we love being in the gym, not behind a laptop all day. Train people in-person before you even think about online training.

The second is only wanting to work with athletes. I understand wanting to work with athletes, but at the risk of sounding like an asshole again, you’re not in a place to be selective with your clients and “niche” down yet. You haven’t trained anyone.

If you do really want to work with athletes and see that as a potential long-term path, find an internship at a good gym that works with the types of athletes you want to train. You’ll need your CSCS if you choose to work in a collegiate or school setting. If you want to work with athletes in the private sector, you don’t need it. Any standard personal training certification will do.

The third is wanting to run your own training business right away. Coming from a guy who is his own boss, trust me, I get it.

I think a common objection to getting hired at a gym is the cut that the gym takes.

“Why would I give up more than half of what the client’s paying when I can take all of it on my own?”

I get it. But what you have to understand is the gym is paying for the equipment, amenities, insurance, marketing, hydro, and all the other stuff that goes into running a business, so you don’t have to. All of which brings in a steady influx of gym members (i.e. potential clients for you).

There's so much that goes into training (let alone that plus marketing, sales, insurance, etc.), that most people don't realize.

Personally, I'd recommend working at a gym for at least a few years before even thinking about going off on your own.

Find a good gym that has a bunch of potential clients walking through the door every day and focus on training people (bonus points if the gym is in an affluent neighbourhood where people have the disposable income to invest in a personal trainer). You get to learn a bit of sales, programming, and all the other stuff that comes with being a trainer without stressing about the business side of things yet.

For your interview, dress clean, be personable (it’s called personal training for a reason), and show genuine interest in the gym. Most gyms aren’t going to be dicks and ask you to name all the muscles of the shoulder on your first day. Have a basic understanding of some anatomy, but don’t overthink it. Being coachable (i.e. willing to learn) is far more important than knowing everything (because you never will).

Danny Meyer, the restaurateur behind Shake Shack, talks about this in his book Setting the Table (a great read for any trainer, by the way). His hiring philosophy is that technical skills can be taught, but emotional traits like empathy, self-awareness, and work ethic can't. So when he's evaluating someone, if they're lacking on the technical side but have all the right qualities as a person, he hires them. If it's the reverse, he passes.

The same applies to personal training. You can learn everything there is to know about programming and biomechanics, but if you can't genuinely connect with people, the rest won't matter much.

Step 3: Finding Your First Clients

As a new trainer, your best ability is availability.

Be available when the fitness manager asks if you can train the new client they just signed up for 6am and wants to start tomorrow morning. You haven’t trained anyone yet, so you kind of have to make yourself available and be willing to work long, less-than-ideal hours when getting started. Burnout is real, and you’ll have to protect your time as you gain more clients. Don’t worry about that right now. I trained anyone and everyone willing to pay me, regardless of the time. It’s early mornings, long days, and weekends when you’re getting started. Embrace it and dive in headfirst.

You won’t be able to help everyone, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Not every client is going to be a good client. That’s okay. Do the best you can with everyone you work with. Treat every client with the same care you’d want your partner, friend, mom, or dad to receive from their trainer. Do this consistently, and eventually, you won’t have to look for clients. They’ll come to you.

Also, everyone is a potential client. The barista at your local coffee shop, your friend’s mom. You don’t know who people know, and who they might refer to you. Carry yourself as a professional. Tell everyone you’re a trainer. Shout it from the rooftops.

Control the Controllables

When you’re new at something (in this case, personal training), you don’t know anything…and that’s okay! The best thing you can do is focus on what you can control. The small things make the biggest difference.

No matter where you’re at in your career, you can always control:

• Your attitude. No one wants to spend two to three hours a week with someone they don't enjoy being around. Be the trainer people look forward to seeing.
• Your attention. Put your phone down and focus on your client. Make them feel safe and heard. This is their hour.
• Your curiosity. The more curious you are, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you earn.
• Your professionalism. Being a professional doesn’t mean wearing khakis and a polo. It’s being early, how you show up to your sessions, and your ability to connect and communicate with people.

For better or worse, it’s easy to set yourself apart from other trainers if you do these things consistently. Other gym members will notice, and they’ll want to work with you instead of the dude scrolling IG or talking to the receptionist while his client's squatting.

A lot of new trainers underestimate how fulfilling this career can be when you actually put the time and care into it. You're literally helping people get better at life. Don't underestimate the role you play in your clients' lives.

There's a lot more to cover, but if you're just getting started, this'll point you in the right direction. Hope this helps.

I've noticed a lot of trainers here asking for book and resource recommendations. So, I wanted to share some that have helped me over the years.

One of the best parts about this industry is that you'll never know everything, and there's always room to improve.

Personally, I like to have one training-related book and one personal or business-related book going at a time.

So, I've organized some of my favourites into these respective categories (in no particular order).

When you're wondering where to look for information and who to learn from, find someone you respect, see who they follow, and continue forever. Hope this helps.

Personal and Business Development

• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• Wealthing Like Rabbits by Robert Brown
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The One Thing by Gary Keller
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
• Company of One by Paul Jarvis
• The Go-Giver by Bob Burg
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Training

• Strength and Conditioning Coaching by Mike Boyle
• Advances in Functional Training and New Functional Training for Sports by Mike Boyle
• Triphasic Training (1 and 2) by Cal Dietz and Ben Peterson
• Practical Programming for Strength Training and Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
• Secrets of Successful Program Design by Alwyn Cosgrove and Craig Rasmussen
• Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky
• Strength by Joe DeFranco and Jim Smith
• Ultimate MMA Conditioning by Joel Jamieson
• The Muscle and Strength Pyramid - Training by Eric Helms
• Glute Lab by Bret Contreras
• Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline
• Ultimate Back and Fitness Performance by Dr. Stuart McGill
• Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy by Brad Schoenfeld
• Core Performance by Mark Verstegen