Remote vs. In-Person Coaching: What It Takes to Go Online (and How to Find Your Specialty)

A lot of coaches want remote coaching because it looks like freedom. You can work from anywhere, reach more people, and build a schedule that fits your life. The problem is that many coaches try to jump straight to online work before they've built the skills that make online coaching effective.

In this episode of Behind the Design, OPEX coaches Daniel Persson and Brandon Gallagher talk through what actually changes when you coach remotely, what stays the same, and why specialization in coaching usually comes after you master the basics.

Why in-person coaching experience matters before you go remote

Daniel makes a point that's easy to miss when you only see the highlight reels of online coaching.

"Most successful remote coaches has been in person in the beginning."

That doesn't mean you must coach on a gym floor forever. It means in-person coaching teaches you things that are hard to learn in a spreadsheet, a chat thread, or even a great coaching app. When you're next to someone, you get constant feedback, not just from what they say, but from what they do.

In-person coaching gives you "eyes" on movement. You can see how they brace, how they shift weight, how they breathe, and how they respond to load. You also get the non-training signals that matter just as much. Brandon gives simple examples, like seeing a client walk in and knowing right away they didn't sleep well, or their mood is off, or they're stressed. In that moment, you can change the session without waiting for a check-in form.

A few benefits of getting time on the floor show up again and again:

• Real-time feedback on movement: You spot issues while they happen, not after the fact.

• Hands-on coaching and instant adjustments: You can regress, progress, or change the plan on the fly.

• Built-in accountability: A fixed session time creates follow-through for many clients.

• Natural relationship building: Hours together in the same space builds trust faster.

• Better "touch point" instincts: You learn what to ask, when to ask it, and what clients hide without meaning to.

Remote coaching can still be high-touch and personal. However, you have to build the structure that in-person coaching gives you for free. If you want help building those foundations, the OPEX Method Mentorship is designed to develop principles, decision-making, and coaching process, not just workouts.

Remote vs. in-person coaching, what actually changes

A lot of coaches talk about online coaching like it's the same job, just done over the internet. Daniel and Brandon describe it more like this: the value you must create stays the same, but the problems you must solve change.

To make the differences clear, here's a simple side-by-side comparison.

Coaching elementIn-person coachingRemote coachingMovement feedbackLive, constant "eyes" on repsDelayed, often video-basedSession changesInstant autoregulationRequires planning and clear communicationRelationship buildingBuilt into shared timeMust be created through systems and presenceAccountabilityFixed schedule helpsDepends more on client systems and follow-throughCoach workloadMore "on" during sessionsMore spread across the week (messages, review, design)Client scheduleMore rigidMore flexible

The big takeaway is that remote coaching is not "less coaching." It's coaching with fewer inputs, so you need cleaner systems.

The strengths (and real challenges) of remote coaching

Brandon lists the first hard truth: there are no eyes on the client most of the time. That changes everything. Instead of live cues, you rely on intake, ongoing feedback, and videos.

Daniel gives a practical example from his own coaching, when Brandon helped him with a deadlift project and asked for videos. Video review becomes a stand-in for what you'd normally see in person.

Remote coaching also demands more communication. Brandon emphasizes how important the intake is, because you can't depend on reading body language in the moment. If you miss something early, you can lose weeks fixing it later.

Remote coaching does come with a benefit many clients love: schedule freedom. They can train when it fits their day. Still, that flexibility can reduce accountability if you don't build the right habits around it.

Daniel comes back to one word that matters most online: presence. Clients need to feel like you're with them, and they need to feel you care. That's harder through a screen, so your process has to do more of the heavy lifting.

What in-person coaching makes easier

In-person coaching removes a lot of friction for both coach and client. You see what's happening, you can touch and cue, and you can fix the session in real time.

Brandon also points out something simple but important. The relationship is "built in" because you share the gym environment. That shared time makes it easier to understand what motivates a client, what makes them show up, and what makes them quit.

Fixed schedule is another factor. In person, both sides know where they need to be. That alone solves many adherence problems before they start.

The biggest remote coaching trap: losing structure

Remote coaching looks flexible, and it is. Daniel also warns that it can become a trap if you let flexibility erase your schedule.

Because you can push work to later, you might keep pushing it. Check-ins get delayed. Program design gets rushed. Calls get squeezed between other tasks. Eventually the client experience becomes inconsistent, and you feel like you're always behind.

Daniel explains that he uses set days for coaching calls and set days for program design. He still has flexibility inside that, but the week has a shape. Each morning, he reviews what needs to happen that day, including check-ins, consultations, design work, and meetings.

Brandon relates to this from his own transition. When he went fully remote in a period of his career, he had to learn the hard way that "I'll do it later" often turns into "it didn't get done."

