How To Do a (Trial/FREE) Personal Training Session - Structure, Exercises, Sets, Reps

Do you want to know the best way to do a trial personal training session, and get more clients?
Do you want to showcase your skills and expertise as a personal trainer, and grow your fitness business?
Do you want others to notice you on the gym floor when you're training your clients so that they come up to you afterward and ask how they can get started working with you?
If you said yes to any of those questions, then keep reading.
To be a successful personal trainer, one of the things you'll need to know is how to effectively do a trial personal training session so that potential new clients can 'test-drive' your services and feel what it's like to work with a personal trainer.
At the beginning of this video, I explain how to structure a trial personal training session the right way.
I discuss:
- the psychology of the trial personal training session
- the method I recommend using for the workout itself
- why it's effective for the client
- how it displays that you're a personal trainer of high value
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - How to book a trial session
01:15 - Questions to ask
02:00 - Psychology of gen-pop clients
02:39 - Provide value in the trial session
03:00 - Details of the trial session
03:43 - The paired-sets method
04:29 - How to coach
05:19 - Structure for coaching
06:39 - A-series
07:04 - B-series
07:54 - C-series
08:11 - Trial PT session example
09:16 - Finishers
09:49 - Warm-up
10:31 - Business tips
11:01 - Recap of trial PT session
11:52 - General tips for coaching the session
In the second part of the video, I show you:
- the exact workout with coaching cues and technique points,
- the exact exercises I'd use
- the sets
- the rep scheme
- the rest period
- the warm-up-
- and even how to end the session with a 'finisher'.
13:15 - Workout starts (warm-up)
15:26 - A1 - Lunges
16:16 - A2 - Lat pulldown
16:52 - A-series in action
18:31 - B1 - Incline DB Press
19:00 - B2 - Cable row
19:25 - B-series in action
20:17 - C1 - Goblet squat
20:45 - C2 - Seated DB OH-Press
21:16 - C-series in action
22:22 - Finisher option 1
23:15 - Finisher option 2
Watch the video in its entirety to take your personal training business to a higher level, and to know exactly how to do an effective trial personal training session.
If you can 'wow' prospects with your coaching in a free session, and if you can effectively show how your services can help someone achieve their fitness goals faster, then selling personal training programs and getting more clients should come easy.
When I started working as a personal trainer, I built up my client base by prospecting the gym floor, offering free/trial personal training sessions, doing consultations, and showing clients that working with a qualified personal trainer is the best investment they can make to achieve their health and fitness goals.
Join 'PT-NATION' - my private FB Group for 1-on-1 Personal Trainers:
👉 / ptnation
My Socials:
IG: @dave_maclean_strength
FB: davemaclean1986
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CHECK OUT THESE OTHER VIDEOS:
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The BEST advice I can give to new personal trainers is this:
- Strength is the 'mother quality'. Focus on strength first with your personal training clients.
- Become an expert at something. Specialize and solve a big problem for a particular niche.
- Education is key. Be a life-long student of the personal training business.
- Perfect your craft in every way. This includes training, sales, and marketing.
- Trust your gut. Don't second-guess yourself.
#personaltrainingtips #personaltraineradvice #personaltrainingsession

[@kubawierzbicki7861]

You're teaching really good and informative stuff my man, keep it up

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Thank you! Appreciate the comment - be sure to check out my other videos too! Cheers - Dave

[@Casey__Jones]

Finally decided to make the jump and start doing what I’m passionate about! Thanks for all the great information brother! 💪🏼

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Awesome Casey! You're an action taker and you'll be successful because of it. Join my private FB group for trainers 'PT Nation'. See you there!

[@discolucy45]

Thank you so much for this. Exactly what I was looking for, super informative and clear.

[@Runfastgo]

Great video thanks Dave

[@kandjouragassama7663]

Very good video , very informative!!

[@fitnleen]

Thank you for this very informative and helpful video! More power! 🔥

[@pawarrahul9023]

Really superb 💪

[@yonieogmahal2023]

Thank you so much.i

[@williamllarch549]

Awesome content man! I love the genuiness and sincerity with all your videos! Keep em coming i want to learn more! Cheers!

