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Personal trainers operate in a competitive industry, so standing out and delivering an exceptional service to your clients is crucial for success. One key factor that can significantly boost a personal trainer's performance is access to specialist and high-quality equipment.
Whether you're working with clients in a commercial gym, a private studio, or a home setting, having the right tools can really make a difference. As we’ve explored before when looking at PT marketing, you need to be prepared to invest a little in order to grow your business. The same applies for your equipment.
In this article, we’ll be taking a deep dive into personal training equipment. From the basics that every personal trainer needs, to the advantage you’ll gain from working with high-end equipment. We also showcase the industry-leading equipment and facilities which PTs can access at UNTIL gyms, to take their services to the next level.
The Basics: Equipment Every Personal Trainer Needs
If you’re working in a commercial gym, you’ll likely have access to most of these already. But if you’re starting up on your own and working in a private space, make sure you get the basics right first. Add to this list of essential PT equipment depending on which area of personal training you specialise in.
Weights
Nearly every personal trainer will need to incorporate strength training into their clients' routines. So it goes without saying that investing in durable, high-quality weights and bars is a must. Dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells will be among your most frequently used pieces of equipment.
Here at UNTIL, our flexible gym spaces to rent are equipped with industry-leading Eleiko dumbbells, ranging from 1 - 60kg, and Eleiko racks including plates and barbells with integrated double-sided cable machines. This equipment undergoes thorough testing during manufacturing to ensure quality and maximum safety, so our members and their clients can rest assured that they are working with the best.
Whether you operate in a commercial gym or you provide your own equipment as a PT, ensure that the weights you work with are safe, durable and well maintained.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are perfect for adding variety to workouts. They provide resistance in both concentric and eccentric movements, making them effective for strength training and rehabilitation. Their versatility makes them ideal for clients of all fitness levels, and they're particularly useful for targeting smaller muscle groups and enhancing flexibility.
Depending on where you work, you might have ready-access to these in a gym facility, or you might need to provide your own. As a PT, we think it’s a good idea to have your own either way, because they can be used in so many different ways and in different environments. They’re portable too, so carrying these to one of your sessions won’t be an issue, wherever it is.
There are different types of resistance bands to choose from, including:
Loop bands
As their name suggests, these can be looped round parts of your body, such as your thighs or your ankle to provide resistance while carrying out exercises and stretches. For example, banded squats.
Mini resistance bands
Also in the form of a loop, these work in the same way as loop bands but since they are smaller, they offer more resistance. They are ideal for injury rehab and resistance training.
Tube Bands
Tube bands, or resistance tubes, are longer bands with handles on either end. These are ideal for upper body exercises and typically can be attached to a door, so that they can be used in a similar way to a cable machine at a gym.
Whichever type of resistance band you choose to use with your clients, prioritise quality and safety. The last thing you want is for the band to snap and cause an injury during one of your sessions.
Exercise Mat
An exercise mat is another fundamental piece of equipment for floor exercises, stretching and yoga sessions, providing comfort and support during activities where the client is on the ground. Whether you're working in a gym or conducting home sessions, a high-quality exercise mat ensures a comfortable and hygienic workout environment.
Even if you work in a commercial gym where there will likely be plenty of these that you and your clients can use, it’s one of those essentials that’s worth owning for yourself, too. They aren’t too expensive and are easy to carry, so if you work with clients in different environments, you can take it pretty much anywhere.
This exercise mat buying guide by Decathlon is a good place to start, to help you choose which type of mat will be best suited for you and the people that you train.
Client Log Book
A checklist of essential items for personal trainers isn’t just limited to equipment that your clients will use while training and exercising.
If you work with multiple clients a day, it’s easy to lose track of each client’s progress and specific goals if it isn’t written down. This would make you look extremely unprofessional, so you need to consider how you’ll keep track of all this.
While there are various different types of personal training software and apps that you can explore which can help, we think that a client log book is always a great place to start. Sometimes simpler is better and if an app or software stops working for any reason, you can always rely on what you’ve written down with pen and paper.
Don’t let yourself get caught out - keep a client log book up to date with essential information about each of your clients and their progress. If you have your own brand, you could make yourself look more professional by having a branded client log book, too. For example the cover could be in your brand colours, with your logo on.
