What’s Best for the Trainee: A Strength Coach’s Perspective
When I was a strength and conditioning coach in professional sports, I had the rare opportunity of working with a staff committed to putting our athletes’ best interests first.
Our first consideration was: What’s in the best interest of the long-term health of our athlete?
Our second: What is the absolute most effective way to get stronger, faster, build muscle, prevent injury, and improve performance?
These questions may seem obvious, but in the world of strength training best practices, this approach is anything but common.
As I met and became friends with more strength and conditioning coaches in professional and Division I athletics, I realized how rare a truly evidence-based fitness philosophy was.
I learned that many strength coaches were constantly balancing what they believed worked best for the athlete against:
What the athlete wanted to do
What the head coach expected
What looked best on social media
What appealed to the biggest star on the team
My favorite question for colleagues became:
“What percentage of your programming is based purely on what you believe produces the best strength training outcomes?”
Most answered: “About 20%.”
The rest, they admitted, was designed to appease outside stakeholders. That was shocking—but not surprising once I understood how performance programming often works.
The problem? High school coaches, amateur athletes, and even other professionals look to these models as gold standards, unaware that what they’re copying isn’t rooted in effective strength training or exercise science.
That’s when I knew I had to take a different approach.
When I transitioned from pro sports to the commercial fitness industry, I noticed the same trend: fitness programming dictated not by science, but by popularity. Health club operators prioritized what sold memberships—not what actually helped people.
When I’d ask, “Shouldn’t we recommend workouts that are safe and effective?” the answer was usually, “This is what the customer wants.”
But I disagree.
I believe the modern fitness consumer craves expert leadership—an honest voice cutting through the noise. A coach who will give real, research-based recommendations grounded in the latest fitness science.
Take-home message:
Be mindful of who you follow in your fitness journey. The leader you’re trusting might not even be proud of the direction they’re taking you.
