A few years ago, while presenting at the NSCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, I told the audience that I wasn’t working with many athletes anymore by choice. I explained that today about 90–95% of my clients are regular people—general population folks who just want to improve their lives. I even said I preferred training them to professional athletes. The room went quiet, with a chorus of crickets. You would have thought I’d announced I’d given up everything to wander the land and practice kung fu.
During the Q&A that followed, several people asked if I was okay and if I needed medical help for saying something so controversial. “So you stopped training athletes to work with general population clients—why?”
Before I dive in, there’s an elephant in the room. In the fitness world, there’s a belief that if you’re coaching pro athletes or celebrities, you’ve “made it” and earned elite status. Some certifications are treated as more valuable than others. For example, a CSCS certificate is seen as more prestigious than a CPT. Certifications matter, but I try not to overemphasize the letters next to a name. What counts more is the person’s actual experience and track record.
I’ve trained both sides and found value in each path. I’ve cheered equally hard when a female client nails her first strict bodyweight chin‑up and when one of my athletes makes his Major League debut. A fun aside I won’t forget: I watched a former athlete on the night of my own bachelor party reach his Big League moment.
I’m not here to claim one route is inherently better. I’m just speaking for myself. So why did I choose not to work with pro athletes as my main focus?
Here’s the gist I share:
1) You’re not my mom; you can’t tell me what to do.
2) I still train athletes. My previous coaching role was at Cressey Sports Performance, a place known for working with many pro athletes—especially overhead athletes. So, switching away from that abundance happened, in part, because of my move. If Mike Trout wanted to train at CORE, I wouldn’t turn him away.
3) When I left CSP to open my own small studio in Boston, I knew the people I’d serve most were everyday individuals who just want to live without pain and be able to do small joys—like picking up their kids. The studio’s location and my own goals shaped that choice. I loved working with athletes, and I still do, but I found greater joy in helping regular people achieve milestones like squatting twice their bodyweight or ending chronic back pain. I wanted to recapture that sense of purpose.
There’s no weaker coaching pedigree in helping someone reach real-life goals, whether it’s a bigger squat or better movement. As Vince Gabriele once put it, “I get more satisfaction helping a level 3 become a level 7 than a level 8 becoming a level 9.” That mindset sums up my view.
Also, if I’m honest with young trainers, there are far more general population clients than pro athletes. It’s a mathematical reality. You may never work with athletes, no matter how much you want to. And while training athletes can add prestige and help attract business, general population clients are the ones who keep a gym running.
If this resonates with someone who feels less qualified because they don’t train models, actors, or high-profile names, that worry is unfounded. True maturity as a trainer shows in the progress you help people make, not in who you’ve trained. My own shorthand for this journey would be “Deadlifts, Wu‑Tang, and Donuts.”
Early in my career, when I said I was “only” a CPT, people were surprised I still knew concepts like gluconeogenesis or that I could design programs to build strength without training athletes or holding a CSCS. I did eventually earn the CSCS, but for the first five years I was a personal trainer. The key isn’t bragging about a single Olympian from the past; it’s continuing to coach people effectively today. Words of wisdom, as always, from Vince McConnell.
