Strength coach, powerlifter, and founder of NH Personal Training, Natalie Hurdley shares her journey from a professional soccer career cut short at 15 to helping overwhelmed, high‑achieving women simplify their fitness and stop constantly starting over. In this episode, we talk about the lessons she learned from losing her “plan A,” how depression and burnout reshaped her approach to training, and why consistency and simplicity are the keys to building strength that lasts.
Check Out These Highlights:
What do you do when the future you’ve planned since childhood suddenly disappears?
Natalie Hurdley takes us back to her teenage years as a professional soccer player, when a devastating injury ended her career at just 15. With her dad’s tough but fair advice, “Plan A is gone, what’s Plan B?”, she pivoted into coaching and eventually discovered personal training as a way to help athletes across all sports.
She opens up about the depression she faced in her late twenties when her business success came at the cost of her own health, and how that experience taught her the importance of boundaries and self‑care. Today, Natalie helps ambitious women fit strength training into their chaotic schedules without sacrificing family, career, or joy. Her approach is the opposite of cookie‑cutter: she starts by understanding each client’s lifestyle, capacity, and non‑negotiables, then builds realistic routines that stick.
We also talk about how motherhood gave Natalie new perspective on the women she trains, why modeling healthy habits impacts the next generation, and how COVID and networking opportunities reshaped her business model. Her story is a powerful reminder that strength isn’t just about lifting weights, it’s about resilience, balance, and building habits that ripple into every area of life.
About Natalie Hurdley:
Natalie Hurdley is a strength coach, powerlifter, and founder of NH Personal Training. She helps overwhelmed, high‑achieving women simplify their fitness, build strength, and create consistent habits that support both their health and their lives.
Connect with Natalie:
🌐 Website: https://natalie-hurdley.systeme.io/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliehurdley-strengthcoach/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhpersonaltraining?igsh=ZWpoenNnZDJpM25n&utm_source=qr
📹Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nataliehurdley?si=YfDd4HIRsy4Xy-9T
💬 Fitter.Stronger.Healthier.Ladies Fitness Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/728796741105287/
📍 Pinterest: https://pin.it/VWWW2KtKm
🧵 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@nhpersonaltraining?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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Okay, you guys, you're in for a real treat this week. My guest today is Natalie Hurdley, a strength coach, powerlifter, and founder of NH Personal Training. In this episode, we talk about how Natalie's plan A went out the window at the age of 14 and what led her to the work she does today, which is helping overwhelmed, high-achieving women simplify their fitness, build strength, and stop constantly starting over. As a wife, mom, and business owner, Natalie understands that being consistent with good habits can sometimes be challenging. This is one of the things I loved most about our conversation. We talked about how Natalie helps her clients by first understanding their needs and their capacity. Her approach is the opposite of cookie cutter. We also talked about how COVID and finding the right networking opportunities impacted her entire business model. Are you ready? Let's get into it
Toby Myles: Hey, Natalie. Welcome to the podcast.
Natalie Hurdley: Hi, thanks very much for having me, Toby.
Toby Myles: I'm excited for this conversation. Um, I'd like to share how we know each other. Um, you know, with all of my guests, I, I find it interesting. Um, I don't know if anyone else finds it interesting. I always find it interesting because, you know, with the, um, online spaces and the internet and everything, like the world has become a much smaller place in many ways.
And so you can correct me if I'm wrong, 'cause I, I could have this wrong, but we go back quite a few years to maybe The Advance or Michelle Danio maybe somewhere in that 2021, '22 range? Yeah. Does that ring a bell? I...
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah, we were in both communities together, I believe.
Toby Myles: Okay.
Natalie Hurdley: Uh, but originally met in The Advance.
Toby Myles: Okay. That's what I thought, and I still have a few connections that go back that far. Um- Me too ... and so yeah, it's, it's... I love the fact that, um, I can meet people that I probably never would've met in real life were it not for communities like that. So anyway, thank you. I appreciate you being here. Before we hit record, we had, um, a good conversation about our fur babies.
We're both cat moms, and um, it's always, they're always entertaining. Yep, their ear is right there. Mine is hiding 'cause I'm giving her meds, and so she doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Um, so, um, I would love for you to, um, kick things off by taking me back to, um, like a moment in time, or maybe it's like a, um, a few moments in time that you feel like really kind of put you on the path that you're on right now.
Natalie Hurdley: Okay. Yeah, great. Um, so fitting in with your, with your title of origin story, I grew up playing professional football, uh, soccer for anyone in the US. And I, I played professionally for, like, eight seasons, had a really bad injury. That was my future, and my injury sort of stopped that when I was 15 years old.
And it was my dad that turned around and said, "Well, your plan A is gone. What's plan B?" He was... He, you know, he was quite hard but completely fair, and I never had one. We all knew that, right? We, we all knew that. My parents put everything into it because I put everything into it, and vice versa. Um, uh, so we all knew I didn't have a plan B because, you know, when you've found something you're passionate about and you're a kid, what do you need a plan B for?
Toby Myles: Exactly. Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: What, what? You only have a plan B if you're expecting plan A to fail, and I... None of us were. Um, it was just a freak accident and, and bad timing really. Um, and I said, like, "Well, my coach has done a lot for me, so maybe coaching so I can pay that forward. Um, you know, help, help kids find passion, help them develop skills that you develop working in a team, learn how to win and lose because it's another skill that we need when we go into life.
Um, in my case, keep them off the streets and away from gangs and things like that. Um, maybe that's what I can do." So I went to college, looked into doing that, and sort of got sidetracked with personal training, and quickly realized that if I'm a coach, I'm kind of stuck to one team, one sport- And I'm a bit pigeonholed.
