How to become a successful trainer & strength coach | Top 4 Dr. Andy Galpin

If you don't know who Dr. Andy Galpin is, you can't call yourself a strength coach or personal trainer. He is a professor at Universuty CSU Fullerton, co-author of Unplugged: Evolve from technology to upgrade your fitness and been featured on Jason Ferrugia's Renegade Radio & Joe Rogan podcast as well as Mark Bell (see YouTube link below):

University classes are too expensive, slow, and boring; and they rarely cover actionable information (especially in the areas of exercise and nutrition). Strength & conditioning, health, exercise, nutrition, supplements, exercise programming, and human movement are rarely actually covered or require YEARS of “prerequisites” – Dr. Andy Galpin

In my book, How to Become A Successful Personal Trainer I interviewed top strength and conditioning experts, professors, physical therapists and trainers, now it's time to get in front of even MORE experts to help educate the world on what it takes to become a trainer / strength coach. Here's the average & very unsuccessful method on how to become a strength coach:

1. Get certified by NSCA via CSCS (125 questions) without any supervision or hands-on learning.

2. Gain unsupervised experience by training anyone who will pay you.

3. Change careers because you can't make a living.

The route of a successful strength coach looks more like this:

1. Find an internship (get certified IF YOU WANT.)

2. Learn how to program & work with athletes under professional supervision.

3. Practice to buid career capitol while developing your own special sauce.

4. BE RELENTLESSY

5. Intern under other professionals to become more diverse & unique to better your athletes.

6. Practice more and continue being RELENTLESSY.

Notice the word RELENTLESSY in BIG ASS LETTERS? That's because it was the number one piece of advice from Dr. Galpin. Here is his list for new and aspiring strength coaches (applies to all trainers & therapists as well):

1. BE RELENTLESS (READ TIM GROVERS BOOK HERE)

2. The answer is always YES.

3. Over deliver. If you get paid for A, then do A+B+C.

4. Treat everyone like you've waited your entire life to meet them.

THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS YES

The average strength coach will turn their nose at an opportunity if it calls for early mornings, sweeping floors and/or waiting in traffic. If this is you, your time as a S&C coach will be short lived. If you take on any and every opportunity, you will be in more LUCKY situations to better your career. It takes one day of saying YES to get in front of the next Tiger Woods, or in the story of Dr. Galpin's massage therpaist friend, the next thing he knew he was massaging Freddie Roach, then Manny Pacquiao and getting a bag of cash- NOT TOO SHABBY! How did he get into that situation? WAS HE REALLY LUCKY? NO, he took on any and every opportunity- HE ALWAYS SAID YET!

OVER DELIVER.

If you are supposed to open the gym at 5am, get there at 430am. Bring the owner some coffee and make sure the gym looks & smells amazing. Your job is to be there at 5am, that's it! Ask yourself, do you want to become significant or be average? Would the Michael Jordans SHOW UP right before they were supposed to? NO WAY. They would be there an hour early, clean the gym x2, take out the trash and replace the markers for the white boards- no questions asked! That's why they are the Michael Jordan's of the world and the average strength coach is a victim saying it's too hard to make it as a fitness professional.

Treat everyone special.

This was one of my favorites. If you are working with a 10-year-old with two left feet, you need to make him feel like he has the most potential in the world. Make him walk out of the practice like he is going to be the next Tom Brady. His parents will be able to tell the difference between days when he works with you vs when he does with other coaches or by himself. This will get you better opportunities to get in front more people AND HELP SHOWCASE YOUR SKILLS. Your time to train the best of the best will come, but it'll come a lot faster if you treat everyone as if they are THE ONE!

If you want to become a successful strength coach, implement these 4-stretegies from a very successful professor of Bio-Energetics / strength coach and overall great person – Dr. Andy Galpin.

Thank you Doc for taking the time to provide our interns with some special gold nuggets!

Until next time,

Keep Showing Up!

Chris – Your Favorite Trainer with a Belt Buckle