Andrea Valdez on How to Find a Coach Worth Hiring

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Hey, this is Mike and welcome to another episode of my podcast. In this episode I interview Andrea Valdez. Dez, who is a figure competitor, a powerlifter and natural bodybuilding coach working with the 3d muscle journey team. And I’ve been kind of interviewing them one after another because, well, I mean, they’re great.

They just, they really know their stuff. They have [00:04:00] a lot of experience. They’re fun to talk to. So it has been a pleasure. And when I reached out to Andrea, she proposed that we talk about something that I myself have been wanting to comment on, which is the state of the online coaching space. Because with Instagram, Snapchat, and just fitness in general getting more and more popular, it’s like everyone and their brother is a coach these days.

And. Unfortunately, many of these people just have no idea what they’re doing. And many others are just outright frauds. You know, just because someone looks good themselves doesn’t mean that they can help others get there. And just because they post impressive before and after shots of quote unquote clients doesn’t mean that those pictures weren’t just swiped from the internet.

And, you know, I’m speaking from firsthand experience here, because I hear every week from many people that are working with one coach or another that hate their diets and hate their workout programs and are frustrated with their lack of results. Well, in this interview, Andrew and I talk about all this.

We [00:05:00] talk about the state of online coaching as a whole. And what some of the big problems are, as well as what you should look for when you are considering hiring a coach some tips for new and aspiring coaches to get a jump start and then establish themselves as being credible and competent and more.

So if you’re looking for a coach right now, or you are considering hiring someone specific, Or if you are a coach or want to become one, then I think you’re going to find this very helpful. And if none of that applies to you, you might still just find it interesting. So here it is. Andrea, thanks for coming on the show.

I really appreciate it. 

Andrea Valdez: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah, sure. So you’re number two from the 3DMJ team. I had Eric on first, and it was great. People really liked it. And I’ve found it kind of hard to find guests that I myself want to talk to, especially when we’re talking specifically if we’re talking about exercise and I mean, there’s not that much diet wise that really you kind of like once you kind of go over all the basics, I mean, it’s kind of [00:06:00] hard to talk endlessly about that.

There’s more that can be said about training, but it’s also can be hard to find people worth speaking to about training. So 

Andrea Valdez: Eric is definitely one of the best people though, and I have some mighty, mighty shoes to fill. Yeah, he’s great. Yeah, 

Mike Matthews: he was it was it was a real nice one to do that and people really liked it So in what you and I are gonna talk about that was a little bit different Which is a great subject something that I have written a little bit about and spoken a little bit about but I haven’t really Dived into it.

It’s just been kind of tangential and that is online coaching and because we now we I mean with The rise of Instagram. Everyone’s a coach now and everyone has before and afters that look fantastic. And I think there are, I don’t know. I would say, I don’t know if it’s a, and this is kind of be, I’m gonna turn over the mic to you.

I don’t know if it’s a, if it’s a net negative on the whole, but there’s a lot of negatives to it, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like it’s kinda like CrossFit, where like CrossFit’s cool and that it, it’s, it’s re it’s getting a lot of [00:07:00] people into barbell training, which is cool, but then there’s a lot that’s not cool about it.

For especially people that are new and improperly coached and so forth. So, like, on the whole, I think CrossFit’s probably a net positive, but 

Andrea Valdez: I know, I struggle with the net a lot. Cause, you know Eric’s real big on that too. He’ll be like, if we, anytime we as like a coaching team with 3DMJ, right? We’ll, we’ll say, like, we’ll be like seeing some coach who we don’t think is one of the most positive people, right?

And we’ll be like, ah, but he’s like But it’s a net positive because they put out information that gets people thinking. And I’m like, yeah, but still, you know, so I totally understand. 

Mike Matthews: Motivation. Like if you have these dudes so blatantly on drugs that are going to, all they talk about is being natural and say, you can do my little ad plan and look like this or whatever.

Like, yeah, it’s lame. And I’d say on the whole, it would be better if they could be replaced. With someone better, but the fact that they’re there, is it really a net negative though? You know what I mean? Like just because they’re misleading. If they get people into, [00:08:00] okay, someone wastes 50 on their shitty PDF and goes and does their ad program and doesn’t get ads.

But then that person is now they’ve started. And so that maybe they go from that to finding someone like you guys or me or someone else that is maybe a bit more or just grounded and it’s going to give them better advice. Yeah, 

Andrea Valdez: it’s true. I, I struggle with it too, is all with, with both the CrossFit and the coaching, but I don’t know whether it’s net, I think I guess net positive, right?

Because more people in general, but what it is scary though, like you mentioned social media everyone’s an expert now, everyone has their platform and they should, you know, but I do agree that it gets abused quite often. And what was good too is like, say, You know, I started coaching anything when I was like 16.

I was coaching gymnastics. I was a gymnast growing up. And that was my first job was coaching little kids and I ended up, ended up doing that for like a decade coaching competitors actually for a while. But, you know, obviously I look at myself when I’m 16, 17 and I was. In charge of these little groups, and there’s a lot of things that I would do [00:09:00] different now.

But the, the, the cost is so low, right? These little kids just need to continue with their body awareness and, you know, say in 1920 I start personal training. All the things that I was doing to my clients, not, maybe not all of them, which again, it’s, it’s good for them, and I helped them, but if I was saying all the things that I said then online, probably would kick myself in the head for doing that, you know?

Right. So the, and now obviously I’m proud of what I do now, but you know, we go back in time and we’re constantly evolving. So all these people that could have been in, you know, you or I same boat, we’re personal training back in the day. It’s still, it’s back in the day. It’s not on the internet. It’s not recorded.

