Mike started coaching people out of his garage gym in Maine after training with Paul Horn in Los Angeles. After seeing the success of his clients and realizing his own passion to coach others, he moved to California to begin work at The Strength Co in March of 2018 and he obtained his Starting Strength Coaching Certification in early 2019.
Mike coached over 2,500 hours doing group and private training at The Strength Co. in Orange County. Mike lives in San Clemente, CA where he serves as an active-duty Marine at Camp Pendelton. He continues to coach private sessions out of his garage gym.
Mike currently competes in strength lifting, and powerlifting competitions. Notable past performances include multiple United States Strengthlifting Federation National records in the 90kg class, and state records in United States Powerlifting Association 90kg class.
IN PERSON OR ZOOM ONLINE 1 ON 1 :
-90 min in person session in San Clemente or via zoom call
1 session $150
5 session rate $650
Additional lifter to the session (2:1 coaching) +$100
($25 discount to current online trainees per session)
ONLINE ONLY MONTHLY
-weekly video feedback via google docs
-weekly programming via google sheets
-on boarding zoom call to discuss previous training, future goals, and general nutrition
$175/mo
HYBRID ONLINE / IN PERSON MONTHLY :
-weekly video feedback via google docs
-weekly programming via google sheets
-on boarding zoom call to discuss previous training, future goals, and general nutrition
-1x per month 90 min in person session in San Clemente (or via zoom call if unable to attend for the month)
$275/mo
-VIDEO BREAK DOWN:
-form check feedback for 4 lifts
1 session $50
5 sessions $200
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6 Reviews on “Mike Minigell, SSC”
I started working with Mike out of his garage in August of 2017 after coming off a nagging injury and not touching a barbell for over 2 years. Mike put me through the novice linear progression and in ~7 months of three sessions a week took me to great increases in my press and bench as well as from a 90 pound squat to 250 pounds and a 135 pound deadlift to 315 pounds! As a woman over 40, Mike was creative in my programming to keep seeing increases in strength and also gave great insight into other areas of training such as diet, sleep, rest, and stress. After his move to California and I was left to my own devices, the foundation he provided for me has kept me motivated, injury-free, and enjoying lifting heavy almost two years later….with no end in sight. I cannot express how great it is to feel strong and capable and stronger than most men half my age! I highly recommend Mike as a knowledgeable and motivating coach that not only gets results, but makes you truly enjoy the process.
I trained with Mike in person for most of my NLP at The Strength Co in Costa Mesa, and after moving out of state, retained him as a coach for online intermediate programming and coaching. Every Sunday I got thorough feedback on my form with plenty of time to digest the corrective cues, and in the rare instance there was something I didn’t understand 100%, he made himself available to explain further and break it down mama-bird style. I got my feedback with programming for the next week’s training in a spreadsheet on Slack so that made easy work of tracking progress and I didn’t have to worry about forgetting my logbook at home like a caveman.
Online, Mike saw me through beginning-intermediate into intermediate training, and helped me try to find what training I could do with several partial tears in the ligaments of my ankle from a skating accident. Thankfully, Mike’s availability and optimism encouraged me to do the same The ease of working with Mike online and continuing along with the rapport we had established was a huge contributor to my consistency in training, especially with all the chaos that goes into moving across the country.
Mike also knows very well how to get your nutrition in. He gave me the golden idea of throwing some oats into my shakes for more carbs (still do today), which snowballed into some…. effective shake recipes that’ll make you feel like you’re atoning for unspeakable sins. But hey, it’ll get you stronger, and you don’t have to sit there eating by yourself, alone with your thoughts. That’s a win all around.
Mike is an incredible coach. He’s dedicated, patient, good natured, kind, and a great teacher. Anyone who knows Mike knows there isn’t any fluff with him but he will have you understanding any concept after a simple drawing and explanation. His cues are to the point and easy to comprehend. He gives you the confidence you need to be successful with lifting. I was brand new to powerlifting and because of Mike’s coaching abilities, I became a very confident lifter even doing it on my own after he left Maine. You couldn’t choose a better coach.
Mike is THE coach you want. I’ve been following SS for many years, played with different types of programming but always tried to incorporate the 4 lifts. Decided to get serious after a 2 year layoff due to injury and built my home gym. Because of the injury (non gym related) I decided I will do it right out of caution. Little did I know that Mike is a SSC and is local to me (huge plus!), and more than form checks there’s the programming that comes along (Linear progression is easy, but after that not so much, even with the books it’s hard).
Since he’s local I get the bonus of in-person session each month, where we fine tune on the platform what has taken days to fix online, and the camaraderie I miss training in my home gym. I don’t need motivation to train hard, but knowing Mike is my coach gives me that edge in my training and lessens the worries when things get really heavy! He’s super available and he doesn’t stop answering all my questions.
I was blown away by the progress in 7 months, from empty bar to 330 DL, 305 Squat, 217.5 Bench and 137.5 OHP! That’s insane, and only because I had Mike as a coach to dial in the form and programming early on, and build my confidence under the bar.
Bottom line, yes read the 2 books, do the seminar, but unless you have a 40in vertical jump, get Mike as your coach. Seriously.
I’d like to echo what others have said above. If you are looking for a SSC, then look no further than Mike. He’s patient, knowledgeable, professional, and fun to work with.
I am in my mid-40’s, and I picked up Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength” book during the pandemic year. I know a little about weightlifting and could tell that this book was very on-point with the right way to begin and initially progress with strength training. Long story short, I wanted to find a SSC who could give me form pointers and, more importantly, program advice after the NLP cycle was at an end. I met up with Mike in-person, and he certainly did all of that, along with some excellent suggestions for improvements to my diet (something I have often overlooked when being seriously focused on strength training in the past).
Although he is no longer local to me, I still call him from time to time for online training sessions and pointers, and he is able to critique my lifting videos and respond promptly with his usual excellent advice.
Bottom line, seek him out. You won’t be disappointed!
I reached out to Mike for help after trying to run the SS NLP without a coach a few years prior. I wanted to get bigger and stronger, and I knew this program could get me there. I had read the blue book, but, like many others, I didn’t get very far on my own. At the time, online coaching (let alone from a SS coach) wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is now. Frustrated and in pain, I took a break from barbell training. It didn’t take too long for the barbell itch to return along with the desire to get bigger and stronger. I decided this time I’d do it “right”. I got some equipment together for a garage gym, and I called Mike! Having Mike as my coach was the best decision I have ever made regarding my training. We worked together for 21 months. I would describe Mike’s coaching as professional, straightforward, and effective. Mike coached my lifts through the busiest and most stressful time in my life. When we began, I was full-time in both work and school, and also married with a toddler and a newborn. There was some elbow tendinitis and multiple back tweaks that he expertly coached me through. In the end, Mike helped me get my numbers to 200/315/415/505 in the four lifts. Now I’m bigger and stronger like I always wanted to be, and I owe much of that to Mike. As great as the gains are, honestly, the best parts of being coached by Mike were learning to be resilient both in the gym and in life, and also just being able to work with a solid guy. I’m still training hard trying to get bigger and stronger (are we ever done?), and I’ve decided to go at it on my own again, but if the day comes where I decide to work with a coach once more, I’ll be dialing Mike’s number. Thanks, Mike. You’re the man!