As a new coach getting your first couple of clients can be exciting and scary at the same time. While you may want to jump right into the deep end and work with as many clients as possible OPEX Fitness Founder, James FitzGerald, urges coaches to only work with the number of clients their business model can support.

Oh, and she doesn’t have to spend 30 on-floor coaching hours for this. Guzman spends somewhere between 9 and 11.5 on-floor hours each week at OPEX Revival in San Rafael, California, a gym owned by CrossFit Games star Marcus Filly.

If you’re a fitness enthusiast or a coach you have heard the terms movement assessment or movement screen. While we each have our own interpretation of what they mean it is important to understand the origin of these words and the intention behind them.

As professional coaches study their craft, they will likely come across the Strength Continuum. The Strength Continuum provides a context for classifying different types of muscle contractions. Characteristics of contractions differ between muscle groups and types of forces. For simplicity’s sake, four distinct categories are recognized in order to help fitness professionals categorize different types of contractions:

I started working with Conlan as a 14 year old.  He is now 17, and focused on improvement in performance for lacrosse.  When we first started working together, I had the long term vision in mind so he did nothing but goblet squats and bodyweight exercises to develop motor control such as ring rows.  Years later, he’s hitting PR’s left and right with great movement, including this 15 pound front squat PR and massive weighted pull up PR.  We’ve had to work on some core stability issues as he’s grown as well because the extra height left his center of gravity greatly altered, so throughout the last few years he’s had to relearn movement patterns to continually improve his athleticism.  To focus on core stability I’ve incorporated DNS into his movement preparation phase of training and then basic locomotion skills as well as object control skills such as A and B skips and medicine ball work.  This upcoming year, he is going to be an unstoppable athlete, especially in a sport where no one values high level professional strength and conditioning.

Walk into a functional fitness gym anywhere in the world, and you’re bound to see someone doing ring rows.

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador Craig Massey, owner of OPEX Manchester in England. As a coach, Craig is committed to the service of others in their pursuit of fulfilling their health and fitness goals and living their largest life. Follow Craig on Instagram here or contact him at craigopex@gmail.com. Follow OPEX Manchester on Instagram here.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and during my studies I conducted research in the field of business analytics. Specifically I delved into the application of data analytics to streamline operations for an automotive parts manufacturer where my main objective was to improve efficiency in their production line. After examining a ranging dataset that encompassed various aspects, like production rates, downtime and quality metrics I made some fascinating discoveries. By proposing enhancements such as minimizing downtime, optimizing inventory management and improving equipment maintenance practices my objective was to achieve a 15% boost in efficiency compared to previous levels due to which my passion to pursue business analytics was further increased by my involvement and the experience I gained through this research.

But there is some overlap between these two methodologies. So before you decide which type of program you want to follow, dive into this article and learn the differences and similarities between the two.

Strength and conditioning coaches are part of a competitive field. Whether you want to work in a collegiate setting, run your own gym, or coach in a well-known gym, you will have to gain the education and experience needed to stand out in the field.

As a fitness coach, it’s essential that you understand human movement. It will help you write better exercise programs and explain your rationale to your clients.

While the words themselves are very similar, the difference between these two training methodologies is vast.  

Periodization is a fundamental part of resistance training and a great way to create effective exercise programs. Today we’re going to look at linear periodization and its pros and cons.  

Human beings are designed to be aerobic. The more aerobic we are, the more resilient we can be in life, period. The aerobic system is one of the three energy systems (alactic, lactic, and aerobic) but, tends to be forgotten. In exercise prescription, a fear of “losing strength” has reduced aerobic endurance training and popularized alactic and lactic training. However, aerobic endurance training cannot be forgotten and is the single greatest contribution a coach can add to an athlete’s program.

The concept of speed strength has developed alongside competitive functional fitness. Speed strength is the ability to absorb and transmit forces rapidly. The daily application of speed strength is very limited because of the sport-specific nature.

He signed up for a personal training course in Belgium, where he lives, but was disappointed. It didn’t seem to offer much in terms of pointing him in the right direction on how to become a professional coach. The course was so disjointed, he explained, “almost like they just pulled these pieces from different places and put it together without a strategy,” he said.

Often times when we hear the word ‘community’, we instantly associate it with ‘unity’, ‘togetherness.’ Within gyms, ‘the community’ is most often the #1 response of every day folks who report on what keeps them coming back to their training, day in and day out. Clearly, a strong community is the most important aspect to a gyms long term success.

What’s more, while air squats, push-ups, lunges, and burpees performed in a circuit may make for a sweaty workout, bodyweight workouts will only create long-term progress if they follow foundational program design principles.

Why else would you wake up at 5 am to go to the gym or spend two hours on Sunday preparing your meals for the week?

While both methodologies share a full-body split, the exercise composition within the split and the intent vary significantly between the two.