Hire a Strength Coach?

[sensless]

So there is an athletic performance gym nearby my work that I went and took a gander at. It is a great facility and has two solid strength coaches at it. What do all of you think about shelling out a bunch of money to meet with a strength coach once per week? I'd like to do it, but for 20 sessions it would cost me about $570. Do you all think it would be worth it? I expect I would see some great gains made for powerlifting, which would be nice, I just am looking to see if other people would be willing to pay that much for a hobby.

Thanks,

Sensless

[JP]

auch, that is steep. Don't know about US, but here most powerlifter coaches work pretty much for free for the love of the sport, you may pay sometimes some costs associated with it i guess, but most of the actual work is done for free as part of the club.

I guess the quality would vary, but often it is more about lifting among serious lifters that boosts up your totals more than anything. PL is technical, but there are no "silver bullet" solutions, so you may not get that much out of it in the end anyway.

Having said that, if I was living in US i would try to get to one of those westside barbell seminars for sure! They look very interesting - and i guess they are pricey as well

[michaelhobson]

So there is an athletic performance gym nearby my work that I went and took a gander at. It is a great facility and has two solid strength coaches at it. What do all of you think about shelling out a bunch of money to meet with a strength coach once per week? I'd like to do it, but for 20 sessions it would cost me about $570. Do you all think it would be worth it? I expect I would see some great gains made for powerlifting, which would be nice, I just am looking to see if other people would be willing to pay that much for a hobby.

Thanks,

Sensless

$800 per year for gym membership
$1500 for vegan fitness week
$500 bicycle

That's just the beginning, so I would have to say yes!

[sensless]

The strength coaches I would be working with are Joe Panos (former pro football player) and Brad Arnett (former strength coach for a variety of pro and college teams, used to bench 600 and I have seen him squat 750 for doubles). I know they know their stuff and the facility they have constructed for their clients use is pretty pimp. I would just be making some sacrifices to come up with that cash. If I don't do it, I will be working out by myself and with VeganEssentials, which isn't bad. I'm just trying to find justification for the expenditure. How many pound increase to my total would I consider justifying it? I just don't know. Perhaps I'll tell them I'll pay them $1 for every pound they add to my total, yea that'll do! $570 = +570 to my PL total! Ha!

Regards,

Sensless

[PaHulkster]

If you can get the money I definitely think you should do it. They will probably pass on a lot of knowledge that you will be able to use for the rest of your life. Maybe ask them if you and Ryan can go together for $800 or something.

[JP]

sensless, i would definitely pay $1 for every pound hell, i would probably pay $5!

Good point paH, but the question is, can they really offer something others cant?

Are there no powerlifting clubs around?

[PaHulkster]

That would depend on who is in the area really. I've been looking for somebody knowledgeable to teach me proper Oly technique for a long time now. If I found somebody with proven experience, results, and credits I would gladly pay $570 for twenty sessions. If you can get the same advice for free then that's certainly the way to go, but you have to work with what is available.

[JP]

here oly lifters just pay £2.20 (about $4) to get access to a coach and that includes the gym fee as well

I think we have some cultural differences in action here - perhaps sports are not financially supported by public sector in US as much as it is here in UK?

In finland it is even better i must say, sports facilities are cheaper and different sports clubs are cheaper too so that everyone has access to these services. Its public health issue really.

[PaHulkster]

here oly lifters just pay £2.20 (about $4) to get access to a coach and that includes the gym fee as well

I think we have some cultural differences in action here - perhaps sports are not financially supported by public sector in US as much as it is here in UK?

In finland it is even better i must say, sports facilities are cheaper and different sports clubs are cheaper too so that everyone has access to these services. Its public health issue really.

There is certainly a difference in motives and culture. A lot of gyms here are expensive because people will pay whatever and not even go to the gym, or just go there to socialize.

[Oak]

Hey if this is an investment. Then definetly go for it!

I mean it would be really fulfilling to get up those lifting numbers and this can do it. Well that's a great use of money.

I mean hobbies are well worth spending money on. Almost everything else is just a bore

Oak

[littlegirlbunny]

I really enjoyed having a trainer for a bit - it was a good laugh as well as educational. And there is no way i could do pyramid training without someone shouting at me

[veganjosh]

What are you trying to get out of having a coach - mostly someone to design routines for you, or someone to work on your form?

I've been working with a coach for 2 1/2 months now strictly for the purpose of not having to design my own workouts, and I find it to be very useful toward that end. I'm pretty damn lazy with tracking lifts carefully, so I'm happy to pay to have someone do it for me. It's also a big motivation for me that I have to answer to someone on workouts, and consequently I've never missed a lift or skipped a workout since I've started working with this guy.

If you're looking more for form critique, I don't know. I think everyone decent has a technique unique to them, and no one, no matter how good, can do too much to make your technique better. It's great to get input from people, but I'd just get that from going to meets and otherwise talking to great lifters - I don't know it'd be worth paying for.

As for cost, $570 is fairly high, but I pay just a bit less and don't get the hands-on work you're talking about, so it doesn't seem unreasonable.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

-Josh