Barbell Business
by Big Little Gyms
🔥 #1 Business Show For Gym Owners, extracting the secrets, tactics, and strategies of the world's most successful gym owners.🚀 Shift from self-employed to true business owner with actionable insights to scale your gym, create impact, and build a thriving community.🎧 New episodes weekly — join the movement!
Episodes
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How To Grow A CrossFit Gym to Over $1,000,000/yr… The Right Way
🔥 From Plateau to 350+ Members – How Zach Thew Scaled Catoctin CrossFit to a Thriving, Full-Time Team 🔥 When Zach Thew took over Catoctin CrossFit in 2013, he had no idea the battles ahead—including losing 35% of his members during the shutdowns. But instead of throwing in the towel, he doubled...
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The NEW Way To Get Your Gym Ranked #1 On Google In 2025
Want To Grow Your Gym? Go Here: https://biglittlegyms.com/ I just did a deep dive into how to get your Gym to the TOP of Google in 2025. 🚀 If your gym isn't ranking #1 or at least near the top of Google, you're missing out on a steady stream of high-quality leads. Most gym owners are still…
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How This Gym Owner Went From Being Stuck For 7 Years To $60k/Month
Ready to grow your Gym? Book a free strategy call with Big Little Gyms at BigLittleGyms.com. For years, Jim Breuer, owner of Momentum Fitness in Eau Claire, WI, felt stuck—his gym was plateaued for nearly seven years. But instead of staying stuck, Jim made a game-changing decision—he joined Big...
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From Battlefield to the Barbell: How Mycal Anders Doubled His Gym's Revenue & Built a Community of High-Performers
In this episode of The Barbell Business Podcast, we sit down with Mycal Anders, a Marine Corps veteran, elite strength coach, keynote speaker, and the founder of Next Level Performance Consulting. Mycal has taken the leadership skills he developed in the military and applied them to the world of...
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How This Gym Owner Scaled From 59 to 230 Members A Month
In this episode of The Barbell Business Podcast, we sit down with Mike Wilson, owner of CrossFit OYL in Rhome, Texas. Mike shares his incredible journey of leaving a high-paying engineering career to pursue his passion for fitness. Along the way, he grew his gym from 59 to 230 members, quadrupled...
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His Coaches Stole His Members… Now His Gym Does $1M Year
In this episode of Barbell Business, we sit down with Drew Girton, gym owner of Pendulum Fitness. Drew is a industry veteran, coach, and business owner, join us as we explore his incredible journey and the strategies behind his success. With over 20 year experience, Drew has helped countless...
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Founder of Brute Strength - Michael Cazayoux - 176
📲 🎧 Listen to the audio version on the Apple Podcast App or Stitcher for Android Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedApple http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedStitcher Barbell Shrugged helps people get better. Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first podcast and have been...
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Cultivating Fearlessness with Peter Scott - 175
Some fear is great because it keeps us alive. Are you afraid of making a left turn out into traffic when there's not an opening? Good. Don't die. Other fears, while they feel exactly the same in our bodies, are less useful. Are you afraid of sales conversations with prospects? Or of public...
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Staying on Top of Fitness Marketing with Jeff Sherman - 174
How do you make your gym stand out when every other gym in town offers the same services and specials? I mean, we know your gym is the best, but how will your prospects know? We asked killer marketer Jeff Sherman of Tech Sweat about how to make a connection with your clients before you even meet...
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Shutting It Down with Conner Moore - 173
This week, we met up with our friend Conner Moore at a box in Mission Viejo, California. To be clear, we said "a box," not "his box." That's because Conner shut his box down. Ultimately, this is a story of Conner's success, but we met with him today to talk about that particular phase of failure,...
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Who You Are and What You Want with AJ Roberts - 172
This week, we took a trip to fabulous Las Vegas to meet up with old-school Barbell Business podcast host and two-time world-record-setting powerlifter AJ Roberts (Instagram: @ajroberts). He's one of the few people in the industry with a very solid perspective on both business and training, and…
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The Legend of Mike Dolce with Mike Dolce
We haven't been able to independently verify it, but we think MMA trainer and entrepreneur Mike Dolce, of Dolce Fitness and The Dolce Diet, might be the hero of an old-school novel. Hear us out. After his father suffered a massive stroke, Dolce got a job as a New Jersey dock worker at the age of...
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Mutually Beneficial Marketing with Josh Carter
You may have heard the expression, "C students make the best teachers." They remember the struggle of not getting it. They tend to give students the kind of support they wish they'd had themselves when they were struggling to learn algebra (or English, or chemistry, or whatever). The same can be...
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Three-Tiered Accountability with Markus Gerszi
We have a super-exciting guest this week. A big "get," if you will. We've been wanting to feature him on the podcast for years, because we're his biggest fans. That's right, kids! This week we got to talk to Markus Gerszi, of Barbell Business fame! [Thunderous applause; confetti falls from the...
