The 20 Best Personal Trainers in the World (2024)

1. Brad Schoenfeld

Brad Schoenfeld considered one of greatest trainers of all time is a respected trainer, author and professor of exercise science who specialises in the science of bodybuilding and nutritionso he's often referred to as the gym trainer for men. He has spent over 30 years researching in the area of human performance, exercise physiology and muscle hypertrophy, and his work has been featured in major publications such as Men’s Health. He is also the author of numerous best-selling books on strength training and sports nutrition. His legacy lives on with his ongoing commitment to helping people achieve their fitness goals through his knowledge and experience from training thousands of athletes around the world.

2. Matt Roberts

London based trainer Matt trains a roster of celebrity clients, is a published author and has his own brand of fitness clothing. But despite this borderline celebrity trainer status, he remains grounded. He knows that working with regular people and helping them to achieve the results they’re looking for is what gets referrals, and word of mouth business. After 23 years of experience in the fitness industry, Matt knows something about being able to relate to others and considers interpersonal skills to be one of the most important assets an aspiring trainer can possess.

3. Louise Parker

Exercise professional andsports nutrition specialist, Louise, has published a number of books which have become Sunday Times bestsellers. This isn’t a common achievement, and is evidence of the relatable and compassionate way that Louise discusses the relationship between nourishing your body with food and staying “lean for life”. Since starting her company in 2007, Louise has helped close to 20,000 individuals - a phenomenal number! Louise has taught her methods to a team of coaches so that she’s able to impact even more people each year. Louise is an advocate of connecting goals with values. Both from the perspective of a client connecting with their goal, and also from the perspective of a business owner. Operating from a place of vision means that you’re able to genuinely help people in a way which is meaningful and valuable to them.

4. Shaun Stafford

With a Masters degree in strength and conditioning from Oxford University, Shaun left university and went into a bodybuilding career. He followed that with a semi-professional rugby career and more recently focused on personal training. He supports a number of clients, notably those in a rugby arena from his performance gym and has a huge presence of social media. But despite this level of influence, he encourages aspiring trainers to focus their energy into what’s important to them. He reminds them that an online following isn’t necessary to have a profoundly important impact on someone’s life and to double down on those things that you’re good at and that make you happy.

5. Scott Laidler

Scott is regularly asked to feature as a consultant in fitness magazines and write a regular column in The Telegraph on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Scott firmly believes in mastering your craft by honing your understanding of your physiology and how your body works in relation to your mind. Scott puts the client relationship at the forefront of all decisions and uses emotional intelligence to help the client to get the best results possible. When outsourcing tasks like marketing or advertising, he cautions against outsourcing something that you have absolutely no idea about because without at least some knowledge it’s difficult to gauge how effectively the work is being done.

6. Emma Chan - Coastal Fitness

Emma Chan is based at Coastal Fitness in Hong Kong. She's a health and performance specialist with a background in competitive volleyball. Her coaching and specialism was inspired by a sporting injury and her journey to recovery. Her first stop in the industry was a group exercise instructor and then kept developing her skills as a strength and conditioning coach, yoga instructor. Emma works with both end of the athlete spectrum, people who are completely new to fitness and athletes who want to improve their performance.

7. CSS Fitness

CSS Fitness are an award-winning gym and personal training facility based in Leeds, UK. They have a wide range of personal training packages to suit goals related to weight loss, muscle building and specific performance goals for endurance events. Operating out of a well equipped facility, The Graft Haus, the personal training team are so sure that they can help any committed person to reach their goals, that they give a personal guarantee of results, backed up by extensive testimonials and transformation photos on their website.

8. Leading Edge NY

9. Recharged Personal Training

10. Benjamin Stone

Hollywood personal trainer, Los Angeles based Benjamin Stone, works with clients all over the world through his online personal training platform. He describes himself as a personal fitness concierge and supports clients with not only their training in the gym but also with their nutrition, and lifestyle factors which can optimise and fast track results. One of the biggest advantages of online training - aside from the scope to choose from the best fitness professionals on Earth, is the flexible and highly personalised support they are able to provide in these areas other than exercise.

11. Jackie Warner

12. Alexia Clark

Alexia is an online female fitness coach who provides new daily workouts, nutrition support and direct one to one accountability if you need it. Her goal is for you to feel constantly challenged and stimulated by your workouts. Not just physically, but mentally too. She creates daily challenges to keep motivation high and to promote a sense of community within her “QUEENTEAM”. Membership to the group training programme is extremely affordable, and her social media is full of great ideas that can be incorporated to any at home training plan.

13. Joe Dowdell

14. Kayla Itsines

Kayla is the Australian co-creator of the Bikini Body Guides. She provides 28 minute workouts to women all over the world who are looking to sweat, have fun, and enjoy getting into shape. Her training is delivered via an app called Sweat With Kayla, and has a thriving community of women who are growing in body confidence with Kayla’s guidance. Her six week group coaching programme is responsible for transforming the bodies of millions of women across the world.

15. Christian Thibaudeau

Christian’s name will be familiar to regular readers to T-Nation, and he offers two main services on his website: Online coaching with and without nutrition support. Currently, at the time of writing, both these services are fully booked and there’s a waiting list to get on any form of coaching from Christian. Christian’s unique method of coaching involves Neurotyping - a method of selecting the right training programmes, nutrition protocols, and supplementation plans based on your unique brain chemistry.

16. Sebastian Oreb

Sebastian is one of Australia’s leading strength coaches, and works with some of the country’s professional athletes and elite trainers. Sebastian practices what he preaches, having reached significant success as a powerlifter, he’s supported others in weightlifting, rugby, boxing, and a range of other contact supports. As he says on his website, he is “the go to guy to get strong”. Face to face coaching is currently unavailable, but Sebastian has the strength system online - a group coaching option, as well as one to one online training available.

17. Brett Bartholomew

Known for his published work “Conscious Coaching: The Art & Science of Building Buy-In” he achieved respect and success among coaches who admired his ability to explain the essence of coaching from the perspective of personal relationships. Brett has coached a wide range of athletes, across 23 professional sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, MLS, and NCAA, and the Olympics. Outside of professional sports, he’s coached members of the U.S. Special Forces and Fortune 500 companies to achieve their very best potential - both inside and outside the gym.

18. Team Body Project

These guys rock the home workout scene, with videos suitable for every level of ability. The great thing about Team Body Project, is that their trainers are mindful of Including low impact exercises that minimise joint pain and focus simply on getting people off the couch and moving in a way that’s enjoyable for them. With on demand workouts from home, new workouts every week, and support from a friendly team of personal trainers, Team Body Project really works hard to eliminate all barriers to entry no matter what your experience level.

19. Aaron Horschig

Dr. Horschig is probably one of the most generous people on social media, with endless patience and free advice for those following his account Squat University. A published author, and doctorate in physical therapy, he definitely knows his biomechanics, but is able to explain complex ideas in a way which is informative, educational and entertaining - even for the lay person. Aaron is an accomplished Olympic weightlifter, and uses his time under the barbell to not just to talk about optimising technique but also to prevent injury and rehabilitate weak or lagging areas.

20. Lucas Sheehan

London based Lucas believes everyone has the right to love their body. He takes an approach which is educated, experienced and honest about what’s actually important. No more confusion or chasing shiny objects. Lucas offers one to one and online coaching to help clients to get into the best shape of their lives, and - like his clients - he’s really motivated by that transformational before and after.

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