We don’t have people from all over the world looking for us. It’s just us and a few people in our hometown or our 10, 20 clients in person. But again, now it’s like the cost is if you have for good looking, you got 30 to 50, 000 followers. But you might be mentally in that boat where you or I were when we were 19 with our 10 clients.

It’s like, that’s where it gets scary is they really, just like I did, you really think [00:10:00] that you have a lot to offer. And you, you probably do have a lot, but are you in a place where you really are or should be in charge of this amount of people? Or on, you know, that want this type of result. So that’s where it gets kind of tricky.

Mike Matthews: Yeah, I agree. And what are the, what are the big problems you think that just because you and your team have. Well, I mean, I definitely have a lot more experience coaching athletes for sure. I mean, that’s not really something like I’ve worked with many people and I actually don’t personally coach.

I just email with a lot of people and stay in touch with a lot of people because a coaching service, the amount of time, like I do have a coaching service, but I have coaches that I work with that run it just because I personally don’t feel like I’d be able to give people enough time. So. So I feel like, okay, so it’d be better than if I just, if people can always email me and get help, it just might take me a week or so to get back to them, but they don’t have to pay for it.

I’d rather do that than have people pay for something. I feel as great of a service than if they’re going to pay. So in your experience, really probably deeper in the coaching [00:11:00] space, personally, what are the, what are the big problems that you see that are the things that kind of grind your gears or whatever?

Andrea Valdez: Well, it grinds my gears. And I love that you said it was, you were like, I don’t personally coach him because I know I can’t give them that attention that someone who hires a one on one coach should have. And I think that’s one of the scariest things to me, right. Is. Because of the internet again, which is great for someone like you, or I, or 3D, like we, we see this as a tool to better put us in touch with the people that we’re working with.

Whereas, I know unfortunately, a lot of these newer coaches or inexperienced coaches are people who think, well, I have this, this skill, I have a little bit of knowledge, and So now I can work with so many people so much faster, you know, it’s kind of I can make this these dollars on the side While I do my own thing and when it’s it’s not in person, right?

Even though we had those ten clients back in the day we were there face to face for an hour right when I was a personal trainer back in the day and it’s like now it can be a ten minute email a five minute email a two liner email and that’s when it’s like Do you even know the [00:12:00] person you’re coaching?

Mike Matthews: Exactly, yeah. I totally agree. I mean, with my service, so like, it’s very high touch, hands on. There’s we talk a lot with them right in the beginning to really make sure everything is customized for them, and there are weekly calls. Everything is tracked in Google Spreadsheets, so then the coaches can review their progress, make sure everything’s looking good, talk to them every single week, always be available via email.

And so that’s like the type of service I wanted to give. But I know that I, myself, with how many balls I’m juggling, I just, I wouldn’t be able to give people that service. So, you know, despite having offers of being paid a lot of money to do it, I’m just like, trust me, you don’t want me, I’m not going to be what you want.

You want to work with this person who has the time and you know, is going to, is going to really give you the attention that you need. 

Andrea Valdez: Absolutely. And that’s, that’s it, right. Is we, we respect the intimacy of it because that is important. And, you know, I think again, one of the problems is because. Of the internet.

It can, there can be a lot of shortcuts. But, you know, another one, I think, is that, when, it’s not such a gen [00:13:00] pop problem, but like, with all the bodybuilding coaches, or macro coaches, they say, or whatever, you know, when you’re really trying to get someone that lean, it is so important for us to see their faces, see their demeanor.

See, you know, they can, you can easily type a sentence on an email saying, I’m feeling great coach, but if I see you slumping in your chair with the sunken in face, bags under your eyes, it’s like, okay, I know you’re trying to be tough, but this, you know, maybe a refeed could help speed things up a little bit, you know, 

Mike Matthews: or a little diet break or whatever.

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I think I love that you said they do weekly calls like us with 3DMJ, we do weekly videos. So every time, yeah, every time I have an athlete check in with me, it’s a spreadsheet. They filled out all the training they did. We have all the columns of like, okay, what were your macros?

What was your body weight? Spits out seven day averages. How are you feeling? Side notes. What cardio did you do? A. M. or P. M.? Like, all that stuff. But more importantly pictures if they’re in prep every week. And then, a video. And I don’t care. I always tell my athletes, I don’t care if it’s a one minute video telling me you’re fine.

I just want to see your [00:14:00] face. Yeah. 

Mike Matthews: I like that. We don’t work with, with bodybuilders who work with just, you know, everyday people that are looking to get in shape. So I, I didn’t think of that, but that totally makes sense. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, and I think, too, another reason why it’s dangerous, it’s people’s bodies. Like, it’s one thing if I hire, well, I guess someone’s business is very important, too, but if I hire a business coach, if I hire, I don’t know, a dog groomer or whatever, like, it’s different when it’s the psychology that goes into your, like, social identity with your body is why it becomes very dangerous.

Like, if I want someone to help me so bad, I’m so down in the dumps, I want this solution fixed, I hire someone and I don’t get the results, but I hope I, I think something’s wrong with me a lot of the time, you know, and, and I think one of the things that scares me a lot, especially with, with online coaches is they’ll only work with certain people or they’ll, they’ll take on people.

And if they don’t get the results, the coaches immediately like, well, they weren’t ready for it. They weren’t, they weren’t hard 

Mike Matthews: enough. They didn’t try 

Andrea Valdez: hard enough. I [00:15:00] only work with the best out of that when it’s like, maybe you could have done something a little different, you know? So it’s, it’s hard to do it online, unless you’re really invested in, in the scary thing with people that come on to it being like, Oh, I can do this on the side, while I’m doing whatever.

It’s like that mentality of, this is my side thing, as opposed to, this is my thing. 