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How the Best Get Better -- with Bedros Keuilian
Who do you learn from when you're already at the top of your field? How do you get the motivation to grow when you're already, frankly, pretty awesome? Maybe there are worse problems to have… Okay, there are definitely worse problems to have. But as entrepreneurs, this is the challenge that we…
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Extending The Client Lifecycle -- With Casey Jenks
What would it take to get Casey Jenks functional fitness sainthood status? Is that a thing? If we just put his face on a medal and wear it around our gym, will that do the trick? Casey's the creator of Fitbot, the software that keeps our personal training programs from being our personal...
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The Last Gym They'll Ever Join -- With Alwyn Cosgrove
Because gym owners almost always love coaching, it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to do all the hands-on stuff yourself. You love your work, so why would you want to let anyone else take over? This week, we talk to Alwyn Cosgrove of Results Fitness to find the compelling answer to that...
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Getting Your Systems In Place -- With Danny Putnam
It's a tale as old as time: A Major League Baseball right-fielder starts selling deer-antler supplements to teammates during pitching changes. Word spreads until members of rival teams are making transactions on base, until finally, one day, he's inadvertently made the career switch from pro-ball...
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How To Find Your Strengths As A Leader -- With Taylor Drescher
As a Marine Corps lieutenant, and usually as the only woman in the room, Taylor Drescher anticipated the challenges she might face as a leader. In her case, she was able to identify that her strength as a leader was literally her physical strength -- so she played it as much as she could. "I'd...
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What Is Corporate Intelligence? -- W/ Garry Lineham
Just because you've eaten in a restaurant doesn't mean you know how to run a restaurant. Most people will agree with that in general, but it's harder to see the truth when looking at your own business. The same goes for working out or coaching in a gym versus running a gym. This week, Garry…
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How To Scale Up - Or Sit Tight - W/ Mike Melby
How do you know when your business is big enough? When can you stop raising capital? Can you get out of your building's terrible lease terms? Mike Melby is a venture capitalist who works exclusively in sports and fitness. He's overseen the inception and growth of a lot of businesses, and on this...
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Ron Wilson - How To Find Your Focus Zone W/ Hylete CEO
If you want to learn how to juggle, you don't start with five balls. You become proficient with two and add from there. The same is true for gym owners. We often see gym owners take on multiple projects and attempt to create multiple revenue streams at the same time. This often leads to a lack of...
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How To Work Well With Business Partners w/ Athletics United
Entrepreneurship is inherently lonely. Not to mention, it can be stressful. Being the only one in charge means you hold all the responsibility, which is why partnerships are often so appealing to experienced entrepreneurs. When executed correctly, partnerships can help bring a business to the…
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How To Charge Clients For The True Value Of Your Service
We say it all the time- it is important to communicate to your clients that they are paying for coaching and not just a gym membership. On that note, it is important to charge a price for your service that matches the value you are providing. More often than not, gym owners are not charging what...
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How To Set Up Systems In Your Business
There is a big difference between working IN your business vs ON your business. No matter what industry you are in, there is a milestone that every entrepreneur needs to hit in order to take their business to the next level. That milestone is systemization. In this episode, we catch up with…
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The Value Of Investing In Yourself
As gym owners, we are in the business of showing people the value of coaching and investing in their health. As entrepreneurs, it only makes sense that investing in ourselves is equally as valuable. In this week's show we interview Marci Lock. Marci is a very successful coach, and you can tell…
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How To Make The Best First Impression
If you have been watching our show, you have heard us say it many times- We are in a relationship business. With the amount of gyms in the market, that is more more true than ever before. If you want to succeed in building a strong community, you need to focus on connecting with your clients and...
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The Value Of Mentorship
Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a process in life that could help you rapidly advance your progress? Well there is. It's called mentorship. Just like a coach or a personal trainer, a mentor is someone who can guide you through the process and show you a clear path to your goals. That doesn't...
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How To Turn Your Side Hustle Into A Full Time Business
If you are like most gym owners, you started a box because you are passionate about fitness. You wanted to turn your passion into a career, and you started a gym on the side in conjunction with your day job. Now if you are like most gym owners, you also noticed that running a gym and trying to…
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The DIY Guide To Making Videos For Your Gym W/ Monkey Reel Media
We are excited to share a special kind of show with you this week. We had Justin Ross of Monkey Reel Media come visit us to teach you about marketing with video. Justin creates high quality video content for gyms and in this episode we talk about why video is the most important type of content…
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How To Step Into Your Roll As A Leader W/ AJ Richards
Hey Business Tribe, We are coming at you this week from Mesa, Arizona. Our journey takes us through the desert to catch up with one of our good friends, Aj Richards. AJ is the owner of CrossFit Mesa and the founder of Rush Club Nation. He treats his box as a well oiled machine, and has his sights...
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Live Q&A: We Answer Your Business Questions
Good morning tribe, We are sharing something unique on the podcast this week, and I think you are going to find a lot of value in this episode. Last week, we recorded a podcast of the crew and I doing live Q & A session on Facebook. Gym owners from around the world tuned in to ask questions about...
