What’s the difference between a personal trainer and a strength & conditioning coach?

introduction

Personal training shares a lot in common with strength and conditioning. To start, both work with their clients to achieve their fitness goals. A trainer or coach should both incorporate weight training or resistance training into their work to increase muscle mass and muscle strength.

The major difference is that strength and conditioning coaches work specifically with athletes in order to improve sport performance.

What does a strength and conditioning coach do?

They work with competitive athletes or entire athletic teams to optimize their performance.

Experienced coaches draw upon scientific principles to design training programs.

  • Overload

  • Progression

  • Reversability

  • Periodization

  • Specificity

  • Individualization

Individualization is particularly important. A coach must understand an athlete’s background, mindset, training experience, injury history, and competition schedule. Even when training teams, they will have to adapt to the unique performance needs of each player.

Once they’ve performed a thorough assessment, the coach should collaborate with their athlete to prioritize training. An S&C coach may only have a few hours a week to work with an athlete, so they must strategically address weaknesses and strengths. If a high school football player can run a 4.5 but benches 135 pounds, a clear focus should be on adding strength. Conversely, a competitive soccer player who only trains at zone 5 will need a plan to improve aerobic conditioning.

A coach will choose to emphasize some of the following elements when designing a training program.

  • Mobility

  • Strength

  • Endurance

  • Explosiveness

  • Power

  • Speed

  • Agility

  • Flexibility

By this point, the coach has an excellent foundation for building a program by combining sound principles with a strategic approach. The last step is to read up on any new and relevant s&c research.

Finally, they can begin constructing the plan using the main tools of the trade:

  • Strength training

  • Conditioning

  • Mobility

  • Plyometrics

  • Performance Psychology

Read this article for more detail on what a strength and conditioning coach does. 

Benefits of Strength and Conditioning Training

Even for athletes who master these principles, a strength and conditioning coach can put all the pieces together. They can also stay on top of new research and ideas so the athlete can focus on performing.

Coaches guide athletes through their program, hopefully working collaboratively. Ideally, coaching feedback helps each individual understand their body better and how to make good training decisions. A coach reminds athletes about training tools, like Rate of Perceived Exertion, but athletes must actually utilize them.

Every individual athlete has unique needs. Ultimately, the most important benefit of working with a coach is that athletes receive custom-tailored guidance. Coaches identify strengths and weaknesses in their clients and work to create a program that helps athletes improve all-around. They pay special attention to the unique experiences, biology, and psychology of each individual.