How to find an Olympic weightlifting coach in Fargo-Moorhead

Start with the credential, then watch a session

USA Weightlifting (USAW) is the sport's governing body in the United States, and its coaching pathway runs from Level 1 through Level 2 to the National Coach designation. A certification does not make someone a great coach, but it means they have been taught how to teach the lifts, and a coach who works with anyone under 18 should also have a current background check and SafeSport training.

Then watch a session before you commit. A good weightlifting coach watches every rep, cues one thing at a time, and scales the work to the person in front of them. If the coach is on their phone while people lift, or every lifter in the room is doing the identical workout at the identical weights, keep looking.

Where to look in Fargo-Moorhead

There are four kinds of places in the area where you might find the lifts taught, and they are not interchangeable.

• USA Weightlifting's club finder (usaweightlifting.sport80.com) lists registered clubs by state. A registered club has at least one certified coach with a background check, so it is the shortest list to start from.
• CrossFit gyms often run an Olympic lifting class. They are a good first exposure. Ask who coaches it and what their weightlifting credential is, because CrossFit coaching certifications and weightlifting coaching certifications are different things.
• High school programs. Moorhead High School, for example, has a strong weightlifting team, but school programs are for enrolled students, not the public.
• Dedicated weightlifting clubs. Weird & Strong trains on real platforms inside Bad Ace Martial Arts Academy in downtown Moorhead, coaches youth, junior and masters lifters, and is run by a USA Weightlifting National Coach. It is the only option on this list built around the two lifts rather than fitting them in.

What coaching typically costs

Published guides to choosing a weightlifting coach put group coaching in roughly the $100 to $250 a month range and private sessions at $55 to $100 each, with online programs and remote coaching spread across a wider band depending on how much individual attention is included. Prices vary by format far more than by city.

Rather than shopping on price alone, ask every coach the same three questions: how often will you actually watch me lift, how is my program written and adjusted, and what happens when I plateau. The answers tell you what you are paying for.

Red flags

• No weightlifting-specific certification, or one that cannot be named.
• The same program for everyone, regardless of age, experience or injury history.
• A max-out on day one. A first session should be about positions and learning, not a number.
• Remote coaching with no video review. If nobody watches your lifts, it is a template, not coaching.
• Long contracts before you have trained together. Good coaches keep people with results, not paperwork.

What a first session should look like

Expect to talk first: your goals, your training history, anything that hurts. Then you should move: how you squat, how you hinge, how you reach overhead. Most coaches will take a new lifter through the basic positions of the snatch and the clean and jerk with an empty bar or a stick, and you should leave knowing where you are starting from and what the next few weeks look like. If you leave sore, confused and without a plan, that was not a first session. That was a workout.

How Weird & Strong fits

Weird & Strong is a weightlifting club and coaching practice at 900 1st Avenue North in downtown Moorhead, a few minutes from Fargo. In-person platform sessions run weekday mornings and afternoons, coached by Jeremy Gruensteiner, a USA Weightlifting National Coach who also holds Enlifted Level 3 Verified and Precision Nutrition credentials. Beginners start with the basics of the lifts; experienced lifters get eyes on their technique; youth, junior and masters lifters all train in the same room. Lifters outside the area can join the online team or work with Jeremy 1:1 remotely. Everything starts with a free 30-minute consult, and HSA and FSA payments are accepted.

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