Get Your Head Out of Your Arse
Your kids, spouse, coworkers, and the crappy weather, are not the reasons you are 30 pounds overweight and hate your job. Go ahead and reread the title of this article.
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.
Your Haters are Pushing You to the Top — Embrace It
Maybe instead of flipping off the haters, you should be thanking them instead. If anything, the haters are just bringing more people your way!
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.
The 7 Pillars of Leadership
It took time and a whole lot of failures for me to learn these core principles of leading others. But they are what helped me grow my business to over 160 members and a team of four others working alongside me… which brings me to these 7 lessons of leadership.
Caught in the Middle
It’s a double-whammy when you’re the last person standing from the most recent rounds of strength staff layoffs. You’ll have to deal with new head coaches and new staff members. What do you do in that situation? Follow these tips, and you’ll have a good grip on the handle if this happens to you.
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.
Is This the Right Fit?
Not every job is going to be the right fit for you, no matter how hard you try to make it work. Know who you are, what you believe in, what you are willing to sacrifice, and what you will and will not do.
LISTEN: The Iron Life Podcast #16 with Bedros Keuilian
I first met Bedros Keuilian when our mutual friend Jay Ferruggia introduced us. From there, I worked with him on his online coaching program, which eventually led me to working with him in his elite coaching program for the last three years… and now, he’s a guest on my podcast.
The elitefts Internship Guide
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about internships, all in one place.
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.
6 Business Lessons No One Talks About
You’ve heard a lot of business advice from everyone. But what about the things you haven’t heard?
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #30 — How Dave Tate Trained His Clients
If you train gen pop, how do you get into your clients’ heads? What exercises do you choose? Dave Tate answers these questions based on his experiences from training gen pop.
WATCH: Business and Branding From the Mill
In 2009, Dave took on the treadmill, the mortal enemy of powerlifters, as he answered questions about business and branding. This feat is not for the weak of heart or constitution, so abandon hope, all ye who enter here…
Don’t Let The Things You Love Destroy You
The things that gym owners and coaches love to do are destroying them. Find what you love to do without it taking too much of a toll on your health, both mental and physical. #BeThe1ToAsk others if they need help.
From a Side Hustle to a Full-Time Job: Building Your Online Coaching Bus...
A lot of people think online training is easy to do, easy money, and something anyone can do and be successful at doing. They’re all wrong. It takes a lot more work than that. If you’re thinking about dropping your 9-5 gig for an online training job, take these points into consideration first.
Make Your Time More Valuable
Your key asset, the one thing that you can leverage to build a successful company and the real measuring stick isn’t money; it’s time. You open a business to earn a higher return on your time, not to buy yourself a job.
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
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
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
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.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #20 with Alwyn Cosgrove
Alwyn Cosgrove made quite the splash at the SSTSS 2019 event, so it’s only natural we’d have him sit down with Dave… plus, we have a couple of other guests joining Dave and Alwyn. Any guesses? Their last name starts with ant and ends in O…
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
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.
Learning the Language of a Prospect
We tend to go into things with fitness coach or trainer eyes. We need to start seeing through the clients’ eyes and thinking like they do. We need to relate to them. Once you do that, you can take them on a journey.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Why Strength Coaches are D-Bags
Matt Rhodes’ takeaway lessons for strength coaches in this clip: Put your best foot forward. Stop screaming and start communicating. Hold yourself accountable. Do better and be better.
Comfort Zones are Death Zones
As I start up my new job, I wanted to give younger strength and conditioning coaches some advice: Don’t be afraid to spread your wings and fly out of your comfort zone. Be bold and be brave. It will pay off at some point.
Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Our Relationship with Sports Coaches
In this four-part series of articles, I’ll explain why strength and conditioning is a failing field and how we can improve our line of work. This first article covers the problems that we often face with sports coaches.
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
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.
"Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief" is Now an Amazon.com Bestseller
Not only did Chris Cooper's book make the Amazon.com Bestseller List, but it's the No. 1 new release in the Retailing Industry section! And don't forget to buy a copy of "Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief" today!
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
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.
What Phase Is Your Business In? Find Out in Chris Cooper's New Book
For this week and this week only, you can get an advance copy of elitefts columnist Chris Cooper's new book, "Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief: The Four Phases of the Entrepreneur’s Journey," for 99 cents. For more details, click here!
Scale Up Your Personal Training Business With 2:1 Sessions
One of the simplest ways for a personal trainer to make more money is to train two clients at once. It’s also the fastest way to scale your income without adding additional time to your schedule. Welcome to the world of 2:1 training.