And what pers- the personal training course gave me was the skills to kind of go, "Well, I can still train athletes, but in any sport."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And it- I'm not gonna be as pigeonholed. And I realized that really, I think, you know, 16, 17 years old. I realized that after speaking to my parents and to my lecturer a lot about it, and decided to just kind of go that way.
And then, um, fast, fast-forward, you know, 10 years, I hit, uh, a little bit of a depression phase in my life-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: just before I turned 30. There was just so much going on. I didn't know how to deal with it. Exercise has always been my stress relief. Mm-hmm. Um, and I wasn't exercising as much because my business was so busy.
It was doing fantastic. It took over, and I didn't, I hadn't learned the boundaries that I needed to look after myself first.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, it hit me, but I carried on with the business because these people were relying on me. These people were depending on me. They were paying me good money, and I absolutely loved my business.
I loved my clients, and I had a really good life. I had nothing to be depressed about.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: But I was so down, and people in my personal life, they could see it. They could feel it. I knew it. Um, so it was just a case of taking a little bit of a step back and focusing on what is it that I want versus what is it that I need, and then how can I find that balance?
And that was when I sort of got more into the, more into the personal development side to, to look after myself and like, well-
Toby Myles: Mm ...
Natalie Hurdley: I'm a business owner, and I, I used to be an athlete. Now I train 'cause I need to train, and I want to train. It helps me with my stress levels, but it's good for my body, which is obviously good for my business for many- Right
many reasons. So I sort of pivoted then into more of what I do now, which is, um, looking after and helping women who are overwhelmed and stressed just by everyday life and can't seem to fit exercise into their already chaotic schedule.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I help them to find either pockets of time- Or ways to exercise without it taking over their life or being another thing they have to fit into their chaotic schedule.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah. And that's kind of why I ended up in the advanced where I met yourself, because it w- I was learning from those exact type of women to go, "Well, if I can learn business things from these women, I can also learn pain points from these women- Mm-hmm ... and how can I then put that into my business?" I know I can ask these women, not to work with me, but to say, "Do you mind if me, I ask you a question?"
Toby Myles: Sure. "
Natalie Hurdley: What's your pain point when it comes to exercise, and running a business, and having a family?" And that's when that group of women really helped me kind of accelerate my business into, into that sort of area. Um, and then a few years later I had a baby. And I was like, "Oh, this is what it's like." Um, and that, that's where we are now.
I, I- Mm-hmm ... I help over- overwhelmed, ambitious women to fit in exercise without them sacrificing the things that they love, whether that be time with their family, whether that be a social life or their business, to really embrace simple structured strength training-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: to then have the ripple effect go into the rest of their life.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's, um, so interesting because I've experienced this myself, um, when you talked about when you were first personal training, um, and that you were so focused on the business that you actually weren't taking care of your body in the way that you were helping other people to take care of their bodies.
Um, you- I don't know if you know this, 'cause I don't really talk about it a lot, but I was in the health and fitness industry for quite a few years. I was a personal trainer and a fitness director, and I worked at a, um, fancy health and racket club and worked with clients and developed programming and whatever.
And you would think because I was there at the gym every single day that, of course, I must be spending the whole day working out. But it's just like any other job in some ways. Like, I was there all day, and so when the day was over, and I had two young kids, grade school and middle school at the time, like, I still needed to be a mom to them.
I was a single mom at the time. And so it was either, you know, going and, and grabbing them and doing all the dinner, the homework, the whatever, and then I'm exhausted, or I would pick them up from school and bring them back to the club while I saw more clients in the evening, and they loved it. Like, I s- could see, like, this is really not, like, the best way to be a mom, because they would sit in front of the TV in the cafe upstairs and do their homework and eat, like, chicken fingers and whatever.
And then they would come down, and they would run around the track and, you know, play with some other kids that were there. Like, o- other personal trainers had kids, right? Um, but, but that's the thing is, like, just because you're there every day, it does not necessarily mean that you are taking care of yourself in the way that you should.
So, like, back then, it's almost like you were your own ideal client in many ways.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that we can, we can have, we can have knowledge and we can have experience, but until we sort of live that life, there's always gonna be a little bit of a gap or disconnect. Mm-hmm. And I felt a lot more connected to women who had, um, a business or were high up in their careers and wanted to get fitter, healthier, stronger than I did with the people who had children.
Where now I'm a mom, I've ki- I can kind of add that personal experience of being a mom- Yeah ... juggling motherhood, business, um, and training all in one rather than just those two elements. Mm-hmm. And funnily enough, I've always trained moms- Mm-hmm ... and I've always trained pregnant women and women after coming, after coming back to training, after they've given birth.
I've always trained those women, but I've never been able to relate to them in the same way as I can relate to them now. Mm-hmm. I can just add that extra layer of depth now and- Yeah ... understanding because I'm actually living it.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think the thing is, um... And I remember this myself, when my kids were young, um, when I was still married to my first husband, I would go super early in the morning to the gym.
You know, I was there with, we called it the breakfast club, and I'd get up at 5:00 AM, and it was always the same crowd of people. And it was a period of time during the day when, um, my kids were still asleep, and I felt like they didn't need me, right? Like, any other time, I felt like if I was gonna work out, I was taking time away from them.
So is that something that you find...? And I would think, too, that that's not just for moms, that's also for successful businesswomen. They feel like they're taking time away from something else that somehow they think is more important than their own health and wellbeing.