Mike Matthews: Mm hmm. Yeah, having that care factor. Which, I’ll add that, like, people listening, because I, I get asked fairly often, you know, from people wanting to break into the, Health and fitness space. Usually people wanting to do more what I do, which is primarily writing, but I’ll hear from a lot of different people that I think it’s very much can be a side thing if you are treating it like it’s the only thing really, and you’re willing to give it the time and the, the number of fucks it requires because there’s a lot, 

a lot of briefs.

Mike Matthews: Exactly, there’s a point where, you know, you only have so many you can give, so you gotta know how, you know, how, what is that for you. So, I don’t think I think that especially if someone wants to transition from a side thing to a main [00:16:00] thing, but I, but yeah, if it’s like you’re saying, if it’s like, hey, I, I look good, I bet you I can just throw up some pictures and get some clients.

Give them 

Andrea Valdez: my macros, and if it didn’t work for them, then it’s 

Mike Matthews: Yeah, girls, they can have 800 calories a day, guys, 1500, whatever, and do two hours of cardio a day, and that’s all I did, so. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, and what’s, the thing with fitness though, right, is it’s, everyone wants it to be mathematical in the studies and the science, and it’s like, bro, people are going through things, you know?

Like you, a lot of times, the reason people mess up their fitness goals is because something else is going on. And they can’t deal with their stress, their family life, whatever, they. 

Mike Matthews: That’s a good point. How do you help people through that kind of stuff? Because that’s also something that I myself haven’t, I haven’t touched on that much.

I mean, I’ve spoken, I’ve written and spoken about self discipline and self control and that kind of stuff, but 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, I mean, it’s Relationship building. Like, they’re, and I, I think it’s easy, I want to say kind of easier [00:17:00] for us is because we’re seeing someone through a prep, at least. So, for most people, if we take on an athlete as a weekly client, we’re, we’re taking them on for, it’s not like an 8 week, 12 week program.

It’s like, okay, we’re at least 6 months to know each other really well. And so a lot of times, if, like say we have a medical student and it’s finals, it’s like, that’s when your diabetic is because I don’t want you to lose your shit kind of thing. 

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: And hopefully, you know, part of that relationship building process isn’t for us to just make decisions, but it’s for that relationship to build enough so that the client is able to tell us, I am so hungry now.

Like, I am, you know, to where they’re not scared to look a little bit vulnerable to us. And that’s an important part of relationship building, is not just, Oh, I know my client so well. It’s like, they need to be so comfortable to be able to tell me things they can’t tell their husband, their kids, or whatever.

Because I need to know 

Mike Matthews: like you don’t want them going in as if it’s like buds training like they’re trying to become a navy seal or something 

Andrea Valdez: well yeah and like of course we want that mentality right we want you to do whatever it takes but not to where it’s [00:18:00] stupid you know and and again like someone who comes into like okay i’m doing this bodybuilding prep or whatever i’m gonna be a competitive power lifter They, they do need to be a badass to some point, but it, again, it’s our job to teach them, like, there are other ways to go about things.

There’s smarter ways to go about things. There’s, I mean, managing expectations is a big thing. Relationship building is a big thing. And setting expectations is a big thing, right? So, it’s, it’s one of those, too, where we get an athlete and they, our plan is to get you contest shredded in six months. Well, if, you know, we’re two months away from the show, things have happened, it’s my job to, like, have the talk with you now, not the day before your show.

Right. 

Andrea Valdez: So it’s. That makes 

sense. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. So relationship building is such a huge deal. Like, it’s my job to make my athlete comfortable with me. 

Mike Matthews: Right 

Andrea Valdez: people forget that 

Mike Matthews: right. Yeah, good point. So pivoting back to coaching. So let’s say let’s say for the people that are listening that are We’re considering trying like they want to go about finding a coach What would you say or someone like like the red flags like if you see someone doing this kind [00:19:00] of thing?

Pass them pass, you know, yes pass over them and find someone else. 

Andrea Valdez: I think absolutes and numbers are really scary promises guarantees So many weeks, so many pounds, so much percent, so much, you know cause like I said, everything’s You, you, you can’t guarantee anything. Like I said, we have this six month plan, but if things have happened and it’s two months away, like, I, I can’t honestly guarantee anybody anything.

I can guarantee you my best effort, I can guarantee you honesty. You know, I can guarantee you all that stuff, but, but, so when you see And I don’t think it’s just fitness. Just in general, if you’re going to work with someone and they’re hiring or throwing out guarantees and plans or whatever that they know they can do this for you, it’s that tends to be a red flag.

Another thing is 

Mike Matthews: would you say though that like, cause I mean, I would think I could see that definitely with what you’re doing, but lucky. Let’s say you have someone that is just overweight and they’ve never really tried to lose weight. I would be comfortable if I were working with them, I would say.

If you can just do what I’m saying and I’m going to [00:20:00] work with you and try to make it as comfortable as possible and we’re going to, we’re going to, you know, make this enjoyable, but if you could just do what I’m going to tell you, I could guarantee that you can lose a pound, two pounds a week. If that person’s very overweight, at least for the first first bit, you know what I mean?

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. I think it’s like caveat of like, I can guarantee it’s possible. I can guarantee that if you do what I, with all these things. That, yeah. But I mean, again, we don’t know if they get three days in and binge. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that’s the case, though. That’s like, that’s where understanding, like, I can guarantee that this is physiologically possible.

It’s healthy. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re not going to lose a bunch of muscle, but nothing’s guaranteed unless you do the work. Yeah, 

Andrea Valdez: that’s true. Unless you do the work. Another thing, too, is do you, do you know them? I think it’s really crazy when they’re like, man, they look good. This person looks good.

I need to work with them. You know what it’s like. Who else have they helped? Are there any other stories? Where is there content online that not just shows what they look like, but shows that they know what they’re talking about? Like you said, you’re, you’re a [00:21:00] writer. There’s articles, there’s posts, there’s, there’s a digital library of all the things that you know to prove that you’re not just a face and a body.

