Over the last 10 years I’ve read over 300 books, not bad for a kid who couldn’t read in school, and didn’t properly read a book until I was 20 years old! lol!

Now, I’m totally obsessed with reading, and will read 2-3 new books per month… for the simple reason…. that it’s totally transformed my life. 

I owe a lot to reading, the main one being…

The success of my personal training business LEP Fitness. 

BUT… Books have also helped me…

• Through my darkest times.
• Ignited ideas, and cultivated inspiration within my heart.
• Given me direction, guidance, confidence, and profound happiness. 

I Want To Help YOU Get Better…

This post for me… is all about ‘giving back’ – I’m going to share my top 10 favourite books, ones which I believe all personal trainers MUST READ. 

The intention is to give you small snippets from each book, so that…

1. You can learn some cool stuff in just 5 minutes!
2. If you like what you read, you can go and buy/read these books yourself.

Anyhow without further ado, let’s jump in to some juicy knowledge bombs…

In no particular order, here are…

10 Life Changing Books That Every Personal Trainer Must Read…

#1 Relentless – Tim Grover 

I read this book quite recently. In a nutshell it’s about putting in the work, building a championship mindset, and doing more than anybody else. 

If your competitor works 60 hours a week, you work 70. If you currently get up at 7am, then start getting up at 6am – putting in more hours each day. 

This book is highly motivating, if you’re in a rut, and need a good kick up the ass, or a good pep talk, then this will ignite the fire in your belly. 

#2 The Richest Man In Babylon – George Clason 

One of my favourite books of all time!

In a nutshell the BIGGEST lesson I learned from this book, is to save 10% of your income. 

Every month, put away 10%, if that means you have to live below your means then do so. If that means moving into a smaller house, cancelling your Netflix/Deliveroo subscription, going out less at the weekends, or whatever it may be… do it. 

Save 10%, either for a rainy day, or to invest into assets which grow in value. 

When I first read this book (about 10 years ago) I applied the method the story teaches, and thanks to the advice… I bought my first house when I was 26, then recently bought my 2nd property, and have made multiple investments, which have grown in value thanks to George Clasons’ advice. 

Amazing book for personal trainers and business owners looking to grow their earnings and wealth. 

#3 Chimp Paradox – Professor Steve Peters

In simple terms the Chimp Paradox is about understanding the workings of the mind. 

Why is this key for personal trainers? 

Well, for one you need to work on yourself, remember…

“Your Business Grows as you Grow”

and two…

You need to understand the psychology of your clients, so that you can help them overcome self doubt, limiting beliefs, and tap into their mindset. 

All experienced/great personal trainers know that the change in mindset is what determines whether a client will get results, or not. It’s actually more important than the training program and nutritional side!

#4 Mindset – Carol Dweck

Holy Moly this is a fantastic read! A solid… 10/10! 

Carol Dweck talks about 2 types of distinctive mindsets which will determine whether you will succeed in life, or get stuck/ go backwards. 

For example there’s a ‘fixed mindset’ which means that a person doesn’t believe they can change, and that things are set in stone. These type of people never change, and blame others/external situations for their shortcomings. 

BUT, then there’s a person who has, or develops a ‘growth mindset’ – who challenges the status quo, looks for ways to overcome obstacles, and is adaptable to all situations.

This book goes deep into human psychology, BUT is very easy to read. 

A MUST BUY for personal trainers. 

#5 The One Thing – Gary Keller 

In todays world, it’s easy to spread yourself too thin, becoming the “Jack of all trades…Master at None”…

I see this with coaches all the time, one minute they’re a muscle building coach, the next minute a fat loss coach…

One minute they do 1-1 coaching, then online training, then meal plans, etc, etc. 

I get why people do this, it’s like throwing a bunch of mud at the wall… and hoping something sticks. The trouble is… that it doesn’t stick, because you are doing too much, it’s confusing your audience, and therefore nobody buys into you or your service.

Instead, Gary Keller talks about focusing on One Thing – the thing that you are good at, and enjoy, and then to spend all of your time on that one aspect. 

For example, if you’re a weight loss coach, stick to that, become the best you can be, write content to serve your audience, and solve their problems, and become the very best at that subject matter. 

The One Thing is about gaining ABSOLUTE CLARITY ON YOUR VISION… and mastering one craft. The book gives plenty of example of highly successful businesses, and how they’ve succeeded by just focusing on One Thing. 

#6 The E-Myth – Michael Gerber 

This book landed on my door step when I needed it the most (#blessed!)

I was at a point in my personal training career where I was doing 60 personal training sessions per week, I was totally burned out, exhausted and depressed!

The E-Myth is all about building a business, rather than just being a personal trainer. It teaches you about how to scale your business, and have systems in place to save you time…and stress!

