The Small Group Gym Pod

Stuart Aitken

The podcast where gym owners who mainly run a small-group personal training model share their stories, struggles, and strategies so you don’t have to figure it out alone.

  1. hace 3 días

    #50 The Gym That Gets 50 Referrals Every Month (w/ James Pratt)

    James Pratt has built one of the most unusual small-group PT models I've come across. His 7,200 sq ft headquarters has around 950 members, can coach 30 people an hour and still gives every member individualised programming. We get into the systems that make it possible, why Pratt Personal Training only offers ONE service, how they generate around 50 referrals a month, why their free trials convert at 83%, and James' obsession with creating an "unreasonable amount of customer satisfaction." An absolutely fascinating look inside a small-group gym operating at serious scale. Find out more about James: InstagramHis Gym

  2. 26 ago

    #49 Is This The Most Underrated Marketing Tool for Gym Owners? (w/ Mike Samuels)

    Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (4 spots left) Most gyms barely use email. And the ones that do often send stuff nobody particularly wants to read. In this episode, copywriter and marketer Mike Samuels explains how gym owners can use better stories, stronger messaging and simple emails to build relationships and ultimately bring in more members. We get into: Why your message matters more than the marketing platformHow to write emails people actually want to openWhy you should write to ONE ideal memberHow often your gym should emailWhere your offers should fitWhy storytelling is such a powerful marketing skillHow Mike uses AI without letting it write his contentWhy your email list should get your best content first If your gym has an email list gathering dust, start here. Find out more about Mike: Instagram

  3. 19 ago

    #48 How TBH Cut Churn From 9% to 5.5% (w/ Tom Buckle)

    Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (8 spots left) Tom Buckle thinks about his gym a little differently from most gym owners. Within a year of opening TBH, he'd fired himself from coaching. Now, he tries to fire himself from another role every three months. The result is a 183-member group training gym that can run without him - and Tom has just secured funding to open another three locations. In this episode, we get into: Why TBH runs sessions with up to 24 membersWhy your coach-to-member ratio shouldn't necessarily be your USPHow Tom reduced churn from around 9% to 5.5%The 180-day system TBH uses to catch members before they leaveWhy they film and review entire coaching sessions as a teamWhat Tom looks for in the "modern coach"How their latest referral campaign turned 15 trials into 13 membersWhy Tom deliberately tries to make himself redundant from his own gymThe lessons he's learned turning TBH from a gym into a scalable business Find out more about Tom: InstagramHis Gym

  4. 12 ago

    #47 How to Make Your Coaches Better at Coaching (w/ Nick Winkelman)

    Nick's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details Nick Winkelman is one of the world's leading experts on coaching communication and the author of The Language of Coaching. In this episode, we explore his work through a very specific lens: How can group training gym owners help their coaches become better at the actual craft of coaching? We talk about why coaching quality isn't separate from retention and business performance, how the language your coaches use shapes the experience members have in your gym, and why great coaching shouldn't simply be left to chance. Nick explains how to spot the subtle "echoes of understanding" that tell you when a cue has landed, why different clients respond to different types of language, and how coaches can move between managing the energy of an entire group and giving one individual exactly what they need. We also cover: Why "if they're laughing, they're listening"How to create better and more personalised coaching cuesThe difference between global and local communicationWhy asking more questions can improve your coachingA simple way to discover how your clients prefer to be coachedWhy filming one session could dramatically improve a coachThe one question every coach should ask when watching themselves backHow gym owners can build coach development into their businessHow AI could eventually provide coaches with personalised feedback on how they communicateIf you own a small-group gym and care about making the coaching inside it genuinely world-class, you'll get a lot from this one. Find out more about Nick: InstagramHis BookEdinburgh Seminar