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.
Your Business Can Survive Anything With This
Listen, Blockbuster, Sears, and Kodak went under because they failed to add this secret ingredient to their business models. Are you willing to risk all your business’ longevity? Read on to see how your business can stand the test of time.
Your Do and Don't Guide to the CSSCa Conference
For those new to the game and for seasoned vets alike who’ll be attending the CSSCa National Conference, here are some do’s and don’t’s that will make your annual trip a success — both in terms of enjoyment and employment.
Gym Rats Rejoice: Tennessee Repeals Amusement Tax on Gym Memberships
Tennessee just took a load off gym owners' shoulders by repealing a $10 million amusement tax on gym memberships. The law will go into effect on July 1st.
These 10 Words Are All You Need to Get Your Clients Back
Rather than try to get new clients, why not try to win back your former clients? They just need a teeny, tiny bit of a nudge to come back through the door. Lucky for you, I have 10 words that’ll get these guys and gals back in your gym — and three easy-peasy alternatives, too.
The Leadership Parallels Between the Successful Coach and the Successful...
After eight years of competing in strength sports and seven years of supervising employees, I’ve found that these parts of my life share several similarities when it comes to success. I’ve learned what makes the best coaches and bosses stand out from the rest. These three keys will help you do just that.
Your Checklist for a Perfect Personal Training Session
Through my 22 years of coaching, I’ve found that all great personal trainers have things in common. While there’s no one single script we follow, it helps me to have a checklist. So I’m sharing a checklist I give to my staff when they start one-on-one training at my gym.
Positivity, Desire, and Magic
I had the pleasure of hearing Earvin “Magic” Johnson speak at a leadership conference I attended. Magic discussed his experiences in business and basketball and his pervasive passion for winning, regardless of the endeavor, much like elitefts’ approach.
LISTEN: Reactive Training Systems Podcast #80 with Dave Tate
In the 80th episode of the Reactive Training Systems podcast, host Mike Tuchscherer and Dave Tate talk about how to build and strengthen relationships in order to lay down the foundation for a strong business and a legacy in competitive powerlifting.
A Varsity House Gym Check-up for Strength Coaches
Running a business is a lot like training. There are steps and signs you deal with…. and if you don’t have a long-term plan, you’re not going to get anywhere. Take action today to create career longevity as a strength coach.
How to Keep Clients Longer
I’ve owned a gym for 13 years, and I’ve coached for 22. Throughout the years, I learned it’s easier to keep a client than to get a new one.
Introducing New elitefts Columnist Chris Cooper
As an elitefts team member, Cooper will leverage his column as a platform to equip gym owners and business professionals in the fitness community with the tools they need to be profitable.
The Farmer Phase — Don't Get Stuck Here
The most common phase of entrepreneurship is the Farmer Phase. This is where most entrepreneurs abide—not by choice but because it’s where they get stuck.
3 Things Great Families and Businesses Have in Common
Just like families constantly struggle to balance the needs of its members, so too does a business endeavor to find the right balance of serving customers, stakeholders, and employees. There are three key things that, when understood, help achieve these goals.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Transparency and Building ...
Taking on a young athlete that didn’t fit was a big mistake, but how DeFranco handled the situation led to an explosion in his business. This is the story of how kicking a kid out of his gym was one of the three best decisions he ever made.
The Privilege to Work Hard
Your skills and abilities can get you the job, but your tenacity will get you the results needed to excel at it.
WATCH: Dave Tate Podcast with Ben Pakulski
The psychology of a world-class strength athlete can provide a powerful foundation for success in business, but when mishandled it can also be a disaster in the professional world.
Credibility or Accountability — What Drives Your Organization's Suc...
After 15 years of executive leadership riddled with countless mistakes and faulty approaches, I have come to passionately believe that leadership focused on credibility rather than accountability is the more effective approach to take.
Kids Ruin Everything?
I recently read two statements that I not only disagree strongly with but am qualified to disagree with. Total immersion in a goal isn’t the only way to success, and if you believe having a family has to take away from your goals — well, you’re wrong.
WATCH: Table Talk — How Dave Supported Himself as a Powerlifter Before e...
Before the original Q&A, before the equipment, before the team, what was Dave doing?
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.
You Are Dying
You’re on this planet for a reason. You have a purpose. Don’t let it die inside you so that you can live a safe life.
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.
Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit
Save the date - Saturday October 21st, 2017