I certainly have.

After hosting Nick Winkelman in Edinburgh for a full-day seminar on The Language of Coaching, I came away with a load of ideas that have already changed how I'm approaching my own PT sessions.

In this episode, I'm sharing six of the most useful.

We get into why you should sometimes shut up and let your clients move, why giving someone five coaching cues at once rarely helps, and how using analogies can make your coaching more memorable, effective and enjoyable.

I'll also explain how to involve your clients in creating their own cues, why greater awareness of what you're actually saying matters, and what personal trainers can learn from comedians about preparing for their sessions.

Nothing here requires new equipment, another qualification you won't use or a complete overhaul of your coaching.

Just a willingness to pay a little more attention to how you communicate.

Give a couple of these a go in your next session and see what happens.

------------------------

Find Out More About Stuart & The PTR:

• Instagram
• 50 Recommended Books for PTs

Michael Goulden has been a personal trainer for nearly 30 years, still coaches 25–30 sessions per week, and has clients who've been with his business for more than 20 years.

So I wanted to find out what he's doing differently.

We talk about why Michael treats every client like an individual project, how to stay curious even after you've coached someone for years, the standards he's built into every part of the client experience, and the tiny details that can separate a brilliant PT from everyone else in the gym.

We also get into consultations, knowing when NOT to take someone on, keeping long-term clients engaged and what should actually be happening while your client is performing a rep.

This conversation reminded me just how much depth there is to being a great personal trainer.

If you care about getting better at the actual craft of PT, you'll enjoy this one.

Find out more about Michael Goulden:

• Integra Education

And the first attempt nearly ended with me quitting the industry altogether.

In this episode, I take you through my slightly windy journey from qualifying as a PT in 2012 (I think...), losing most of my first clients and barely being able to pay my rent, through to rebuilding my PT business in Dundee, New York and eventually from a garage in North Carolina.

Along the way, I learned a LOT about becoming a better coach, getting clients, building a local reputation and what it actually takes to make personal training work as a career.

I'm now pretty confident I could move somewhere new and build a PT business again.

Not because I have a massive following or some secret marketing tactic... but because I've developed the skills, systems and confidence to know how to do it.

Hopefully this episode helps you build some of those too.

------------------------

Find Out More About Stuart & The PTR:

• Instagram
• 50 Recommended Books for PTs

But somewhere along the way, it feels like the fitness industry became obsessed with helping PTs escape it.

Go online. Open a gym. Scale. Stop trading time for money.

I want this podcast to be a little different.

Actually...

Very different.

In this first episode, I explain why I've started The Personal Trainer Roadmap Pod, who it's for, and five things I believe about building a successful, long-term career as a PT.

We'll talk about getting clients, becoming a better coach, retention, being fully booked without working yourself into the ground, and why there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be a really bloody good personal trainer.

If you care about the business, the craft AND the career of being a PT, this podcast is for you.

------------------------

Find Out More About Stuart & The PTR:

• Instagram
• 50 Recommended Books for PTs