Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter, we’re here to help you build strength, confidence, and a healthier lifestyle - both in person and online.
Helping you get stronger with tried + tested strength training methods 💪
📍 Specialising in small group PT, Powerlifting + Strongman – Wavertree, Liverpool
📱 Online options include coaching + a strength training membership
🏳️🌈🤎🖤🤍🤝 Essential Strength is an independent, couple-owned gym in Liverpool providing locals with a strength training experience tailored to individual goals - combining ex
pert coaching, personalised programming, and a welcoming community atmosphere. Alongside 1:1 Personal Training, we specialise in Small Group Coaching. These aren’t generic fitness classes! Each person follows their own personalised program while training alongside others. It’s the perfect mix of individual attention, motivation, and community support. We also offer online coaching and an online strength training membership, making it easy to follow structured programs and get expert guidance wherever you train. Essential Strength is a welcoming, inclusive space - LGBTQ+ and multicultural friendly (shame we have to say that). We value respect above ego and work hard to keep the gym a safe, supportive place for everyone. Get in touch to find the best fit for you. 💪
16/04/2026
A common issue in an overhead press is overextending, as well as using your lower back to get the weight overhead.
Instead of pressing efficiently, the movement turns into a bit of an awkward struggle.
This will be pretty unstable and you'll feel like you're fighting for your life the whole time.
What we actually want is:
- to get to a locked out position without overextending
- rigid lower body with glutes squeezed
- a strong brace through the torso
From there, the shoulders can move freely without the lower back taking over.
And you don’t need to force your shoulders up towards your ears.
You just need to lock out in a strong, controlled position.
Small adjustments like this can completely change how stable your press feels.
Adam breaks it down here.
If you want help improving your lifting technique, comment PRESS and we’ll show you the drills we use to clean this up.
15/04/2026
It's not fair to target people and make them pay more for it just because they're desperate. Particularly when you're treating someone like they're delicate and not showing them how to actually increase muscle mass and bone density effectively.
It's understandable that some people want a PT or coach that has experienced what they're going through, we get that.
But we know for a fact that there's a rise in fitness professionals targeting women of this age group specifically by acting like they have the secret sauce when it's nothing special.
08/04/2026
When we first opened our gym we actually sat down and discussed what we didn't want to be.
A lot of the business advice for gyms is a bit shocking to be honest. 🫠
We just knew we didn't want it to be somewhere that was really cliquey and elitist. And it wasn't going to be somewhere where we churned people through generic fitness classes.
➡️ We've had to really have a think about what we wanted to provide, but seeing people enjoy the space is what really matters to us and it always reminds us of why we're doing this.
A lot of people struggle just being between work and home, so we didn't want to add a really soulless gym experience into the mix!
And being able to work and train in a space like this,
with the people who are part of it, has been amazing.
So thank you to everyone who’s been part of it so far 💪🏻
If you want to give it a go for yourself just get in touch about gym membership or coaching packages.
01/04/2026
When it comes to training when you're “older”, here's what we typically see from people…
They either try to do the same dumb stuff they did in their 20s
Or they hold back because they think they need to “take it easy”
Both put you at a disadvantage.
You don’t need a completely different way to train.
You just need a structured one.
If training really had to be completely different…
masters categories wouldn’t exist in strength sports and you wouldn’t see people in their 40s and 50s still performing at a high level.
You also don’t need to be perfect to start doing this properly.
If you want help structuring your training properly, comment TRAIN and we'll send you a full breakdown of what we've mentioned in this video.
31/03/2026
I thought I'd try a new content style with Adam where I start the video with the topic and let him run with it.
I regret this decision.
27/03/2026
Training when you're in your 30s and 40s doesn't need to be completely different.
But the way it gets talked about is a bit patronising to be honest, mainly for women. 🙄
It's as if the second someone hits 35, you fall apart.
Kim here, I'm 35. And I can say from experience while yeah I feel a difference from when I was 25...
I'm stronger now, I have more muscle mass, more knowledge, and I'm still physically capable. Still improving, still making progress.
👉🏼 But a lot of people will have you believe everything needs to be a lot lighter, slower, “safer” like you're fragile.
Like people suddenly can’t handle proper training anymore.
In your 20s, you can get away with a lot more f**kery.
You can train inconsistently, skip warm ups, do stupid sh*t…and still be fine (most of the time).
You also recover better, and you've typically got time to rest more too.
So people assume that’s what training is supposed to look like.
And when it stops working like that…
They don’t question the approach, they think "oh I can't do that now, I'm too old for that." 🙃
So instead of more structure, they start looking for a completely different way to exercise.
Something age-specific. Don't get me started on menopausal "specialists" charging a fortune.
Because really…
It's just that you can't get away with doing it badly anymore. It needs to be done properly.
25/03/2026
Always there when you need an arse to lean on
24/03/2026
Not every tiny technique issue means you should stop or change everything.
BUT if form is completely breaking down or putting you in a risky position, that’s where you should take a step back.
The key is knowing the difference.
If you wait for everything to be perfect, you’ll hold yourself back.
