The Second Rep: Why I Became a Strength Coach

The Moment I Realized Strength Matters

Most people think becoming a strength coach starts with loving the gym.
For me, it started with confusion, frustration, and weighing 130 pounds at 5 foot 10, my senior year of high school. The thing is, I had played sports my whole life and I was tired of feeling small.

Like most teenagers trying to figure out lifting, I turned to the internet. There was so much content out there, and if you were looking up any fitness related content in 2014-2015, I had had probably read that article or watched that video before you did (obviously I'm kidding). But in seriousness, I was deep in the forums of bodybuilding.com, T nation, and YouTube fitness.

The internet gave me everything; workouts, diets, supplements, and routines... but the problem was that none of it agreed with each other, and most of the time I felt even more lost than before.

Not only that, but I'd look at the other kids at school who would pack on muscle easily, while I struggled so much; It was frustrating. I remember reading that I was an "ectomorph" and that's why I couldn't gain weight easily like the other kids (The 3 somatotypes are a myth).

But there was something I did see that gave me hope; it was videos of previously skinny guys who had transformed their bodies through strength training. I knew that I could eventually be one of them.

The Obsession Phase

I became obsessed with figuring it out. I knew that it was possible, I just had to find what worked for me. I joined the football team my junior year only because I knew the team got to use the weight room more than any other sport (Too bad I sucked at football).

I kept reading those articles and watching videos to piece together what actually made sense. I didn't just want to lift weights, I wanted to understand how this transformation actually worked.

Eventually I realized something. If I really wanted to understand how to build strength and muscle, I needed more than just random advice online.

So I decided that in college I would study exercise science. At first the goal was simple: learn how to build the body I wanted.

But along the way something else happened. I realized that if I could learn how this process really worked, I could help other people do the same thing. We could do it safely, effectively, and without wasting time.

I hit the gym with friends, I helped fix their technique as I learned how to improve, and we all supported each other in the process of working towards our goals. There was something powerful about watching those beginner lifters gain confidence and make new personal records.

This led me to start working as a personal trainer after I finished college. I did spend some semesters in Physical Therapist Assistant school while I was training, but ultimately decided that path was not for me (that's a story for another day). I still learned some great info that I apply to this day.

2 years ago, I got the opportunity to start working in a facility that trains adults, and athletes at the youth, high school, and collegiate level. It's here that I got my CSCS, and broadened my scope even further.

The Problem With The Fitness Industry

The fitness industry is full of noise. Endless workouts, conflicting advice, and quick fix promises. That much has not changed in the decade that I've been a part of it, and there will probably always be an element of that.

Good coaching is not about giving people more information. It's about giving them the right information, in a way that's easy to understand, and giving them a system that actually works.

What Strength Training Means To Me Now

Strength training looks different for me now than it did 12 years ago. I'm not a college kid who's hitting the gym 6 times a week and eating 5 meals a day anymore. I work a great job, I'm married to a wonderful woman, and I have the absolute best doggo at home. I lift 2-3x a week, train jiu jitsu when I can, and I want to be strong without getting hurt. I know that when I'm a grandfather many, many, years from now; I want to be able to get up and down from the floor playing with my grandkids without fear of my back giving out. It's about training for life.

Why I Became A Strength Coach

I started lifting because I was tired of being the skinny kid. I became a strength coach because I want to help people discover what they're capable of.

Strength isn't about the first rep.

It's about the second one. The one that proves you're stronger than you thought.

We're building something to last.

-Christian Clarke