Natalie Hurdley: Oh, absolutely. It's so real. Um, with the, with the businesswomen who are, who don't have a family yet or don't want a family, what I find is that they're so, they're so career-driven that their, their career or their business is their, is like their baby.
Mm-hmm. And that's where, kind of, their masses of success is, but they've got other areas that they're neglecting because of it, whether that be, uh, romantic or social, not just their fitness. But then when they realize, "Oh, um, I'm on my own," or, "I am neglecting this person," or, "Actually, I have no social life "-
Toby Myles: Right.
Natalie Hurdley: they're then like, "I don't really have the confidence to go out and do that because-" Mm ... "my body confidence isn't quite there."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. "
Natalie Hurdley: And my energy levels are actually down 'cause I'm pouring all of my energy into this one career bucket." Yeah. Um, and that was a really big thing that, um, I was working with these women on.
Um, and then add the extra layer of, "Oh, I'm also now a mom," or, "I have somebody who I actually have to take care of because they're not at an age where they can take care of themselves." Right. "And I brought them into this world, so actually it is my responsibility. I became-"
Toby Myles: Yeah ... "
Natalie Hurdley: a mom for a reason, and that's because I wanted to be a mom and I wanted to look after them, and I, I wanted to see them grow up."
Um, so yeah, it is a really big thing. And- You've, you've got that element of, well, actually I need sleep because without that sleep I'm not gonna get the results that I want, and-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: every area's gonna suffer.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Does that mean going to bed early and getting up early? For a lot of women it does. For me personally, I've never been one to work out in the morning.
Mm-hmm. And I'm still not one to work out in the morning. The, the earliest I can work out and have a good workout is about 10:00 AM.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And on a, right now, on a Tuesday, I don't work out till 9:00 PM.
Toby Myles: Wow.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, my husband gets back from work around 7:00,
Toby Myles: 7:30. Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: We'll have dinner, and then I'll go out and train so he can have his one-on-one time, time with our daughter, and then he does bedtime.
Mm-hmm. And I, I'm off. I get in arou- I get in around midnight.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And he's, he's gaming, and she's fast asleep. Um, and the benefit of ... It, it is hard from an energy point of view, but the benefit of that for me is- I get a break from bedtime. Yeah Because that, uh, if you, if you do bedtime with your children every single night at an age where they don't wanna sleep
Toby Myles: Mm-mm.
Nope. Uh- That's not, that's not fun. It's not fun to go to
Natalie Hurdley: bed No. She fights sleep, like, it's, it's insane. Um, and I'm like, actually, having, having that one evening off a week where I don't do that- Mm-hmm ... is actually quite therapeutic.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Well, it's, it's like you get both benefits. You get the stress relief because you're not dealing with that situation- Yeah
in that moment, and then you get your workout in. So, um, so I'm curious then, when, when someone does come to you, whether they're a mom, whether they're a, um, you know, businesswoman, entrepreneur, whatever, um, like you already said, like, you've never been a morning workout person. So someone comes to you, like, what, what is...
Like, how do you start working with someone? Because I would think, um, I mean, I know this from my experience, my own experience, but also as a personal trainer and trying to motivate other people, that, yeah, I love to work out in the morning. I've worked out in the morning since I was, like, in my 30s, and it works for me, but I know it doesn't work for everyone.
And so I would not... I, like, my daughter used to say, "Oh, I wish I was that person that got up early and worked out in the morning." I'm like, "Yes, but you've tried it, and it does not work for you, and so therefore you're not consistent, and you just don't do it." Right? Yeah. So tell me then about what it's like when you first start to work with someone.
I would imagine, like, some of those things that are kinda non-negotiables are the things that you have to talk up, talk about right up front.
Natalie Hurdley: Absolutely. Absolutely. And you are right. You know, it's not a one-size-fits-all at all. Yeah. And that goes for the business side, the family side, and the exercise side.
Mm-hmm. So what we do is we talk about their lifestyle. We're like, "Okay, how many times a week is realistic for you to focus on training?"
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And obviously, that's different for every person. Um, is it, you know, maybe three times a week? Is it 30 minutes? Is it 20 minutes? Is it 40 minutes? Is it an hour? What, what does that look like for you?
Does it, does it look like running downstairs into your basement or into your workout room, into your garage? Or does that look like- Getting into a car and driving for 20, 30 minutes to get to a gym, what... We, we kind of iron all that out and go- Mm-hmm ... okay, now what we're gonna do is we're gonna put it into your schedule and treat it like a meet- a meeting.
Toby Myles: Mm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and we're gonna factor in time before and after- Mm-hmm ... whether that's, whether that's time to drive to and from the gym, whether that's time to, um, get changed, have a longer warmup, um, get your workout area set up, whether that... And then afterwards, that could be time to drive home, it could be time to shower, it could be time to eat, because we wanna eat afterwards as well.
Yeah. So we need to kind of factor in all those times and go, "So what's realistic in your week?" Mm-hmm. And the majority of the time, they will find out, they will find, "Well, actually, this is where I do admin, so I don't need to move any meetings or client work."
Toby Myles: Yeah. "
Natalie Hurdley: Because this is where I'm doing my admin."
Yeah. And we're like, "Okay, great. Let's start there and see if we can do that." And then we get other people, and the perfect example of this is shift workers, like nurses or doctors- where their schedule is dependent around their shifts. Mm-hmm. And we're like, "Right, okay. So how long in advance do you have your shifts for?"
Toby Myles: Right.
Natalie Hurdley: Two weeks? Four weeks? Okay, let's schedule them in like an appointment- Yeah ... around your shifts. You can't work out after a late shift, fine. Can you work out in the morning, or is that gonna drain you before your shift?
