Beyond the Barbell: 10 Lessons from a Decade as a personal trainer

Over ten years working with thousands of humans. Countless sets, reps, and conversations. Here’s how I have grown as a coach.

When I first became a personal trainer over a decade ago, I thought I had all the answers. I saw fitness in black and white. Movement exactly as the textbooks quoted. As simple as 1+1=2. You followed the "perfect" program, or you failed. You were science backed or you were a clown. But I realized with the more hours I put in… the more you learn, the more you don’t know.

With a combination of upgrading certifications, pursuing growth minded conversations, challenging my own biases, and gaining the kind of life experience that only comes from years of showing up, my coaching methods have shifted. I’ve moved away from rigid rules and toward experience based leadership. Today, I don't just coach reps and sets, I coach humans.

I became a personal trainer immeditely after “re-tiring” from my hockey career. I had spent a good 5 years in the gym before that point. I started in a youth recreation centre and group fitness.

Here are the 10 most impactful lessons I’ve learned in my first decade as your trainer.

1. The Most Honest Answer is "It Depends"

Whether its questions about fitness, nutrition, sleep or stress management - the answer is almost always “it depends”. Early in my career, I wanted to give a "yes" or "no" to every question based on the current science. Now, I know that the "right" way to train and live healthy depends entirely on your human experience. That can include your goals, health history, and even something as simple as how you slept last night or how stressful your day was. My job isn't to give you a cookie-cutter answer; it's to help you navigate the "it depends" to find what works for you.

2. Experience > Science

I love the science of health and fitness, but a lab study on 20-year-olds doesn't always translate to a 45-year-old executive with chronic back pain. While I stay rooted in evidence-based practice, I’ve learned that real life experience of seeing how actual bodies move and real people react is the ultimate teacher. I have noticed that my clients true experience often comes before the science can even catch up. Now instead of following each new study that pops up, I am able to live between the study and what currently stands in front of me in the gym. Being able to read and decipher health and fitness studies is an important skill (I took a full course on this in University), but being able to read real human movement, emotion, and psychology is where the real coaching happens.

I moved to T.O for a corporate job and trained on the side. I’d start training people at 5am, go to work 9-5pm, taught a class on my lunch break, and trained/taught classes 5-9pm.

3. Everyone is Busy

There’s only one thing 95% of the people I train have in common, and it’s that they are all “busy”! From my students, farmers, CEOs, parents and everyone in between, we're all busy. Life is messy, demanding, and unpredictable. I’ve learned that my role isn't to judge your capacity of busy, but to be the person who helps you create efficient opportunities to prioritize your health. We work with your life, not against it and we adapt to your seasons.

4. There is No Such Thing as "Perfect" Movement

We strive for safe and effective movements, but the "perfect squat" is a myth. Every body is built differently. I’ve learned to coach the body in front of me, working with your anatomy and health history rather than forcing you into a textbook mold. We coach for movement efficiency, how can we best move the heaviest weight with minimal risk. When pain does occur, you’ll often hear me say “find the pain free path for you”, which means let your body work with the movement rather then against it.

I started my first business “Straight Up Siggy” and while working at franchises and private studios I trained people in my condo gym by sneaking them in.

5. Sleep and Stress are the "Hidden" Reps

This really should have been number one on the list. This one continues to blow my mind and it’s a lesson I myself have to learn over and over again. You can have the best workout in the world, but if you’re sleeping six hours a night and redlining your stress levels, your body can’t recover. I’ve learned that coaching "recovery" is just as vital as coaching the heavy lifts. For those who are always red-lining and live by the mantra of “more is better”, I encourage you to invest in a Whoop which is very eye opening in helping to manage the “over doing it mentality”.

6. Extrinsic Motivation Matters, Too

We’re often told that motivation must come from within. To refer back to number two, there are countless studies proving that intrinsic motivation will keep people more consistent and long term in their health and fitness goals. And while this is true, it doesn’t mean that extrinsic motivation is non-worthy. It’s not black or white, it depends (now we are connecting the dots!).

In my early years as a trainer, I’ll admit I was a bit of a purist. Like most fitness professionals, my intrinsic motivation is extremely high. I genuinely love the burn of a split squat and the exhaustion of a burpee. Training was about the disciplined pursuit of health based on what the textbook told me, and I often scoffed at extrinsic motivators. I viewed signing up for a half-marathon, a Hyrox, or a CrossFit competition as a distraction. I even told myself those events didn't truly "quantify" health (which is true with all ‘sport’), but that doesn’t mean they can’t play an important role in fitness and self development.

Then, pregnancy changed everything (yup, being pregnant and a mom has made me a better coach more than any other course or experience in my life this far).

Before my first pregnancy, I had a decade long fitness base so deep I could have rolled out of bed and ran a half-marathon on my way to a weightlifting competition. I hadn't felt like a "beginner" or truly struggled physically since I was 15 years old. But pregnancy and postpartum stripped away that athleticism, leaving me feeling like I was starting from scratch. For the first time in my adult life, I felt what many of my clients feel: the daunting mountain of a “getting started”.

Now, 10 months postpartum with my second baby, my perspective has shifted entirely. I’ve realized that while a fitness event might not perfectly measure your health markers, the act of training for one is a powerful catalyst for self-discovery. There is value in building grit, measurable progress, time-bound goals and aligned community.

