Training Clients for Free — The Unsustainable State
For both trainer and trainee, the service is most valuable when the terms are mutually beneficial and serve the aims of both parties. There’s only one circumstance for me that I’ve found no compensation is sustainable.
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.
Micromanagement and the Failure of Weak Leaders
If you lack credibility and influence, attempting to reduce variance and error by controlling every process and detail of your business unit will erode the loyalty, urgency, and purpose needed for success.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Owning A Business Is Harde...
It only makes sense to start your own gym, fulfill your passion, and make boatloads of cash in the process, right? Maybe not.
Reflecting on Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professionals Summit
When I registered for this event, I knew that not only would the presentations be top-notch, but so too would the social event.
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 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.
WATCH: Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit Speaker...
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Goal Review Session
Sometimes a client gets bored. Sometimes they get busy. And sometimes they just want something new.
Contingencies — Why Plan B Might Be the Most Important Part of Your Stra...
As painful as it might be to ponder our actions in the event that the rug is pulled out from underneath our feet, it pales in comparison to the pain of not having a viable Plan B when life happens.
From the Weight Room to the Boardroom
At times, we can be paralyzed by the complexity of our professional lives and it can be very valuable to find simple, yet proven philosophies that help us find our way.
How (and When) To Fire A Client
For over a year, I thought it was my job to accommodate her. She was my client; I was being paid to “treat” her condition. Right?
WATCH: Dugdale UGSS Presentation — Who Will Remember You?
Your time on this earth is limited, and much shorter than you likely realize. Don’t waste it.
7 Things That Can Make You A Successful Online Trainer
I’m putting the satire on hold for one article. Here’s some straight-up information to help you become a better online trainer.
The Coexistence of Politics and Merit
It wasn’t until about five years into my professional career that I started to notice some problems with my upward mobility plan.
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.
Ivan the Terrible
The customer is the ultimate determinant of your product and what it’s about. It doesn’t matter how you perceive your product — it matters how they do.
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?
Family-Owned Business Lessons from Garden Fresh Foods
With nearly 17 years of business ownership under my belt, I’m willing to admit I don’t possess all the answers. However, Garden Fresh Foods continues to thrive.
3 Business Lessons from My First 5 Years of Gym-Ownership
The first month we opened we had around 30 members, two trainers, and I worked 80+ hours a week.
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.
A Letter to the Boss
If I were to write a note that would be applicable and truly helpful for leaders of all kinds, what would it say?
The 10 Principles of Being Personal with Personal Training
Personal training is a field that allows for creativity in how you do things with exercise, but at its core, it is still working with people. You need them to like you.
5 Lessons from 13 Years in Leadership
When I began this career, I was 26 years old. I’ve learned a lot since then. These are some of my most valuable lessons.
7 Daily Rituals for Success
Three years ago I wrote about habits of trying to be successful. Since then, these practices have evolved into something better: rituals.
How To Price Personal Training
Unsure where to set prices for 1:1 or small group training? Here’s an in-depth look at the industry’s current rates and how to best incentivize your trainers while bringing more clients—and money—to your gym.
Real People, Real Results — 8 Lessons in Training, Nutrition, and Busine...
I’ve spent the better part of these last two years working with hundreds of new clients and continuing to meet and learn from seasoned coaches.
Why Bodybuilders Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Vacations
I get asked a lot about what to do about workouts, diet, etc., while on vacation. My response?
Setting an Atmosphere for Success
Changing the culture or environment of your team is not easy but it may be the single-most important factor for your success. Here are three things to get you started.
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.
The Three Best and Worst Parts of Owning a Gym
Over five years of owning a facility, through the survival stage and growth phase, I’ve learned a lot. Good and bad, owning a gym is a…
WATCH: Table Talk — How Do You Make Training Fit Your Life Schedule?
If training is getting lost on your daily to-do list, change your approach.
Three Financing Options for Your Gym Business
You may decide to use one or all three of these options to best set up your facility for profitability. What’s your plan?
Finding Your Values — Useful For More Than Business
When Dave told me to create a list of my values, I thought it would be no problem. Instead, it has proven to be an extremely difficult exercise. Here’s why.
Three Questions to Answer Before Opening a Gym
Much of our success can be attributed to insanely hard work, lots of sacrifice, and a good bit of luck. But first I had to answer these questions.
Close the Vents
Here are a couple of ideas that you could do today to improve your work or team culture — they all start with reducing negativity disguised as venting.
How You Do Anything Is How You'll Do Everything
I want to share some of the key principles to success that I have learned over the last few years. Start here and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals.