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HOME ABOUT FREE EBOOK STORE RESOURCES CASE STUDIES MY OTHER BLOG CONTACTThe 65 Most Influential Strength Coachesof All TimeSeptember 16, 2012 by Chris McCombs 35 CommentsTweetShare on diggShare on linkedinShare on redditAcross the United States and around the world there arethousands of strength and conditioning coaches working hard to train clients that rangein ability and dedication from junior level and amateur competitors to Olympic-caliberand professional athletes to die-hard powerlifters and everyday citizens.With countless different methods and schools of thought about the best and mosteffective conditioning programs, the influences of each coach is wide-ranging andindividual.With that in mind, it is very difficult to compile a short list of the top strength coaches inthe world. However, this is a list of the some of the most influential strength andconditioning coaches of all-time, listed in no particular order. A few of these guys mightnot technically be “strength coaches”, but they definitely belonged on here.

I think the list actually contains 67, but 65 just made for a better hook Louie SimmonsLouie Simmons is the owner of Westside Barbell which has turned out many of thestrongest powerlifters in the world. An experienced and championship-caliberweightlifter himself, Simmons has been ranked nationally even at over 50 years of age.Through personal experience and a myriad of training programs, he has producedmany champion lifters and over 100 training articles. Simmons created the ReverseHyper machine for strength conditioning, and heserves as a consultant for several NFL and college footballteams.Glenn PendlayAfter learning the basics of Olympic weightlifting, Pendlay studied exercise physiologyin both his undergraduate and Master’s degree programs, focusing his attentionspecifically on endocrinology and the body’s reactions to stress. His research hasallowed him to work with weightlifters, cyclists, skiers, and track and field athletes.Pendlay created Wichita Falls Weightlifting, and he is the current head coach for theCalifornia Strength team, where hetrains American team members and weightlifting record holders.

Bill StarrA former Olympic weightlifting competitor, Starr became the assistant editor of Strengthand Health magazine in 1966 before changing careers to become one of the first strengthand conditioning coaches in the NFL for the former Baltimore Colts and the HoustonOilers.A published author of both fiction and nonfiction, including his book TheStrongest Shall Survive, Starr currently works as a writer for both MILO and Iron Manmagazines.Jason FerruggiaAKA “The Renegade Strength Coach”, Jason has trained more than 700 professionalathletes around the country, Ferruggia teaches naturally skinny people to gain weightand build muscle quickly and impressively. As the chief training advisor for Men’sFitness magazine, Ferruggia has written more than 500 articles in his monthly columnand various other magazines, and he has presented seminars nationwide about his wellresearched and cutting-edge training techniques that create muscle through short tripsto the gym. Jason’s blog is currenty the most popular strength training blog in the world

Leo TottenCurrently serving as the Olympic Weightlifting coach, Totten is also employed as thepresident of Werksan Barbells. He has been the head coach of the East Coast GoldWeightlifting Team since he established it in 1992.Prior to these credentials, he spent 33years teaching and coaching at the high school level, and he continues to run satellitetraining centers out of his local high school to coach and motivate lifters from afar.James SmithAs a world-renowned coach and member of the LIVESTRONG.com Fitness AdvisoryBoard, Smith dedicates himself to encouraging each level of his athletes to work beyondtheir potential. He serves as a consultant and lecturer at nationwide seminars, and hehas been a featured writer for several health magazines, all while producing best-sellingfitness and power-building DVDs. Smith owns and operates Diesel Strength andConditioning, where he trains professionalMMA fighters with innovative techniques.

Joe DeFrancoDeFranco established his program and training gym designed only for athletes at a NewJersey location in 2003. Since then, his warehouse-type centers are training athletes haveworked to improve athletic performance at the high school, college, and professionallevels. DeFranco’s tough strength training program was featured in the documentaryStrong, and his center was recently voted as one of the top 10 gyms in the country byMen’s Health magazine.Dave TateAs the founder and CEO of Elite Fitness Systems, which trains athletes and othercoaches, Tate has participated as a top weightlifter himself for nearly 25 years.Additionally, he is a top personal trainer who has worked as a writer for magazines suchas Powerlifting USA and Men’s Health. Presented by the Society for Weight TrainingSpecialists, Tate won a Lifetime Achievement award in 2005 for his hard workand entrepreneurial spirit.

Charles StaleyStaley is a former martial arts competitor and trainer who has coached the Olympicweightlifting team and many elite athletes from a variety of sports, including boxing,football, and bodybuilding. Having published more than 100 articles, he also lecturesfrequently about human performance and training for sports. Staley’s website isconsistently considered in the top 50 health and fitness websites worldwide, and he isconsulted often for his training program.Mike BoyleBeginning more than 25 years ago, Boyle’s career training football players at BostonUniversity led to his world renowned work in sports performance training. He has beenfeatured on HBO’s “RealSports” and on ESPN for his training book, Functional Trainingfor Sports, as well as his DVDs about strength training, conditioning, and weight loss.Working with professional athletes across New England, Boyle was signed to the BostonRed Sox strength training staff in 2012.

