How To Develop Your Knowledge as a Coach

Do you know how to develop your knowledge as a coach? When I first started coaching, I thought the job was about sets, reps, and meal plans. If I could write a solid program and hand someone a decent nutrition plan, I assumed results would follow. And, you know what, sometimes they did. But over the years, working with hundreds of clients in person, online, and in group settings, I’ve learned that knowledge is the real currency of coaching.

It’s not the fancy equipment in your gym, the perfectly periodised program, or even the latest nutrition hack that separates good coaches from world class coaches. It’s the depth, breadth, and application of the knowledge you carry into every interaction with a client. 

Knowledge is what allows you to adapt and solve your client’s problems. It’s what helps you explain the why behind your methods so clients trust you. And ultimately, it’s what drives your reputation, your results, and your income.

There’s a big difference between being a “good coach” and a “world-class coach”. A good coach knows the basics, runs their sessions smoothly, and gets decent results with clients who are already motivated. 

A world-class coach, on the other hand, understands the underlying principles so deeply that they can adapt in real time, explain things simply, and solve problems that don’t have cookie-cutter answers. 

The gap between the two isn’t luck or charisma, it’s the level of knowledge and how consistently it’s applied.

The mistake many new coaches make is treating education like a finish line. They get a certification, read a book or two, and think they’ve “arrived”. But this industry is always changing. New research on metabolism, recovery, behaviour change, or whatever else, is published every year. Technology shifts how we can measure and track progress. And of course, human beings are endlessly complex. 

If you stop learning, you start falling behind. 

The best coaches I know, even the ones with decades of experience, stay curious, question their own assumptions, and keep investing in their growth.

Ultimately, your growth doesn’t just benefit you, it directly shapes the results your clients get. The more you know, the better you can design safe, effective programs, build habits that actually stick, and communicate in ways that make people feel supported. Clients can feel the difference between someone who’s just following a script and someone who’s coaching from deep expertise. That difference is also what separates the coach who has to fight for clients on price from the coach who attracts serious, committed clients and gets paid for the unique value they deliver.

To develop your knowledge as a coach, you can think of the journey with the following framework: 

Mindset → Knowledge Acquisition → Application → Business Leverage

It starts with mindset, then builds through knowledge acquisition, then application, and finally business leverage. 

First, you commit to always being a learner. Then you deliberately seek out information from books, mentors, courses, and experience. Next, you turn that knowledge into action. Testing, refining, and adapting it with your clients. Finally, you leverage that expertise to grow your reputation, create new opportunities, and build a career that’s both impactful and financially sustainable.

That’s the path from “just another coach” to a trusted expert. And that’s what this article is about: how to climb the ladder so your clients get better results, your career keeps moving forward, and you stand out in an industry that’s more crowded every year.

Develop Your Knowledge as a Coach TLDR

• Coaching success isn’t just about sets/reps and meal plans, it’s about deep, applied knowledge.
• The best coaches adopt a lifelong learner’s mindset: curiosity, critical thinking, discernment, and integrity.
• Knowledge has levels (“ladder”): free/low-cost info is crowded and noisy; deeper investment (certifications, mentorships) creates unique value, less competition, and higher income.
• Knowledge must be client-centred (psychology, habits, context) and applied through a cycle: learn → apply → reflect → refine.
• Strong networks and personal development amplify growth and credibility.
• Business skills (branding, sales, systems) are as vital as technical expertise for long-term success.
• Keep climbing the knowledge ladder if you want to succeed. Knowledge + application + business skills = impact, authority, and income.

Coaching Mindset: Understanding What the Best Coaches Do

If there’s one thing that separates the best coaches from the rest of the pack, it’s not talent, charisma, or even experience. It’s mindset. 

World-class coaches think differently. They treat their role not as a job, but as a lifelong practice of growth, refinement, and service.

The first thing they understand is that learning never stops. No matter how many certifications you’ve collected, how many clients you’ve helped, or how many years you’ve been in the game, you can’t afford to think you’ve “arrived”. The moment you believe you know it all, you close yourself off to growth, and this industry evolves too fast for that. The best coaches stay students forever.

