Episode 138 of the Doc and Jock Podcast features James FitzGerald of Opex Fitness. James has been a player in the sport of fitness since before it was the sport of fitness.  He is a great coach who has blended good science, a passion for teaching, and a no bull shit attitiude to develop one of the leading educational courses for coaches in the world.

On this episode we cover athlete assessment, stress management, and what coaches need to do to turn their passion for fitness into a thriving business.

James is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a Higher Order.

James has found a desire and passion to understanding fitness through assessment, testing, research, programming and more. He has had many years experience as an athlete from early childhood into adulthood, from playing top level soccer, short and long distance running to CrossFit where he was crowned “The Fittest on Earth”, Winner of the 2007 CrossFit Games

http://opexfit.com/

@opexfitness

@jfitzopex

0:00 - 1:44

Intros and Pleasantries

1:45 - 3:50

Who were the coaches who inspired and mentored James.

3:51 - 5:57

How did James develop his systematic approach to coaching the sport of fitness.

5:58 - 9:46

James discusses the growth of Crossfit and the blend of sport and fitness.

9:47 - 11:52

James is a well read coach and provides a nice reading list for coaches interested in training and self improvement.

11:53 - 16:01

James discusses what inspired him to begin coaching coaches.

16:02 - 20:52

The gang discusses assessment of the athlete.

20:53 - 22:37

Throwing the asymmetrical athlete into the CrossFit blender.

22:38 - 26:36

James discusses the development of neural control through body building and why he prioritizes it in his programming.

26:37 - 28:47

The upside of being a weak guy.

28:48 - 31:22

Managing the stress bucket - “Do you really want to improve.?”

31:23 - 37:37

Is lab testing a good place to test resiliency?

37:37 - 45:43

Life style coaching and building relationships as the missing pieces of the puzzle.

45:44 - 47:55

Which was a larger challenge for James, building a brick and mortar gym or his online platform.

47:56 - 52:50

The first step coaches need to take in order to up their business practices.

52:51 - 54:37

Where can folks find out more about what James has to offer.

54:38

What is on the horizon for Opex Fitness?