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Again, dependent. Or some people will go, "I'm on earlies, which means I can train after work."
That's fine. "But when I'm on lates, I cannot train before or after work." Okay, let's have those as rest days- Yeah ... and, and move forward that way. So there are a lot of, a lot of times, and I've even had women go, "Well, actually, my kid now goes to soccer practice," or has this extra cur- extra, um, curricular activity club- Mm-hmm
at these times. Is there any chance, they're there for an hour. Yeah. Is there any chance I can get in 20 minutes while they're being coached, rather than me just sitting, watching them?
Toby Myles: Right.
Natalie Hurdley: Can I fit something in then? I'm like, "Okay, great."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: But what does the environment look like for you-
Toby Myles: Right ...
Natalie Hurdley: in that situation?
Um, and the, the first four to six weeks is the hardest.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Because you're developing a new routine. Your body's getting used to things that it's not used to. Everybody around you h- is trying to accept this new sort of version of you- ... or these new boundaries that you're trying to put in, which can be a big problem, too.
And sometimes it takes that time to kind of go, "Well, I've tried a Monday morning. Does not work for me." Yeah. "I've tried this evening. This seems to be better," or vice versa. And again, I'm there to sort of go, "You've tried this. You've told me it doesn't work." Mm-hmm. "So what next?" Mm-hmm. "Let's have a look at it."
And we can, we can do that because sometimes an outsider's perspective- is what you need.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Right?
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and s- sometimes we, we pick something and it just works and it clicks. Mm-hmm. And sometimes it needs extra work. But if we can get through those first six weeks, whether it's messy or not-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: so that they start to really feel all sorts of benefits.
Right. And so we've now got my schedule nailed, we've been consistent, we're seeing results, let's carry on.
Toby Myles: Yeah. I think that, that key, that thing that you just said is that once you start to feel the benefits, then it, then it becomes a little bit easier to stay committed to it, right? Because in the beginning it's like, "Oh my gosh," like, "My muscles hurt, I'm tired, I'm hungry," I'm...
All the reasons why you sh- you don't wanna do it. But once you start to feel- Yeah ... that, you know, those, your body starts to change, you have more energy, you're in a better mood, like all the things, then you're addicted, right? And it's-
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah ...
Toby Myles: hard to like tell somebody that. They, they almost have to experience it for themselves, I think.
Natalie Hurdley: I think absolutely, you do have to experience it for yourself, definitely. And, um, you know, one of the, one of the biggest things there is whether your reason, whatever your reason for training, and whether you've got a family or not, the people around you will benefit from this healthier version of you.
Yeah. You, you will be probably a more present, more active, more engaged mom.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: You will probably be, um, a better person to work for because you'll be less stressed-
Toby Myles: Yep ...
Natalie Hurdley: in, in a better frame of mind. And then people will produce better for you because they've got a, a nicer boss maybe. Yeah. You know, um, or maybe it's just that your stress levels are down- Mm-hmm
so you're performing better at work- Mm-hmm ... or in your business. So there's so many people around you who benefit from this healthier, more focused version of you.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. And not to mention, maybe you will also inspire people around you who also could use some help or, you know, are in the same situation, or your kids, you know?
Yeah. It's funny, 'cause I think I always thought, "Of course my kids are gonna love working out because I love working out," and that has not been the case at all.
Natalie Hurdley: Nope. No. I, um, I had a woman who I, funnily enough, I met her in the advance, and she was strength training with me from home, and she said to me...
She was based in Florida, and she said to me, "My kids are off school. What do we do?" And I said, "Well, we've got, we've got some options." Like, they were, they were teenagers.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I said, "We can, we can, you know, leave them to their own devices for an hour. We can, uh, if you're comfortable doing that, obviously.
We can... I'm happy for them to join in with you, but it's whether you're happy-
Toby Myles: Yeah ... to
Natalie Hurdley: do that. That's not up to me. That's up to you and up to them."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, or we can just figure something out.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, but you need to tell me what that looks like. That's not up to me to tell you. That's up to you to tell me.
Yeah. And she had, she, um, her daughter di- didn't, they didn't join in with us, but they would join in with her on her solo sessions. And, um, her daughter said, "There's, there's this girl at school, and she's talking about gaining weight, and she's talking about this." Um- But I don't, I don't want, I don't want to lose weight, and I don't want to be skinny.
I want to be strong because I wanna be able to, you know, move furniture on my own. I don't wanna have to rely on somebody else and-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: X, Y, Z. And she came to me and she was like, "My daughter has just opened up to me about this." First of all, the conversation on its own is, is huge- Yeah ... because I imagine, obviously I'm not there yet, I have a two-year-old.
Uh, but I imagine that conversation for a daughter and a mom to have is quite precious. Yeah. And not every daughter feels like they can do that. And she said to me, "If she didn't see me strength training- Mm-hmm ... I don't think she would've opened up to me about that."
Toby Myles: Mm, interesting.
Natalie Hurdley: And, and that was, that was an eye-opener for me.
Yeah. And something I'm definitely keeping in mind for my daughter's future.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and you know, that, that was absolutely huge, and it's, that's, you know, your kind of inspirational thing that you just said.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: You don't know who you're gonna impact-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Natalie Hurdley: in, and, and that could be life-changing for that family.
I don't, I don't know that, but it could be. Yeah. That mindset for a teenage girl to have, I think is just incredible.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure. Because w- you know, we know that there's definitely an epidemic of, you know, women, young girls thinking they have to fit, um, a body image, you know, f- based on what they see in the media.