That ties directly into curiosity. Great coaches constantly question methods, outcomes, and even their own assumptions. Instead of blindly following trends or clinging to old routines, they ask: Why did this work for one client but not another? What’s the evidence behind this new approach? How can I improve this process? Curiosity keeps you sharp, keeps you humble, and prevents stagnation.

But curiosity without discernment can lead to overwhelm. In today’s fitness landscape, there’s no shortage of noise. Viral hacks, influencer hype, flashy “science-backed” claims. Top coaches develop the skill of filtering information wisely. They know how to separate signal from noise, hype from evidence. They can read research critically, spot bias, and ask better questions before adopting a new tool or strategy. This ability to filter is one of the most valuable skills you can cultivate, because it protects you and your clients from wasted effort and harmful misinformation.

Another hallmark of great coaches is that they invest heavily in themselves. Growth costs something, either time, money, and/or energy. The best coaches spend all three wisely. They attend seminars, work with mentors, and pay for courses not just to collect credentials, but to actually sharpen their craft. 

They budget time for learning, even when business is busy. They see personal development not as an expense, but as the most profitable investment they can make.

When it comes to knowledge, world-class coaches try to balance breadth and depth. They build a broad foundation (exercise program design, nutrition, sleep, stress management, psychology, communication, etc) so they can meet a wide range of client needs. But they also dive deep into areas where they want to specialise. 

They understand that being a jack-of-all-trades isn’t enough, but being overly narrow can leave blind spots. 

They also balance “just in case” learning with “just in time” learning: some knowledge is worth acquiring for the foundation it provides, while other knowledge is best pursued when a specific client challenge or career opportunity demands it.

Of course, knowledge without execution is largely worthless. I personally enjoy learning for the sake of learning, but the reality is that the best coaches are quick apply what they learn. They test new strategies in the real world, reflect on results, and refine their approach. They know that experience is the ultimate teacher, but only if you act on what you’ve studied. Many coaches fall into the trap of hoarding knowledge without ever applying it. I call this the “professional procrastination trap”. 

The best coaches don’t wait until they feel perfectly ready. They learn, apply, reflect, and improve. They understand that all of this stuff is a work in progress, and that they will never be “perfect”.

Finally, world-class coaches live what they teach. Clients notice whether you walk the talk. If you preach balance, discipline, and self-care but live in chaos yourself, your credibility suffers. The best coaches practice what they promote by managing their own stress, prioritising recovery, eating well, training consistently, and showing up with energy and integrity. This doesn’t mean being perfect, it means modelling the same habits you expect your clients to build.

This overall mindset package of lifelong learning, curiosity, discernment, investment, balance, application, and integrity, is the foundation of world-class coaching. Without it, all the knowledge in the world won’t make you effective. With it, every new skill you acquire compounds into greater impact for your clients and greater growth for your career.

The Coaching Knowledge Ladder

One of the biggest breakthroughs in my career came when I realised that not all knowledge is created equal. It’s not just what you learn, but where you get it from, how many other people have access to it, and how much you’re willing to invest to go deeper. I call this the coaching knowledge ladder.

Picture a ladder where each rung represents a level of information access. At the bottom, knowledge is free and easy to grab. This is great because it gives you easy access to information, but it is also information that everyone else can easily reach. As you climb higher, access becomes harder, competition thins out, and the payoff for you and your clients gets bigger. Unfortunately, the easier the information is to access, the more crowded the space, and the less unique your coaching becomes.

At the lowest rung, you’ve got free content. This is stuff like social media posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, and articles. These are great for quick ideas and broad exposure, but the quality is inconsistent, and the space is super noisy. Every coach with a phone is reposting the same workout tip or nutrition hack, the information could be good or awful, and it is hard to tell. If you are just repackaging this information with your brand on it, unfortunately, clients have seen it all before. If your learning stops here, you’ll always be competing in the noisiest corner of the industry.

Climb one rung higher and you get into low-cost resources. This is stuff like webinars, entry-level courses, and books. These offer more structured learning and tend to come from slightly more reliable sources, but they’re still widely accessible. Most coaches stop here, collecting a handful of courses or popular books. This is certainly better than scrolling Instagram or TikTok, but you’re still swimming in a crowded pool.

