Tips Finding a Coach

Enchanting_Carrot

Hello, I was hoping someone can help me by giving me tips on how to pick a good coach to work with. To give some context:

I'm 42/158cm (5'1)/56kg (123lb). I experience chronic health hiccups such as body aches (fibromyalgia), fatigue, sensitive neck (straightening and degenerative), very weak upper body, sensitive shoulder and body. Both my vitamin B12 and Ferritin are borderline (lower normal range) and vitamin d very deficient. I've been athletic my whole life (competing and sports and winning awards) but during the pandemic my lifestyle became sedentary, coinciding with aging.

My fitness goals
- Get back on track. Begin a fitness journey. Develop the habit. Build consistency, resilience, and a healthy mindset (especially around monthly cycles when I feel extremely fatigued).
- Reduce body fat to lower elevated cholesterol levels (skinny fat)
- Not lose weight as much as tone the body from soft to athletic. Ideally maybe lose a couple of kilos to take off the load on my aching limbs.

The coach profiles I was given to choose from are divided into expertise and qualifications. I honestly don't know how to make sense of them. I don't know what these qualifications are referring to or what they mean.

The expertise list includes:
- Powerlifting
- Strength and conditioning
- Body transformation
- Body sculpting and toning
- Conditioning and performance
- Functional awareness
- Functional training
- Female health
- Movement and performance
- Post injury training
- Isolation work and muscle build
- Athletic development
- Injury mitigation strategies
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Muay Thai specialist
- Mobility
- Nutrition


The qualifications list includes:
- BSC sport science and physical education
- ACE certified PT
- ACE functional training specialist
- Level 3 personal training
- Level 2 care and management in diabetes
- Level 2 nutrition and health
- Applied health and human performance specialist
- functional range conditioning
- Strong first kettlebell
- VIPR pro, ZUU fitness, animal flow
- Kilo strength society program design
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Poliquin PICP level 1&2
- Exos performance specialist
- Exos fitness specialist
- CISSN (certified nutritionist)
- Precision nutrition level 1
- Crossfit level 1
- PNF and assisted stretching therapy
- ISSA, IFCA PT
- NASM CPT
- ISSA certified personal trainer
- ISSA certified strength and conditioning
- CPT level 3 advanced
- Diploma in advanced fitness CPD
- Therapy for sports injury

Which expertise or qualifications should I be interested in at this point? For the first few weeks, I want to focus on building the habit, consistency, and maybe core muscles for protection and then build up from there.

Any tips on who I should pick a coach would be greatly appreciated.

tomcustombuilder

Too much to unpack in your post. Talk to a few people and start with one you connect with and think you'll like working with.

AnnPT77

Enchanting_Carrot wrote: »

Hello, I was hoping someone can help me by giving me tips on how to pick a good coach to work with. To give some context:

I'm 42/158cm (5'1)/56kg (123lb). I experience chronic health hiccups such as body aches (fibromyalgia), fatigue, sensitive neck (straightening and degenerative), very weak upper body, sensitive shoulder and body. Both my vitamin B12 and Ferritin are borderline (lower normal range) and vitamin d very deficient. I've been athletic my whole life (competing and sports and winning awards) but during the pandemic my lifestyle became sedentary, coinciding with aging.

My fitness goals
- Get back on track. Begin a fitness journey. Develop the habit. Build consistency, resilience, and a healthy mindset (especially around monthly cycles when I feel extremely fatigued).
- Reduce body fat to lower elevated cholesterol levels (skinny fat)
- Not lose weight as much as tone the body from soft to athletic. Ideally maybe lose a couple of kilos to take off the load on my aching limbs.

The coach profiles I was given to choose from are divided into expertise and qualifications. I honestly don't know how to make sense of them. I don't know what these qualifications are referring to or what they mean.

The expertise list includes:
- Powerlifting
- Strength and conditioning
- Body transformation
- Body sculpting and toning
- Conditioning and performance
- Functional awareness
- Functional training
- Female health
- Movement and performance
- Post injury training
- Isolation work and muscle build
- Athletic development
- Injury mitigation strategies
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Muay Thai specialist
- Mobility
- Nutrition


The qualifications list includes:
- BSC sport science and physical education
- ACE certified PT
- ACE functional training specialist
- Level 3 personal training
- Level 2 care and management in diabetes
- Level 2 nutrition and health
- Applied health and human performance specialist
- functional range conditioning
- Strong first kettlebell
- VIPR pro, ZUU fitness, animal flow
- Kilo strength society program design
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Poliquin PICP level 1&2
- Exos performance specialist
- Exos fitness specialist
- CISSN (certified nutritionist)
- Precision nutrition level 1
- Crossfit level 1
- PNF and assisted stretching therapy
- ISSA, IFCA PT
- NASM CPT
- ISSA certified personal trainer
- ISSA certified strength and conditioning
- CPT level 3 advanced
- Diploma in advanced fitness CPD
- Therapy for sports injury

Which expertise or qualifications should I be interested in at this point? For the first few weeks, I want to focus on building the habit, consistency, and maybe core muscles for protection and then build up from there.

Any tips on who I should pick a coach would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think it's possible to do much from an abstract list other than prioritize whom to interview. Given what you've said about yourself, I'd be inclined to prioritize the items I bolded, and secondarily the ones I italicized, but that's entirely subjective. But even then, that's who to talk with (interview) first. Who relates well with you - listens, gives sensible feedback - will be really important.

