My Career Timeline by Jonathan Polido

Undergraduate education: what will you major in?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:21:56 UTC

To become a powerlifting coach I will major in exercise science. Having this type of knowledge will help me teach others what kind of exercises are needed to become physically stronger in the squat, bench, and deadlift. Furthermore, knowing how the body will react to certain stimuli will help me as an individual grow stronger giving me credibility.

What regional or national organizations dedicated to your field can you join?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:26:58 UTC

One organization I can join is USAPL which is a common and popular powerlifting organization in the Mid-West. Joining this makes me a legitimate ranking powerlifter and allows me to compete and gain more experience as a powerlifter.

What clubs or organizations can you get involved in on campus?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:27:02 UTC

I joined the powerlifting club over in Miami University. Doing this has has helped me gain genuine experience needed to show athletes what is needed to compete at a high level. Furthermore, going through the steps to be a great powerlifter myself has helped me know how to empathize with other athletes.

Where can you seek out career counseling, mentoring, research opportunities, etc. on campus?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:28:55 UTC

The team is full of other powerlifting coaches who are dedicated to the sport and its growth. The photo I've included shows a legitimate Miami powerlifter who is 2nd in the nation in his weight class and is a successful powerlifting coach

Consider internships, job shadowing, observation hours, etc.

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:31:58 UTC

Since the sport is relatively small, Miami University and other colleges are one of the best places to start training athletes. Since there are in club coaches I've shadowed one of them to gain a better understanding on what is needed to coach multiple athletes.

Do you need graduate education?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:34:23 UTC

In short, you do not need graduate education since this is treated as entrepreneurship. While it may help, going through the sport and gaining real world experience helps better in a lot of cases than learning in class. In this field, the gym is your library.

Do you need certifications, licenses, etc.? How do you obtain those?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:36:19 UTC

While not required, you can still get a certification through your respective powerlifting organization such as USAPL, IPF, USPL. This normally entails going through a nine hour class followed by a test proving you know the rules of powerlifting.

What other avenue of knowledge would I need to know

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:38:26 UTC

While working out is important in the gym, nutrition is the best way to increase "gains". Without having a great understanding on nutrition it is impossible to get to a high level of lifting. Nutrition in powerlifting is almost as important to learn than the lifting part itself.

Does your dream job require experience? What kind of entry level jobs might you have to do first to gain that experience?

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:40:21 UTC

Yes, the job does require you to be a strong individual. Without such, you don't hold credibility to your teachings. The entry level position of such would simply be a participating athlete of powerlifting.

What kind of clientele do I want

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:43:20 UTC

College powerlifters make up the most amount of people in the sport so this is the general demographic I want to stick in. Additionally, this is where I've seen the biggest drive, desire, and mindset towards the sport. Also, I'm in this age group so it makes me heavily relatable when trying to pick up clients.

How will I get my clients

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:45:28 UTC

One way I will get clients is by showing people my strength. Currently I squat over 600lbs making my strength in the top 1% of college lifters. Showing my strength shows people I know what I'm doing and acts as my credentials. Typically in this sport you want a coach who is stronger than you so they can show you a different view on what strength is.

What will I specialize in

polidojs — 2025-05-03 03:47:38 UTC

Since I am a squat specialist I will specialize in teaching people how to increase their squat. This is my bread and butter and I've researched countless meta-analyses and experienced numerous training regimes on my own to truly give meaning to learned information.