Thinking About Getting a Coach

[Brody_G]

I have found a rather reputable coach, however, he is pretty young (age 19). He charges $30 a month for a custom program suited to my goals and I am considering beginning with him. I have been on my linear progression for a few months now and am continuing to see progress. I will probably be considered intermediate programming sometime within the next 5 months or so and that’s where training can get confusing because the Texas Method has to be changed to suit people’s personal needs and experiments and I’d much rather allow someone else to do that for me and teach me a thing or two. I have both SS and PPST3 books. I just wanted to get Rips advice on what exactly I should do. Thank you!

[Mark Rippetoe]

The price is certainly right! Has this reputable coach read the books you've got? How many people has he coached? Does he understand squat depth better than you do?

[Brody_G]

Haha you got me there. I do not believe he has read the books himself, unfortunately. Nor do I know how many people he has coached, as he is just a young guy trying to make a career out of it. He is a pretty big guy and runs an instagram page and benches mid 300s so I guess he knows what he is doing.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You've really got this figured out, Brody! Just imagine how smart he'll be when he's benching 400!

[Nockian]

It seems to me, I may be way off beam here, but if you're doing starting strength and are happy with the results and your seeking the advice of the guy who created it, then wouldn't it be more sensible to hire a starting strength coach in the first place ? Just saying.

[Brody_G]

I’ll take that as a hard “no” and return to reading my Practical Programming book.

[Brody_G]

Nockian, I completely see where you are coming from! I would absolutely love to be get a custom 12-week program from Andy Baker himself and have looked at many other coaches too. However, Andy’s 12-week custom programming is $495 and many other coaches custom coaching is out of my pockets being a teenager with no job because i’m focusing on school and lifting pretty much. Calculus takes up enough time, managing a daily job would make it harder so I’m looking for quality and affordability.

[Paulbfast]

If you are following the SS model, doesn't it make the most sense to use a SS coach? Don't waste time and money!

[Clintcase]

I’ll take that as a hard “no” and return to reading my Practical Programming book.

Have you looked here: Programming ? I think you will find someone that could actually help you with your goals.

[Nockian]

Nockian, I completely see where you are coming from! I would absolutely love to be get a custom 12-week program from Andy Baker himself and have looked at many other coaches too. However, Andy’s 12-week custom programming is $495 and many other coaches custom coaching is out of my pockets being a teenager with no job because i’m focusing on school and lifting pretty much. Calculus takes up enough time, managing a daily job would make it harder so I’m looking for quality and affordability.

You'll find a way to afford it if you really want it. It's about prioritising. That's not to say you haven't other priorities, but at some point you have to get serious about what's most important to you. If getting strong isn't that important then don't get a coach.