Welcome to the official intro post for High Intensity Business (Free). STEP 1: Please introduce yourself below Example: "Hey! I'm Lawrence. I've just started my personal training business, and looking to grow. On the weekends I like to play basketball." - Who you are - How long have you been in business and what you do - Something fun you like to do on the weekends! STEP 2: CONTINUE ONBOARDING 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬).

How much you lift bro?! 🤣 Do you like to geek out about your workout and client workouts? Join myself and @Pete Cerqua this 'FRIDAY AT 10AM ET' to talk about your personal and client workouts, protocols, exercises, overload techniques, etc. Add to your calendar!

I see a post like this almost every week lately. In this particular post a 10 piece Nautilus Nitro circuit in very good condition. The only piece missing is a leg press but at $1600 per machine you could be up and running in 30 days. I would offer 10k cash since I have to move it out for them. This is just an example of how easy and affordable it is to start a 250k per year business.

When I first started my HIT business, I had a FOUR exercise routine that put me on the map. Low back, leg press, pulldown, chest press in that order. If I needed a 5th exercise it was Hammer Strength Deadlifts. The low back was a warm up exercise. Nothing fancy. Not too light, not too heavy. Then we took it to the limit… leg press to failure plus forced negatives followed by pulldowns to failure plus forced reps then chest press with whatever they had left. Many passed out after this routine to the point where it was a running joke about stepping over the bodies to start the next session. My reputation was getting around town and people were looking me up and asking for a workout. “My trainer kills me in 15 minutes once a week and that’s all I have to do to get results” was commonly spoken about. The problem with this routine was that the workout was accomplished in 15 minutes or less but it would take an average of 30 minutes before the client was able to stand up and leave. Obviously not as time efficient as I would like. One of my clients was a cardiac surgeon. A brilliant lady. She would tell me upfront that I could not make her exhausted and “unsteady” after the workout as she had surgeries scheduled. Point taken. I wouldn’t want to be her next open heart surgery after a workout with me. I shared that I get the best results when I push people to “failure” and beyond while maintaining a high intensity level. She challenged me with, “I don’t have to kill my patient to prove I saved their life. I’m sure you can come up with a solution to measure results without killing your clients.” I took her words seriously and started looking into it. After all, the future of my business relied on finding a solution. It was then I came across a paragraph in one of Ellington Darden’s books about performing a one rep chin or negative only chin. In either scenario, one full rep with a positive and a negative or negative only the REP was measured in time and exceptional coaching was beneficial to getting a good result. Immediately I started experimenting with my clients. Negative only on all exercises except the low back. That was still my warm up exercise. Within weeks I got great feedback and results followed by an increase in referrals. Since I was measuring all sets with a stopwatch, I renamed the program and protocol to ChronoDynaMetrics which translates to Timed Strength Measurement.

If you want your clients to stay, refer their friends, and see real progress, you need to ask yourself: Are you truly pushing them as hard as they can go? In my conversation with Luke Carlson, we discussed a common issue—most trainers think they’re pushing their clients hard, but they’re actually holding back. - Why Most Trainers Under-Coach Intensity - Here’s what happens over time: - You get comfortable with a client’s effort level. - They settle into a routine and stop pushing beyond their comfort zone. - You hesitate to challenge them because they seem like they’re working hard. But here’s the truth: Your job is to push them harder than they would push themselves. Most people stop because it feels difficult, not because they’re actually at failure. In reality, they usually have at least 6% more to give. - How to Dial Up the Intensity Without Burning Clients Out - The goal isn’t to overwhelm—it’s to meet them where they are and challenge them just beyond their expectations. - Read and respond. Watch for mental hesitation versus true fatigue. - Push them 6% further. When they think they’re done, guide them through a slow eccentric, a static hold, or one final controlled rep. - Make them believe in their strength. When clients realize they’re capable of more, they build confidence—and that confidence turns into referrals. - Intensity is relative. A 65-year-old client and a 25-year-old athlete have different limits, but both should leave feeling like they pushed beyond what they expected. - Why Intensity Drives Referrals and Retention - Clients don’t talk about workouts that feel fine. They tell their friends about sessions where they were pushed beyond their own expectations. When you deliver a workout that surprises them, they’ll share that experience. - The Bottom Line - Your clients want to be challenged. They want to grow. And they want a trainer who won’t let them settle. Are you that trainer?