As you all know, I keep my client load small and manageable to ensure the highest degree of quality. Since I’ve only just begun accepting trainees for less than a year now, this section will take some time to fill up. If there are any potential trainees that are on the fence, most of my trainees can be found on my forum Clutchfitness.
Just look for the 
banner under their screen name and they will be more than happy to oblige.
I was pretty pleased to find this web site.
I wanted to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!
! I definitely savored every little bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite
to check out new things on your site.
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Jarrod (Jarude)
I began training with Dan in December of 2012.I had messaged him more than six months prior to inquire about his training services; however, due to multiple injuries in succession and having to juggle my finances, it wasn’t until this winter that I was able to begin working with him. Through this six-month span – and despite the fact that I wasn’t a paying client yet – he took the time and effort to check in with me and see how I was progressing. This level of involvement even before I was on the books is indicative of the time, detail, and personal investment that Dan puts into his trainees – but I’ll speak more to that later.
My reasons for hiring a coach were simple: I wanted to learn how to train myself. I had no interest in being sent a one-page email with a mishmash of movements and sets x reps on it in exchange for my hard-earned dollars; I wanted to know the why, the how, and the what. If you’ve ever worked with other online coaches, you already know all about that one-page email that cost you $300. I can confidently say that I accomplished what I set out to do; in my time with Dan, I learned the tools I need to help me reach my goals.
I’ve worked with multiple online trainers in the past, and I can definitively say without hesitation that Dan is by far the most detailed and devoted coach I’ve had. To say he is personally invested in your success is an understatement; while every trainer may “care” about you succeeding, that sentiment very rarely translates into action. It does here: every question I had for him was responded to quickly and in extraordinary detail. I went through some personal adversity which was affecting my training, and Dan was the first one to offer his personal and professional support. While cynics may fairly point out I’m paying him for that service, I’d have them answer this question: what was the last unsolicited email they got from their coach? Was it a form-letter renewal notice, or an offer of support asking how they were doing, what they needed help with and what he needed to do to help? Dan’s limited client load allows him to give his trainees the level of attention they need; this isn’t a money-making scheme for him, where he can jam in the most amount of clients possible for his maximum financial benefit. Based on the level of detail and guidance I received, it’s very clear that Dan is doing this out of a passion for training and desire to help others succeed and the balance of the benefit falls squarely on the trainee.
I came to Dan as the “perpetual beginner:” I’ve trained hard doing the right things for several years and have been in and out of the gym for longer than that, yet my long-term results didn’t reflect it. My training was always interspersed with events that caused me to fall off the bandwagon completely and start from scratch. I would make excellent progress, and then get injured or experience serious mental burnout and in a few short months, my progress was gone. I’ve always had issues being consistent in the long term and being able to build upon my achievements without having to start from scratch every time I encounter adversity. While it was important that I had the personal support to keep my head in the right space, what I learned about training was equally valuable in helping me make consistent progress.
As far as that training knowledge goes, Dan’s methods are equal parts simple and effective and have taught me how to proceed in a long-term, sustainable way. There’s a lot to be said for doing the things you should be doing, as opposed to the things you want to be doing. I’ve worked with coaches with a high client loads, and what I wanted wasn’t what I needed and my results from working with them reflected as much. To have that voice of experience telling you why and how to keep pounding away at what works while ensuring proper levels of conditioning are in place was invaluable. The mandatory conditioning blocks, while unpleasant at times, were crucial for bringing my strength, bodyfat and conditioning in line with where they should be, giving me a strong base from which I could work towards my goals. Given I was coming back from upper and lower body injuries and training at home with limited equipment, every movement was chosen with my needs in mind; there was no mindless 3×5, 2×10, 3×15, 4×20 here. The same goes for diet: Dan’s methods with regards to eating are simple and effective and are by far superior to “2500 cals 40/25/35.” Its easily adjustable and I no longer stress out about social eating situations or anything that might break compliance. I’ve had the most success with regards to compliance and body composition results with these dieting methods with the least amount of thought.