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How To Accelerate Your Success By Hacking Your Language
This week on Barbell Business, we interview Mark England of Procabulary. In this episode, we dive into how our language effects our success in business, and in our personal lives. Mark provides practical tools to overcome challenges for both individuals and organizations. We discuss How to...
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Are You Having Fun Running Your Business?
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we are bringing Guy Ferdman back on the show. In this week's show we discuss: How to treat your business as a game How to tap into consistent motivation and passion in your business Why relationships are the most important part of business How to adopt the process of...
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What Is The Barbell Mastermind?
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we talk about the Barbell Mastermind. We discuss: The difference between a mastermind, a workshop, and a conference The value of being a contributing member of a mastermind Why Masterminding is one of the best ways to grow your network How we set up our experience at...
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Marketing, Sales, and Personal Development
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview Guy Ferdman. Guy is one of the co founders of a Satori Prime, a company focused on empowering entrepreneurs. Guy runs his own podcast called the Performance Enhancing Podcast, and has worked with some of the top performing entrepreneurs in the game. We...
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Box Owner Episode: Drew Girton of CrossFit Pendulum
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS, we interview Drew Girton of CrossFit Pendulum. We discuss How to understand what type of entrepreneur you are When to learn more and when to take action on what you know The process of stepping out of coaching and admin to manage the business and grow How to grow…
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Fitness Entrepreneur Episode: David Newman of RX SmartGear
This Week On BARBELL BUSINESS we interview David Newman of RX SmartGear. We discuss: How David built his business on the simple idea of wanting to make a better jumprope How to scale your business on top of what you are known best for Why you need to focus on customer service as the core of your...
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How To Use Copywriting To Connect W/ Your Best Clients
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS, we interview Makena Sage from Online Marketing With Heart. We discuss: How to shift your marketing from feeling "salesy" to authentic Why good copywriting is essential for connecting with your clients How to strategically understand your potential clients needs and...
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The Entrepreneurial Journey
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview the founder of PowerDot, Eric Glader and discuss the entrepreneurial journey. We dive into topics such as: How to strategically think about providing value to your customers The difference between a service and a product based business The purpose of...
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Understanding Facebook Advertising
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS, we interview Bren Davis and dive into Facebook advertising. We discuss: How to understand the Facebook Advertising Process How to target your ideal type of client on Facebook Why you need to focus on educating your clients on Facebook How to test your ads with a…
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How To Build A Kickass Referral Program
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we dive into the art of the referral. We discuss: Why referrals are an important element to a service business How to target and motivate your best members to help you bring new members into your gym How to make it easy for your members to refer their friends to your...
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How To Build Community Back Into Your Box
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview Ryan Bucciantini of KDA CrossFit. We discuss: How to build community into your box, and enhance the member experience Why you need to think of your gym as more than just a place for fitness Why you need to be humble and open to asking for help and…
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What Is Barbell Logic?
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS, the crew talks about Barbell Logic and how the service could help your business thrive. We discuss: What is included in the Barbell Logic software How to optimize, automate, and outsource your admin work How the cost structure is laid out to benefit you the most The...
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How To Get Ready To Crush It In 2017
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we discuss: How to strategically tap into your community to grow your membership How to set up your onboarding process to optimize the conversation rate of new members How to motivate your team to get onbaord with your passion How to set up a game plan to kill it in...
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How To Develop The Mindset That Will Unlock Your True Potential
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview discuss: Why your mindset is the foundation for your success How to find clarity and unlimited motivation around your vision How to think with a growth mindset and understand your "Why" How to structure your conversations and interactions with your…
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How to Ethically & Effectively Sell Supplements In Your Gym
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview Jason Rule from Driven Nutrition. We discuss: Why providing supplements is an important added value for your clients How to sell supplements in your box with out acting "salesy" How to structure your ordering and sales process to optimize profit margins...
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The Ultimate Website Episode
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we discuss: Why your website is the most important point of contact in your digital marketing plan How to optimize your website to convert online visitors into clients How to effectively tell your gym's story through imagery and video The most important things to...
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How To Grow In A Competitive Market With Aliso CrossFit
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview Rick DiCarlo at Aliso CrossFit. We Discuss: How to be the best with what you have and scale intelligently How to diversify and optimize your intake process Why you should think of your business as a system of systems How to save time with your admin work...
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How To Hack Your Productivity And Workflow With Fitness Entrepreneur: Max Shank
This week on BARBELL BUSINESS we interview Max Shank. We discuss: How to make the right decision every time with a cost/benefit analysis How to outsource and automate parts of your gym business Why you should create defined roles for yourself, the partners, and employees in your business How to…
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About this show
🔥 #1 Business Show For Gym Owners, extracting the secrets, tactics, and strategies of the world's most successful gym owners.🚀 Shift from self-employed to true business owner with actionable insights to scale your gym, create impact, and build a thriving community.🎧 New episodes weekly — join the movement!
Hosted by
Big Little Gyms