Is powerlifting specific coaching worth the money for a beginner-intermediate lifter looking to compete?
I suppose that depends on the coach, in my opinion. You can learn enough from youtube and free online articles to get you pretty far. (Doing this got me to a 640 squat, 500 bench and 660 dead all raw w/ wraps)
I have bought 2 sessions with Matt Gary who was USAPL’s 2012 coach of the year and he has made me feel comfortable with the squat for the first time in my life. I wish i would have went to him sooner, I think i’d be further along if I had. But I’d only pay for someone who really knows their stuff
I am going to piggyback off Alpha and say that hands on coaching from a respectable coach for very detailed form and technique is great, but online program coaching generally isn’t worth it IMHO, and you can find that stuff for free with a little searching.
Oh, to add on to my post, I meant in person coaching, not online coaching.
I spent $100 and five hours in a very legit gym yesterday with a 50-something college professor and strength coach with a 1940 total and decades under the bar. Best $100 I have spent all year.
This was my first in-person coaching, having spent the last year and a half figuring it out on my own and doing it fairly well. This got me to a 300 bench, a 565 deadlift and a 465 squat.
If the coach is legit and you can afford it, I doubt you will have any regrets. My only regret is not doing it sooner and not lifting at a gym where people take strength seriously.
The value of training with like-minded people was perhaps my biggest take-away from yesterday’s session. Finding a way to make that happen is now a priority for me.
Depends on your mindset and bank account.
Definitely worth it for me, cause I went from 25 years sitting at a desk getting fat and deteriorating, to becoming reasonably strong. 10 months in I want to smash some world records on deads and put up some respectable totals. I did my first ‘fun’ meet in december, 9 months in. Now my second meet 12 months in.
But you are likely already drinking the Full Power coolaid, and don’t need the level of coaching and motivation I needed.
[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I am going to piggyback off Alpha and say that hands on coaching from a respectable coach for very detailed form and technique is great, but online program coaching generally isn’t worth it IMHO, and you can find that stuff for free with a little searching. [/quote]
What he said. Even a hour on each lift with a good technical coach will put a lot of weight on the bar in a short time and make for a much more enjoyable experience doing so.
Online coaching is so-so in my experience, especially if you like setting and controlling out your own programming (like me). You might not progress quite as fast and make mistakes along the way programming for yourself but you do get very good at figuring out what works best for you and it sure it is fun. Besides,if you keep it simple and stick to the basics at first you won’t go too far wrong.
The only coach I can find in my area is $40 an hour. I’ve thought about going there for one session a week. Does that price seem sky-high or acceptable considering he’s a decently educated and well-known coach?
[quote]-108- wrote:
The only coach I can find in my area is $40 an hour. I’ve thought about going there for one session a week. Does that price seem sky-high or acceptable considering he’s a decently educated and well-known coach?[/quote]
Spend the money and see. I charge more than that for individual personal training.
[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I am going to piggyback off Alpha and say that hands on coaching from a respectable coach for very detailed form and technique is great, but online program coaching generally isn’t worth it IMHO, and you can find that stuff for free with a little searching. [/quote]
I agree that online coaching for a beginner/intermediate is probably not worth the money. But, for someone that’s been powerlifting for a while, it can be a good use of money.
I signed up with Mike Tuchsherer in May of last year after going about a year and a half (maybe longer) without a pr total. In October, I set a pr total by 11 lbs and hit a squat I’d been chasing for years. Not a huge pr by any means, but when you’ve been competing for a long time like I have, additional progress can become hard to come by. And, after years of doing my own programming, I really like not having to think about it – just go in and execute the workout.
[quote]burt128 wrote:
[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I am going to piggyback off Alpha and say that hands on coaching from a respectable coach for very detailed form and technique is great, but online program coaching generally isn’t worth it IMHO, and you can find that stuff for free with a little searching. [/quote]
I agree that online coaching for a beginner/intermediate is probably not worth the money. But, for someone that’s been powerlifting for a while, it can be a good use of money.
I signed up with Mike Tuchsherer in May of last year after going about a year and a half (maybe longer) without a pr total. In October, I set a pr total by 11 lbs and hit a squat I’d been chasing for years. Not a huge pr by any means, but when you’ve been competing for a long time like I have, additional progress can become hard to come by. And, after years of doing my own programming, I really like not having to think about it – just go in and execute the workout.[/quote]
And you went with one of the very few online coaches I would actually recommend.
[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
[quote]burt128 wrote:
[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I am going to piggyback off Alpha and say that hands on coaching from a respectable coach for very detailed form and technique is great, but online program coaching generally isn’t worth it IMHO, and you can find that stuff for free with a little searching. [/quote]
I agree that online coaching for a beginner/intermediate is probably not worth the money. But, for someone that’s been powerlifting for a while, it can be a good use of money.
I signed up with Mike Tuchsherer in May of last year after going about a year and a half (maybe longer) without a pr total. In October, I set a pr total by 11 lbs and hit a squat I’d been chasing for years. Not a huge pr by any means, but when you’ve been competing for a long time like I have, additional progress can become hard to come by. And, after years of doing my own programming, I really like not having to think about it – just go in and execute the workout.[/quote]
And you went with one of the very few online coaches I would actually recommend. [/quote]
Yes, I can’t say enough good things about him. A system that teaches you to autoregulate, good feedback regarding recovery and adjustments to training as a result, and he’s incredibly responsive. Worth every penny.
I worked with Josh Bryant and I can’t say enough good things about his programming. Really changed my thoughts about work capacity and training in general. I added around 40lbs to my total and hit prs in all 3 lifts.