In the three months I’ve trained with Dan, I’m down 10lbs and have turned my max-effort squat and bench 1RM’s into easy 2 and 3RM’s, respectively. I’ve gone from only being able to do band-assisted pull-ups to doing unassisted sets of 10 and working sets of weighted pull-ups supersetted with overhead press. He had me working hard at the things I should be working hard at – not fantasy bodybuilder routines that aren’t what I need. I’m much stronger, much leaner, and much more in shape than I ever have been, and while that comes from me busting my ass, Dan gave me the know-how and the inspiration to do so when I needed it. The best thing about this is that it isn’t progress that’s only there until I burn out on the same routine I’ve been grinding on for months: I have the knowledge and insight on how to move forward from here. This is what I wanted when I hired Dan and I can confidently say I’ve gotten exactly that.
The simple truth is that lifters need to start expecting more from their coaches. Any trainer can take your money and fire off cookie cutter routines; not every trainer fully invests their time, effort, and passion into teaching you to succeed in the long run. Potential trainees need to not think about how many months of training will buy them; they need to think about the quality of training they’re receiving. In three months I’ve learned more than I have in a year with other coaches based on how thorough Dan is and the detail and effort he puts into his service. I would not hesitate to recommend Dan to anyone and fully welcome any questions about the training I’ve received.
Jarrod was/is a stellar trainee that stayed on for another few blocks of hard work. I have to admit, I was NOT expecting something quite like this and I can’t thank him enough for doing this! I think the most important parts Jarrod brought up are the ones many people choose to overlook with their current online trainers, some of whom may even pimp his/her services out to their friends. I believe the reasoning is simple – They don’t want to admit that they made a mistake or a poor investment on something. I know I speak from personal experience in that I too made mistakes on “highly touted trainers” only to find cookie cutter templates and one word answers to very important questions in my inbox. It’s these experiences that have shaped me into who I am today and the level of service I believe each trainee deserves. Quite honestly, my thoughts are perfectly summed up by Jarrod’s closing paragraph to a T.
“The simple truth is that lifters need to start expecting more from their coaches. Any trainer can take your money and fire off cookie cutter routines; not every trainer fully invests their time, effort, and passion into teaching you to succeed in the long run. Potential trainees need to not think about how many months of training will buy them; they need to think about the quality of training they’re receiving.”
Well said Jarrod, well said….
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Sean (Sean8701)
Sean was a pleasure to work with. He did everything I asked of him in spades. Being overseas, we had to overcome quite a few challenges and on a few occasions we adapted our training plan around his work schedule as he had a LONG commute which I can only imagine as he was in China. We started on a 3 day conjugated template and overtime had to condense our training to only twice per week. Sean’s story is just another example of how well someone can progress with less! A reminder to us all that more is oftentimes not better..
I apologize to Dan for getting this testimonial to Dan a little late. The first thing that comes to mind when I reflect on the training I had with Dan is personalization. I am sure that Dan can attest to some of the challenges that came up. We even spent a good portion training just twice a week, and we still managed to get great results.
In our short time together (about 9 months) I went from a 265 squat, to 405. My deadlift went from about 315 to 415, and a 255 bench to 280. I still have a long way to go, and unfortunately due to school and work, we had to put the training on hold.
Dan never took long to respond to emails, and my questions were always answered to great detail. What made him a great teacher is the fact that I can pick up right where we left off, knowing that I have all the tools and knowledge I need to succeed. Not only that, I also know that if I need some help Dan will always be happy to respond. He is so much more than a personal trainer, but a friend, and a coach. Thanks Dan, you always go above and beyond, and I would recommend your services to anyone.
