The Professional Transitions Series

CJ Gotcher talks to Jesse Mecham, Founder of YNAB and Barbell Academy student, about his experience going through the academy. Jesse came to lifting in his teens, reading a special edition of Muscle and Fitness magazine that covered Arnold Scharzenegger. His first experience with coaching came from someone warning about hurting his back from deadlifting, which scared him away from simple, hard, effective training for a while. He continued to lift.

Eventually, he found Barbell Logic and a more effective approach to strength training. Jesse, someone who applies himself at anything he does and wants to do anything he does well, built a garage gym and invited others to lift with him. His role evolved into somewhat of a coaching role, and as this occurred he signed up for the Barbell Academy to help deepen his knowledge of programming and coaching.

As he completed the Academy, he learned a lot and was better able to program and cue his fellow lifters. He even arranged a Barbell Logic seminar at his gym, which not only helped improve his coaching but also helped the other lifters learn to better identify and fix their own errors.

Despite this, he ultimately decided to NOT pursue becoming a professional barbell coach, with his other commitments of family and running a business.

In addition to this, CJ & Jesse talk about productivity and setting up the first coaching arrangement so you don’t grow resentful.

Many coaches coach their first lifters for free, and this makes sense, but you have to ensure you set up the situation so you receive value as well. Experience is valuable, but see if you can get the lifters to provide testimonials or other means of providing you value as you grow as a coach–and potentially grow a business.

Jesse & CJ also discuss balancing your natural tendencies as a coach. Some coaches tend to be too timid and need to work on assertiveness, confidence, and being loud. Others, however, may insert themselves readily and easily and need to not overcue.

They finish talking about being relentless about what you care about: spend the time, effort, and money where you want to. This requires intentionality and planning. This means limiting and managing distractions, being honest about things that take up your time but don’t provide value, blocking off times for deep work and self-improvement and preventing distractions during these blocks.

This podcast will provide value wherever you are and show how the Barbell Academy can help, even if you never become a professional barbell coach.

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

Eric Feigl jumps on the podcast with CJ Gotcher to discuss his evolution as a coach. Unlike many of the other coaches, Eric has been a long-time coach and personal trainer and even has his own podcast, the Fitness Candor podcast. His story is more one of adapting and evolving and improving his own coaching practice and business. Learn more here: https://ericfeigl.com

Eric loves the IMPACT coaching makes on someone’s everyday life. Ultimately every job HELPS people somehow, even accounting. Coaching however can really alter the quality of someone’s life and how each moment feels, reducing pain, and increasing abilities. He was attracted to coaching because of this.

One of the things CJ & Eric discuss is how in learning deeply about something you ultimately have to believe in that thing. For Eric, is what Arthur Jones intensity training. For CJ, it was CrossFit. Though neither believes deeply in these, they’ve learned the benefits and downsides despite beginning as devotees of these respective training methods.

While Eric pursued a degree, he feels that most of what he learned does not help him be a better coach. You ultimately have to pursue those things that give you the tools to improve your coaching, and the Barbell Academy definitely provides many of those tools.

When Eric found simple, hard, effective barbell training, he already had to have clients. This occurred during the lockdown, so when clients returned he had changed his training philosophy quite a bit. He introduced barbells. Some people were all in, some needed a more compromised solution, but ultimately using barbells was better than what they had been doing. Some clients needed to leave and go elsewhere, but Eric believed more in his new approach and it did not hurt his business.

He began lifting because he grew interested in cheerleading in college. When college & cheerleading ending, so did lifting for awhile.

He worked in hospitality services and restaurants, and though he enjoyed it he thought about continuing down this path into his 60s and ultimately knew he needed to make a change. He began to lift & coach.

Brandon found that his hospitality experience and his ability to quickly connect to people made a huge impact on his coaching ability. This is something that has popped up again and again in the series, is that you bring the tools you have from your career and life experience. You have skills that can help you be a better coach: don’t be afraid to use them.

For those who have trouble striking up conversation, Brandon recommends talking about the things you’re passionate about. If you’re not passionate about discussing training and lifting, you might need to think twice about whether you want to be a coach.

Another thing Brandon recommends is being honest. If you don’t feel like an expert, just be honest. Say that you think you can help improve their deadlift or squat and have some humility and underpromise and overdeliver.

It really takes a relatively low level of proficiency to be able to help most clients. Don’t suck, and you can help. Use the teaching scripts, improve your eye, understand some basics and you can help someone quite a bit.

When Brandon started coaching people, he programmed lots of bosu ball and other stuff, and began to see a pattern of clients not improving much beyond 6 months. He searched for answers as to why this was occurring, and came to simpler, harder, more effective training with barbells.

Brandon loves learning & coaching & getting better, and thinks it’s really all about getting a little better everyday. You’re either getting better or getting worse. Getting 1% better every day can make a huge difference. Getting 1% worse every day, similarly, can make a big difference. Choose growth.

Finally, CJ & Brandon discuss mentorship & getting a mentor. Brandon ultimately says, just ask someone who you would like to be your mentor. Most of the time, they’ll be flattered and say yes. If they don’t want to, it’s probably because of time, and that’s okay, so find someone else.