• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Featured Coach: Chris LaLanne, Part 2 – Coaching Challenges

Last week we talked with Chris LaLanne about how he became a trainer. This week, we get more hands on with Chris, discussing the challenges of coaching and business.

Becca Borawski

Written by Becca Borawski Last updated on Nov 22, 2021

Last week we talked with Chris LaLanne about how he became a coach, how he programs for his students at LaLanne Fitness, and how he carries on the family tradition established by his grand-uncle, Jack LaLanne. This week, we get more hands on with Chris, discussing the challenges of being a coach.

Chris is a CrossFit coach running a successful affiliate, but he came from a private training background. When teaching CrossFit, or any group exercise program, part of the skill in coaching is in class management, both in regards to communicating effectively with the students and also managing the space and equipment. For some private trainers segueing into coaching CrossFit, this group environment can be daunting. Explained Chris:

You’ve got to be able to manage a group of people, number one. And also communicate with individuals within the group and teach individuals while also managing a group. You know with CrossFit, teaching the mechanics of movements is number one and being able to see movement and discern from good and bad movement. Then, while workouts are happening, making corrections during that workout and all the while managing a group. It’s something that requires experience, which you cannot teach, and it’s very different from personal training.

Communicating technique to a group, especially if you have some high intensity clients, differs greatly from personal training to group instruction. One thing that occurs frequently with new trainers is they themselves understand how to do a movement, but they struggle with identifying and communicating movement faults to their clients. Sometimes it is not clear if the trainers can see the faults and just do not correct them, or if they cannot actually see the faults in their client’s movement. Chris shared his experience on this matter:

I can see that happen with some of my other coaches. You’ve got to place the mechanics and good movement over all else. And if they’re not moving right, then you need to make that a priority. It’s a safety issue, as well. We want people to be safe and successful and if you’re not moving well and the mechanics are not sound we need to stop and fix that first. That’s another aspect of coaching that’s a little tricky for some people to acquire – that ability to not be afraid to stop someone mid-workout or right in the middle of a set and say, “Hey, take a time out and don’t get carried away with the clock and getting so wrapped up in doing things as fast as possible.” You’ve got to slow down and think about quality first.

Slowing down is easier said than done for both clients and coaches. It can be easy to fall into the trap of being a timekeeper and organizer, rather than a coach, who stops, starts, fixes, and adjusts the students. “I think nowadays there is just so much emphasis placed on go, go, go, and really the competitive aspect,” said Chris. “They are placing so much emphasis on the time and the performance and the intensity through that channel that they’re losing the result and the safety from that standpoint.”

The result Chris is after is improved health and fitness for his clientele. If you follow his three weeks of programming you will see each class has a dedicated segment for strength and for conditioning. A great deal of time is spent on skill at LaLanne Fitness and they also integrate mobility work into their curriculum. For Chris, it is not just about time and hurrying through, but rather a much more holistic and studied approach.

For Chris this holistic approach is exemplified by what he considers to be both the most challenging movement to coach and also the most rewarding:

I love teaching the snatch. One of my favorites. It’s probably one of the hardest movements, but it’s fun to teach. It really is encompassing all aspects of fitness in one exercise, which for me is pretty gratifying to teach people who struggle with aspects like coordination and balance – to really help them. It’s empowering to really improve on that exercise.

The challenges of coaching do not just show up in the classroom, but also on a personal level. As any entrepreneur knows, getting a business off the ground is a time consuming endeavor. How do you give 100% to your school, your career, and your family, and still have some left for yourself and your personal creative pursuits? Shared Chris:

It’s like every day you have a given amount of work that has to be done, and X amount of phone calls and emails, and then x amount of time that you want to spend with your family, and beyond that is the things that Chris gets to do from a creative standpoint, from a, “Hey this is what I’d like to do it has nothing to do with what I need to do.” So, it’s been interesting trying to get all that in perspective.

Right now time management is my biggest challenge. It is also a little bit of a fear because how you approach very day matters. For me, with the gym and with the family, managing my time has become one of those skills that separate the multimillionaires from just getting through life.

To read more about Chris LaLanne:

  • Featured Coach: Chris LaLanne, Part 1 – The Family Tradition
  • Strength & Conditioning Workouts from Chris LaLanne
Becca Borawski

About Becca Borawski

Becca found her way to a career in health and fitness through Martial Arts and CrossFit. Originally a music editor for film and television, Becca started studying Martial Arts in 2000. Though she started with traditional Martial Arts it was not long before she discovered Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and her path was forever altered. She began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay Thai and started working with professional MMA fighters, building websites, working on fight promotions, and producing videos.

As a competitor in BJJ herself, Becca wanted to get stronger and fitter. In 2006 she discovered CrossFit and became a student at CrossFit Los Angeles. In only a couple of years she became CrossFit Level III Certified, left her career in the film industry, and dedicated herself full time to coaching. She has since been certified through CrossFit in Olympic Lifting, Powerlifting, Nutrition, Endurance and Kids coaching. She also held an NSCA-CSCS from 2006-2008 and is a certified IndoRow instructor. In addition to coaching adults, she founded the CrossFit LA Kids program in 2010 and taught children aged 5-17.

Becca regularly takes on new sports, which have included indoor rowing, fencing, and most recently, cycling, as she believes it makes her both a better athlete and a better coach. In order to reach more people with her coaching, Becca also created ModernAthena.com – a website dedicated to women in pursuit of physical fitness and self-improvement.

View All Articles

Related Posts

Female competitors headline a graphic for the 2024 CrossFit Games season.
2024 CrossFit Games Season Schedule: Division-by-Division Breakdown
2023 Rogue CrossFit Invitational winners Pat Vellner and Laura Horvath holding their championship titles.
2023 Rogue CrossFit Invitational Results — Laura Horvath and Patrick Vellner Become Two-Time Champions
Female competitors performing medicine ball sit-ups at the 2022 Rogue Invitational.
2023 Rogue Invitational Events Revealed
CrossFit athlete Josh Bridges performs a barbell back squat in his home gym.
CrossFit Legend Josh Bridges Crushes Full-Body Workout Two Weeks Out From 2023 Rogue Invitational

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About