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Tim Speer (Navy SEAL)
I started working with Dan 4 months ago. Since then, I haven’t gone a single month without seeing improvement in all of my core lifts. I was expecting the jumps at first, but the consistency is remarkable. Especially considering I train as an endurance athlete as well. Thats right, Dan and I are experimenting with mixing the two. I can honestly say it is working so far. Yes there has been some give and some take but I still hold my own in both strength and endurance thanks to Dan. Dan has made every effort to work with me and keep my body guessing. Every block is something new and exciting. This makes it quite fun.
If you’re looking for a trainer who will work with you as long as it takes to tailor a plan just right for you, Dan is your guy. I’ve spent entire sundays shooting tons of emails back and forth with the guy and it I learn something new with each email. Dan not only tells you why he wants you to do something, he explains how it works, which really gets you in the right mind set when it comes time to go hit the gym.
Tim’s currently a Navy SEAL and of course that presents many challenges to overcome. My main concern was to bridge the gap between maintaining his incredibly high level of conditioning and endurance (his job) with increasing his strength in the gym. So far we’ve been destroying both and he’s been an absolute pleasure to work with. It’s been a blast on my end game planning his programming and diet floating between two completely opposite ends of the spectrum (strength —— endurance). LOL at those that say it cannot be done!
The most rewarding aspect for me is that I had to plug in his new rep maxes! After 3 months of hard work, I had Tim do a max testing week to see where we’re at, identify weak points, and to see where his programming needs to be at for the next blocks.
Old Maxes – I asked Tim to test prior to signing up with me so we’re accurate vs. wishful thinking.
Squat – 320 x 2
Bench – 280 x 1
Max Testing Week – After our third block of training together.
Squat – 400 x 1
Bench – 305 x 1, 315 – missed
Pretty unbelievable huh, but he IS a Navy SEAL after all, and he backed it up with videos and continued on for another 4 months to boot! I’ll use his own words to summarize his response to my asking how his testing week went.
“really good! I got 305 on bench. tried for 315 after that and missed it. probably should have tried for 310 but I’m happy with a clean 305. I got 400 on squat! Ill send the video.”
Based off the videos and his past blocks, we made a lot of adjustments and fine tuned his next few blocks focusing in on pressing 3 wheels which would be a major accomplishment for him in that there’s a very short list of military infantry / spec-ops personnel that can press 3 wheels with all the 4-6 mile endurance runs, field ops, and so forth which works against that specific goal. Something I know a lot about coming from the USMC infantry.
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Cory (thsfootball)
I have lifted on and off since my teens for football, but lifting for strictly strength and endurance for the last 3 years consistently. Throughout this time, I have worked with five distance trainers, which is a big enough number to know a good distance trainer from the others. I will not name each trainer and what I thought about their service in public, but feel free to PM me and I will give you an honest critique.
Before working with Dan, I was ready to give up on distance trainers, as most of the time I felt like I was just a number to them, another email to respond to. I had messaged Dan (0311) a few years ago on a forum because he was always posting great, thorough advice for free. If you don’t believe me, search his post history on ClutchFitness or Iron Addicts forums, and note the depth of his posts, all of which he was sharing for free. This level of detail showed me that he would be the ideal distance trainer because he obviously has a passion for strength and endurance, and his ability to articulate what he was recommending separates him from other trainers.
Anyway, I decided to give the online training thing one more go around. I hired 0311, Darkhorse, Dan, whatever name you know him as. At the time, I was just getting back into Brazilian jiu jitsu, and knew that as a former marine, conditioning was huge to Dan. He would understand the struggle of balancing weight lifting and the conditioning that inherently comes with BJJ. After an extended “conditioning block” that Dan puts all his clients through (mine was around 8 weeks), I noticed a HUGE difference in conditioning both on the mat and in the gym.
When I first started back into BJJ, I would struggle to make it through an hour long class of BJJ, and couldn’t roll or spar for longer than 5 minutes or so at a time. I would often drive home feeling dizzy, nauseated, and dead tired. Last Tuesday, I went to two classes back to back, and rolled for about 15 minutes after the last class, for a total of 2.5 hours.
