With 30 years in the industry—including working with OPEX Founder James FitzGerald 15 years ago—you might not think a man like this might not get much out of another certification, but he took the OPEX Coaching Certificate Program (CCP) in the fall of 2020 and explained that, even with three decades of experience, it was a game changer.

Energy System Training refers to training the multiple forms of energy metabolisms in the body to produce improvements in the body’s overall efficiency. This training methodology is comprised of three main energy systems: the aerobic system (OPEX Sustain), the lactic system (OPEX Pain), and the alactic system (OPEX Gain). The reason why Energy System Training is so effective rests in its ability to improve multiple energy systems at once — with one program. Learn how to create energy system-specific progression in this course.

Coaches must move past looking at avatars of clients on paper and begin to recognize those avatars are real people. If you can’t establish a relationship with your client, you will live an endless cycle of turnover — constantly bringing in new clients and saying adios to the old.

Every year as Ramadan approaches, fitness coaches, clients, and enthusiasts alike prepare for a month of daily fasting.

After years of owning gyms, coaching functional fitness athletes, and creating coaching education, Hardwick now understands how to create an effective weight training program while keeping your athletes fresh for their games.

If you take a quick scroll through Instagram, chances are you’ll find a shirtless fitness coach doing a kettlebell exercise reminiscent of a dance.

Competitive functional fitness athletes are always on the hunt for the best fitness program to boost their athletic progression. This is especially the case during the offseason. The instinct for many offseason athletes is to jump straight back into training with the hopes of getting the jump on their competitors. However, in our decades of experience in coaching competitive functional fitness athletes, we’ve discovered that the best training plan to pursue in the offseason for longevity and guaranteed athletic development is the exact polar opposite of traditional functional fitness methodology. It’s Functional Bodybuilding.

“After the open competitions, and say you didn’t necessarily make it to the goal, which was to reach the regional level, there’s this weird time where individuals feel like they need to start training immediately in order to get prepared for the following season. It’s actually the complete opposite of what they need to do.” – OPEX Director of Remote Coaching Mike Lee

When you refer to someone’s level of fitness what characteristics come to mind? A strong bench press, great endurance, or a defined six-pack?

Over the last few years, the popularity of the landmine press has increased exponentially, thanks to the rise of functional fitness and other methodologies like functional bodybuilding.

Shayan Vaghayenegar first started coaching fitness as a personal trainer. The now 35-year-old rented space from a couple different gyms in the area and grew a decent book of clients this way. 

There is a lot of debate about what is considered “healthy,” making this a contentious question.

Kayla Smith’s story is similar to many coaches who fell in love with CrossFit: It was great for a while. She loved the group and community atmosphere, and “people had fun and enjoyed being a part of that community,” she said. 

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador and CCP Coach, Kornwit Damrongwisetpanit. As the owner of Kinetic Lab in Bangkok, Thailand, Korn combines his interest in physiotherapy and movement science with individual program design. Follow Korn on Instagram here. 

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador and CCP Coach Andy Reardon. Andy is a Battalion Chief with the Austin (TX) Fire Department and coaches tactical athletes using the OPEX method. Follow Andy on Instagram here.

After being a part of the October 2020 OPEX CCP cohort, I recently went through the new Functional Bodybuilding with the OPEX Method Course, and it was a serious game changer.

Interval training may make your clients work hard and sweat, but are those HIIT sessions getting the results you both want?

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador and CCP Coach Chad Johnson, owner of Chamber Fitness in Belmont, Australia. As a gym owner for 11 years, Chad is passionate about providing every individual with an opportunity to express themselves to the fullest, in both a physical and mental capacity. Follow Chad on Instagram here.

“My favorite thing is that I don’t have to have so many apps now. It is hard to tell your clients to ‘disconnect,’ but also use all these apps to track behaviors, nutrition, and performance... This has everything I need to program holistic performance, resiliency, and behaviors for my clients. It’s the platform I have been searching for,” said Ben Seims of OPEX Wenatchee about his experience so far using CoachRx.

Are you pricing your gym’s services correctly? In our consultation work with hundreds of gyms round the world, we have discovered that a lack of understanding on what effective pricing is, often leads to the failure of the gym in question. If the price is too high, the gym owner has very few clients and revenue sources. If the price is too low the gym may have a large number of clients, but very little monthly revenue and high client turnover.