Closing in on Our 20th Year in Business
Thanks to your valued partnership, after nearly two decades of business we are still focused on the future.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Execution vs. Beast Mode
When you start patting yourself on the back for basic shit you're supposed to be doing anyway, you're missing the whole point. You're a failure.
Mirage Chasing
We seek enough, for what? To prove we did something? That we’re good “enough” at something? I'm fighting every day to overcome this and you should too.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Marketing and Branding in the Fitness Industry
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.
WATCH: Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit Speaker Preview
Listen to Dave, in his own words, explain why he chose each presenter for the summit and how he believes their knowledge can help any professional in this industry.
Pausing to Remember 20 Years
Our 20th wedding anniversary coincided with the end of a 13-month stretch of time that included eight bodybuilding competitions. It's no surprise that Christina was experiencing angst for vacation.
Intrapreneurship
For a good staff member, a salary can just get in the way of a great career. Coaches need an unending opportunity with some limitations, and this is where you come in.
Why You Should Raise Your Prices
While it may seem like a simple, quick way to gain more clients, competing on price is usually recipe for failure.
What's Worse Than No?
Sometimes the best thing we can do for a client—or staff person, or child—is to make a decision for them.
5 Ways I Work My ROT Score Every Day
Retirement has changed. Where our parents went from 100% work to 0% work, the new economy allows us to go from 80% to 20%. Or from 53% to 47%. Or anything we can create.
Becoming A Good Leader — Four Improvement Strategies
How do you know if you are a good leader in the eyes of your people? What are some ways that you can evaluate how well you are doing? It can be profoundly complicated.
Gym Business: What I Wish I Knew When I Started
Without passion for what I do, I would have closed down a long time ago. I get a lot of questions about starting a facility similar to my own, so here is some advice I wish someone would've given me years ago.
Who Are You — From Assistant to Head Coach
In the realm of strength and conditioning, you are always selling yourself to administrators, athletic directors, sport coaches, your boss, athletes, recruits, and everyone else around you. Will they like what they see?
Dave Tate: Looking Back On Nearly 20 Years, Some Things Never Change
With the exponential growth of the fitness industry over the past 20 years, the roots of elitefts still hold strong: a foundational trunk of knowledge sprouting enough branches to accommodate nearly every training discipline imaginable.
How to Leave the Life of Delusion and Personal Hype
I was once told by a trusted friend that the most important thing in life is your perception and your own personal judgment. At the time this seemed to make sense, and then I realized just how dangerous that mindset is.
So You Want to Be an Online Trainer — Growing Your Business
There are so many pieces to a successful online training business, and I honestly feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. In part two I discuss what to do once you've started the business and are looking for growth.
X Marks the Spot: 3 Ways to Make It to Your Next Big Coaching Job
Everyone wants to be the head strength coach at a school that has a realistic opportunity to compete for a national championship, but I don’t think enough people put the right kind of plan in place to get there.
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.
Create a Culture that Breeds Results
I don’t care if you have the best athletes and the best equipment in the world — a shitty gym atmosphere can DESTROY their results.
WATCH: Table Talk with Dave Tate — Balancing Your Life
Most people just suck at time management. Have you ever paid attention to how much time you spend every day doing stupid shit that doesn't matter?
Expectations and Group Culture — A Conversation for Day One
Business leaders, coaches, and teachers agree, day one must be the day where expectations are communicated and group culture is explained. This conversation takes about 45 minutes and these topics are always covered.
So You Want to Be an Online Trainer — Three Steps to Getting Started
Within part one of this article series, I want to pass on the basics, the startup, and the initial thoughts before starting an online training business.
Learn From the Back to Lead From the Front
In sports performance, sometimes you need to shut up, take a seat in the back of the room, and learn before you are ready to lead from the front.
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.
