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Hey Will thanks a lot! Not trying to be fake or something I'm not. Just giving real advice to get the job done and to see success. Appreciate you dropping me a comment. Best - Dave

[@tonimaestrale7872]

very helpful, thanks

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Hey Toni - you're welcome! Thanks for leaving me a comment. Cheers - Dave

[@ginwick2722]

Thank you very much for this!!! ❤️

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

You're welcome!

[@kollegeman1]

Thanks man 💪

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

You're welcome bro!

[@mayganfite-segall9539]

I appreciate your knowledge. Thank you for sharing!

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

You're very welcome! Thanks for the comment. Join my private FB group "PT Nation" for more info! Cheers - Dave

[@nataligonzalez5927]

Super helpful clear and motivating thanks a bunch God bless you🌻💪🏼🙏

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Thank you very much! Glad you got some value from the video!

[@raulcontreras7436]

Im super brand new. You are what came up when I searched. Thank you and I'm just starting out looking up every and anything I can find to study.

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Hi Raul, thanks for the comment and for watching my video. Good thing you found my channel, a lot of info for new trainers on how to do things right when starting out. Take notes and watch all of my videos. Wish you success with your training career. Cheers - Dave

[@calvinmuong9710]

Great video!!! Thank you for the info, can't wait for my first day as a personal trainer🙏🏼💪🏼

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

How was the first day?

[@user-tn2rg5xb3w]

What's an example of being on the floor and asking a client to do a complimentary training session? Love all your advice and I'm a fan. Need some confidence though when it comes to the practical aspect

[@Christine-xs2of]

Thank you so much 😊

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

You're welcome!

[@patricksamudio394]

Great video boss,appreciate it. First day at golds tomorrow, all the content is superb!

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Thanks for the comment and support Patrick. Congrats on the gig at Gold’s! Great gym to be starting out at. Be sure to join my FB group for trainers, “PT Nation”. Cheers - Dave

[@bigbastard_lol]

Good info

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Appreciate that, big boy!

[@laylawarsamefit8728]

This so valuable and detailed! 🤩 thank you. As a new personal trainer this is gold!

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Mucho gracias! Thx for the comment! Join my private FB group for trainers - 'PT Nation'. Cheers - Dave

[@laylawarsamefit8728]

@@DaveMacLeanPT will do thank you!

[@marinareviews9072]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@trvlsurf4150]

Great video! Thank you! I’ve only been a trainer for a month (I’m a female trainer). In my welcome workout I only have about 25 minutes (not a lot of time!). For my elderly clients or really de conditioned clients , I substitute step ups for lunges . I also do glute bridges instead of squats or have them sit down on a box and stand up. Is that something you would do?

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Absolutely! Any regression of a major compound exercise is great! Sounds like you know what you're doing. Re: lunges, with elderly clients, I've found reverse lunges are easier to handle, and you can even give them support or assist by having them hold onto a barbell in a squat rack or smith machine that is mid-chest level. Cheers.

[@kennethreed3665]

Thank you. Very Good Content. Do you train clients for 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or an hour?

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

A trial session where you've prospected the gym floor and convinced someone to do an on the spot PT session with you to sample your services would be somewhere between 30-45 min. All other PT sessions would be 60 min sessions. I strongly oppose 30 min PT sessions for regular paying clients. I attempted it in my business back in 2012 and in 2015 and both times it was a disaster. I only sell 60 min sessions. My full assessment/evaluation session is 90 min, but this is an in-depth session where I do 6 different assessments plus rapport building, goal setting, etc.

[@kianahyaee1235]

Could you not just ask them at the beginning what body parts they are trying to improve and just work on that on the free session or would you still rather do a full body? Plus should the free trial still be an hour or shorter? Great video!