I’ve learned that extrinsic goals like the medals, the finish lines, the competitions are more than just bragging rights. They are the frameworks we use to develop the discipline and resilience that eventually become part of our identity. Whether you’re training for your first 5K or just trying to feel like "you" again after a major life change, I’m here to help you bridge that gap. We embrace whatever gets you moving.

I moved to Exeter and worked at gyms here & in London. I would start in Exeter at 6am, be at Lost Cycle in London by 9am, work at a coffee shop or in my car on my own business until 3pm and then start with clients and classes at Combine. The grind continued…

7. Everyone is Writing Their Own Story

I have come to learn that one of the best parts of being a personal trainer is simply the number of people I get to personally interact with. On an average day I work personally with about 6-8 people, in a group setting I work with 10-20 people daily, my facility has a buzz of over 100 people coming in and out all day, plus our amazing team of staff. I get to hear so many amazing stories of resilience, I experience deep levels of emotions, I learn from people who live differently than me, I feel the highs of your wins and suffer with you in losses, I obtain skills from the unexpected; my growth benefits just as much as my clients do simply by human connection! I feel incredibly honoured to be a part of all these amazing stories. Everyone is the main character of their own life and we get to be side characters where our chapters overlap and that’s a really cool and unique human experience.

8. We Have an "Under-Muscled" Epidemic

We hear a lot about the obesity epidemic, but through a decade of coaching, I’ve seen a different trend, a lack of functional muscle and bone density. Muscle is our longevity currency. It protects our joints, fuels our metabolism, and keeps us independent as we age. This epidemic is going to become even more overwhelming as we continue to bolster up processed food and rely on medication to manage total weight (not just body fat). Once again, having children has taught me the true appreciation for strength because nothing is more important to me then being able to keep up with my two boys with energy, excitement, and strength.

9. Trends are Cyclical

If you stay in this industry long enough, you realize that fitness is almost as cyclical as fashion. Just as low-rise flared jeans inevitably made their comeback, so do “the one size fits all, must-have" protocols like Keto, Fasting, Pilates, or the Cold Plunge, etc. Aesthetic body focused goals cycle through “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” to “strong over skinny” to “Body Positivity” and back again. Most recently we are seeing an alarming resurggence of the early 2000s anorexia trends branded as “Skinny Tok” as the kids call it these days. Will the pendulum ever find middle ground?

In my early years, it was easy to get swept up in the hype, to join a "fitness camp" and believe that one specific method was the holy grail. But a decade of experience has given me a much wider lens. I’ve watched the "eras" of fitness shift right before my eyes:

2015–2016: Bodybuilding & "If It Fits Your Macros" (IIFYM)

2017–2019: The rise of Keto & CrossFit dominance

2020–2022: The Peloton boom & the Carnivore vs. Vegan battle royal

2023–2024: The Hybrid Athlete: running & strength training

2025: Pilates & ‘Skinny Tok’ (ugh, when will we learn from this one!)

Note: These trends likely shift based on your demographic, but the pattern remains the same.

Don’t get me wrong, many of these methods are incredible. I personally consider running a staple of my life, and I love a good cold plunge. But as an experienced coach, I’ve learned to apply these tools with integrity rather than blind devotion. I can now distinguish between what is a passing fad and what is a rooted, evidence-based practice and I can provide the education for my clients to understand the methods and choose for themselves.

The truth? Every trend eventually circles back to the same timeless basics. My role is to be your filter and provide education to empower your personal decisions, so we can focus on the high-integrity principles that actually move the needle for your body.

10. The Holy Trinity: Strength, Mobility, and Cardio

Early in my training career, I believed that strength training outweighed all. And although we do have an “under muscled epidemic”, all components of health are important. It’s important to address the individual in front of you and their current needs and goals. Now in our personal training programs we use mobility, strength and cardiovascular tests to guide our programs and track progress. We track metrics like total grip strength and resting heart rate to show progress beyond the scale. Our group programs offer great variety in mobility, cardio and strength. A truly great program is a balanced one. You shouldn't have to choose between being strong, being flexible, or having a healthy heart. My goal for our community is to build "complete" humans who can run with their (grand) children, carry all their grocceries, thrive in sports and work and beyond.

Jolt came out of nowhere during lockdown (Oct 2020) - the right building, the right time (kind of). The week before I signed my lease I actually was looking at fire fighting school. Now, were a team of 15 coaches and staff strong! We’ve expanded once and renovated entirely twice to make the optimal space for our growing Jolt Fam.

Thank you.

It’s been an incredible 10 years of growth for me. I am excited to see what the next decade brings for the growth of the Jolt Fam. Currently I am enjoying training my staff and other coaches. I feel honoured to be able to pass wisdom and guidance and create a team of high quality coaches. My favourite compliment for Jolt is how GREAT our team of trainers is. It takes a team and I am blessed to be able to work alongside such talented, passionate and inspiring trainers.

A Note to My Clients: Thank you for trusting me with your health over the last ten years. You’ve taught me that coaching is a partnership, and I am more excited than ever to lead this community into the next decade. We aren't just chasing PRs; we're chasing a better quality of life.