Social media has many downsides…but a huge upside is that it’s easy to get exposed to all sorts of new ideas. We eagerly and avidly look for strength coaches all over the world to learn from. We’ll explore lots of channels but Instagram is probably the easiest medium to use when searching for new content. We decided to make a list and highlight a few people who are doing an awesome job and worthy of your follow.
What we considered when making our list –
- Actual experience in the field programming and coaching athletes or reviewing and creating research related to strength and conditioning.
- Someone who has a specific athlete population that they work with, but it’s obvious their programs and techniques would crossover to other athlete types.
- Fitness models are not strength and conditioning coaches. They are not on our list.
- We appreciate creativity, but not gimmicks, when it come to exercise creation and selection.
- While we love when a coach is someone who is keeping him or herself fit…we put more stock in coaches who consistently get OTHER people to perform better, improve their fitness and become more resilient.
This is not a ranking of best to worst, just our top five. So, without further adieu, here is the Movement Guides Top Strength and Conditioning Coach Accounts to Follow in 2019:
- Michael Drach Training – I freaking love Michael Drach’s feed. Just about every time he posts something I’m like, “dammit, why didn’t I think of that?!!” His videos are mostly of athletes performing extremely explosive movements with before and after video illustrating the effectiveness of his techniques. He’s even created a new plyo movement called the Drach Jump. Used to improve rate of force development it’s a movement you’ve got to try. If you’re looking for some awesome ideas to improve speed, power and plyometric abilities you MUST follow this guy: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldrachtraining/
- Eric Cressey – Unless you’ve been living in a hole, you probably already know about Eric Cressey. If you don’t already follow Eric, slap yourself and then hit the follow button on his account. Eric is a strength coach who is better at physical therapy than physical therapists. He is the most prominent strength coach in the world of baseball, but his posts and teachings are applicable to just about any athlete or provider who deals with athletes. We especially love his take on the athletic development of young athletes. He is not afraid to call out the ridiculous youth sports culture that has taken over the United States. If you believe kids should be playing the same sport year round and spending thousands of dollars going to “showcases” give Eric a follow so he can educate you. https://www.instagram.com/ericcressey/
- The “Glute Guy”, Bret Contreras – Did you know there is a guy making a healthy living off of teaching beautiful women how to improve their back sides? Well there is. His name is Bret Contreras and before you scoff, the dude has a PhD and is the successful inventor of The Hip Thruster. Bret has produced some remarkable research and he posts really interesting and applicable training related charts and training methodologies. We love that he treats himself as a lab rat. Also, it’s pretty much impossible to disagree with anything he posts as it’s all evidence based and practicable for real world implementation. Is his feed filled with gorgeous women in bikinis? Yes, but don’t make that the reason you do or don’t follow him. It’s also full of some of the most well informed training advice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bretcontreras1/
- Chris Beardsley – If you are ever super curious about a specific strength and conditioning topic and want to know what the research says, follow Chris. Chris writes the most in depth, robust literature reviews on all things S&C that we’ve found. His website www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com is where all of his work is available and it is mind boggling. I go here often when I want to feel small and unintelligent. You should feel good that people like Chris exist to make sense of complicated and often contradicting research. If you are a coach, therapist, trainer or anyone who prescribes or programs exercise for other people, this feed and his website should be referred to frequently. https://www.instagram.com/chrisabeardsley/
- Fearless Miranda, Miranda Alcaraz – Miranda and her husband have created the online fitness community Street Parking. It’s gaining traction as a reputable fitness program for those who mostly workout or train at home. Miranda is an incredible athlete and cut her coaching teeth in the CrossFit world. Now, Miranda has evolved away from CrossFit with her Street Parking business. She is inspirational to women (and men) around the world as she practices what she preaches, offering up motivation as well as sound general preparedness programming. My wife follows this program and I join in from time to time. I’ve found their programming fun and challenging. So, if you’re looking for a new home workout program check out www.streetparking.com and follow Miranda on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/fearlessmiranda/
We hope you take the time to follow these impressive coaches (and us, follow Movement Guides too!). Also,check out our other blog where we list the Top Physical Therapy Instagram Accounts to follow in 2019.
UPDATE!!! The 2021 edition of Top Strength Coach Accounts to Follow on Instagram is HERE!!
Click here for the 2020 edition of Top Strength Coaches to Follow on Instagram
Thanks for reading!
Kyle Sela, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS
Co-Founder