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Good question. I would say first that most people who would really benefit from personal training and coaching tend to always train the body parts they like when they go into the gym. This is typically why they don't see the results that they want. They focus on the easy stuff, the feel-good stuff, and not the hard stuff. If I were doing a trial session with someone who had specific needs for technique work, say to improve their deadlift technique, or for a female trainee to grow her glutes, then yes I would focus more specifically on movements and exercises that would be appropriate for that outcome. However, that's not entirely what this video is about. I'm talking about how to get more clients for your PT business by prospecting the gym floor, opening up conversations, and having an initial offer to get leads into your realm of coaching (ie a free PT session). It should be your goal to show that person how and why investing in coaching is the right move for them. Therefore, I like to get people deep into some quality work during that session. Something that is going to have them saying wow, that will have them feeling the intensity and the pump, and something that is possible for them to sustain for an entire training session right off the bat. If I just trained legs for an hour with someone who is deconditioned, out of shape, very little strength training experience, it's going to be too much for them. And in some cases, it can actually be a negative experience. They may feel sick, they won't be able to walk for a few days afterwards, they'll be too sore to sit down, etc. That's not good for them or for you. What you want is to spread the load out over the entire body, to get people sweating and learning at the same time, to get people building the skillset of strength from learning proper technique, and to show them the benefit of working with a coach who knows their stuff. Stick with full-body. I almost always train full-body sessions with new clients, even after they've signed on to a program with me for at least 6-12 weeks to really build up their conditioning, to build the movement quality (compound movements require repetition to perfect), and to see quick results (fat-loss, muscle gain). If you want to learn more about that style of training then I suggest reading about 'German Body Composition' by Charles Poliquin. I also only offer 1-hour sessions. I strongly advise against trainers offering anything less than 1-hour. Clients will show up late, they'll not get enough work in the session, your back-to-back sessions will overlap with each other, and it's just not enough time to teach proper technique and to do a training session that is high-value and conducive to the client's long-term goals. High-value personal training programs are about providing results. Not providing workouts. Anyone can make someone sweat. It takes real skills to get someone to achieve results. Results come with time and practice and consistency. 30 min sessions don't work. 60 min sessions do. Hope this helps. Cheers - Dave

[@kianahyaee1235]

@@DaveMacLeanPT okay thank you for that! Will take that on board. Then after that free session you go onto trying to get them in for consultation etc ?

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

@@kianahyaee1235 Typically I would have done a consult prior to the session. Something quick, say 15 minutes. You can then come back to the consult afterward to introduce program options and show pricing for personal training sessions, or you can schedule the follow-up for a day or two later. A good consult has the trainer or coach asking questions and listening to the client's wants and needs. You need to find the 'anchor', which is the emotional buy-in or reason why the client is really in the gym in the first place and the reason why they would consider working with a coach. No one wants to lose 20 lbs. just to lose 20 lbs. There's always a deeper reason. Maybe they don't feel confident anymore when they see themself in the mirror and they're embarrassed? Maybe they don't feel attraction with their partner anymore, or their sex life has been affected? Maybe they want to avoid a genetic disease that runs in the family and claimed the life of someone close to them? Whatever it is, you need to find that out. Because when it comes time to present program options that are suited to get the client results, you need to have a way to help clients get out of their own way (their excuses/objections), and that comes down to identifying that anchor. It's not always the case like this by the way. Genuinely, some clients do prefer working with a coach, having a spotter, having someone to push them harder, etc. But even still, those clients typically have a deep-rooted emotional trigger that has pushed them to want to get after their fitness in a serious way. If I can suggest good reading material, it would be "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. That book is the most important book hands down for any personal trainer or coach. At the end of the day, we're not just in the fitness business, we're in the people business. Cheers - Dave

[@chimezieanochie]

Hey, could you define a paired set for me, I'm quite confused it seems very similar to supersets?

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Modified supersets or paired sets are just standard supersets with rest in between the two exercises. In the case of training a new client, and using the full body workout routine, you would structure your clients training like this: A1: lower body exercise Rest 60-90s A2: upper body exercise Rest 60-90s Perform 3-4 sets of entire A-series, 10-12 reps, then move onto B-series.

[@anmoldadwal7953]

Hey sir... I'm in Canada... could u plz suggest me a PTS certification for canada other than Canfitpro...i know internationally certifications but I'm wondering if there are more which exist in Canada?

[@DaveMacLeanPT]

Watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/faCoaYiwfad-mMk