I started training at 5am. It will take some time for my body to adjust, but overall I am enjoying getting my work done before my family is up in the...
Howdy, my name is Joseph. I am a 37 year old husband, father, firefighter, and Starting Strength Coach in New Braunfels, Texas. Oddly enough my path to Starting Strength began with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold's Education of a Bodybuilder led to Reg Park's Strength & Bulk Training for Weight Lifters & Bodybuilders which led to John McCallum's Keys to Progress which led to Bill Starr's The Strongest Shall survive. The aforementioned works instilled a passion for basic barbell training and 5s that finally drove me to Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training.
I ran my first NLP in 2016 and made tremendous progress ending my LP with: Squat 495x5x3, Press 210x5x3, Deadlift 555x5, Bench 290x5x3 at 5' 8" and 230 lbs. I attended the Starting Strength Seminar held at Andy Baker's gym in Kingwood Texas in 2017. I competed in 2 strength lifting meets at WFAC. My best lifts were: Squat 600, Press 237, Deadlift 660.
The reason that I wanted to become a Starting Strength Coach is that I want to help people that are willing to help themselves. Over the course of my 11 year career in the fire service, I have been called to assist countless people that are prisoners in their own bodies. As they aged, they grew weak, developed metabolic diseases, got inducted into the sick care system, and eventually got to the point where they couldn’t prevent themselves from falling or even get off of the toilet, let alone care for themselves. Yes, it would be great to help teenagers and the occasional athlete, but if I could have the opportunity to teach adults in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond, the skill of barbell training and aid them along the path to healthier aging, then that is a job worth doing.
I began my journey to becoming a Starting Strength Coach as an apprentice at Starting Strength San Antonio when it opened in November 2021. After completing the Coach Development Course I attended the Starting Strength Seminar held at WFAC in October 2023 where I opted in and passed the platform evaluation. I passed the oral board evaluation in November 2023. As a newly minted rookie Starting Strength Coach, I am very excited to interact with the members of this forum so that we all can discuss ideas, learn from each other, and improve our coaching skills.
Location:
New Braunfels, Texas
Interests:
Strength training, reading, writing, and spending time with my family.