The Case for a Coach

by Michael Jones, SSC | July 26, 2022

You’re standing outside waiting to see some live music. The line looks long, and you really just want a cold drink and air conditioning. Then the guy bouncing the entrance points to you, and you are escorted inside by some other guys, then pulled to the front of the standing-room pit. As the show revs up to start, the lead singer shouts “Get this man a beer!”

This is basically what it’s like when you employ a Starting Strength Coach – it’s like knowing the bouncer of the venue. Sure, you can wait in a queue to get in, scramble to get the bartender’s attention, and elbow yourself to the middle of the pit just to stare at the back of some cowboy’s hat the whole time.

Yea, you got there, you had your beer jostled all over your shirt, and you heard some music. And you leave feeling like you could have had a much better experience, even though all the other folks there seemed to be doing the same thing you were doing – except for that group at the front who didn’t seem to have to fight to have a good time.

Because when you employ a coach who knows how to coach, you aren’t being coached by him alone. Your coach took the steps to become a vessel for the teachings of his coaches, whom he vetted and sifted, and who have sifted and vetted him. And they did the same with their coaches. And it has all funneled down to the coach standing in front of you now.

Not only that, but he has systematized and collated experience from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of previous clients and athletes, so that you are getting the absolute best that this particular coach has ever been. And the more he spends time with you, the better he gets for you and your training penchants, psychological temperament, capacity for pain, and constitution for recovery. You are being hand-delivered to the front row.

Of course, you can do it on your own. Sort of. It just doesn’t work as well, and everyone who has gone from chugging it on their own to working with a coach, in-person or online, knows the difference and reaps the benefits.

So you’ve already bought your ticket and are standing in line. You’re gonna be there for the next four hours, and have now invested a significant amount of time, energy and money into this event. How do you want your night to go?