Episode #17: Transitioning from Athlete to Coach, Starting Brute Strength and Coaching High Schoolers with Matt Bruce

Matt Bruce, a good friend and partner of TeamBuildr, joins us for this week’s episode. Matt is an Olympic Weightlifting National Champion as well as a lifting protégé under the legendary Gayle Hatch. Matt is quick to give credit to Hatch for his successes and lifting knowledge, and has put that knowledge to work as the co-founder of online training program Brute Strength, and Head Strength Coach at Catholic High School in Louisiana.

Matt retired from Olympic Weightlifting competitions at 28, and his transition to the professional world was a challenging one that did not come without tears. After getting kicked out of the gym he trained in for 17 years, he got a fresh start by landing a job in a local CrossFit gym after humbly offering to sweep its floors just for the chance to train athletes. Matt took off running with the opportunity, developing a passion for coaching and co-founding Brute Strength in short order. Matt touts Olympic Lifting as the most efficient way to produce force in a safe manner, but warns that no weight program can be successful without athlete trust.

“A coach can have the perfect program, but if you don’t have the buy-in from the athlete, you might as well throw it away.”

In the episode, Matt offers straight talk on how High School strength training has brought him fulfillment and stability, Crossfit’s image challenges, and the importance of athletic trainers and strength coaches working as a team.

To learn more about Matt, you can follow his professional and personal Instagram pages. Be sure to like and subscribe to catch us next time!

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