And I think that it’s, it’s really strange to me how people don’t consider that. Like, I, I like the way this person looks, but do I like what they’re saying? Do I like what they stand for? Do I like how they’ve built their business? Do I like the videos they make, the things they say? And it’s, I think just doing your research.

We could blanket it all, like, do your research. Don’t, into who the person is. 

Mike Matthews: I agree. I mean, especially when you’re talking about because there are so many coaches out there are so many people in this space. I mean, there’s no scarcity. So if someone, I mean, if someone is only on Instagram and they don’t produce content otherwise, then unless they’re very insightful in their Instagram captions.

It’s going to be, it’s going to be hard to know, like, how, who is this person really just to your point, whereas, and that’s not really to say that, like, you should just find someone like me or someone like you, but kind of, it doesn’t have to be me or you, but if, if I were, [00:22:00] you know, starting out newly, I could definitely see looking at it that way going.

I don’t know, you know, I’m going to find someone whose stuff I can really digest, who I can really get a sense of, and, and if, I’m going to find that person that I resonate with as opposed to just someone that looks really good and I wish I looked like that, so who knows. 

Andrea Valdez: Right, and there’s, and I think just being aware of the kind of content that you’re susceptible to getting hyped up about, right, like if, and this isn’t to say, like I started as a YouTuber back in the day with my last contest prep in 2013, right, but I think that it’s our responsibility as adults to recognize, like, there’s YouTube vlogs.

Right? Days in the life, and then there’s like informational perspective, or sharing, even if it’s not that you came up with all this research, like, you at least study the right people, and you’re adopting the right principles that make sense. So I think just self awareness in general, you know, and thinking like, why do I like this person?

Why do I like this person? Why do I want to do what they say? And if it’s just I want to look the way they look, that’s fine. One, not only probably not enough, but [00:23:00] two, why do you need to look like they look? Like what are your goals? So then it’s like assess kind of, just again, asking yourself like why you’re doing what you’re doing and why you want to be associated with this person and why you trust them.

Cause it’s a big deal. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah, I agree. And to that point of looking a certain way, I think what you were saying. Earlier with expectation management speaks to that in that there are there are, I mean, genetics play a big role in obviously, as you know, and as everybody listening has heard me just talk about, but you know, in terms of like, not just how quickly you’re going to gain muscle, but also how you’re going to look you know, how your muscle bellies form.

I mean, some, some guys and some girls you, you take their, their body composition and you match it. with somebody else’s genetics and they’re gonna look quite different. So, I think that you know, yeah, I think Greg Plitt looked awesome. Can I ever look like him? No. Like, my abs will never be his. They can’t be unless I could get some amazing surgery that, like, fixes my abs.

That’s not gonna happen. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. 

Mike Matthews: Same here. 

Andrea Valdez: Like, I, I I do really well. I’ve gotten, I think last time I [00:24:00] competed last time I died, I did for figure. I got second place in all my shows, but I’m not built for figure. I have a pretty wide waist. I pose well, but I’ll never be like, you know, I’ll never be the, the top of the pros at the IFPA or whatever.

Like that’s, that’s just not me, but I know that I can, I’m confident that I can help people. I have athletes that look better than I do, like. And that’s okay, that’s exciting. 

Mike Matthews: I’ve, I’ve, I’ve gotten success stories because I, a lot of people they’ll like read a book of mine, which is cool, and then they’ll just do it for six months or so, or a year even, and then just email me and be like, Hey, I read your book and I did it and check it out.

And I’ve all, sometimes I’m like, I wish I looked like that dude. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. 

Mike Matthews: He looks, he looks awesome, that’s fucking great. Yeah, 

Andrea Valdez: and just don’t forget, things like forgetting that like angles matter, like if you see all these Insta pictures, like, 

Mike Matthews: That’s very true. 

Andrea Valdez: Ass to waist ratios aren’t usually like that in real life.

You know, I’ve seen this person straight ahead and not just turned and they don’t always look like that. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah, that’s also something to keep in mind. I guess it’s a good point on instagram If you’re talking about people that really take their instagram seriously, i’m a complete dilettante with social media because I don’t like it.

So like I just am very random I [00:25:00] don’t even I don’t do the like take 500 pictures and get the one that makes me look like You know three points better than I actually look, but that’s what a lot of people do. And I understand why, like, if I really wanted to grow my Instagram, I would have to do that.

I mean, that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s part of the game, right. It’s like, it’s not about showing people your life. It’s about showing people what you want them to think your life is. So. 

Andrea Valdez: And then, and I think just recognize the difference between, you know, lifestyle marketing and coaching. They’re, they’re just different.

And then, and unfortunately, another thing that, it’s no one’s fault necessarily, but a lot of these people who are fitness lifestyle marketing actually think that they’re coaching. You know? It’s, it’s, and that’s why it’s like our responsibility and our, like, someone looking for a coach. It’s like We have to be able to ask ourselves those questions.

But like you said, a lot of things right now that you’re getting, and so are we with 3d is a lot of times people wanting to start their coaching business, right? 

Yes. 

Andrea Valdez: And. I think something that’s the very [00:26:00] first, very first step that I think people want to skip, and it’s the biggest, most time intensive step, is you, like we said, you gotta show people you know what you’re talking about.

Yes. And you, you write like crazy, you produce videos like crazy, we have, you have this podcast, 3D has a podcast, we have our YouTube channel, we have, you know, and that’s, How I found 3DMJ was their YouTube channel because I’m the only addition since they started in 2009. 