But if you ignore everything, you’ll eventually hit a wall, or potentially get injured.
Good training balances both!
There are times to focus on technique, and times to push things, and that’s how proper training blocks work.
If you’re not sure when to focus on technique and when to keep pushing, drop us a message and we'll help you figure it out. You can work with us online or in person at our gym in Liverpool.
23/03/2026
We expect our lifters to move towards certain technical standards but that doesn’t mean everything has to be perfect before you progress.
One of our clients used to deadlift with more of a rounded back, especially for strongman where that can work well as you can hitch. She got really strong doing it too.
(Setting up with a slightly rounded position from the middle of the back is very different from being pulled out of position and ending up like a prawn.)
But over time, we stripped things back and worked towards a better position.
Now she’s hitting the same weight for reps with a more neutral spine and locking out feels easier.
Sometimes it’s not about lifting more, but instead putting yourself in a position where your strength works better.
If you want help improving your lifts without holding your progress back, that’s something we help our lifters work through online and in person.
17/03/2026
Quite often people will experience small technique issues but it's a mistake to stop everything to immediately fix it unless you're experiencing pain.
Timing matters for this.
If you're working towards a competition or a testing phase, it’s often not the right time to change something that could disrupt performance.
That doesn’t mean you ignore it forever, it just means you work on it at a more appropriate time.
Long term, your technique will always be the thing that limits progress so it is important to address it.
The goal is to build towards a stronger, more efficient standard without compromising what you need right now, in your current training block.
If you’re unsure whether to change your technique or keep pushing, that’s something we help our lifters figure out.
16/03/2026
Some lifters think they need perfect technique before they can get stronger.
Technique absolutely underpins everything we do in training, it's how strength is expressed.
But that doesn't mean it needs to be perfect before you progress.
We aim for a gold standard, but in training we often work with good enough technique while we keep improving.
If you wait for perfection, you’ll often hold yourself back from getting stronger.
Strength and technique develop together, not one after the other.
But knowing technique matters is one thing, deciding when to change it is another. Adam talks about that in the next video.
16/03/2026
A common mistake with deadlifts is trying to actively squeeze your shoulder blades together before you lift.
That cue works in movements like squats and bench press, but deadlifts are different.
In a deadlift, we’re not looking for scapular retraction.
Instead, we want the shoulders and shoulder blades moving down, which helps keep the arms long and the upper body stable.
A useful way to think about it is “armpits towards the hips.”
That action helps create tension through the lats and keeps everything connected before you break the bar off the floor.
Small details like this can make a big difference to how stable and efficient your deadlift feels.
Adam explains it here.
If you want help improving your lifting technique, comment DEADLIFT and we’ll share the tips we use to drill these positions properly. 💪
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Unit 3G Wellington Yard, 3 Wellington Road, Wavertree Liverpool L154JH
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Essential Strength Training & Online Coaching:
Hi I'm Kim! I'm a personal trainer, powerlifter and pole dancer. I wanted to become a trainer to help others with their fitness and nutritional needs. I believe these things should be an asset to your life and not a hindrance.
I have a history of struggling with my appearance and exercising just to burn calories as well as massively restricting my food intake. I got to the point where I was hardly eating, my friends and family were very concerned about me and I was definitely skinny but still didn't feel like my appearance matched what I saw in the mirror.
I was often doing cardio based exercise that didn't interest me at all but I felt like I should be doing it to be skinny. Now I can safely say that cardio is not necessarily the best way to lose weight but also, I don't exercise just for weightloss anymore.
You might be thinking "What? Well why do it then?!" but honestly, once you find yourself working towards fitness based goals your mindset will change. Exercise to burn calories will become training to get those 10 push ups, that first chin up, your heaviest squat to date is much more rewarding than burning off last night's glass of wine.
I sometimes like to think of myself as more than just a personal trainer. I like to offer an experience to people that they can't get elsewhere. I don't just give people exercises to do to burn them out and get them exhausted, I do everything with intention.
Your training should have a plan, each exercise session should be structured and focused on the long term goal. That's how I write all of my training programmes for my clients because I believe it's the best way to make the most of your workout. Your time is precious, so you may as well make the most of it!
The main thing I want to do is provide education and knowledge to people to manage their own lifestyles, become healthier and fitter and not to worry about burnout and overtraining. Your diet can be made to be very simple, the health industry likes to overcomplicate things but honestly it doesn't have to be that way.
We have enough stressors in daily life with work, family, money, why should diet and exercise be an extra stress in our lives?
If you want to follow a find a training programme that will provide you with rewarding and progressive workouts then you've come to the right place. I also offer a simple way of managing your own diet in the form of an E-book. You can find all training programmes and my dieting e-book on my online shop!
If you want to take things a step further, both of these things are provided in a custom format with Online Coaching as well as weekly check-ins giving that accountability factor. With this service you also get personalised programming, detailed session feedback and regular goal setting updates to make sure you're on the right track to achieve your goals.
To get your free mini training programme sent straight to your inbox, click here.
