Hiring a strength coach: what to look for and how to choose one.

If you’re looking for a strength coach in Cardiff, elsewhere in Wales, or online then it’s likely that you have made two important and intelligent decisions. The first is that you recognise the value and importance of strength and have decided to pursue a serious training plan to help you build the transformative strength that you desire. The second is that you recognise the value and importance of coaching, especially for the beginner strength trainee, and you want to hire a professional strength coach to help you on your journey. So far so good, but If I were to search “strength coach Cardiff” I would be blasted with dozens upon dozens of “fitness professionals” all touting their credentials and claiming to be experts. How do you parse them all to find the coach who’s best for you? After all, the right coach can be the difference between years of sustained, life changing progress, or hundreds of pounds and months of your life down the drain with nothing to show for it but frustration and sore knees. To solve this problem I first think it’s helpful to figure out what exactly it is a strength coach does, and what is the difference between a personal trainer and a strength coach. 

What does a strength coach do? 

The goal of a strength coach is to get you stronger. This much is obvious but how that’s actually done is a bit more complex. A coach two main functions in order to help you progress towards your goal of Herculean strength: 

Technique - First and foremost they manage your technique. Contrary to popular opinion this is an ongoing process. They first teach you how to perform an exercise and then constantly monitor your technique as you continue to train, offering correction and commentary in real time to ensure you stay on the straight and narrow. This is important from both a safety and injury prevention point of view, but also to maximise efficiency and results from each exercise.  

Programming - This is more than just an exercise routine. It is a serious, data-driven plan designed to develop the physiological adaptations required to get you stronger. What does that mean? It means that no part of the programme is random or arbitrary. It’s a systemic approach to training tailored to you and your needs to guarantee that you keep making progress as efficiently and effectively as possible. When good programming and competent technical coaching are combined, the results can be dramatic. Beginners regularly double their strength within the first few months of training and that progress can continue for years, completely transforming the lifter. That’s the real crux of the difference between a strength coach and a personal trainer. Any bog standard PT fresh out of college can supervise a workout and provide you with encouragement and accountability. What they can’t do is manage the technique and programming requirements of serious strength training.

Now you have an idea of what a strength coach does, we're in a position to decide who to hire. I think there are a few things to look out for to ensure you hire the right person for the job. 

Red flags 

The first thing to look out for is obvious red flags. The unfortunate truth is that a great number of people in the fitness industry employ predatory business and marketing practices designed to leverage insecurity for their own financial benefit. The vast majority of “coaches” operate on the same business model. A model that requires high volume, low coaching input per client, and a slick sales funnel. The presence of one or more of these red flags is a sign that you’re looking at a potentially toxic trainer, more focussed on sales and marketing than the profession of coaching or helping people. Red flags to keep an eye out for include but are not limited to; 

• Fake urgency or limitations (think “I’ve only got 3 coaching spots left”) 

• Heavy discounts 

• High pressure sales calls 

• Over promising results (Build X amount of muscle in 6 weeks) 

• Not respecting boundaries 

It’s generally a good idea to stay away from people employing these tactics. You’re unlikely to get the result you want and you’re probably not going to  have a great experience working with them. 

Personal Experience 

There are two questions to ask here: Have they done the thing I want to do? And have they worked with people like me? 

First, have they actually gone through the process of getting stronger? Do they compete? What are their numbers? Do they even lift, bro? These might seem like trivial questions but they’re not. It’s the difference between textbook theory and lived experience. They don't need to be a national champion or elite powerlifter. However, it should be obvious that they train seriously, understand the process of getting stronger, and have achieved meaningful results themselves. 

Second, different demographics have different needs. Training a 23 year old rugby player, not uncommon when coaching strength in Cardiff and south Wales, is very different from training a 67 year old retiree with arthritis. Your coach should probably have a degree of  experience coaching people like you to ensure they can meet your specific needs. 

Technical competence 

Just because someone can lift, doesn’t mean they can coach. They’re entirely different skillsets and while personal lifting experience is essential, it’s not enough on its own. A good coach has deep knowledge of the underlying physics, anatomy and physiology, they have their own training philosophy, they know how to correct technique effectively, and they are excellent communicators. These key elements leave clues that are easy to find when you know what to look for. Here are a few things to look out for: 

• Are they providing cues in real time while their lifter is lifting? 

• Are they writing down or recording the workout data in some way? 

• Are they explaining and clarifying things in between sets that need work? 

• Are they actually paying attention to their lifters or are they on their phones or chatting to someone else? 

• What do their lifters' lifts look like? Are the squats to depth? Is the back set for the deadlift? Or does the technique look rushed and sloppy? 

Furthermore, if you have a chance to chat with them, can they answer basic questions? Why do we squat to that depth? Why do we use this set and rep scheme here? Why use this exercise and not another? Any coach who knows their stuff will have solid answers to any and all of these questions. 

Some of these suggestions might seem picky but think back to what a strength coach does. The two main pillars of strength coaching are technical coaching and effective programming. If they’re not paying attention to their lifters, not offering cues, corrections, and clarifications, not fixing glaring technique errors like high squats and rounded backs on the deadlift, are they really coaching? Lifters need feedback in order to improve, especially newer lifters. If they’re not receiving it they’re never going to get any better. 

Similarly if they’re not recording workout data and they can’t answer simple questions about physiological adaptation and programme structure, what are the odds that they actually understand programming? It’s far more likely that they’re just putting their client through a generic workout template which is something you can get for free online. You don’t need to pay someone for that. 

If the coach you’re considering is ticking all these boxes, you’re probably on to a winner. If not, you might want to look elsewhere. 

Personality 

Last but not least we have personality. This might actually be the most important factor for long term success with any coach or trainer. What are they like? Do you like them? Will the two of you get on? If the coach is experienced, competent, and honest in their dealings, but you find them dislikable or annoying it’s just not going to work out. Effective coaching depends on the relationship between coach and client. If you can’t get along because your personalities clash, it’s probably best to look elsewhere. This does not reflect negatively on either of you, it is merely a fact of life. One person might find a coach funny and encouraging while another might find that same coach grating and cheesy. Nobody is wrong in that situation, it’s simply just the case that the second person would be better off with a different coach who was more aligned to their personality. 

Finding the right strength coach ultimately comes down to competence, honesty, experience, and personality. The best coach isn't necessarily the strongest person in the gym or the loudest voice on social media. It's the person who can consistently help you make progress over months and years. 

If you’re looking for strength coaching in Cardiff, or elsewhere it’s well worth visiting a gym and observing the coach at work. A good coach will be happy to answer questions and explain their approach to you. Lots of coaches, myself included, will offer some form of introductory session for free. If you’re looking for a strength coach in Cardiff and would like to meet me, find out more about me, and see how I work before you commit then I’d love to meet with you. I’m currently based in Dave’s Gym in Roath. Come and have a taster session and we’ll work through your technique on all your major lifts and have the opportunity to ask me whatever you’d like. If you don’t like the coaching or me then you can walk away free with improved squat technique and the knowledge that you have done your due diligence.