  5. 5 ago

    #46 The Systems That Allowed Sean McKirdy to Take a 3-Week Honeymoon

    Most gym owners think getting from 100 members to 200 is about finding a better marketing strategy. Sean McKirdy disagrees. In this episode, Sean breaks down the lessons he's learned from growing Elevate 98 in Edinburgh from a one-man PT business into a 220-member small group personal training gym with seven staff. We discuss why every gym seems to hit "sticky points" at certain membership numbers, how Sean gradually removed himself from the day-to-day coaching, why he believes investing in staff beats investing in equipment, and the marketing system that's helped them grow consistently for five years. You'll learn: Why 50, 75 and 100 members often become growth plateaus.The mistake gym owners make when trying to push through those plateaus.How Sean built a gym that continued running while he disappeared for a three-week honeymoon.Why your marketing channels should work together rather than in isolation.How to make your messaging resonate with everyday people—not other coaches.The surprising reason Sean keeps doing every new member consultation himself.How case studies outperform generic testimonials.Why consistency beats novelty when competing against bigger gyms. Find out more about Sean: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmckirdy98/His Gym: https://elevate98.co.uk/

  6. 29 jul

    #45 What 25 Years In Business Teaches You About Running a Gym (w/ Alwyn Cosgrove)

    How does a gym survive, and thrive, for more than 25 years? Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California, has been one of the most respected gyms in the world since 2000. In this episode, I sit down with Alwyn Cosgrove to unpack what has allowed Results to keep growing while so many gyms have come and gone. We discuss the three pillars every successful gym needs, the KPIs every owner should know, why "price objections" are usually value objections, how to evolve your business without losing your identity, and why the future of fitness marketing may have far less to do with fat loss than many coaches realise. We also cover: The People, Process, Product frameworkThe three KPIs every gym owner should trackWhy most coaches are white belts at businessSales, guarantees and overcoming objectionsMarketing in a GLP-1 worldReinventing your gym without chasing trendsWhy systems make average coaches greatThe importance of hiring your own coach Find out more about Alwyn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwyncosgrove/

  7. 22 jul

    #44 Coaching Lessons Every PT Should Steal From Therapy (w/ Krista Scott-Dixon)

    This week I'm joined by Krista Scott-Dixon, one of the most respected coaching educators in the world and author of Applied Nutrition and Coaching: Counselling. Rather than talking about programming or nutrition, we explore something that's arguably far more important: the coaching relationship. We discuss what PTs & in-person coaches can learn from counselling, why remembering the little things can transform client retention, how to repair fractured coaching relationships, and why trying to "fix" clients is often the wrong approach. You'll learn:Why the coach-client relationship matters more than technical knowledge.The simple behaviours that make clients feel genuinely cared for.The biggest mistakes that quietly damage coaching relationships.Why behaviour always serves a purpose (even unhealthy habits).How to help clients create better habits without relying on willpower.Why experiments beat advice.How to stop caring more about your client's goals than they do.Practical lessons from counselling that every PT can use immediately. Find out more about KSD: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stumptuous/ Website: https://kristascottdixon.com/Her new book (Applied Nutrition Coaching Counselling Practice): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Nutrition-Coaching-Counseling-Practice/dp/B0GYQM4SP1/

  8. 8 jul

    #43 This Women's Gym Added 70 Clients Before it Opened (w/ Lisa Jarratt)

    This week I'm joined once again by Lisa Jarratt from Downham Ladies Fitness, just weeks after opening the doors to her brand-new facility. We discuss why she decided to move gyms, how she generated 70 new trial members before the doors even opened, the systems she's put in place to protect the coaching experience as the business grows, and why she's chosen retention over squeezing every last penny out of the gym. You'll learn: How Lisa signed up 70 new trial members before opening her new facilityThe Meta ad strategy generating a strong return without a complicated funnelHow to create marketing that answers your clients' biggest objectionsWhy one-to-one inductions have helped her onboard dozens of new members successfullyThe programming system allowing clients of all abilities to train togetherWhy she believes protecting service and retention is more valuable than increasing coaching ratiosThe biggest lessons she learned from investing nearly £50,000 into a new gym space Find out more about Lisa: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downhamladiesfitness/

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The podcast where gym owners who mainly run a small-group personal training model share their stories, struggles, and strategies so you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Información

  • Creador
    Stuart Aitken
  • Años de actividad
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodios
    49
  • Clasificación
    Explícito

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