Oh cool I’m 

Andrea Valdez: the only person, yeah, I’m the only person that’s been added since they started and I found out about them through their YouTube channel Back then and that’s how I knew okay That’s who I want to work with after watching them for like a year and obsessing I’m not saying you have to watch for a year, but that’s how people know you you can’t you know You could be the best coach in the world But if no one knows your lives and like you’re not gonna be able to make a living 

Mike Matthews: Definitely.

Yeah. And that’s where, I mean, you have to, I ran into that myself. We have to like walk that line where you want to be a good marketer, but you don’t want to be over the top with it and, you know, turn into just a walking pile of click bait basically. You know what I mean? So, so I understand how that is, but to that point, well, that’s a good segue to, okay, so [00:27:00] people that are listening that are interested in becoming a coach.

Now that’s, I totally agree with the first step. Maybe we can elaborate or you can elaborate on, so to those people out there that are Say hey, I really want to coach and I want to do it right I don’t just want to you know, rip people off and get their money and not care about them I want to I want to you know, be like you How does that how does that play out?

Andrea Valdez: Well first you have to be educated enough to help the people that you’re serving, right? And so I realize that for 3dmj, it’s a little bit different We work with they don’t have to be elite level, but we do work with competitors, right? We do have some gen pop people that come and say like hey, I want to be a I want to get on stage in the next three years.

So they might be on like our ongoing slow Skype program until we do weekly coaching as they approach their show. But I get for us, it’s our responsibility. We’ve all competed. We’ve all done the things that we’re asking our people to do. Right? And if you want to coach Jen Pop, Get your basic certification.

You don’t have to be a thousand steps ahead of them. You have to be a little bit ahead and a lot of people, it’s just the accountability that makes the difference in their lives, right? So just, [00:28:00] yeah, at least do what you’re asking them to do and then be a few steps ahead and continue your education. And like I said, 

Mike Matthews: how do people do that?

Now I’m actually, I’m just. Proposing the questions. Yeah, so I know because I’ve said those things but then been emailed like that makes sense in theory But yeah, there’s so much stuff. Like what is education? Like you’re saying there’s so much content There’s so many YouTube videos who to listen to and so forth 

Andrea Valdez: Well, I think just knowing who you want to help first, right?

So if five ten years ago, I was like, bodybuilding coach. Well, I hadn’t competed in bodybuilding yet So that wasn’t even an option in my mind It was like I want to serve the people that have seen me be in pretty good shape my whole life and then ask me How did you do that? So the easy first step I think it’s so valuable to be an in person personal trainer I think just because then you learn the I have to keep this person motivated for an hour Right, I have to be so I think if you want to do it online I think in person is a great way to start and if you want to get yeah And if you want to get paid for it online or in person I think the [00:29:00] best way to start is do it for free first make sure you’re comfortable 

Mike Matthews: Absolutely.

I’ve told many people that and gotten weird if I, I thought it’s like an obvious point, but quite a few people were just didn’t think like that, that this wasn’t a good enough idea for them. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. I’m smart, so you should give me money. It’s like, wait, have you proven that you at least, not even proven.

Go get 

Mike Matthews: 10 success stories. Go help 10 people improve and, and make that the, the stipulation, I’m going to help you for free, but I just need some before. Or an after pictures and I need you to, you know, maybe even shoot a one minute video to talk about how the experience was when we’re done. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. Yeah.

Working for free is the best way to get paid for anything. I mean, it definitely is. And like we talked about, I was the only addition to 3dmj. So let’s talk about 2009. I didn’t, they didn’t know I was alive. I didn’t know they were alive. You know, these four guys are some of the best natural bodybuilding coaches in the business.

Right. And I want to compete. I did it myself. Messed it up, of course. Then I started looking elsewhere. Like, how can I make this better? Found 3DMJ. Signed on with them. Okay, now I’m their athlete. And throughout that, [00:30:00] I did, I think, 104 videos tracking my prep. All on YouTube for free. YouTube dollars didn’t come into the way later and it wasn’t even a lot to live off 

Mike Matthews: of.

I turn my YouTube advertising off, I’m like, it’s just annoying. It makes an insignificant amount of money and it annoys me, so I’m like, turn 

Andrea Valdez: it off. Yeah, but it’s like, that’s free. Right? When we say, okay, maybe you live, I don’t know, maybe you’re a hermit, you want to be an online coach, but you don’t live by anybody that needs your help.

Okay, that’s fine, but a way to do things for free, maybe it’s not training, but Writing is free making videos is free. You know, that’s your time. You’re not getting paid for it up front, but you’re at least now creating a library of Here’s you know how I’m qualified to help people. Yeah, here’s how when I’m online So I think working for free doesn’t necessarily have to be dollars for hours in terms of in person with the service you want to do but It’s your marketing budget of time.

Mike Matthews: Yeah, yeah, you have to give something. It’s that point of reciprocity, really, that and asking for [00:31:00] something before giving is a harder sell. It’s just a harder proposition. What do you think about just even to, to just go back to your first point of, so you have someone, I mean, I, I, I’ve told many people that the first thing is you have to look The part you have to like look the way that the people that you’re wanting to coach, they would have to look at you and be like, yeah, I would, I would like to look like him or her.

You don’t have to be at the 95 percent of your genetic potential, but. You know, because I’ve heard from many people that really, I mean, you like guys that they’re, they’re brand new. I mean, it’s fine, but what are your thoughts on people in that position? Like, but they want to, they’re really have a passion.

I don’t, you know, I don’t know. I’m kind of on the fence in that. Like, is it, should it, should it be, because it takes, obviously it takes at least a year to really start putting together a physique, as you know. Unless you’re like starting someone like that has done gymnastics their entire life, and now they already have such a base or something like that, you know 

Andrea Valdez: yeah, yeah.

