When I began as a personal trainer, one of the things that shocked me was discovering all the strength coaches and physical therapists that I had never heard of. I’m talking about the people that work with pro athletes, where strength and fitness are worth millions. You will rarely, if ever, find them in mainstream fitness media, so I thought I’d just make a short list of the ones that I have found most helpful.
The List
Mike Boyle – He’s been around for quite a while and has trained tons of college athletes along with pros from a variety of sports. I made a huge leap in my understanding of programming by watching a lecture he gave on training basketball players. Website – http://www.bodybyboyle.com
Dan John – This guy is pretty legendary in the field. The best way to describe him would be that he is the stop-whining-and-pick-up-something-heavy-and-carry-it guy. He reminds us that no matter how fancy your workouts get, you can’t replace simply getting strong. Website – http://danjohn.net
Eric Cressey – He’s known for working with MLB pitchers. If you want to know about shoulders, he’s the guy. It’s not just shoulders though. He has great videos and blog posts on just about everything. Website – http://www.cresseyperformance.com
Tony Gentilcore – He works with Eric Cressey and is a co-founder of their facility. He’s an expert and you can take his advice on all subjects related to strength training. My feeling though, is that he is best for applying expert knowledge to your average joe/jane. Website – http://tonygentilcore.com
Meghan Callaway – A strength coach and athlete who writes great stuff on exercise variations and progressions. She has a lot of different ways of getting from point A to point B. She’s also a much needed female voice in what can be a lopsidedly male industry. Website – http://www.meghancallawayfitness.com
** There are many others out there. These are just a few of the ones I find myself continually coming back to.
The Point
The point of this list is that these names (usually) do not appear in the mainstream fitness magazines and media available. They are however, the real experts. They train people whose careers depend on physical capabilities. If we really want to understand exercise, this is where we should be looking.