Um, I mean, I don't know about you, but I struggled for a lot of my young life with, um, just body image. And it's ironic to me now because I can look back on, you know, a, a photo taken in, you know, my teens or my 20s, even, like, on up to my 40s, and I'm like, "Yeah, I was never fat." But yet the whole time I remember thinking like, "It's not good enough.
I'm not good enough. I have to do more." And so I think, like, shifting that, um- Shifting that mindset from like, you know, it's not about neces- necessarily not about weight loss or looking skinny or anything like that. It's about, like, being strong and being healthy, right?
Natalie Hurdley: Performance.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah. Absolutely, and this is one of the reasons I absolutely love training moms, because your kids watch you whether you're aware of it or not- Mm-hmm
from a really, really young age. Mm-hmm. So if they see your meal prepping, if they see that you are building your plate around protein and fiber, if they, which, which, you know, most kids I imagine see their parents cook- Yeah ... or prepare food, so that's quite normal.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, but you may not be aware how much they're watching you.
Mm-hmm. If your kids see that, "Oh, where are you going today?" "Oh, remember, it's mom's gym time." Yeah. And they get that, um, whether they're at school or whether they're in the holidays, that's the, that's the boundaries, and if they see that and they hear that and, and they, they see and feel the positivity coming off the mom-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm
Natalie Hurdley: they have got, in my opinion, such a better chance- Sure ... of having a healthier start to their adulthood- Yeah ... because they've learnt that from home, and that's just, for me, that's just incredible.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure, and that it's like, you know, that's like normal, healthy eating. It's not like starving or ca- or necessarily counting calories.
It is like- Yeah ... building your plate in a healthy way. It's so funny, 'cause when my, my kids were little and in grade school, I had a lot of control over what they ate, 'cause I packed their lunches. They didn't like to buy lunch. Yeah. And so I would pack their lunches, and I remember my daughter, she had it like burned into her brain, um, you know, s- sandwich, that's mandatory.
Her, you know, carrot sticks or celery, that's mandatory. Um, chips and dessert, that's optional, right? And sometimes she would come home and she would say, "Mom, you know, Brittany, she ate her chips and her cookies, and she never ate her sandwich." You know? And she was just like appalled that somebody could actually do this, you know?
And- Yeah ... I never wanted to say, "Well, she can do that. Like, she's allowed to do that," because my kids were so, like, you know, convinced that that was the only way. It's like sandwich- It was a
Natalie Hurdley: habit
Toby Myles: that you got them into, right ... veggies, fruit. Exactly. And then they went to middle school, and they wanted to buy lunch, and they would come home and be like, "Oh yeah, I had, um, fries and pizza for lunch."
'Cause they could just pick and choose. I'm like, "Did you have anything resembling like a fruit or a vegetable?" Yeah. "No."
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah.
Toby Myles: So you, you, you exercise that control for as long as you can, and then you hope that, you know, they take those things with them into adulthood. Yeah. And you know, my kids both have done quite a bit of, a bit of that, but sometimes it's funny, they'll come back to me now, they're both adults, and they'll say, "Oh yeah, did you know you could, you know..."
This is basic, and this is not the conversation, but something along the lines of, "Oh, did you know you can make rice out of cauliflower?" Really? I never thought about that. Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah.
Toby Myles: You know, things like that, that they are discovering on their own that they don't realize is something that I probably told them 10 years ago.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Toby Myles: So, um, so I would love to know, you mentioned it, 'cause you mentioned, um, working with someone in Florida. How, what does that look like when you are training someone that is not located where you are? And do you do both?
Natalie Hurdley: Yes. So, um, I have a, a gym that's local to me where I will see, uh, in-person clients.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and I train people online. And it was actually during lockdown in 2020 that I discovered a really good way to do this, and it was because I started networking. All of our gyms here were shut. Yeah. There was no gray area. All gyms were shut.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I started networking- with, um, an American group, and there was a lady in San Francisco, and she said, "Um, I really wanna talk to you about something, and I might be interested in training, but I'm not sure."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I said, "Okay. Look, I, if I can help you, I will. I'm happy- Mm ... to give you some advice." And we had a chat, and she was going to, um, she was going to physio, and they were talking to her about squatting. She really enjoyed lifting weights, but they told her that she couldn't squat anymore because of X, Y, and Z.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I was like, "Well, I can't really give you an answer because I haven't seen anything."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, "So if you want my help, you're gonna have to take me to the gym with you or send me some videos or, or something." And she was like Okay. Let's book in another call, and I'll call you from the gym.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I was like, "How's that gonna work?"
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: But I went with it.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And what she did is she stuck her phone against, like, a machine or her water bottle or something.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I helped her angle it to how I could, to the angle that I needed to see her body move.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And she would, she would m- you know, do the exercise and have me in her, in her ears.
And I would be able to live coach her through a movement.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And she would be able to live tell me what her, where the pain was. Mm. How all of that worked.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And so we, we did, like, 20 minutes or something on this, on this squat and realized that it wasn't squatting that was the problem, it was the way she was trying to squat.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Uh, it just didn't work for her body.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And she said to me, she was like, "Right. I have got physio tomorrow."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. "
Natalie Hurdley: After my physio, I'm gonna drop you a message, but I'm, I'm definitely having training."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I was like, "Okay, uh..." All of my business had just gone, 'cause all of my business was face-to-face in a gym.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And which is why I was networking so much. Um, so I was like, "How, how is this gonna work?" Yeah. I was like, "I'm just gonna wing it- Yeah. -and see what happens." Because she's never had a personal trainer in this capacity before either. Mm-hmm. So it's gonna be new for both of us. Anyway, so she, she dropped me a message, and she was like, "My physio was amazed that I could get into this position, and we talked through it, and they told me some things to be aware of and some things to avoid, et cetera."