In the gym, Dan was able to find exercises that fit my lanky body type. He accounted for my body type, recovery abilities with BJJ, dietary intake, stress levels, and many other factors and came up with a routine with exercises that allowed me to progressively get stronger in the gym while increasing my GPP. Before working with Dan, I had HORRIBLE GPP, and this wasn’t apparent to me until after a few months working with him. Even more embarrassing than my GPP was my ability to do body weight exercises such as dips and pull-ups. These, along with many other odd lifts went up quite a bit.
To summarize, ill post some before and after statistics. Keep in mind the powerlifts were not my main focus during this time, as the majority of the time I was dieting.
Before: After:
Resting HR and Blood Pressure: 65 BPM- 120/65 57 BPM-113/60
Weight: 210-215 198 (this AM)
Sparing Time: 5 min <15 min
Dips: BWx ~10 BW + 70×7
Dead hang pullups: ~3 BWx15
Also, I don’t have exact measurements on a few things, but I have gone from a 1 stripe white belt to a 4 stripe white belt, hack squat has probably doubled, front squat is above where it was when I back squatted 405, deadlift is probably around 550 which ties all time PR, did a 59” box jump, and a complete guesstimate on BF% change is from 13-15 before to 10% now. I will post pics when I get down to 194.
I could go on and on about how the increase in GPP has not only helped in BJJ, how it has improved my quality of life overall, or how my best friend has gotten stronger than ever and is now a current trainee under Dan, or how quickly Dan responds to emails, etc etc. I will just say that Dan is the BEST and most THOROUGH trainer I have ever seen. Send me a message if you have any questions about my experiences so far, ill be glad to explain anything.
Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too! Every trainee is unique and I can say that every one of my trainees are doing something completely different from one another based on their past successes and needs. In Cory’s case, the challenge was to focus on converting his 4 banger engine to a V-8 on the mat WHILE at the same time driving up his overall strength.. Oh, in case I forgot to mention, all of this was while we were losing fat! Hence my opening statement. With all that going on, Cory was the first real challenge I had with his overall body structure. Long arms (hell I think one arm was longer than the other right?) and we had to dial in the right exercises at the right volume without tipping the scales towards burning out. Clearly with those results, Cory’s compliance was Spartan and on quite a few occasions writing every week dialing in the weights I was thinking “How the **** does he get up in the morning knowing what’s on the docket for him?!”
Working with Cory was an absolute dream and I have to admit I was extremely fortunate to have him. I think a major contributor to our success was due in large part to his having worked with so many other “top tier” trainers and nutritionists. Having worked with a handful myself, including a few of the same ones, he knew EXACTLY where I was coming from when I talked many times at Lucharilla about how I offered something that goes far beyond what they offered which was usually a short 1-2 liner to a question (or) a cookie cutter template with a “run this until it stalls” (or) a string of numbers saying “figure out your own portion sizes” and hit those numbers with complicated diets. Above all else, what I tell every one of my trainees is that I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU when you go at things on your own. After all the work you guys put in, I want to see long term successes which is why every trainee will ALWAYS maintain full access to the private trainee forum at Clutch as well as my email 24/7.
Thanks for the kind words Cory…. Oh, and I hope he didn’t come off if he’s moving on – What for when there’s so much work left to be done.
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Mike (mjc595)
Hands down best distance/online trainer I ever had!
Just want to share the experience I had with Dan, and highlight a couple key observations.
1) I had a good time, but I LEARNED.
-This is a very important yet overlooked aspect of distance training in my opinion. I have been a member on various training boards/forums and have tried working with some distance trainers, but I never learned the reasoning behind why they would make me do “A” and not “B.”