Well, honestly, [00:32:00] I ran into this problem all the time because, you know, even me, kind of, I guess, later in my career, it’s like, because I’m helping elite level athletes, I only looked figure lean for a few couple years of my life, few months of my life, you know? Yeah, 

but you did it. You did it. Yeah, 

Andrea Valdez: I did it.

And so, there’s a lot of pictures to document it, but yeah, I think, In a, if your personal training, right, if I’m working with silver sneakers programs at the YMCA, like, I can just be a healthy body composition. Maybe a little chunky, it’s okay because I’m working with elderly people who are sitting in a chair doing their thing.

If I want people who want to get in the best shape of their life, I want to be not only just healthy, but an example, right? I mean, that’s the best marketing there is to, right, is be the example of what you’re trying to get out of your people. You know, but then again, If it’s a performance coach, like say it’s a baseball coach, well he probably doesn’t look like the baseball player.

Maybe not. Weightlifting coaches, right? Some people get into weightlifting. 

Mike Matthews: That’s a harder sell. Like, I mean, you’re going to try to sell yourself like a Mark Rippetoe? Like, yeah, you’re [00:33:00] not going to want to look like Mark, but you might like to know 

Andrea Valdez: some 

Mike Matthews: Things that he knows about weightlifting. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah.

But at that point in his career, right, he’s created, okay, I’ve made all these athletes, there’s my body of work, you know, and, and my books on this subject and my, so I think it all is in, in the marketing message and Everyone has their ups and downs, right? Maybe you’re not in the best shape of your life right now, but are you at least in a, are you someone they want to be?

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: Collectively, right? So maybe you’re 10 pounds over, but you’re still knowledgeable. You still put out great content. You still, you know, and vice versa. Like, I think it all kind of collectively contributes to like, I am qualified because of all these things. Yeah. Now granted, if you’re 50 pounds over, it doesn’t matter how much.

If I’m a bodybuilding coach, who’s obese. Yeah, 

Mike Matthews: unless again unless you were like a superstar in your time and now you just don’t care I mean, that’s what’s out there. I’m sure that’s out there, 

Andrea Valdez: right? But at that point again, like we say there’s probably decades [00:34:00] of evidence of your body of work But it’s you know, I think a lot of things too is because fitness is so mental and emotional That it’s like, if you are that far overweight, I highly doubt it’s just like, I like eating.

There’s probably some other psychosocial thing that you’re not dealing with, which, how am I gonna help people through their mental and emotional relationships with food and training if I don’t have mine in check? 

Mike Matthews: That’s true. That’s a good point. Having gone through that though is valuable. Like, sometimes I even run into that with people where I Can’t honestly say I’ve really struggled with the same problems that they have.

So it can be hard for me to, I feel like I can offer canned advice that I’ve heard from other people, but I can’t really empathize and know what they’re going through and say, Oh yeah, I had that exact problem. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. That’s kind of hard. That’s where, this is gonna sound so cheesy, but that’s where, like, self development comes in.

Like, are you reading the books? Are you, you know, like, it’s one of those, like, are you smart enough to be able to relate other industries to [00:35:00] yourself? So maybe I don’t, maybe you’ve never been overweight as a, not you in particular, but I want to coach. I’ve always, it’s always been kind of easy for me to be in shape.

Do I go read the obesity books? Do I read the psychology and the studies behind other people? What have people found There’s a million scientifically backed books, and if you don’t understand research, that’s fine, like, The Willpower Instinct is a great Yeah, 

Mike Matthews: it’s a good book. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, it’s a great book. I feel like that had nothing, not nothing to do, but it’s like about habit forming and all that stuff where it’s like, that’s totally up our alley working with bodybuilders.

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: You know, and it’s, are you smart enough and are you thinking about it enough to realize that, okay, this book that’s really about having a more productive life actually can help your Gen pop weight loss clients, like it’s 

Mike Matthews: totally, yeah, no, I totally being 

Andrea Valdez: creative. Yeah. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah. Yeah. And that’s one of the reasons why I like to read fairly broadly and just look for just pri principles that are fundamental enough to, you know, apply to more than just whatever the context of the book is.

So I totally agree with that. Yeah. What about credentials for, [00:36:00] for coaches, like how much, you know what I mean? How, cause you’ll see anyone can get a certification online that says they’re a certified personal trainer. It doesn’t really mean anything. 

Andrea Valdez: Right. I think it goes both ways. Like I’ve, of all the certification programs.

that I’ve seen or dealt with or whatever. Cause I have my bachelor’s and my master’s in ex phys and all that stuff. And like we had to take all that growing up. But when I was in grad school, right, for exercise physiology and I did my first figure season, that degree did not help me. You know, like getting, dieting for contest leanness is different than like the sports nutrition class I had that taught me how to fuel runners.

Like, that’s just very different. So I think it’s, the one place that we Eric’s worked with, Shredded by Science Academy, is a really good one, but what I’m getting with that is like, that’s, of all the certifications I know, I can think of one that’s like, I think bodybuilding coaches should get it.

Everything else, it’s like, well, that’s gen pop ish, and even then, I don’t know, I think it’s way more about you as a human, and being resourceful, than it is about the credentials. Unless, again, you have [00:37:00] a very specific, I want to work with a pro sports team in strength and conditioning. Well, you need some certifications, you need your CSCS.

If you want to work at Gold Gym, I think they have their own. Like, but as far as, yeah, as far as you, Unless there’s a specific job you want that you know up front has those credentials, I would argue that you’re probably better off on your own because you know the people you want to work with. 

Mike Matthews: Right.

Yeah. No, I totally agree with that. So are there any other things that people should look out for? So we’ve covered, we’ve covered a couple. 

