Five years ago, I still struggled with barbell math. I knew nothing about making a training program, but I appreciated being told the underlying ideas when I was given one. Most of my effort was still about just showing up. I was still coming to grips with the fact that even if I trained well, I had missed the best time of my life for training. I still had no idea why you couldn’t outwork a poor diet.

But five years ago I finally let coaches tell me what to do instead of flailing on my own or arguing what they had to say.

I’m running my own little gym now. And I want to serve others the way those coaches served me. I’m not a gifted athlete, but that serves me well with a lot of people. Because all the problems I’ve had to solve and all the mistakes I made and all the little victories I’ve won… it’s normal people stuff. It’s the stuff for folks that groan getting out of the recliner. For folks that walk into the gym and are scared of everything but the treadmills.

I couldn’t help you lose your water to get stage ready at a bodybuilding competition. But I know from experience plenty of tools to help an obese person lose 50+ pounds.

I couldn’t guarantee you an athletic scholarship at a D1 school. But I know from experience how to help a sedentary person enjoy moving their body.

It’s been tough gaining members at the gym. But at the core of the work I put in is a memory of who I was and how much I needed a coach. So I’ll keep trying my best to help. If you’d like to find out more, check out Gus’s Barbell Club at gus.coach.