The next level is where the real separation begins, but it also requires a moderate investment. This is where you actually attend seminars, pursue certifications, and take specialised courses. The knowledge here goes deeper and requires more commitment, both financially and in terms of time. The upside is that you tend to get a much higher calibre of information, and you generally also have the opportunity to start building a network. You will end up meeting peers, mentors, and future collaborators at these kinds of events and courses. However, not every certification is worth it, and not every seminar is high quality. But when chosen wisely, this rung significantly elevates the depth of your coaching.

At the top of the ladder are high-level investments like mentorship, masterminds, and apprenticeships. This is where you gain access to behind-the-scenes strategies, personalised feedback, and the kind of wisdom that rarely shows up in books or courses. These opportunities can fast-track your growth by years. They’re also the hardest to access, as you’ll need to put real money on the line, travel, and commit deeply. But the trade-off is that very few coaches operate at this level, which makes your knowledge and your perspective far more unique.

Ultimately, the higher you climb, the less competition you face. 

When you’re relying on free content, you’re indistinguishable from thousands of other coaches parroting the same tips. But when you invest in deeper, harder-to-access knowledge, you create a gap between you and the masses. That gap becomes your competitive edge. Clients don’t hire you because you repeat what they can find on TikTok. They hire you because you offer insight, perspective, and results they can’t get anywhere else. That’s also where your income potential grows, because you’re no longer competing on price, you’re competing on value.

The knowledge ladder isn’t about skipping steps. Every rung has its place. You’ll always use free content for quick inspiration, and you’ll always benefit from a good book or course. But the coaches who stand out are the ones who keep climbing, who keep seeking out higher levels of knowledge and applying it to create unique value.

Thinking Like a World-Class Coach

If you want to separate yourself from the crowd of average coaches, you need more than passion and hard work, you fundamentally need to think differently. World-class coaches don’t just collect information; they know how to analyse it, question it, and decide what’s actually worth using. 

This comes down to critical thinking, which is one of the most underrated skills in our industry.

A big part of this is learning to recognise the difference between quality research and weak evidence. Not all studies are created equal. A single, small sample study doesn’t carry the same weight as a systematic review or meta-analysis. A headline on social media claiming “new science proves…” usually doesn’t tell the whole story. World-class coaches take the time to look deeper, consider the context, and ask: Is this evidence strong enough to change how I coach?

Along with understanding research, you also need to understand bias, both your own and the industry’s. Confirmation bias is huge in coaching. Once we believe something works, we tend to only look for information that supports our view, while ignoring anything that challenges it. Add influencer hype and cherry-picked data to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for misinformation. The best coaches train themselves to spot these biases and actively challenge their own assumptions.

Asking better questions is another hallmark of elite coaches. Instead of jumping straight to “What program should I use?” or “What diet is best?”, they dig deeper: Who is this effective for? Under what circumstances? What are the trade-offs? The quality of your coaching is directly tied to the quality of the questions you ask, of yourself, of the research, and of your clients.

And then there’s the trap we all fall into at some point: shiny object syndrome. The newest piece of tech, the latest workout trend, or the flashy nutrition hack can feel exciting, but constantly chasing what’s new, keeps you from mastering what actually works. World-class coaches know when to experiment, but they also know when to stay focused on proven fundamentals. Mastery comes from consistency, not from endlessly switching strategies.

Finally, you’ve got to learn how to filter through the sheer volume of noise in the industry. Between social media, podcasts, newsletters, and courses, you could spend your entire career drowning in information. The best coaches develop their own filters. They have a few trusted sources they rely on. They develop a few frameworks for evaluating new ideas, and a willingness to discard 90% of the noise so they can focus on the 10% that truly matters.

Critical thinking isn’t flashy, but it’s what turns knowledge into wisdom. Anyone can memorise facts or repost a study. World-class coaches take the extra step of asking whether the information is valid, useful, and relevant, and only then do they apply it in a way that benefits their clients. 

Client-Centred Knowledge

At the end of the day, all the knowledge you acquire doesn’t matter if you can’t use it to serve your clients. Coaching isn’t about showing people how much you know, it’s about meeting them where they are and helping them take the next step forward. That’s why world-class coaches always learn with the client in mind.

