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 expert 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. 💪
18/12/2025
Most workouts are designed to burn calories.
Change things up, keep you moving, keeping it “fun.”
And that’s fine – if your goal is general fitness.
But if your goal is to actually get stronger? The rules are different.
Strength isn’t built through novelty. It’s built through structure, repetition and training intent.
That doesn’t mean you max out every week, or do the exact same thing forever.
But it does mean your squat isn’t just some random stop on your circuit.
Your deadlift isn’t there to make you sweat.
Your bench press doesn’t care how “fun” the variation is this week.
Getting stronger requires focus on the same main lifts that get progressively more challenging throughout your training block.
You can still have a bit more variety with your accessory exercises. But don’t expect new personal bests to appear without consistency.
Strength training isn’t meant to be fast-paced or keep you guessing.
Boring works.
You can achieve those strength training goals that you have, you just need to accept the basic principles apply.
15/12/2025
Most people don’t have a training program, they have a list of exercises. 😬
And that’s exactly why they struggle to make real progress. Same goes for people who stray from the program they've been given!
Showing up and doing the workout is great for consistency. But if your goal is to get stronger, doing whatever feels good that day isn’t going to cut it.
And if you’re not tracking what you lift…how are you supposed to improve it?
If you’re not sure whether you’re following a real program or if you've been winging it, this will make it clear.
Comment or DM “PROGRAMMING” and I’ll send you our quick-reference guide to spot the difference (and how to fix it).
13/12/2025
Most lifters try to squat by thinking “chest up” or “stay upright"...
That’s typically why they can’t hit depth, or worse, end up in pain.
In this video, I’ll break down the real mechanics that make squats stronger, lower and more stable without fighting your body's structure.
If you want to fix your form and finally lift with confidence
👉 Go here now: skool.com/strength-training/about
Or DM “STRONG” and I’ll send it straight to you.
(This is to work with us online but if you're local and you're seeing this just get in touch to get started in person!)
13/12/2025
Our Christmas night out ✨🎁🎄
Thank you and for organising it ❤️
And Happy Birthday 🎂 well done for organising the embarrassment in the restaurant
11/12/2025
We’re halfway through December – here’s what’s still available 👇
🎄 We’ve got limited availability this month for 2 people who want to:
- Get a head start before January
- Finally learn how to lift properly
Our go-to coaching option:
👉 Fast Track to Free Weights – 3 x 1:1 sessions for £99 (special intro offer)
After that? You can keep going with 1:1s at the regular rate or join our small group coaching team – it just depends on your goals and what fits best for you.
➤ Want to get in before Christmas?
I’ve got a couple spots left for December
➤ Want to start fresh in January?
You can reserve your slot now so you don't miss out in the new year
✅ We also offer taster sessions (if you want to try it out first)
✅ And gym-only memberships if you don't want coaching (you can start with induction)
📩 Comment “INFO” or DM us “LIFT” and I’ll help you choose the best starting point, whether that’s coaching or just a membership.
📍 Wellington Yard, Wellington Road, Wavertree
08/12/2025
We have a couple of paths to get started:
1️⃣ Induction and day pass: this is £9 and the induction is just a short briefing of how to use our equipment properly. This is required for insurance reasons and your safety.
After you've done your induction (10-15 mins) you can crack on with your workout and we'll be around if you have any more questions.
2️⃣ Or you can go a 30-min PT taster session for £19. This is typically for two types of people...
- you just want to get a gym membership but you're not yet confident using a gym by yourself
- or you want to do group coaching or 1:1 PT so by doing a taster you get to see if we're the right fit for each other
If you want to continue with coaching you can enroll onto our Fast Track to Free Weights program which will teach you the foundations of lifting well on a 1:1 basis. 🏋️
👉🏼 After that you can continue with 1:1s or join our small group coaching sessions that are capped at just 5 people per session.
Just get in touch or use the link in our bio to get one of the two booked in!
07/12/2025
If you’ve ever skipped a movement pattern entirely because it felt "off", this is common BUT...
It's not a good idea 👎🏼
If you are really struggling with something, it's much better than you learn a regressed version of the exercise and build up to it rather than avoid it entirely.
We see this a lot, some people say things like I don't [squat/bench press/deadlift/train my back], and then we realise it's just been avoided because of discomfort.
And sometimes they've tried a more advanced version or gone way too heavy and then they're like nah that's not for me. 🙅
This is why we offer so many variations with our programs. You've got options!
04/12/2025
To follow up on our last post, if the bar is drifting away from you on just one side when you're using mixed grip, here's what we'd suggest.
This mini series has been great, thanks for your questions. Squats next I think!
01/12/2025
Got another question on our most recent video! Can mixed grip cause imbalances? Here's what we'd suggest.
There are instances where people experience twisting and the bar drifting away from them, we'll be posting a follow up video about that.
Thanks for the questions, keep them coming.
01/12/2025
It’s officially been 2 years since we opened the doors to the very first phase of our gym – and just one year later, we took the leap into our current unit.
We expanded way earlier than we probably should have. We believed that the first space was a stepping stone, and that bigger things were coming. And they did…but not without A LOT of challenges 🫠
Running a business is hard enough, and when life hits you with things that completely floor you, it becomes a different level of difficult. And that happened just as we were moving into this unit.
Things got really fu***ng hard, but our people helped us keep going.
We started out just needed somewhere to train clients, coach the way we wanted, and create a supportive space, so that’s what we did to keep us going.
And somewhere to look after our dogs of course. 🐾
Today, it’s so much more than that. I feel like we've built a proper little community of lifters and the progress I've seen people make over the past year has been incredible.
To our clients and members, thank you so much for building this with us and supporting us.
We wouldn’t be in this position without you. ❤️💪🏼
Kim & Adam
29/11/2025
Types of grip for deadlifts depend on a few things, so here’s what we’d generally suggest.
Most people start with a double overhand grip.
When your grip starts limiting your lift and stopping you from progressing, that’s usually when we switch to a mixed grip or straps.
You can use straps unless you specifically want a "raw" deadlift or you’re planning to compete in powerlifting.
We normally only recommend hook grip for powerlifters because it’s rough.
For strongman competitors, we recommend straps because everyone else will be using them. otherwise you’re at a disadvantage.
There are also different types of straps, like figure 8s.
28/11/2025
We need to be careful about how we cue things as it's easy for cues to be misunderstood.
For instance, in this circumstance a lot of people will say "shoulders back" where that's not so useful when "shoulders down" is a better cue but it's one that can also be misinterpreted.
We want to emphasise "shoulders down towards the hips" as doing this alongside proper bracing will benefit you in your deadlifts.
Got any questions about this? Drop them below 👇
Address
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.
