Early models of functional fitness development usually relied on one of two things — performing random tasks with the hope that some type of adaptation would occur, or layering different sport specific models on top of each other and hoping that this would build the base of support and skills necessary for success in competitive functional fitness. However, now that the sport has been around for quite some time allowing industry-leading program design expert James FitzGerald has been able to create an Athlete Development Blueprint specifically for competitive functional fitness. This is critically important for long-term athletic development. What an athlete needs to excel and ultimately achieve the highest levels of performance in competition is directly dependent on their current stage of athletic development.

Eating properly before a workout is important. The type of meal eaten pre-workout can be the difference between performing at your highest potential and coming up frustratingly short. In order to give you the basics of pre-workout nutrition OPEX Instructor, Carl Hardwick breaks down how to eat before three different types of performance-based workouts.

From the concepts we coach, to the language we use, if you’re a gym owner or coach, you would probably agree that when your coaches aren’t on the same page, your business has no chance of running smoothly. Meanwhile, clients become confused by the disjointed information they receive.

“I caught wind of who James (FitzGerald) was and listened to a lot of his interviews. What he had to say about training and life really resonated with me. There was just something about how he spoke when he was on camera, something about the way he talked about the journey of being an athlete and a coach—how it’s bigger than just being about sets and reps,” said 34-year-old Filly, now a father of two.

Mastering the business of coaching is a common struggle for most fitness professionals. Whether it be trying to teach enough classes to make ends meet or having to work a second job to fund the passion, most coaches can relate. So what’s the solution? For many coaches, it’s starting their own fitness business. The control over your own destiny is enticing and the possibilities seem limitless, at first. However, most coaches are better coaches than business owners and end up struggling to make a profit. These five tips pulled from this free coaching course outline sound business practices and will set you on the road to building a sustainable and fulfilling fitness business.

When you have twenty years of collective experience in the fitness world, you’ve seen the landscape change a few times. Jay Ross and Jim and Julie Migliaccio – owner/coaches of OPEX Gold Coast – know when things change, finding the best product that serves your client’s needs creates trust, longevity, and fulfillment for everyone involved.

Confused because what their chiropractor told them about their incorrect movement pattern conflicts with what their physiotherapist said. And what their physiotherapist said about their shoulder mobility and how to improve it is different than what their fitness coach told them, and is different again from what the other fitness coach told them. And on and on.

“I basically trained myself since I was a teenager. I was always playing around with different things I read and learned,” said Torano, the owner of Aggressive Fitness in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

You love helping others improve their own fitness. You thrive upon sharing your knowledge—what you know now that you wish you knew then. The gym is your second home—it’s the place you want to be.

Longer days and shorter nights signal the beginning of summer. This time of year everyone is maximizing their time outside in order to get tan, but did you know that there are some amazing health and athletic benefits to getting sun exposure consistently? Despite what you’ve heard about sunshine related skin cancer and harmful ultraviolet radiation, there are real tangible benefits to both your athleticism and your health in getting sun exposure.

After lunch, Ewington generally spends some time studying, constantly educating himself about all things health and fitness. Often the early afternoon is dedicated to more programming—or doing lifestyle consults or technical coaching sessions via video calls with his clients—and he wraps up his day by 4 or 5 p.m.

“You really want to learn…you want to listen…You want to be James,” Lind-Valdan said of her reaction to FitzGerald. He was so inspiring, he could have been talking about his kids’ drawings and she would have been entertained, she joked.

Villarreal’s personal revelations started when he traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona for Immersion at OPEX HQ last fall. He left the weekend feeling more inspired than ever. Not only was he inspired, Villarreal suddenly realized he had the ability to put himself out there and take a risk to get what he really wanted from his life. 

After the new year, gyms are flooded with new clients. Here are the three types of new clients you are likely to see and how you can prepare for them.

Running a personalized online coaching business is certainly not what Heavey or Latimer expected they’d be doing with their lives, he admitted. Heavey, 38, has his Master’s degree in electrical engineering and worked for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for almost 10 years, while Latimer has her doctorate degree in pharmacology and completed a postgraduate residency in primary care medicine.

Anyone who has been a personal trainer, group class instructor, boot camp coach, or some other form of fitness coach for any period of time will probably agree there’s a problem in the fitness industry today:

“It made me realize I wasn’t getting what I wanted from my life. It changed the way I deal with not just my clients, but (also) the people close to me—my wife and the rest of my family,” he said. “Learning new ways to communicate with them has helped me build better relationships.”

You’re up and at ‘em (or maybe you hit the sleep button a few times haha). Brush your teeth, wash your face, get dressed, and out the door. Off to the gym for a morning Map 10 session, on the rower or Air Dyne before hitting the office.

My name is Jesse O’Brien and I am the Founder of Central Athlete in Austin, TX.  Before opening the doors to current gym, I was a former CrossFit affiliate owner. When I saw the writing on the wall and future philosophical challenges, I decided to sell my equity to my business partners and start an individual design fitness business. Enter Central Athlete.  My biggest goal as a gym owner is to scale our onsite training business.  After completing my OPEX CCP and seeing the difference the OPEX Gym has on client success, I knew I needed to be apart of it.