I recently had an email conversation with a young man that wants to become a strength and conditioning coach. He still needs figure out the exact route he would like to take. I get social media messages all the time like this, and I’ve certainly taken an odd route to even to begin to attempt what I want to do. Here is the email conversation we had and hopefully you can take a little something away from it.
Note that some of the info has been removed due to confidentiality.
Student:
I'll be starting school in January so I'm interested in what you do. A little background about myself.. I'm 19 years old. I live in Illinois and I'm a powerlifter. I'm fortunate enough to train with _________ and I'm currently training for UPA Nationals February 16th. There I'll be aiming for ___/___/___ @ 198 raw with wraps. I'm very passionate about my lifting, along with helping others. I always have people coming to me for routines and such. As a favor, I always give them one. I truly enjoy watching others better themselves. I'm curious as to what you do, your schooling, and opinion on becoming a strength coach. Also, does a strength coach have a strength and conditioning certificate? Sorry to bother you. I just honestly have no one to push me in life' everything is self-motivated. So, learning more about a certain field will only give me confidence in finding what I'd like to do. Thank you for your kindness and time.
Me:
First, thanks for reaching out! Glad to hear and interact with a like-minded person. It looks like you're in good hands, and those will be some damn impressive lifts! So best of luck training for that!
Just to give you idea about me and what all I've done:
I attended Purdue University for my undergrad and earned my BS in Health and Fitness. I initially wanted to be a college strength coach, but after almost finishing undergrad I realized I wanted to open my own facility to work with mainly middle school, high school, and serious strength athletes. With that said, while at Purdue I got my CPT certification and began training clients at the student rec center for a job (for nearly two years!). This gave me great work experience and let me build my own philosophies and begin to apply what I had learned in undergrad. I self-educated through sites like elitefts.com and started competing in bodybuilding, and then powerlifting (I've done Olympic lifting as well, all at high levels rather successfully. I'm just better at powerlifting).
I have done multiple internships with hospitals, collegiate weight rooms, and private facilities. I know how all those are run and what they are like. After undergrad I enrolled to get my Masters at Indiana State University in Physical Education and Coaching (emphasis on strength and conditioning). I'll be finishing up my last semester in the spring. Over the summer I will do one more internship.
I am currently a GA at Rose Hulman, a small DIII school, and work in facilities and intramurals. I went this route to get managerial experience and facilities understanding so I know what I'll be up against when it comes to having my own facility. I also have my USAW certification to teach and coach Olympic lifts. I'm obviously sponsored by elitefts™ now, but also have a supplement sponsor, NutraBio. So I've got my hands in just about everything. I am currently registered to take my CSCS in the very near future (I'm awaiting my certification test date currently). So that's a bit about me.
As for becoming a strength coach, it really depends on what you want to do. If you want to be in the college sector you will need lots of collegiate intern experience, a CSCS certification after finishing undergrad, and need to enroll in a Masters program (and hopefully apply for a GA position). If you're wanting to get into the private sector, you're going to want to get internships in that area, but I still recommend an internship in a college setting at some point. You can still get great experience to help down the road. However, you will need to do some serious education on marketing and understanding client retention. Also try to get to know as many people as you can. They'll help you tons down the road.
If you're wanting to open your own place, this is going to be the most work. I'm currently starting my business plan/model and putting it on paper as soon as I'm done with finals this week. It's going to take me roughly three months to get a rough draft finished, then looked at by ________ and _______________ to work out the kinks. I've began buying equipment already and train out of my garage with that. So keep that in mind.
If you can get handed down stuff, you'll want to keep that. While doing the business plan stuff I will be attending more clinics and seminars, giving my own, and meeting with other people I know through elitefts™ to learn how I can start my facility. I'm currently focusing on how to get initial start-up costs (the hardest part). I do have a partner already in line (my girlfriend of nearly three years) and she has a similar background: same degree, lots of interning and work experience, powerlifter, etc. So, if you want a partner, find someone very similar to yourself. If you open your own place, a certification isn't needed, but will do wonders for you from a liability standpoint. It also gives you credibility.
I would suggest reading everything you can in the meantime and keep training. Your under the bar experience will hold a lot of weight (mine does, and that's why so many people reach out to me). All the above should result in a well-rounded experience to get you started. It really just depends on what you want to do. Either way, it's a ton of work for very little pay. If you're doing it for money, you're in the wrong field.
Student:
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question and give a genuine, lengthy response. Most of that was over my head, so I'll have to do some research on my half to understand it more.
I truly admire what you're doing. It's certainly something I'd love to do. Also, props on the sponsorships. It's a privilege to be sponsored, I'm sure you worked very hard for those. Hopefully I'll land one eventually. It's awesome to read through your credentials. You've done quite a bit and you're just getting started. I'll do my best to research in the near future and I'm sure I'll be hollering back your way with a few questions if you don't mind. I'm always looking to surround myself with positive and better individuals. It helps me become a better man and lifter. I'm sure you can relate.
I truly appreciate your time. Most are hesitant to help others, so thank you!
Me:
No problem, bud, and thank you for the support. I would say until you start classes, just keep reading sites like elitefts.com and training hard. Once you get started in classes it will all start to mesh and become clear on some of the steps you can take. Plan for each semester independently. For example:
- Focus on school work first. Learn your basics from classes like anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology, etc. This will save you tons of time when it comes to studying for certifications and is the base for all other classes that will come later.
- Keep training, and think about how what you're learning in classes during that semester can apply to your training.
- Begin to look into personal training certifications and/or personal training jobs at the school rec by the end of the year. This will give you a chance for some money, easy work experience, and free clientele. Eait until the semester is coming to a close so you can use the classes you've taken thus far to nail the interview process.
- Keep up to date with strength and conditioning sites on the "what's new" and "who's who."
All that should keep you rather engaged and well ahead of your classmates!
Keep in touch, and feel free to shoot me any questions via email or on the elitefts™ Q&A! Best of luck!