This means deepening your skills not just in exercise and nutrition, but also in psychology, behaviour change, and communication. Most clients don’t struggle because they don’t know they should eat more vegetables or sleep more. They struggle because of habits, stress, social environments, and the stories they tell themselves. If you understand how motivation works, how habits form, and how to communicate in ways that resonate, you’ll unlock results that go far beyond just handing someone a workout plan or meal template.

It also means recognising that every client brings a unique background to the table. What works beautifully for one person might be completely unrealistic for another. A single parent working two jobs has different constraints than a young professional with no kids. A client from one cultural background may have food traditions that make certain diet strategies impractical. The best coaches respect these differences and design solutions that actually fit the individual, instead of trying to force everyone into the same mould.

This is where the concept of just in time learning versus just in case learning comes back into play. Just in case learning is building a broad foundation, such as studying areas like nutrition, exercise, psychology or communication so you’re prepared for the kinds of challenges you’ll see often. 

Just in time learning is diving deep into a specific topic when a client’s unique situation demands it. For example, maybe you don’t need to master everything about working around a specific injury right now, but if a client develops that injury, that’s your signal to go deep (just in time). 

Balancing these two approaches ensures you’re always prepared, without wasting energy on things that may never be relevant.

When you make your learning client-centred, everything changes. You stop chasing knowledge for its own sake and start filtering it through a single question: Will this help me serve my clients better? That mindset keeps your growth focused, practical, and impactful. And the more you tailor your knowledge to the real lives of the people you coach, the more trust, results, and long-term success you’ll create. Which in turn, allows you to help more people, and make more money. 

Applying and Integrating Knowledge

One of the biggest traps coaches fall into is mistaking learning for progress. It’s easy to collect certifications, binge books and podcasts, or stack courses without ever actually putting that knowledge into practice. On the surface, it feels like growth, as you’re busy, you’re consuming information, and you’re “working on your craft”. 

But knowledge without action is just theory. Until you apply it, it’s not really yours.

The coaches who grow the fastest are the ones who follow a simple cycle of mastery: Learn → Apply → Reflect → Refine → Repeat. 

You pick up a new idea or strategy, you test it in the real world with clients, you reflect on how it worked (or didn’t), you make adjustments, and then you go again. That cycle compounds over time. It’s not about being perfect straight out of the gate, it’s about learning through doing and getting sharper with every repetition.

Clients themselves are your best feedback loop. Every program you write, every coaching conversation you have, and every challenge a client brings you is a chance to see how well your knowledge holds up in practice. Did the habit-building strategy you used actually stick? Did the training plan you designed lead to progress, or did it need tweaking? Paying attention to client outcomes is how you bridge the gap between book knowledge and practical wisdom.

Documenting your growth is another powerful way to integrate knowledge. Journals, client case studies, and even content you share online become records of what you’re learning and how you’re applying it. Writing about what you’re doing forces you to clarify your thinking, spot patterns, and refine your approach. Over time, these notes and reflections turn into your personal playbook.

Teaching is the fastest way to learn deeply, and luckily for you, coaching allows you to practice this a lot. When you explain a concept to a client, mentor another coach, or share insights publicly, you’re forced to simplify, clarify, and truly understand it. If you can’t explain something in plain language, you don’t really know it yet. Teaching locks in your learning while also building your authority in the eyes of others.

Ultimately, application is where knowledge turns into impact. If you want to stand out as a coach, don’t just collect information, test it, teach it, and refine it. That’s how you move from being someone who just knows things, to someone who changes lives with what they know.

The Business Connection: Knowledge and Income

A mistake I see all the time is coaches believing that technical knowledge alone will carry their career. They think that if they’re the smartest in exercise science or the most precise in nutrition planning, success is guaranteed. But many great coaches fail, not because they lack fitness knowledge, but because they lack business knowledge.

The moment you decide to coach professionally, you’re not just a trainer or a nutritionist, you’re also a business owner. That means branding, marketing, sales, and systems matter just as much as sets, reps, and macros. If you can’t attract clients, communicate your value, and deliver your service in a professional way, your expertise never gets the chance to make an impact. Business skills are the multiplier for your coaching skills.