Why PTs Need The Very Best Equipment For Their Clients
We can see from just looking at the basics that investing in and ensuring that you have access to top-of-the-line equipment will raise your game as a PT. As you specialise and require more advanced equipment and technology to work with, this becomes even more important.
Here are some of the key ways that you’ll improve your offering as a PT with access to the best and most advanced equipment.
Utilising the Latest Technology
High-quality equipment typically incorporates cutting-edge technology, offering advanced features and in some cases, data tracking capabilities. This not only enhances the overall training experience, but also allows personal trainers to stay at the forefront of fitness innovations and ahead of competitors. If you work with better and more advanced equipment than your nearest competitor, you’ll have an edge.
Ensuring Safety
High-end equipment prioritises the safety of the user. Investing in quality ensures that clients can perform exercises safely, reducing the risk of injuries during training sessions. We don’t need to state how important this is for you as a personal trainer, to avoid things like insurance claims being made against you.
Delivering Better Sessions and Results
Quality equipment enables personal trainers to design more diverse and challenging workouts. This variety keeps clients engaged, prevents workout plateaus, and encourages continuous improvement.
Ultimately, better sessions lead to more significant results, enhancing the overall client experience.
Enhancing Client Satisfaction
Clients appreciate professionalism and attention to detail. Access to top level equipment demonstrates a commitment to providing a premium service.
Happy clients are more likely to continue their fitness journey with you. And it’s easier to retain a client than it is to find a new one. If, however, a client does move on for any reason, happy clients will be more likely to leave online reviews and give word of mouth referrals, both of which are vital for acquiring new personal training clients, too.
Catering to Niche Specialisations
Personal trainers who specialise in a certain niche, such as strength and conditioning, powerlifting, yoga or callisthenics, require access to specialist and more technical equipment.
Tools that are tailored to niche training methods enable you to offer more comprehensive and effective services.
Advanced Personal Trainer Equipment at UNTIL
For all of the reasons listed above, having access to the very best equipment and facilities will take your training sessions to new heights. This will subsequently advance your personal trainer business, too.
At UNTIL, we provide self employed and freelance personal trainers with the best resources to excel in their profession. Our flexible-access gym spaces hold a wide range of industry-leading equipment. This includes advanced equipment such as:
Eleiko racks
Our Eleiko racks are complete with Eleiko weight plates & barbells with integrated double-sided cable machines. These offer versatile solutions for weight training, powerlifting strength training and they are built for performance, safety and user-friendliness.
Learn more about Eleiko racks here.
Eleiko dumbbells
A full set of Eleiko dumbbells ranging from 1 - 60kg. These dumbbells are top-of-the-range and made from quality, wear-resistant materials.
Learn more about Eleiko dumbbells here.
Strength Machines
Atlantis & Cybex functional weight machines. These can be used for a diverse range of strength training exercises with clients of all abilities.
Conditioning Equipment
Our range of specialist PT conditioning equipment and machinery includes:
- Wattbikes
- SkiErgs
- Technogym treadmills
- Concept2 rowing machines
- Assault bikes
Functional training stations
A range of kettlebells, medicine balls and TRX suspension trainers, which offer full-body fitness workouts to sculpt and strengthen.
Turfed sled track
10m and 15m tracks are available at our Liverpool Street and Soho gyms respectively, with strongman equipment for specialist training.
Hyperice recovery unit
Take your clients’ recovery to the next level with a suite of products like recovery boots, massage guns and foam rollers.
Accessories
There’s more personal training accessories to explore too, such as a variety of exercise bands and Prime Fitness equipment.
You can learn more about the equipment in our gyms and our pricing for members here.
Join the UNTIL community
As well as access to industry leading personal trainer equipment, as a member of the UNTIL community you will join a network of ambitious, like-minded health and wellness professionals. There are countless career benefits to networking as a personal trainer, which you’ll have the opportunity to do every day here in one of our facilities.
Our pricing is completely transparent, so we don’t take a percentage of your earnings or limit what you charge. Instead, we charge a flat rate to make our gyms, rooms and equipment more accessible to self employed and freelance personal trainers. You remain in complete control of what you earn.
Elevate your training, your business, and your clients' fitness journeys.
Join the UNTIL community today.