Instead of doing everything myself, like I was doing back then, for example, 60 personal training sessions, workout plans, meal plans, accounts, invoicing, social media, website, etc…

I finally hired other people, an accountant, web developers, I lowered down my sessions, upped my prices, hired people to schedule my social media posts, add content to my blog, etc, etc.

Over 12 months, I went from a 60 session per week…totally burned out personal trainer…. earning £1,500 a week…. to a highly motivated, happier personal trainer, with a much better work life balance, doing 35 sessions per week and earning £1,750 per week (£250 more than I was earning before! And working 25 hours less for it!). 

I increased my prices with new members by double (it worked because I had built a reputation and waiting list), and increased my prices with current members. 

This book saved me and my business, and you need to read it! Especially if you are overwhelmed with your work load. 

#7 Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life – Dr Wayne Dyer 

Have you heard of the book ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne? 

Well if not… then I’d recommend starting with this book first. Basically…It’s all about ‘The Law Of Attraction’ – which means you attract into your life what you think about.

Over the last 4 or so years, I’ve very much been on my own journey of self development. I’ve hired coaches – business coaches, life coaches, you name it! All because I knew I needed help, in order to get to where I want to be. 

I’ve been on a journey, and learned lots about myself, the good, the bad, and everything in between, and Dr Wayne Dyers book really helped me with this also. 

The book is amazing for delving into your inner mindset, looking at what’s holding you back, and how to overcome your own mental barriers. 

#8 Book Yourself Solid – Michael Port 

Genius book on marketing! Michael is a legend when it comes to helping small businesses to get fully booked up. 

This book is perfect for personal trainers looking to gain an advantage over their competitors, and get clued up on marketing.

In order to build a successful personal training business you need much more than excellent coaching skills, YOU NEED MARKETING skills, to understand your customer, how to talk to them, build relationships, and ultimately make sales. 

As you read this book, you’ll gain tons of ideas, which will help you get a full diary of paying clients. 

Another book, which is similar, and one I love, but didn’t quite make the list is ‘Oversubscribed’ – by Daniel Priestley – I’d recommend checking out this book too. 

#9 How To Win Friends And Influence People – Dale Carnegie 

Your business isn’t about YOU… it’s about your CUSTOMERS. 

How can you serve people? How can you connect with them on a deep, emotional level? 

Dale Carnegie’s brilliant book goes into what’s required to build deep, and long lasting relationships with people. 

The main thing I learned… is to ask questions, peoples favourite topic is usually themselves! So always show a keen interest and get to know people, here are some awesome questions I always ask clients…

“what’s been the best part of your week?”

“what are you next looking forward to?”

I also ask questions, and get to know clients on a very personal level – kids names, hobbies, interests, the football team they support, shows they watch on Netflix, and each week I try to keep learning more and more about each person. 

I love people, and it’s allowed me to develop deep bonds with lots of my clients. I learned how to do this thanks to reading this book. 

#10 The Things You See Only When You Slow Down – Haemin Sunim

I’m a workaholic, I often do crazy weeks (70 hours+) because I love what I do, and I am driven beyond belief. 

Whilst this has made me successful in some areas of my life, it’s also meant other areas have suffered. 

You can’t go 100 miles per hour all of the time, you’ve got to take breaks. Taking breaks is when you reignite the fire, and creativity blossoms. You MUST RECHARGE your batteries every now and then. 

This book taught me the importance of slowing down, taking time away from work, and the chaos of life! 

It made me realise that I wanted, and needed to spend more time with my family, to take some time off each weekend, switch my phone off, and just frickin chill… lol! 

I also meditate each morning for 10 mins, and will more regularly take breaks from work (3-4 days every 12 weeks). I love my work, BUT the downtime is super important.

I’d highly recommend this book, especially if you’re a bit of a stress bunny, overwhelmed, and just need some time to rebuild. 

Thank You!

I’d just like to say a HUGE thank you for reading this post. 

I’m really loving the work I’m doing with personal trainers, it’s giving me such a boost, so thank you for taking the time to read my work, and spend your valuable time on my site, and reading my instagram posts – it means a lot! 

As always… if you have any questions about your personal training business and want some help, please drop me a message. There’s never a question too BIG or too small that I’m not happy to help you with. 

I’ll happily spend hours each week answering your questions, because I love what I do and want to help YOU – I know how tough things can be!

As always, much love,

Nick 🙂 

Want more help growing your personal training business? 

If you want to earn more money, get more clients, and build a highly successful personal training business, one which could see you earn £80,000+ per year, then check out my ebook – The Ultimate Guide To Building Your Personal Training Business – I’ll share all my secrets with you, so that you can get a full diary of paying clients, and improve the efficiency of your business. You’ll be fully booked up in no time, and have a business to be proud of, one that transforms lives, and generates an amazing income.

To pick up your copy of the ebook, click here.