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So You Want to Be the Next Top Strength & Conditioning Expert?

By January 20, 2010December 26th, 2013Coaching Tips, Training Philosophy

If you’ve trained at commercial gyms for a large part of your life like I have, you might assume that all trainers are a bunch of dimwits. However, this is actually not the case. Since breaking into the Strength & Conditioning scene, I’m absolutely amazed at the sheer number of intelligent fitness professionals out there who remain virtually “under the radar.” I wrote this blogpost for those who desire to become the next top fitness expert. I have put a lot of thought and consideration into what separates the experts from the non-experts and have come up with fifteen main reasons.

1. Love of Fitness

You simply cannot reach the top if you don’t love fitness. If you love what you do, it’s not work. This is mandatory as most top fitness professionals at some time in their lives spent an extraordinary amount of time delving into the fitness field, and most top fitness professionals still spend more time in a single day learning about fitness than the average trainer spends in a month despite the fact that they’re already at the pinnacle of their career. Fitness has to become a way of life if you want to reach the top. As Confucius said, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” If you don’t love fitness, you’ll never be able to withstand the long hours of training, continuing education, reading, writing, speaking at seminars, and talking to others about fitness, which are all critical components to reaching the top.

2. Knowledge/Innovation

Knowledge is a prerequisite to becoming an expert. Not only must you be well-versed in all areas of fitness, you must be a top expert in at least one area of fitness. Have patience because it takes years of learning the science, theories, and methodology as well as years of implementing the knowledge in order to figure out how to improve upon current practices. I would argue that a base of knowledge and experience is critical as well, as the top experts possess tremendous amounts of common sense and general competence. Furthermore, being at the cusp of scientific advancement breeds creativity and innovation.

3. Motivational/Inspirational Skills

People like to be inspired. If you can’t inspire people as a trainer or coach, you’re probably in the wrong profession. The top trainers and coaches are great at motivating others to work hard and be consistent in order to reach their goals. When you leave a presentation delivered by one of these individuals, you can’t wait to implement what you’ve learned into your training. Motivational and inspiration skills stem from a burning desire to help people.

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4. Confidence/Leadership

While cockiness is a huge turn-off, confidence is key. Would you rather hire a trainer, coach, or therapist who doubts his abilities, or one who knows that they’re amongst the best in the world? Confident individuals seek to accomplish what others have not. Confident individuals lead others.

5. Experience

According to Henry David Thoreau, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” Some coaches resorted to sleeping in their facilities after working such long hours. Knowledge is good and experience is also good, but knowledge combined with experience is lethal! You cannot become an expert without putting in your time both training yourself and training others. This is imperative as you need to be strong and conditioned in order to test out new exercises, ideas, and methods.

6. Professionalism

Professionalism is an often overlooked aspect of making it to the top. While it is not necessary to always wear a suit and tie in the fitness field, it is important to be respectful and exhibit proper etiquette and manners. The higher you make it in the field, the more “haters” you’re going to accumulate. One must not be dragged into ridiculous forum-wars or resort to excessive retaliation. People don’t want to do business with a loose cannon.

7. Integrity

Integrity is one of the most important qualities necessary for success. Integrity means admitting when you’re wrong and being open-minded to new ideas. Integrity also means not endorsing something you don’t believe in, standing up for what you believe in, sometimes going against the grain, and holding true to your values. No one wants to follow a sleazy scoundrel with no integrity.

8. Philosophy

There are so many different variables in Strength & Conditioning that it is just as much an art as it is a science. From program design to total training mix, exercise selection, rep styles, equipment, and form/technique, there are literally an infinite amount of ways to train. While the top Strength & Conditioning experts tend to agree on a lot, they all have their own philosophies and methods. If you agree with a certain individual about every aspect of training, then you are a blind follower and you don’t think for yourself. Followers will never reach the top as they are simply reiterating what others have said. In order to be an innovator you must think for yourself and develop your own philosophy. You must absorb as much as humanly possible and then determine your stance on the various issues and formulate your particular belief-system.

9. Language

When you get to a point where you reach an extraordinary level of understanding about a certain topic, you tend to develop your own language regarding that particular topic. This may arise out of the need to communicate more effectively or because you are creating new words to illustrate certain concepts. Nearly all Strength & Conditioning experts are unique in this regard.

10. Communication/Public Speaking Skills

Out of the fifteen qualities listed in this blogpost, this may be the most important quality of all, yet I’ve never seen or heard it discussed. All of the Strength & Conditioning gurus become much more popular through their public speaking seminars. This may sound harsh, but if your voice inflection sucks, if you talk too fast, if you have nervous ticks, if you aren’t interesting, or if you simply sound like an idiot, you need to work on your public speaking skills. My grandfather was in Toastmasters for 30 years because he realized how important it was to improve his communication skills. Watch the videos at the bottom of this blogpost. If you aren’t sure about your public speaking skills, I recommend recording yourself and watching the video while asking yourself, “Would I be happy if I paid money to see this?”

11. Likability/Humor

Dry individuals and individuals with huge personality flaws such as selfishness, stubbornness, conceitedness, and close-mindedness never seem to go too far in this field. Being likable comes natural for many people, but for others it doesn’t. I recommend reading the book How to Win Friends and Influence People if you struggle in the “likability” department. Try to inject some humor into your every day life and never take yourself too seriously. The best speakers, trainers, therapists, and coaches know how to get people to think AND laugh. Likability and humor go a long way in networking and word of mouth advertisement.

12. Marketing/Branding

There are many trainers, coaches, and therapists out there who know just as much as other experts, yet you’ve never heard of these individuals because they don’t know how to market or brand themselves. While learning about fitness and training people is fun, learning about marketing is not always very fun. You must get out of your comfort zone and learn how to market yourself or you’ll never become popular. As technology grows, marketing becomes more and more complicated, so stay on top of technology and trends. Remember, if you can’t make any money in fitness, you’ll have to find another job and you’ll never become a expert.

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13. Motivation/Dedication

Some people have tremendous levels of drive, determination, motivation, and dedication, while others do not. If you want to make it to the top, you’re going to have to work hard. It’s going to take you years upon years. When you think you know it all, you’ll quickly realize that you don’t know crap. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on everything, something new will pop up that will force you to get out of your comfort zone. You have to keep working hard to bring up your weaknesses. You can never just coast, you have to keep pushing the pedal to the metal, albeit with just the right amount of balance to avoid burnout and maintain sanity.

14. Awareness of Strengths and Weaknesses

Think of the best strength coaches – they know how to get people moving better and how to create better athletes. You don’t see them telling bodybuilders how to prepare for their contests, nor do you see them telling powerlifters how to bench press more weight. Focus on doing what you’re good at and try to be as well-rounded as possible, but know when to ask for help and when to let others take a hold of the reigns.

15. Blending of Science, Research, Experience, and Intuition

In the Strength & Conditioning field, there is a tremendous amount of scientific theory and scientific journal research. There is much to be learned from science and research. While certain knowledge can only be gained from learning the science and research, there is a vast amount of information that we don’t yet understand. While science can offer some explanation, there is an enormous body of knowledge that can only be earned from working with hundreds of people in the trenches year in, year out. And yet experience can’t tell us everything either. A certain amount of success depends on the trainer, therapist, or coach’s intuition. The most successful experts have excellent hunches.

Conclusion

Realizing that your ability to reach the top is influenced by a combination of many factors will allow you to bring up your weak links in order to increase your chances of success!

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