I'd also suggest looking at (or asking about) depth of experience: Are they just newly trained/certified, or with long experience? Do they have clients you can speak with about the client experience? (It's common for such people to say they can't name clients for privacy reasons. I think they can ask clients whether they're willing to be contacted, and still respect client privacy, but I don't know whether any certifiers' codes of conduct limit that.)

I can't say anything at all about the formal certifications. I hope someone with more knowledge may chime in about that. (@ninerbuff, maybe?)

One very subjective side comment: I wouldn't consider age 42 as inherently "aging". Your individual physical challenges and health conditions do matter. But popular mythology includes too many low expectations based purely on age. Don't let that idea limit you. (I'm 67. I was an obese, sedentary, completely physically depleted blob at age 45. Now - even though I think it's objectively hilarious - my Garmin fitness tracker says my fitness age is 26. I know I feel better, am stronger, fitter, and more capable than I was at 45, by far - so functionally younger. I can keep up with much younger folks in group fitness settings.)

Age per se is not a disability. Certain disabilities do become more likely with age (and I have some of those, too). But don't let your age in itself hold you back from believing you can accomplish your fitness goals. It's important to be clear-eyed about real physical limitations. Age per se is not one of them.

Best wishes!

Enchanting_Carrot

@AnnPT77 Thank you so much for writing this. So many helpful tips in here. I also felt motivated by your comment. I think so many things happened around the pandemic that I feel my body is foreign to me right now. I'll break down my fitness goals into small manageable ones and take it one step at a time.

Thank you again 🙏🏻

claireychn074

I’d also say to meet the coaches and see who you click with. It’s really important you trust your coach and are happy to follow their programming and lead - qualifications are important but experience with people our age (I’m 49) and the personal connection is vital. I didn’t start lifting until I was 42 and I got totally hooked! Have fun 😀

ninerbuff

Enchanting_Carrot wrote: »

Hello, I was hoping someone can help me by giving me tips on how to pick a good coach to work with. To give some context:

I'm 42/158cm (5'1)/56kg (123lb). I experience chronic health hiccups such as body aches (fibromyalgia), fatigue, sensitive neck (straightening and degenerative), very weak upper body, sensitive shoulder and body. Both my vitamin B12 and Ferritin are borderline (lower normal range) and vitamin d very deficient. I've been athletic my whole life (competing and sports and winning awards) but during the pandemic my lifestyle became sedentary, coinciding with aging.

My fitness goals
- Get back on track. Begin a fitness journey. Develop the habit. Build consistency, resilience, and a healthy mindset (especially around monthly cycles when I feel extremely fatigued).
- Reduce body fat to lower elevated cholesterol levels (skinny fat)
- Not lose weight as much as tone the body from soft to athletic. Ideally maybe lose a couple of kilos to take off the load on my aching limbs.

The coach profiles I was given to choose from are divided into expertise and qualifications. I honestly don't know how to make sense of them. I don't know what these qualifications are referring to or what they mean.

The expertise list includes:
- Powerlifting
- Strength and conditioning
- Body transformation
- Body sculpting and toning
- Conditioning and performance
- Functional awareness
- Functional training
- Female health
- Movement and performance
- Post injury training
- Isolation work and muscle build
- Athletic development
- Injury mitigation strategies
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Muay Thai specialist
- Mobility
- Nutrition


The qualifications list includes:
- BSC sport science and physical education
- ACE certified PT
- ACE functional training specialist
- Level 3 personal training
- Level 2 care and management in diabetes
- Level 2 nutrition and health
- Applied health and human performance specialist
- functional range conditioning
- Strong first kettlebell
- VIPR pro, ZUU fitness, animal flow
- Kilo strength society program design
- Advanced functional bodybuilding
- Poliquin PICP level 1&2
- Exos performance specialist
- Exos fitness specialist
- CISSN (certified nutritionist)
- Precision nutrition level 1
- Crossfit level 1
- PNF and assisted stretching therapy
- ISSA, IFCA PT
- NASM CPT
- ISSA certified personal trainer
- ISSA certified strength and conditioning
- CPT level 3 advanced
- Diploma in advanced fitness CPD
- Therapy for sports injury

Which expertise or qualifications should I be interested in at this point? For the first few weeks, I want to focus on building the habit, consistency, and maybe core muscles for protection and then build up from there.

Any tips on who I should pick a coach would be greatly appreciated.

You DON'T need a coach to start unless you're just a person who won't do anything without them. You can start with what you want to do by just checking out the threads on here pertaining to what you want to do and just having the discipline to be consistent with it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cwolfman13

I think it's best if you start talking to an "interviewing". A qualified coach/trainer should be able to accommodate you regardless of their specific niche. I'd concern myself more with relationship and credentials more so than what their specific expertise is.

My former coach's expertise was training professional BMX Supercross racers and other collegiate, amateur, and professional athletes, but he had no problem training an average Joe like me and he had me in the best shape I've been in since I was in the military in my late teens/early 20s at 43 years old.

williamsonmj1

If it was me, my first preference from that list of backgrounds would be 'Strength and Conditioning'. This usually refers to coaches who work with non-strength athletes on their strength, power and cardio. Good Strength and Conditioning coaches know how to coach and program all the different sorts of strength movements as well as endurance work and know how to put it all together. 'Conditioning and performance' is probably similar.

My second option would be to take the powerlifter. Powerlifters train to do the 'Big Three'- the squat, deadlift and bench press. They do these exercises a lot, some of the other compound movements and sometimes also some bodybuilding work. The movements they do are absolutely foundational to strength training and are just really great to learn. If you train with a powerlifter for a year or so you will get all the basics down, and you will be a ton stronger. Throw in a basic running program you can get off the internet (like Couch25K) and that is pretty great.