Andrea Valdez: People should look out for. What do you think? That 

Mike Matthews: are, that are, that are red flag type things. Yeah. I mean, 

Andrea Valdez: I, I 

Mike Matthews: would say, I would say I would add cookie cutter. I mean, you kind of mentioned that, but there are I mean, cause I just know, cause we’ve had quite a few people come to us from other programs that, so they get into it.

So they, it looks, it looks decent on the outside and they get into it. And then it’s very, it’s very cookie cutter and also very restrictive. So it’s everybody’s following more or less the same workout program. And it’s a ton of cardio. It’s a ton of exercise, a ton of weightlifting, [00:38:00] and then it’s, you know, eating rice and.

I mean, chicken and broccoli six times a day and that’s it, and very dogmatic, not really explaining why, just what, this is, this is what you have to do and this is, this is just what people do. 

Andrea Valdez: Right. And I think that that stuff that you would hope you could, that red flag would come up in the way that someone presents themselves or their.

There I don’t know it’s true because you wouldn’t know until you’re in 

Mike Matthews: it down to the judgment of the person though because like you Do have people that they’ll produce content Maybe there’s content that you and I would roll our eyes at but I can I can understand being Totally new to something and you know, it’s it is an article or it is a video the person sounds So, yeah, maybe it’s not the level of due diligence that you’re recommending, but people feel like they did do some.

You know what I mean? Like, this person does look, and then they get into it, and then they’re like, oh, really? This is what, this is, I have to, you know, exercise 15 hours a week, and. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. I think maybe it depends. Like, if I’m signing up for something and someone says, here’s a 12 week protocol. I would [00:39:00] hope that I am registering that that’s like, oh, that’s the normal thing they give to people versus like, I signed up for weekly coaching.

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: So, therefore, I expect this person, I would think, however you start this process, if I’m signing up for weekly any type of coaching, that coach should probably want to know something about me. 

Yeah, not just my 

Andrea Valdez: body weight and my heights, but like my goals, my timeline, maybe a Skype call, maybe an introductory phone call, maybe a very lengthy application, but if it’s just like body weight, height, gender, okay, I’m good.

Well, I think that would, yeah, I think that that would be another red flag too, right? Like you don’t even know who I am. How can you catch me? 

Mike Matthews: Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. Okay. One, one more question for you. So, so, so looking forward here, I mean, obviously health and fitness is just getting more and more popular.

I don’t think that trend is going to reverse any time soon at all. So we’re just going to see more and more people entering the space in terms of coaching. And, and so for, for people now that are coaching or wanting to get into it right now, what are your [00:40:00] thoughts on how they can stay credible in when the space is just going to get dirtier and it’s going to get.

Mercure as more and more people, you know, cause it’s not like there’s some regulatory body that’s going to come in and do anything about it. It’s kind of, we have to, we have to develop our own immune system in that, in that sense. So I don’t know what are your thoughts on like, what do you, I mean, you have the affiliations that you’re obviously not you’re you and you have your affiliations, so you’re kind of protected.

But what about for the loan, the lone person out there? 

Andrea Valdez: I think the lone person is understanding how much free work getting your name out there it’s going to take. I, I don’t know, I don’t think there is a shortcut to There might be other branding ways to stand out once you’re established, but I think the, the volume of free content that you’re going to have to give to establish your credibility in an online space is Pretty large, aligning with people, like yeah, people know who I am because of 3D, right?

I did my own thing [00:41:00] for a little while, but mostly because there’s five of us attacking this, right? So maybe that is a mastermind, maybe that’s cross promotions with people that you’re really in tune with, but end of the day, like you said, people have to know who you are. So I don’t think that there’s a fast track besides Produce a bunch of stuff you’re proud of that shows who you are and consistently do it.

And I think, too, you’ll always refine that, right? Like, your website’s different than it was two years ago. Mine’s my whole, like, now I host podcasts where I was like, I YouTubed my face off for like three years for anyone to know I existed, you know? 

Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: So it’s just maybe find one or two places that you’re comfortable.

Maybe that’s writing. Maybe that’s video. podcast. But dive all in and do it as fast and as aggressively as you can with A way to establish your credibility, but I don’t think that there’s and I think too, we have to find some comfort in the fact that there are all these smaller players or these part timers that it’ll show eventually, you know, it’s, they’ll, they’ll get frustrated.

They’re not making enough money. They’ll get frustrated. They don’t have enough clients. They’ll realize, [00:42:00] Oh, maybe I do just do lifestyle marketing and selling shirts is easier. I think I 

Mike Matthews: see some of that. We’re like, Oh, I’ll just create these nonsensical vlogs of. Me trying to, you know, virtue signal and Just, you know, make people think that I have this wonderful life, and oh, by the way, I have this dumb shirt if you want to buy it.

Like, the fact that that works kind of bothers me, but, hey. 

Andrea Valdez: But it’s, it’s lifestyle marketing, I have to, it’s weird, right? Fitness has become, there’s fitness marketing, and there’s fitness information, and they’re just different industries, and I think even the people within them get confused with where they fit in there.

Mike Matthews: Sure, 

Andrea Valdez: I 

Mike Matthews: think it kind of comes to what you were saying earlier, where know your target market, know who it is you’re going after. If you want to sell to impressionable 19 year olds, then lifestyle marketing, yeah, like if you look good and if you have a body, and especially if you have money. It’s easy just do stupid vlogs and you know, just make them go guy wish that way that I would [00:43:00] I wish I were that cool 

Yeah, 

Mike Matthews: and that’s it.

But if you want to work with older more mature educated real people that are into fitness for different reasons Then, that shit’s not gonna work. Like, they could care less about your vlog and you trying to flaunt your car and shit, you know what I mean? I know exactly 

Andrea Valdez: what you mean and all the people you’re talking about.