I was like, "Brilliant. I wanna work with your physio, not against your physio." Yeah. "So really important to me that me and your physio communicate." Yeah. "Whether that's directly or through you-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: is up to you because obviously, um, client confidentiality's important." Mm-hmm. "So you need to tell us that, how you want us to work together, and I need, I need your physio to know that I'm not trying to battle them.
I'm trying to work with them-
Toby Myles: Right ...
Natalie Hurdley: to serve you."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And she was like, "Yeah, that, that's brilliant." Um, and I said, "Look, I've never done personal training this way before." Mm-hmm. "So why don't we start off, like, with just a handful of sessions, pay as you go." Yeah. Um, and let's see if we can make this work.
Yeah. And do you know what? Just flawless, and she was with me for years. Um, she, I trained her through her pregnancy. Um, and hone- honestly, like, we, we did so much. We, I would send her questions for her physio. Her physio would give her, give her messages that she would forward on to me. Mm-hmm. So we would work together, and if we come across any sort of pains or aches or things that didn't feel right, she, I would then put that in my notes so she could then send that to her physio and ask questions and have her work on that, 'cause they could physically touch her and help her as well.
Right. So that was important. And honestly, we got absolutely incredible results, and I was like, "This-
Toby Myles: Amazing ...
Natalie Hurdley: this, this needs to be my business now."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And, um, I said to her, like, "You've got personal trainers in your gym. Why?" And she said, "Because you helped me- in a way that nobody else could. You articulated it and explained it, and you were willing to spend a bit of time watching me- Mm-hmm
and coaching me-
Toby Myles: Yep ...
Natalie Hurdley: to, to get me over this obstacle. And then she sent me her friend, and her friend started working with me, and I was like, "Right. I know that you're a referral, um, from a friend, but what made you say yes to me?" And she said, "I went on your Instagram, and there are no bikini shots of you.
There are no posts about look at my abs." Mm-hmm. "There are no, um, let's get shredded in 10 weeks posts." Yeah. "You don't post anything like that, and I'm in my 40s. That's not what I want. What I want now is to be as fit and as strong as I can be for, to get into my older years for as long as possible."
Toby Myles: Sure.
Yep.
Natalie Hurdley: And that was when my mind went, "Well, I know my training works for longevity."
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. "
Natalie Hurdley: And I've trained clients in their 60s and 70s-" Mm-hmm ... for this exact thing, but I've never really talked about it or marketed it.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And this is definitely something, 'cause it's one of the reasons I train.
Toby Myles: Yeah. So
Natalie Hurdley: why aren't I talking about this?
Yep. And then I start talking about that more, and I was getting more and more people from the US come in, picking up clients from Australia, um, Europe, and it just kind of e- exploded. And all of these women were in very similar positions, business owners, moms, or planning on becoming a mom. Um, and just wanting to be...
Not necessarily having a, a specific goal- Mm-hmm ... but wanting to increase their strengths to make daily life easier- Yeah ... the older they got. Yeah. And I'm like, "This is magical," because that's exactly- Yeah ... what I want. Yeah. And that's exactly what we should be looking at, I think.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Anyway.
Toby Myles: Yeah, for sure.
Oh, my gosh, so much there that I want to, um-
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah, sorry. That was a lot.
Toby Myles: S- no, that was amazing. I mean, the first thought I had was, when you were talking about, you know, when everything was shut down is, like, it's almost like you had a second origin story, right? Like, you had your business- Yeah ... already, but then COVID happened, and it went in another direction, where you realized how many more people you could reach.
Yeah. So there's that piece of it. Mm-hmm. So, like, origin story 2.0. But also, um, like, you can't get around this idea of trust when you're hiring somebody. A service provider, um, for whatever you need, you know?
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah.
Toby Myles: Personal training, someone to do your taxes. Um, I do storytelling and story coaching, right? But that piece of, like that human piece of do you trust the person in front of you to, to guide you and point you in the right direction and be there to make sure, like, you're getting the results and you're not just handing over money and they go...
You know what I mean? Like, so many things, I think, that you said just in that one little section- Yeah ... I think are so... They're important to s- like human-to-human, but they're also important for business. Like if you're-
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah. I, I completely
Toby Myles: agree ... running a business. Completely
Natalie Hurdley: agree. Yeah. And this is why I have, uh, what I call an introduction- Mm-hmm
to personal training package, and it's a really short commitment to say, "Actually, we get on, but am I the right coach for you?"
Toby Myles: Yeah. "
Natalie Hurdley: And are you the right client for me?" Yep. "We don't know, um, so why don't we commit to just four hours-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: over the next 30 days, and then you can test the waters." Before you make a commitment, a big- Yeah
big commitment, whether that be a big time commitment or whether that be a big financial commitment, you can go, "Actually, let's test..." We can both go, "Actually, let's test the waters- Mm-hmm ... with this short package before we then commit." And I find that what happens is after those four sessions, if there's a disconnect somewhere, we're very honest about it, and we- Yeah
either go our separate ways or they'll go on to, like, a do-it-yourself program with me, which is fine. Um, or when they go onto their big package and they invest that money, they've already got the confidence and the trust in me- Mm-hmm ... and in the way that I work- Mm-hmm ... because they tested it. Yeah. And that, for me, was such a game changer for my business to go, how can I, how can we bridge the gap here where I do get paid because I've got a business to run-
Toby Myles: Right
Natalie Hurdley: but also I'm not locking you into something that actually neither of us know work, will work for this person yet? Yeah. How can we bridge that gap? And that's why I, I created that package, which-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: has been, like I said, game changing- That's
Toby Myles: amazing. Yeah ...
