“My mom didn’t have the best lifestyle, and I thought about all the people I have lost in my life because of drugs and alcohol, and it spurred me on to want to help people. I had just gotten into lockdown and I was like, ‘You need to do something,’” Sara said.

One of the main reasons fitness coaches—be it group class coaches or personal trainers—leave the industry is because they quickly realize that it’s next to impossible to earn a professional wage. Or at least, not without burning out in the process.

Professional coach is undoubtedly a buzzword that has caught on in a big way. But what exactly does it mean to be a professional? Does it just mean you’re able to make a professional wage?

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador and CCP Coach, Brandon Wilton, from South Bend, Indiana. Brandon is the Founder and CEO of CrossFit South Bend, where he empowers and guides his community to lasting success in their fitness and health journey. Follow Brandon on Instagram here.

But if you’re a small gym owner, January isn’t always the best time for attracting those long-term minded clients we value so much. And contrary to what many small gym owners have tried, running a 6-week transformation challenge is probably the worst thing you can do, not just for the business and the coach, but also for the client.

He also has three on-floor coaches he’s currently developing to become OPEX Coach Certificate Program (CCP) coaches. One of them is currently going through the CCP and will soon be starting to build his own book of clients, El Fateh explained.

Eric was kind enough to highlight me on his show within his Elite Insiders Business Group. He wanted to talk about what coaches and trainers need to know in order to grow a quality remote coaching business. Let’s just say that we spit some truth! I hope you enjoy the read and the video.

There are a multitude of education options for aspiring fitness trainers. Personal trainer courses can take you anywhere from two days to two years to complete. We help you answer the question, “which is the best personal trainer certificate?” in this write-up, but that’s not what this blog is about.

But time and time again, the story goes like this: Five years into the gym game, the gym owner is overworked and burnt out and is barely able to make a profit. Not only that, he can’t seem to retain his clients or his coaches because neither party is getting what they need: The client needs a professional coach and an individualized fitness program and the coach needs job fulfillment and a professional wage.

If you knew nothing about what a deadlift was and your only guidance to learning how to do one was to read about it in a textbook, you might be able to pick up the basic idea of the movement, but it would probably be tough to become a deadlift master.

One of the biggest mistakes we see coaches make is focusing on the short-term only. Writing quality programs isn’t just about today’s workout—you have to be able to see the future and understand how training today will equal results a year from now. You have to first zoom out and consider where the program you’re writing sits inside of a long-term plan. 

If you want to become an engineer, you know it’s going to take four years of college or university and thousands of dollars. Same if it’s a doctor you’re striving to be, although in that case, it’s closer to seven years.

Remember, we’ve discussed this in the past that you can’t just hire somebody who’s not going to serve a direct purpose. You need to make sure you first get the right person for the right role. Let’s assume it’s a coach, you need to know what you need them for.

First, let’s talk about weight lifting and why it is the best method for weight loss. When we say weight lifting we are referring to resistance training: performing muscle contractions with resistance. 

With the announcement of what the first workout will be only hours away, we thought we’d ask some of our veteran CrossFit coaches of what they think the workout may be.

The fitness industry is competitive. To stand out as a personal trainer or fitness coach you have to be dedicated to continuous education. That’s why coaches like our founder, James FitzGerald, are avid readers.

The three dimensions are also referred to as planes of motion. To create effective exercise programs, you have to understand these three planes. So with that in mind, here are the three planes of motion and how to design exercise programs that incorporate them.

At OPEX Fitness, we believe the best type of periodization depends on the client and their goals. To emphasize this, we will look at undulating periodization, it’s pros and cons, and the best time to use it.At OPEX Fitness, we believe the best type of periodization depends on the client and their goals. To emphasize this, we will look at undulating periodization, it’s pros and cons, and the best time to use it.

If you have coached for any period of time, you probably agree getting clients to commit to the training in the gym is the easy part. After all, it only consumes just one hour of their day three to five days a weak. It’s the other 23 hours of the day—where even bigger changes need to be made—that’s the real challenge. 

COVID-19 and the requirement for social distancing have rapidly changed the daily behaviors of people around the world. This extends to all aspects of people’s lives, including the way they work out.