Mike Matthews: It’s just, it just is, it means nothing. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, and I think too, one, one mark of being a A mark of being a professional, right? And being someone that’s going to end up where they want to be is not being afraid to turn down the people that you don’t want to work with. So if you set, decide, I’m working with these kind of people, when people approach you that aren’t your kind of people, sorry about it, like, I got this thing I want to do.

And that’s really hard when you’re just starting out and you want to make money and you want to take on anyone. And I, I agree, maybe the first ten you take like whoever, and of these ten, which ones are working with me, which ones drive, which, Who do I like helping, and who am I like, that’s really not my thing.

And then, it, it sucks, but the more years you [00:44:00] do it, the more you realize who you like being around, who you, maybe, you could do, just cause you can do it doesn’t mean you should, I guess is. 

Mike Matthews: Totally. No. And that becomes very important. I think, I mean, that’s somebody that, so they’ve established themselves and now they have to decide where they go or in the beginning you do have to say yes a lot, but then at some point it becomes more important to say no to what, to what you’re saying to the things that don’t make sense.

I mean, I can say in my, and just in my work, so I get asked a lot to do vlogs. I refuse. I just tell people like, it’s fine. You can ask me to do vlogs. I will not do vlogs because they, they take time. For one, even if I had it, all I have to do is just be in front of a camera and everyone else takes care of everything else.

It still takes time and it’s not the crowd that I’m trying to work the most with. Like I, and also it’s not something I enjoy, but I enjoy writing, but it’s also nice that the people that I like to work most with and that I resonate most with are people that tend to read things. And so I’ll just stick with that, you know what I mean, but [00:45:00] I could just, I mean, if I were maybe more narcissistic, I might be like, Oh, it’d be, I mean, I could get all the YouTube love and I can make these blogs and show things off and how cool would that be?

So it’s. I don’t know, just a personal example 

Andrea Valdez: of 

Mike Matthews: trying to apply what you’re saying, basically. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah, and same here. I mean, like, there’s five of us coaches, but we don’t just within our coaching team, right? We, we have our own responsibilities and like, I kind of run the whole web, I mean, the podcast operation.

And there’s a lot of things that I’m always working on the back end that we’re kind of trying to change and stuff. And because of that, like I have less clients than say, like three, three of us coach full time. And two of us actually don’t because we have these other responsibilities that are indirectly helping bring in more business, more clients, more product sales or whatever, you know?

And, and like you said, it’s just picking and choosing what works for you. 

Mike Matthews: Totally. So, 

Andrea Valdez: and that’s the thing, like you can obviously coach, but you’re like, I need to build this brand. So I’ve taught my ways to these other people that can help service. That’s a great example. But anyways, that’s later down the [00:46:00] road.

I guess that’s not for the new coaches, but it’s important. 

Mike Matthews: Totally. I agree. Cool. Well, I think, I think we’ve covered pretty much everything that was on our little outline there. So, so, so the last thing is just where can everybody find you? I mean, this is a kind of a repeat of they understand, I think, because Eric was in the last one, but And you said you’re more in the back, but no, you want to, what do you want to say?

What do you got going on in your world that you think people should know about? 

Andrea Valdez: I got everything in the world because I’m always going that you 

Mike Matthews: want people to know about. Yeah. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. No, no, no. Well, 3d muscle journey. com is our team. Right, that’s where you can sign up for coaching services, learn a little about us, our podcast episodes are there.

There’s, I mean, if you want to follow me personally, at avie__fit on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, all that stuff. That’s I’m obsessed with training. And I post videos about it every day. Snapchat, I, I, I love, that’s I guess my mini vlogs right now. I love Snapchat. I’m obsessed with it. Twitter’s cool. I 

Mike Matthews: kind of wish I [00:47:00] liked social media because I know it’s such a thing and people ask me so much to be better at it.

Andrea Valdez: If you’re doing one, Snappychat. It’s the laziest and the funnest. Funnest isn’t a word, the most fun. No, I 

Mike Matthews: think funnest, funner is not a word. Funnest is a word, I’m pretty sure. 

Andrea Valdez: Alright, well it’s like 10 seconds at a time, and there’s these filters so when you, not that this is a problem you have, but like, you can look like trash, but then still be beautiful at the same time.

It’s all lighting anyways, I don’t look bad. It’s so fun, dude, it’s so fun, you have to do it. Snapchat, Instagram, AB underscore fit. 

Mike Matthews: Cool. 

Andrea Valdez: And I’ll link out to everything I’ll send. Oh, muscle and strength pyramids. If you’re a new coach, Eric and Eric Helms, Andrew Valdez, Andy Morgan. We wrote the muscle and strength pyramids at muscleandstrengthpyramids.

com. Legit. If you don’t want to invest in a very large amount of money, 100 percent think that if you have the basis for that, you can kind of manipulate body composition as much as you’d like. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah. No, they’re great books. I’ve recommended them many times to myself. 

Andrea Valdez: Thanks. Appreciate that. 

Mike Matthews: Yeah. Okay. Great.

Well, I think that’s everything. 

Andrea Valdez: Thanks. All right. for having me. [00:48:00] Yeah. Thanks 

Mike Matthews: a lot. Thanks a lot for taking the time. 

Andrea Valdez: Yeah. See ya. 

Mike Matthews: Hey, it’s Mike again. Hope you liked the podcast. If you did go ahead and subscribe. I put out new episodes every week or two where I talk about all kinds of things related to health and fitness and general wellness.

Also head over to my website at www dot muscle for life. com. where you’ll find not only past episodes of the podcast, but you’ll also find a bunch of different articles that I’ve written. I release a new one almost every day. Actually I release kind of like four to six new articles a week. And you can also find my books and everything else that I’m involved in over at muscle for life.

com. All right. Thanks again. Bye.