With Dan, it’s a different story. As long as you are willing to learn and ASK him, he will provide you an elaborate answer. It can be concepts of training/nutrition from a high level to the grainiest detail – he will not hesitate to answer questions and make sure you know the “WHY” behind everything. That is also one of the reasons why I think working with Dan was such a pleasure. He doesn’t do this for the money. Numerous other trainers may just wish you good luck once you finish your time with them, but with Dan, he wants you to make sure that you retain the information in your future gym career. I don’t think anyone else in the distance training community does this.
2) Workouts are fun.
-I’m not gonna lie, but I can be a huge meathead. I love training. But sometimes **** can get boring. Your workouts aren’t the typical where you do a big compound exercise, do some accessories for 5 sets of 10, do some core work and you bounce. With Dan, he customizes your program and actually has a lot of dynamic stuff going on. Week by week your routine changes, which actually makes you look forward to your gym sessions mentally. Very tough circuit work or conditioning stuff also pushes you to the limit. I’ve experienced GREAT fat loss when I mixed conditioning and strength training…while eating more carbs!!!! Can you believe that?
The biggest lesson I learned is that conditioning is such a huge part of training. You might hate yourself when you do it, but once you power through the weeks, the benefits will show. And I am currently reaping those benefits. And no, doing HIIT stuff won’t catabolize 55.67% of your muscle gains. I’ve always abided by the permabulker mentality where you won’t do cardio on your leg days, but that is such all BS. I suggest you start incorporating conditioning stuff in your workouts, but again if you don’t know where to start…I suggest you hire Dan.
3) A personal and approachable trainer
-A lot of the times people have a hard time keeping in touch with their online trainers. But because Dan only has a certain quota of trainees, he makes sure everything is in tact and rolling smoothly for you. Sometimes Dan emailed or chatted me up asking if my diet was going well and if my energy levels were feeling good. And it’s also great that I can talk about things other than lifting weights with him. If you send him an e-mail, you will most likely get a reply that day whether that’s related to training or not.
All in all, Dan is seriously a distance trainer who is “one of the kind.”
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Leon (LG1)
I wanted to take a moment a give my friend and trainer Dan well deserved props. I have been working with Dan for several months now. During this time I have dealt with several injuries that limited what I could do in the gym. Dan worked methodically and diligently in order to expedite my training program and make sure I could continue to train without skipping a beat.
Not to mention a three hour time difference did not matter when I needed Dan most. His knowledge of training systems, physiology, recovery and nutrition are second to none. Whether you are interested in lean mass gains, strength gains, or conditioning he can help you for sure. If you are interested in the latest diet trends, Dan has been in the game for a long time and can help you with your nutrition in a very non complex and practical manner. I also like the fact that Dan is a Marine and is one structured, organized, and prompt individual. This shows in his work which is a passion of his to teach others while constantly keeping an open mind to new concepts and feedback from his trainees.
Also, each plan Dan sets up is very individual and personalized based on the trainees specific needs. No cookie cutter once size fits most BS here.
If you are on the fence about getting a trainer, take the plunge now. You won’t regret it!
Dan (0311) Client Testimonial – Dave
“I’m writing this as gratitude towards a trainer who has completely evolved my thoughts and beliefs about weight training, diet, and conditioning. Under Dan I’ve reached the fitness peak of my adult life. Since he gave me my first routine and diet, I’m bigger, stronger, and have more endurance than I’ve ever had before. Now to put this in context I will give a bit of background on myself.
I’m a long time lurker of the Iron Addict’s forum who has been training consistently for about one and a half years. This time includes training with the late (and great) Wesley Silveira for about one year. In this time I’ve racked up modest numbers with personal bests of a 415 dead lift, 300 bench, and 360 squat. Wesley played a great role in helping me get my strength to these levels, but once he passed away I started to stall. I attempted to hire other personal trainers, but was often just handed very cookie cutter routines with simple macro breakdowns as a dietary guide. The results were often average to subpar and translated into some small strength gains, but I was never overly impressed with the quality of the training. After a year of going essentially nowhere I was lucky enough to stumble upon Dan’s blog.
