Strength and conditioning coaching is ideal for ambitious trainers looking to develop a deeper understanding of the skills it takes to reach high-performance levels in athletics, sports, or personal training. As a coach, your job is to create evidence-based programmes to help your clients reach their physical peak.
By studying this, you will gain an understanding of using sports science to maximise physical performance.
So if your ambition is to work with athletes, or even if you’re a personal trainer looking to develop your expertise and push your professional development, obtaining a Strength and Conditioning qualification may be one of the most beneficial things you can do!
Let’s break down what you might expect after qualifying in this handy guide to what Strength and Conditioning training can do for your career. This blog includes:
Getting certified as a strength and conditioning coach will open the doors to a range of environments, perhaps inaccessible before becoming qualified. Like all fitness professionals, Strength and Conditioning coaches can work in a range of facilities, whether it be:
Once qualified as a strength and conditioning coach, you have a few options ahead of you:
Your work is as a Strength and Conditioning coach will be dynamic, and your new skills mean you can train a variety of clients. However, because of the type of people you’ll be working with, the service you provide must be up to standard. Your practice should be evidence-based, and you should be staying up to date with the science in the field. It would help if you regularly read publications and not be afraid to go to other more experienced coaches for advice.
As you get more hands-on experience and establish yourself as an expert, the calibre of your clients will increase. As a fully qualified Strength and Conditioning coach, your pool of potential clients can grow substantially. You will now be eligible to work in high-performance environments helping athletes get prepared for competition. This might mean working with sports teams or individual athletes, developing rising talent or supporting seasoned veterans.
For self-employed Strength and Conditioning coaches, the amount you earn can vary depending on several factors:
You might work with a few high-paying clients or start an online coaching business and provide education and services for hundreds (if not thousands!)
There is no correct way to do it, and there is no cap on how much you can earn.
If you were to go down the employed route, your salary would depend on:
For example, the Head Strength and Conditioning coach in a leading NFL team with a massive budget will easily earn over £150,000 a year. The coach has spent years mastering their craft and is crucial for the team’s success, so they are paid accordingly.
It is more likely that someone recently qualified as a Strength and Conditioning coach will be earning between £20,000 and £60,000 per year as salary. Still, you can easily complement this with private work.
Gaining a Strength and Conditioning qualification is an essential step in furthering your career. Not only will you have a better understanding of sports science and gain many valuable new skills, but It will also open many more doors for your business. You’ll be in a position to work with athletes and market your services to people serious about performance (and they will likely pay more for that). However, your options are not limited, and, likely, a combination of working privately and being associated with an organisation is the best route to take, not only for the experience and networking but also financially.