Natalie Hurdley: my business. Yeah.
Toby Myles: I, I do feel like, um, that is kind of the thing people don't really talk about.
You know, we see so much online about, oh, this is how you, you know, start your business, and you have to raise your prices, and you have to do all these things, right? And I do think that people miss that step that is so important for, um, both sides, both people, business owner and client, but also that building trust piece of it that, um, you know, uh, somebody is not gonna come and buy my $3,000 story coaching package having never met me, not even being on my email list, right?
They still don't know me, right? Yeah. There has to be a way to get in front of people and really get a sense of not just, like, you know, do they trust me, but do I know that I can help this person, right? Yeah. And so many people, I think, um, business owners, new business owners especially, they skip that step.
So I want to ask you, because I almost always ask this question, um, when I have a guest on that has a business, what would be, like, one piece of advice you would give to somebody who's thinking about starting a business, any business really?
Natalie Hurdley: Network.
Toby Myles: Oh, okay. Good.
Natalie Hurdley: Network, 100%. Um, when, when I, when my business was fully in person, I didn't even know about networking.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: Like, didn't know about it at all. And I, I was in my early 30s- When, uh, it, it was actually a client who said to me, "If you've got capacity, why don't you come and network?" And I was like, "What is that?"
Toby Myles: What's networking?
Natalie Hurdley: I go, "What?" And she said, she said, "Yeah, I've got an invite. This is what it is. This is what it...
This is what... This is how it works." And it was local- Mm-hmm ... because it was, we were, we were in person. And I was like, uh, I felt obliged to say yes- ... just because it was a client asking me. Yeah. And I did have... I didn't have much capacity for business, but I did have capacity, so I was like, "Okay." And I, and I went along, and actually, I didn't like it at all.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: I didn't like the group. But she... I didn't wanna talk about it in her sessions because I was like, "You're, you're, you know, you're paying me for this." Yeah. "I don't really wanna talk about me and my business and your time." Mm-hmm. And she... But she was, she was like, "No, let's talk about it." Right? So I let her lead that conversation and, and yeah, she just said, "What didn't you like about it?
Don't let this put you off because different groups have different systems and, and all of this." And she said, "Go to another one-"
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ... "
Natalie Hurdley: that isn't this, that isn't this group."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and I, I, I didn't, and then something came, some- somebody else I met, not a client, but somebody else I met in the gym, they said, they said, "Oh yeah, network.
Come, come to my networking group." Mm-hmm. "Um, I need to get a guest in. Do me a favor." And I was like- ... "All right then." Went, and it was just so different. Not, again, a group that wasn't really for me-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Natalie Hurdley: but it got my brain going, "This is so different, and I actually get this." Um, and then I started to go to more and more local ones.
I found some, some that I didn't like, so I never went back, some that I did like. Mm-hmm. But when my business had to get closed and I went fully online during lockdown- That was when online networking came in.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And I was like, "This is, this is gonna be terrible."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And because I had the time, and not only did I have the time, but also I didn't have to factor in traveling to and from the meeting-
Toby Myles: Right
Natalie Hurdley: which is obviously, for a business owner, a one-hour meeting where you've gotta travel becomes two hours, which is two hours of paid work potentially.
Toby Myles: Right. Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: So that's an issue. Pay for parking, pay for fuel, pay for wear and tear on your car.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: All of that had gone.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And my business wasn't busy, so why not?
L- how do I use my time productively? So I started online networking. Again, went to all free ones to start with. Different, different ones. Um, found some that I liked, found some that I didn't like. A- and then started to go, "Well, why did I like this one, and why didn't I like this one? What was it about this?"
Mm-hmm. And da da da da. And I really, really started to enjoy it when I found the right groups.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And that was just trial and error.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And probably a bit of stubbornness of me going, "Well, at least I'm spending my time productively."
Toby Myles: Yeah. Because
Natalie Hurdley: I don't know how to run an online business. I don't know- Right
how to market myself online 'cause I've always done it in a gym.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: I don't know this, so let's learn and network at the same time. Um, and then, uh, I... There was a guest speaker that came into an English group that I was a part of, and we got on really well because she was in the health and wellness space and used to be a personal trainer.
Mm-hmm. So we actually have... She introduced me to coffee chats. I was like, "What's a coffee chat?"
And she, she explained it to me, and we connected on Facebook, and we were exchanging voice notes, and I was like, "I don't know what a coffee chat is." Yeah. And she explained it, and we got on a coffee chat. And, and she was like, "Actually, there's a, there's a, an American group starting. It is paid for, but they're doing a free workshop, and I think you'll learn a lot from the workshop if you can commit to the time."
And that was when I got invited to the advanced group. Mm-hmm. So I watched their workshop, and I don't know what it was in my brain, but watching, um, Laura and Kelly, who ran the group at the time- Mm-hmm ... watching them, listening to them, and learning from them, something in my brain just went, "I want to be in the circle that these women are running."
Yeah. "I want to be connected to these women."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And I can't explain what it was. It was just this, this feeling. And then I looked at the money side, and I was like, "Oh my God."
Toby Myles: Yeah. "
Natalie Hurdley: I've never paid for networking before. Whoa." Mm. "What is this?" Mm. "Can I commit to it?" And I was like, "Well, of course I can commit to it because I c- I don't have the travel element.