Training under Dan is unlike any other online personal trainer I’ve come across. He spends hours and hours formulating the perfect routine to fit your goals, schedule, and fitness level. This isn’t a guy who finds one of ten routines lying around on his desktop and sends it to you, but someone who actually spends the time to tailor everything to each of his trainees. I’ll never forget reading the first routine he sent me and being absolutely blown away by the level of detail. One of the things Dan has really helped me hammer out is my glaring weaknesses. This is only possible because he knows ME and writes routines for ME! As a result all my lifts have begun to progress again after a year of being stagnant.
Second, Dan has a very unique approach to training. Every other trainer I’ve worked with has given me essentially the same routine. Do bench, squat, and deads with a bit of accessory work, rinse, repeat, (until it stalls). Dan takes this style of training, integrates supersets, adds HIIT, and uses all sorts of methods to hammer my conditioning and bring up my weak points. This mix of strength and conditioning is the most fun I’ve ever had in the gym, while producing results that are hard to argue with. I’m more muscular than I was when I started, haven’t gained body fat, and my conditioning is through the roof! It’s great to be strong, but if you can’t even walk up the stairs without feeling winded something is missing from your training. Dan knows how to help anyone bring up their level of conditioning without sacrificing in the size and strength department.
The last thing I want to mention is the sheer volume of knowledge that this man has. He has literally worked with every trainer in the book. Basically, he has a huge range of experience with all forms of training and diet to draw from. Anytime I’ve had a question for Dan he’s always promptly provided a detailed answer with science and personal experience to back it up. He doesn’t dole out bro science or BS you on what to expect. The bottom line is that on all levels Dan is dedicated to seeing his trainees succeed and the moment you sign up and talk with him that fact becomes very evident.
I’ve been training with Dan for a while now and I have every intention to continue on with him for some time to come. I have full faith that this is the guy who is going to help me reach my true potential in the gym. For any of you looking to do the same I highly recommend that you contact Dan and get started.
Dave
27 Years Old
Seoul, South Korea”
I’ve been blessed with every one of the trainees as each and every one not only sticks to the plan, but asks questions! Dave fits the prototypical mold of a trainee that embraces the plan (training, nutrition, supplementation, cardiovascular) and uses his time with me wisely.
I just wanted to reiterate a few things. A lot of my trainees that come to me have worked with other online trainers. Some had good experiences while others had let’s just say not so great experiences or felt let down with what they got for their money.
Why am I different?
1) Others will quickly email calories and macros and leave it up to the trainee to do the grunt work piecing together the meals that fit the generic mold. I will give you a complete comprehensive diet that has all the meal choices on there per meal AND a detailed explanation behind my methods.
2) Others will send you 3-4 generic workouts and tell you to stay on it until you plateau. I will send a conditioning block that has weights plugged in, every set, rep, and rest periods accounted for per exercise. We do a full phone conference and go over every “how” and most importantly “WHY” behind everything on that template. After the first month, we set up another phone conference and I involve you in the process of putting together your next routine. If it sounds like a lot of work, IT IS! It takes me about a half a day to put together a trainees complete diet and training routine. I always have a general direction in mind and all my routines I start from scratch based off of our phone consult.
If it sounds like I’m very hands on, I am. You pay for my full undivided attention. That is why I keep my work load very limited – So I can spend more time per trainee. I want weekly progress reports throughout and welcome any discussions pertaining to men’s health, training, cardio, supplementation, and especially nutrition (which I’m most passionate about).
If this sounds like something you want – Shoot me an email. For those that are already on the waiting list, it’s worth the wait. For those that don’t want to wait, good luck w/ your training. If you hire another trainer, see how he measures up. As I’ve said in my article, I want each of my trainees 100% fully capable to train themselves. My explanations can be as simple or technical as one can handle. I don’t advertise anywhere but here and never push my services on anyone. Word of mouth from my trainees in private and my articles at Lucharilla does my talking for me!