When you understand business, you can take your coaching knowledge and expand it far beyond one-on-one sessions. You can build multiple income streams, and each of these outlets allows you to serve more people, spread your message further, and stabilise your income so you’re not dependent on just a few clients.

Think about the coaches who struggle. They often aren’t bad at coaching, they just never learned how to market themselves, how to sell without feeling pushy, or how to systemise their services so their work doesn’t consume them. On the flip side, the coaches who thrive aren’t necessarily the ones with the deepest knowledge of biomechanics or nutrition, they’re the ones who learned how to package their expertise, communicate it clearly, and deliver it through channels that scale.

Ultimately, your knowledge level is directly linked to your earning potential, but it’s not just technical knowledge.

If your knowledge is shallow, you’ll compete on price, because clients can find someone else offering the same generic service cheaper elsewhere. 

If your knowledge is deep and specialised, you compete on value, as you’re offering something others can’t. 

If you combine that specialised expertise with branding, marketing, and business strategy, you move into a category where you’re no longer just a coach, but an authority in your field.

This authority is what allows you to stand out in a crowded industry. People aren’t just hiring you for workouts or meal plans, they’re hiring you because of who you are, what you represent, and the unique results you can deliver. As the industry evolves, with new technology, changing client demands, and shifting market trends, the coaches who stay adaptable, keep learning, and keep investing in both their craft and their business skills will be the ones who enjoy long-term stability.

The bottom line is that knowledge fuels income, but only if you learn in both directions. You must go deep into your craft and business. Master both, and you’ll not only transform your clients’ lives, you’ll also build a profitable career that lasts.

Practical Roadmap for Coaches at Different Levels

Every coach is on a journey, and what you need to focus on depends on where you are in your career. Too many coaches get stuck because they’re trying to skip steps, or because they’re still doing “beginner” things when they should be playing at a higher level. Here is a rough roadmap to help you navigate everything.

If you’re a beginner coach, your job is to consume as much free information as you can, but more importantly, to critically appraise it, and then actually apply it. Don’t get caught in the trap of thinking you need to know everything before you start. The early stage is about action, mistakes, and lessons. Train people, even if it’s friends or family at first. Try things out, see what works, and pay attention to feedback. At the same time, begin thinking about your niche. You can’t serve everyone, so start noticing which types of clients you enjoy working with and where your strengths naturally lie.

As an intermediate coach, you’ve built some confidence and experience, and now it’s time to invest. Free content will only take you so far. This is where you start putting money and time into structured learning: courses, seminars, certifications. You’re also ready to build your peer network. Surround yourself with coaches at your level for support and accountability, coaches ahead of you for mentorship, and coaches in other specialities to broaden your perspective. This is where you go from “someone who coaches” to “a professional coach”.

When you reach the advanced coach stage, the game changes. You’ve got a solid base of knowledge and experience, but now you need refinement. This is where mentorships, masterminds, and advanced education come in. The goal isn’t just to absorb information, it’s to start creating your own frameworks and methods. At this level, you should be developing a recognisable approach to coaching, something that sets you apart from others. You’re no longer just applying knowledge, you’re integrating it into a system that becomes your professional fingerprint.

Finally, the elite coach stage is where you step into leadership. At this level, you’re not only serving clients, you’re teaching, mentoring, speaking, publishing, and setting standards for the industry. You become the person other coaches look to for guidance. Your frameworks turn into courses, your lessons turn into keynotes, and your insights influence the direction of the profession. This is where impact and income reach their highest levels, and you’ve taken what you’ve learned, mastered it, and begun passing it on.

The roadmap isn’t about rushing to the top, it’s about knowing what matters most at each stage. Beginners need baseline knowledge and action. Intermediates need investment in their development. Advanced coaches need frameworks and refinement. Elites need to lead. Wherever you are right now, the key is to commit to the next step, because every rung of the ladder prepares you for the one above it.

Understanding The Full Picture

Now, you know I don’t like to just paint a picture that I know absolutely everything, and that there are no opposing view points. I always try to address the faults in my thinking, and I try to use them to come to a better understanding of the topic myself. And there are many contrarian viewpoints to the ones I have presented in this article. However, I think they are all largely wrong.

There’s a contrarian argument out there that says knowledge is overrated. That clients don’t care how much you know, they just care that you keep them accountable and motivated. At first glance, this sounds compelling. After all, plenty of coaches with big personalities and simple systems do attract clients. 

