While we work with coaches coming from all models of fitness who want to improve their knowledge and program design principles (our CCP mentorship groups are made up of a mix of all of the above!), the OPEX system of coaching that we teach is the one we believe leads to the greatest success for coaches and their clients. 

⁠The reality is that for most small fitness business owners and coaches, relationships, results, and a referral-based approach to marketing will be the most important factor in bringing in qualified leads.⁠

Scrolling through their social media and blogs, impressed by the creative exercises and advanced protocols, while also somewhat overwhelmed by what seems like an unattainable level of knowledge and programming skills…

It takes patience, consistency, and time to grow your client load. This is the journey you sign up for when you become a fitness coach, so you have to approach it with a growth mindset.

Every client is physically unique, and are in different stages of physical and motor development. Therefore any program that falls short of being 100% tailored to their values, priorities, and needs, simply will not be effective.

The big picture responsibility of the tactical athlete is to serve and protect. In fighting to defend their country this population is under stressors most people (thankfully) could never imagine. It is important to clearly separate the call to duty with current fitness marketing language around tactical training—we’re not talking general population or athletes playing a game.

These three energy systems are the umbrella covering all aspects of effective program design. It can’t be understated how valuable a concrete understanding of these systems are for program design mastery. If you can identify the key elements that distinguish these three categories, you will become capable of ensuring great balance and integration of all three elements for the client. If you don’t spend enough time learning and identifying the pieces that go into each category, you will have a difficult time blending pieces together in a coherent fashion. Spend time practicing and classifying various movements and sequences of movements into each category until you feel confident in your ability to distinguish between the three.

Clients may be struggling to gain lean mass because they are not capable of breaking down their muscle tissue. This is because they lack the prerequisite levels of strength. In order to gain lean mass, the client needs to be capable of breaking down muscle and recovering from that breakdown.

An OPEX coach working in an individual design gym is paid a percentage of revenue for each of their clients, as well as potentially making an additional hourly wage for floor shifts.

In fact, those advanced training & nutrition protocols that we might think our clients want are actually burning them out, overwhelming them, and preventing them from finding sustainability. 

All too often coaches doubt themselves, play the comparison game, and waste time overanalyzing their program designs. But coaching isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about knowing who you are and not trying to be someone else.

For this to happen, the client needs a solution to his/her problem—to get and stay fit and healthy. The coach needs job fulfillment and an opportunity to make a professional wage so he can have a long-term career in fitness. And the business needs clients and coaches to stick around in order to be profitable.

How much money can you make as a part-time fitness coach, full-time fitness coach, or gym owner? It depends on your training experience and business skills

Apart from the challenges of not making enough money and not having the flexibility to take paid time off (last week, we sent you an email on why this doesn’t have to be the case!), another major reason coaches hit a wall and burn out is because they’re trying to do it all!

To get the best results from bodyweight training you need to vary the exercises in your program. Thankfully, there are numerous ways you can load the leg muscles using your bodyweight alone. This blog will focus on 10 different variations of bodyweight leg exercises and cover three movement patterns: lunge, squat, and bend. 

Tennil’s morning session is another speed strength session with an emphasis on knee flexion endurance. The reason why so many of Tennil’s sessions include work on her knee flexion endurance is because this aspect of her fitness has been identified as her primary limiter to her performance.

Do you ever find yourself trying to reinvent the wheel every time you complete a cycle of training with your client? Or once you have reached a few weeks of progression, does it feel like you do not have an action plan to where to go next? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you are not alone. The solution to these problems is having a long-term plan in place.

In this month’s Knowledge Series webinar James FitzGerald discusses the concept of training age, how you can determine your client’s training age, and how it will affect your programs. 

At OPEX Fitness our mission is to educate coaches. This monthly knowledge series is part of that mission and is just a sample of the support we offer OPEX Coaching Certificate Program (CCP) Coaches during and after our program. Take the first step to joining our community with this course.