Alwyn CosgroveAs a lecturer, writer, and owner of two-time top gym nominee Results Fitness inCalifornia, Cosgrove specializes in athletic performance enhancement developedthrough scientific study. His training philosophy focuses on real-world people withbusy schedules. He has written many training manuals and produced severaleducational DVDs in addition to his column for Men’s Health Magazine and his recentlypublished book The New Rules of Lifting for Women.Mark VerstegenThe founder and president of Athletes’ Performance, a facility created to help athletesachieve their top goals, Verstegen cultivated his successful programs at Georgia Tech theopening of his gym in 1999. He serves as a consultant for high performance companiessuch as adidas and Gatorade, and Verstegen is often interviewed as part of his job as theDirector of Performance with the NFL Players’ Association. His Core Performancesystem of training and line of bookshas brown Verstegen international fame.

Mike WoicikWoicik honed his strength conditioning program at Syracuse University in the 1980s.Joining the coaching staff of the NFL Dallas Cowboys in 1990, Woicik is credited forbringing conditioning and more wins to the team, earning him the title of the NFL’sStrength Training Coach of the Year in 1992. After a two-year stint with the NewOrleans Saints, Woicik trained the New England Patriots for 11 years before returning tothe Cowboys. He holds the record of most Super Bowl ringsfor a coach, earning a combined six with the Cowboys andPatriots.Mike ClarkA recipient of the National Strength Coach of the Year award in 1993 for his work atseveral universities, Clark became the head conditioning coach of the Texas A&Mathletic program. After serving collegiately for 25 years, he is the current coach for theKansas City Chief’s NFL team after previously holding a similar position with theSeattle Seahawks from 2004-2009. In his brief work with the Chiefs, Clark’s team hasalready reached the Super Bowl.

Zach Evan-EshWith his Underground Strength Methods, Evan-Esh works the core strength of histrainees. Based on his own trial and error with sand bags and weight benches, he hascultivated a conditioning method similar to those considered outdated by many fitnessexperts. Evan-Esh’s so-called underground style of training uses basic materials foundoutside and at junk sales without relying on new technology.Elliott HulseAs a certified strength and conditioning specialist as well as a nationally rankedcompetitive strongman, Hulse runs a Strength Camp fitness program that has beendemonstrated on FOX Sports as well as ranked the best fitness service in Tampa Bay.Hulse also qualifies as a holistic lifestyle coach who coauthored the Lean Hybrid MuscleProgram, one of the most popular muscle building programs that combines aerobicstraining, dieting, and weightlifting.

Eric CresseyOwner of Cressey Performance facilities in Massachusetts, Cressey trains athletes of alllevels, from youth to Olympic-caliber performers. He has published more than 200articles and has spoken at seminars around the world. A competitive powerlifterhimself, Cressey has co-produced several DVDs, including Magnificent Mobility andBuilding the Efficient Athlete. He specializes in working with injured athletes, althoughhe also trains healthy competitors.Pavel TsatsoulineAs a former drill instructor and conditioning trainer with the Soviet special forces,Tsatsouline specializes in sculpting the muscles for flexibility and toning throughmartial arts fitness training. He has been a major supporter in establishing the Russiankettlebell as a superior fitness and strengthening device. Tsatsouline is now a civilianconsultant with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Marshals, and SWAT teams, and he haspublished numerous articles on stretching and flexibility.

Kelly StarrettAfter opening one of the first CrossFit affiliates in San Francisco in 2005, Starrett’sfacility has become home to many Olympians, world champions, and everydayexercisers. He works with his athletes in a positive, welcoming environment to motivatehis trainees to perform at a higher level. A former canoe and kayak champion himself,Starrett also serves as the conditioning coach for several competitive rowing athletes.Martin RooneyFeatured on programs on networks such as ESPN, Spike TV, and Fox Sports Net, Rooneyis the creator of the Training for Warriors system and a consultant for Nike runningspeed testing camps for collegiate athletes. Recently Rooney has also been the leader ofthe Parisi Speed School, now a national franchise under his tutelage. He has trained 127athletes successfully drafted following the NFL Combine.

Jim WendlerWendler, a former football player at the University of Arizona, has transitioned intostrength and conditioning coaching at the University of Kentucky. Soon he was hired byElite Fitness Systems, where he competes in powerlifting and continues to coachtrainees in strength and conditioning. Wendler is the author and creater of The Simplestand Most Effective Training Method for Raw Strength.Brooks KubikA weightlifting competitor and trainer for over 40 years, Kubik is the creator of theDinosaur Training program of books and DVDs, as well as the author of hundreds ofarticles published in Milo, Ironman, and Muscle and Fitness among others. Based inKentucky, Kubik has released two novels about the Iron Game, as well as his follow upmanual to Dinosaur Training, a special strength training program for older lifters.