However, accountability and encouragement only take people so far. When those same clients hit plateaus, face setbacks, or deal with injuries, cheerleading won’t solve the problem. Knowledge will. Without a deep foundation of understanding, your coaching toolbox runs out of tools the moment challenges get complex.

Another contrarian claim is that coaching isn’t an academic exercise, and that constant learning leads to “professional procrastination”. But this is only true if you don’t actually apply the knowledge like I advocate. We must do some amount of “just in case” learning, but we should be actually testing the vast majority of what we learn in the real world. 

Ultimately, this industry changes quickly. Research evolves. Client challenges evolve. If you stop learning, you’re not standing still, you’re falling behind. If you want to be the best, I am sorry, but there is no avoiding actually sitting down and studying.

Some people argue that the knowledge ladder is elitist, and that high-level mentorships and advanced education are only for those with money and access. But this just fundamentally misinterprets the ladder. 

Every rung has value, including the free and low-cost ones. The point isn’t that you must buy your way to excellence, it’s that you keep climbing. As you get better at your craft, you will naturally make more money, and thus you can invest more in your development. 

There are so many free resources out there that you can use to develop your knowledge, but if you aren’t willing to pay with money, you will have to pay with time to find the information and organise it. I am sorry that we don’t live in a utopia, but with all the free content out there (like this article!) and modern AI, you can learn an awful lot without needing to spend a penny. The only real issue with free content is that you don’t know what you don’t know, so it can be hard to build out a full picture of what you need to learn.

There’s also a belief that business and charisma matter more than knowledge. And yes, branding and sales skills can help you succeed in the short term. But hype has a shelf life. Eventually, clients see through flashy marketing if it isn’t backed by substance. Knowledge is what sustains results, reputation, and referrals long after the initial sparkle fades.

I am naturally someone who is contrarian, and I know that these contrarian view sound attractive because they promise an easier path. Less studying, fewer investments, more focus on personality and “just showing up”. 

But easy rarely leads to excellence. 

The coaches who rise above aren’t the ones who dismiss knowledge, they’re the ones who combine accountability, charisma, and business knowledge with deep expertise. 

How To Develop Your Knowledge As A Coach Conclusion

Knowledge is the ladder every coach climbs, and how high you go determines both the income you earn and the impact you create. Stay at the bottom, relying on the same free tips everyone else is posting, and you’ll always be stuck competing on price and struggling to stand out. Keep climbing, and you separate yourself. Each rung you ascend gives you access to deeper insights, less competition, and greater opportunities to serve your clients in meaningful ways.

But climbing the ladder isn’t just about collecting more information. The best coaches aren’t just learners, they’re implementers, teachers, and leaders. They take what they learn, test it in the real world, refine it, and then pass it on in ways that help others grow. They understand that mastery isn’t about knowing the most facts; it’s about creating the most impact with the knowledge you have.

So, take an honest look at where you are on the knowledge ladder right now. What rung are you standing on? Are you stuck consuming whatever the algorithm serves you, hoping something sticks? Or are you intentionally seeking out the information and experiences that solve your specific problems and move you forward?

Most coaches stay mediocre because they never make that choice. They confuse being busy with being better, endlessly scrolling through social media slop and calling it “learning”. The coaches who rise to the top and the ones clients trust, respect, and pay for, make a different choice. They deliberately seek out better knowledge, invest in their growth, and keep climbing, one step at a time.

Your next step doesn’t have to be massive. It just has to be intentional. Pick the next rung, commit to it, and keep moving upward. That’s how you build a career of lasting impact, credibility, and success.

We have a lot of free content available in our content hub, if you want to learn more. We specifically have a lot of content for coaches in our Coaches Corner. If you want even more free information, you can follow us on Instagram, YouTube or listen to the podcast. You can always stay up to date with our latest content by subscribing to our newsletter.

Finally, if you want to learn how to coach nutrition, then consider our Nutrition Coach Certification course, and if you want to learn to get better at exercise program design, then consider our course on exercise program design. We do have other courses available too. If you don’t understand something, or you just need clarification, you can always reach out to us on Instagram or via email.