I don't have the extra-" Right ... "elements of that. So I can be consistent, which means I can build better relationships because I can be consistent and because I can show up." Um, and I loved the advanced as soon as I got in there. Mm-hmm. Uh, I got so much from Laura and Kelly. I learnt so much about running an online business.
I, I learnt so much about being a businesswoman. Mm-hmm. And I learnt so much about how to really connect with these women in this group. And a lot of the women, yourself included, I'm still in touch with. Yeah. So the, the impact in my business was really quite quick because of- Mm ... how consistent and how present I was.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: But the biggest impact for me now is when I went off to have my daughter, and I, I was on maternity leave for a year.
Toby Myles: Oh, wow.
Natalie Hurdley: And 'cause the maternity rules in the UK are very different to in the US, and I had a year off.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And I was completely offline. Um, I think I was, I think I was posting, like, pregnancy videos of me training pregnant and explaining what I was doing and why and things like that.
But none of it was to get business to come in. It was just because I was like, "I've, I've got this message to share." Yeah. And that was sort of it. Um, I wasn't, you know, looking at my business' future at all. I was like, "I'm gonna become a mom. She's-" Mm-hmm ... "my- gonna be my priority. I'm gonna have to learn h- the business.
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Toby Myles: Right. And
Natalie Hurdley: then when it came to kind of picking the business back up, I was like, "Oh my God, what do I do?" Right? Do I go back into a gym? No, that's not realistic because I now have a daughter. What- Yeah ... what... I'm breastfeeding. What, what do I do? And it was a case of, oh, I have a network.
I haven't spoke to them for a while. I kept in touch with some of them because some of them would say, "How are you getting on with the pregnancy?" Or-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Natalie Hurdley: or, "How are you getting on with motherhood?" You know? The, it was just really easy- Yeah ... easy ways for them, for us to keep in touch, which was- Yeah
absolutely lovely. And I was like, "Oh yeah, I have a network I can plug into. How do I do this after a while?" And a bit like me and you, I went back onto LinkedIn. Mm-hmm. I started com- I started reading your posts. I started listening to your podcasts. I started commenting on your posts. Um, and then we ended up in the DMs.
Toby Myles: Yep.
Natalie Hurdley: Same with, we've got, we've got a mutual, a mutual friend on LinkedIn who's- Mm-hmm ... got a podcast. She runs a marketing business. And I did the same with her. I started listening to her podcast. I started commenting on her LinkedIn posts. She ended up in my DMs, and the, the conversation naturally flowed.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: Um, and when I started to build these networking relationships up again and going, "Actually, I'm back at work. It's really nice to have caught up with you." I could do with your help. Do you know anybody who can help me in this area? Mm-hmm. Do you know anyone who could use my services? Mm-hmm. Um, do you know anyone who would be interested in helping me out with some market research?
It didn't have to necessarily be can you help me get business.
Toby Myles: Right.
Natalie Hurdley: It could be could you help me with, with all sorts. Um- Yeah ... I, I started using a new platform for my email list that I'd never used before, and I met a guy on LinkedIn years ago through networking. Um, and I messaged him 'cause he's a ghostwriter, and I said, "I'm really sorry to just pop into your inbox-"
like this all the time, but I've just started using this system for email. Do you know anything about it?" Mm-hmm. Messages me back, goes, "Yes, I do. How can I help you?" And I went this.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: And he just went, "Not a problem." Helped me out, completely free. There was no, no even talk of business exchange. It was just like- Right
I've leant into my network. Mm-hmm. He's been kind enough to help me.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Natalie Hurdley: And we're now back in touch. Yeah. And I... So networking consistently and not being, not being put off by groups that you don't like, 'cause there are a lot- Yes ... out there.
Toby Myles: Yep.
Natalie Hurdley: And but that's 100%, that's, that's the thing.
Toby Myles: Oh, that's so good.
That's so good. And I do wanna point out that, um, because I know consistency is, like, a big thing, a cornerstone really of everything you do and talk about. You know- Yeah ... c- consistency in networking, but also consistency in, in, you know, your approach to fitness and training and all those things. Like, it doesn't have to be this, like, big, huge, giant thing.
Like, these little things add up over time. And if you're committed and patient, you will see the results both in your wellness but also in your business. So on that note, I would love for you to share, like, where is the best place for people to, um, find you or follow you?
Natalie Hurdley: Uh, my main platform is YouTube So you can find me on there under Natalie Hurdley.
I know you'll add it in the show notes, so, um- Yep ... yeah, YouTube. I'm, I'm on LinkedIn consistently. Instagram and TikTok is more of a fun platform for me. Mm-hmm. So it's more about me sharing my journey, my training, bits about the messiness of life- Mm-hmm ... is kind of Instagram and TikTok.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Natalie Hurdley: The more, the more educational side is YouTube.
Um, so it kind of depends on what you resonate with a little bit more. If you want educating, if you wanna know more about training or more about how you can get help with training, YouTube's probably your place. Okay. But if you're more about actually there, there's a lot of mess in life and training, I, I'd like to know how it all threads together-
then Instagram or TikTok will probably be a better place for you.
Toby Myles: Yeah. That's perfect. And I, I mean, you know, knowing you and after this conversation, I would suggest people go check out both places.
Natalie Hurdley: Yeah. Uh, you'll get benefit from both, for
Toby Myles: sure. Yes, for sure. Natalie, this has been so amazing. Um, I appreciate all your wisdom.
Um, this has been a super fun conversation. Um, I would love to keep going, and we might need to schedule a part two to this at some point- Ooh ... in the future. So thank you. That'd be amazing. Thank you so much.
Natalie Hurdley: Thank you so much as well.