Starting Strength Coach
It all depends on your personal situation. Many SSC's were personal trainers for big box gyms, found Starting Strength, and eventually transitioned all our clients to barbell clients and then left the box. Many were in completely different fields and only coach part time. I would say though if your end game is the SSC credential there are probably better ways to go about it then the Globo Gym route. Just fit in your SSC prep on the side of what you're already doing, find a place to coach some people, etc. If you are already in the industry then by all means use it to your advantage
✓ Member
This is exactly what I'm doing in the gym I work at currently.. And I think it's working. At our last team meeting on Tuesday, management even said we were getting a third power rack before the end of this year, probably due to the fact that more and more people here are squatting, pressing and pulling with barbells than ever before. I like to believe the results I'm getting my clients using SS methodology was part of the reason for the new purchase.Originally Posted by David McClelland
Starting Strength Coach
This is great to hear. Keep up the good work
Member
Aaaargh! The gym I train at just got rid of the deadlift platform “to make more room for circuits.” Time to find a new gym. Again.
Starting Strength Coach
Yes and No.
The only benefit of working at a globo-gym as a new trainer/coach is that they can fill your roster up for you initially and replace the clients you will inevitably lose at the beginning. It's one thing to learn how to coach and another to learn how to market, sell, and run the day to day B.S. of owning a gym. There is something to be said for taking a couple of years to just get your feet wet coaching as many people as possible and not worrying about everything else. In other words - just develop your craft as a trainer/coach.
There are other skills you need to learn about coaching other than just teaching people how to lift. Chief among them is to develop your interpersonal skills working with tons of different personalities. You won't be good at this at first. And here is a big one - do you even like it? You might wanna test this out before investing in your own gym.
That being said - if there is a hole in your market - fill it.
I can assure you the timing will never be right. You'll never hit a place where you have all the money you need, all the skills you need, all the knowledge you need, and all the clients you need to open your own place. So to a degree you have to Ready - Fire - Aim.
In 2007 I had no money, probably wasn't a very good coach, and had 3 clients who agreed to train with me based on a handshake.
But I had a fire under my ass (the gym rent and utilities were due on the 1st every month), I was marginally better than the globo gym trainers, and was willing to outwork everyone.
Member
One thing to be careful of in this environment is that at many Globo Gym chains the client is not really the trainer's, but the gym's. They then flit from trainer to trainer as per the whim of their schedule. Most trainees in this environment are difficult to convince that the conventional wisdom is wrong - squats are bad, don't lift with your back, presses wreck your shoulders, lifting heavy will give you a puffy/blocky physique. What you don't need is to have won that battle and demonstrated to them the validity of your philosophy, only to then have them switch to a Mr NCSF with a six pack and be told, and put through, a bunch of BS. Despite the fact you will have made meaningful progress with this client, they are not just stronger, but their knee/back/shoulder does not hurt anymore, the call to the conventional wisdom that they believed prior to working with you is strong. Unfortunately it takes a special sort of client in this environment to be able to call the BS on this, despite the obvious success they had with you.
So, the long and short, if you want to go down the route of learning your craft at a globo gym, find one that allows you control over your client list. The downside is you may not get the same help from them to fill out your schedule as Andy describes, but you at least you are not having your progress with your clients, both physically and intellectually, directly interfered with on a routine basis.
Starting Strength Coach
An excellent point.
In fact, the business model now being taught to small gym owners by the "gurus" is to ENSURE that clients move around to different trainers all the time - day to day, week to week. SOP is to have trainees schedule their own appointments in an online calendar / planner with whatever trainer has an opening at a given time.
It makes sense from an owners perspective, but bad for you as an upcoming coach.
Starting Strength Coach
Time to make a home gym.
Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com
Member
I actually think Andy is being nice about NASM. I think it's a completely dishonest money grab. Over 50% of the content is either wrong or deliberately proprietary and obtuse so that you have to buy their study materials to pass the test. I'm am basically memorizing the content right now because there is no amount of reasonable thought that would bring you to the answers on the exam.
Example:
q: What is the primary cause of musculoskeletal degeneration in aging populations?
a: Low Back Pain
Straight out of the study material ... I have nothing to add to that.
Starting Strength Coach
I feel your pain brother. I'm trying to muster up the strength to finish that cert right now.
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