A useful way Daniel defines freedom is not "work whenever." It's building a life where you aren't pulled by choices that go against what matters to you.

"Dependent on decisions and behaviors that are not in line with my values and priorities."

If remote coaching helps you reduce friction and live closer to your values, it can be freedom. If you hate desks, hate screens, and want work to stay inside a one-hour session, in-person coaching might feel freer.

Why so many coaches underuse CoachRx (and what to do instead)

Daniel shares a frustration that a lot of experienced coaches will recognize. He started remote coaching back when sharing a Google Doc felt like advanced tech. Now tools exist that can support presence, structure, and accountability, yet many coaches use them like a basic document.

He calls out CoachRx as an example. It's built by coaches, and the features exist because they solve real coaching problems. Still, some people only use it to post training sessions.

Two examples he highlights:

• Touch points: tracking interactions so clients don't disappear for weeks without you noticing.

• Lifestyle tools (like calendars and tracking): helping coaches coach the whole person, not only the sets and reps.

If you want to see the platform in action, Daniel and Brandon point people toward the CoachRx free trial so you can test the workflow and features instead of guessing what "online coaching" is supposed to look like.

The bigger point is not about software. It's about standards. When you coach remotely, your systems replace what the room used to do for you.

Creating presence online (and why "being nice" is a skill)

Brandon brings up something that sounds simple, but it's often ignored in coach education: being a person clients enjoy working with.

He's seen performance coaches who aren't fun to be around, yet still get results. That can work in some settings. For many clients, though, the best coach is someone who gets results and builds a relationship that feels human.

Online, this gets harder. In person, you have tone, timing, and small moments that build trust without effort. Remotely, presence has to be intentional.

Daniel adds a twist that's worth thinking about. Clients you've coached in person may feel easier because you already have a relationship. However, that can tempt you to cut corners with onboarding and structure. On the other hand, clients you've never met often force you to do the process right, because you can't rely on history.

So "presence" online often looks like:

• A clear onboarding flow

• Consistent communication habits

• Asking better questions, not just more questions

• Reviewing videos and feedback on a schedule clients can count on

If you want to follow the coaches featured in this episode, you can connect with them here: Brandon Gallagher on Instagram (@bgperform_) and Daniel Persson on Instagram (@danielcapersson).

Program design routines that protect quality (and your creativity)

Both coaches talk about program design like a craft. It needs practice, reflection, and protected time.

Brandon says he blocks time each week to write for his individual design clients first, because that work takes more brainpower. He also credits Sam Smith for a lesson that many coaches skip: you should practice design even when you aren't designing for paying clients.

In other words, program design is not something you only do when you have to. It's something you train, like a skill.

That matters even more online, because logistics can break a great idea. Brandon gives the kind of example every coach has lived through at least once. A session looks perfect on paper, but the client has no space to set it up, or the equipment is always taken, or the transitions make no sense in a real gym. If you never test your own ideas, you won't catch these issues until a client is frustrated.

Daniel explains his design approach using a simple ratio:

80% principles, 20% creativity

He also shares how he organizes design sessions. Sometimes he categorizes clients (lifestyle clients, competitive athletes, CrossFit athletes) and writes in groups, because it helps him stay in the right mindset. Other times, when he feels creative flow, he writes based on inspiration and momentum.

One important warning shows up here: forced creativity usually falls flat. When design becomes rushed, you can still produce something "fine," but you feel it isn't your best work. Over time, that drains joy.

Gym ownership reality check (and why it affects coaching mastery)

A big part of this conversation touches gym ownership, not as a complaint, but as an honest view of tradeoffs.

Daniel and Brandon describe the familiar list of roles gym owners take on: cleaning, repairs, payroll, HR, fixing equipment, filling class coverage, and handling the daily chaos. Brandon remembers periods where he planned everything except coaching.

That's not a reason to never open a facility. It's a reminder that owning the space can pull you away from the skill you want to master.

Daniel shares that selling his gym helped him come back to what he values most, which included time for individual design and creative program work. He also makes it clear that going remote doesn't mean he'll never coach in person again. It just fits his priorities right now.

That flexibility matters. Coaching paths can change, and it doesn't have to be permanent in either direction.

Specialization in coaching, why it's not a box

Specializing can sound like narrowing your options. Daniel and Brandon frame it differently: specialization is often a byproduct of mastery, not a marketing trick.

Brandon describes his early coaching years as a broad base. He coached all kinds of people, across ages, goals, and experience levels. That gave him a foundation to later move toward MMA strength and conditioning, which became a focus he truly enjoyed. He also points out a common mistake. If you specialize too early, you can end up limited, because you never learned how to teach basics like consistency, schedule building, or barbell fundamentals.

Daniel explains his own specialization as a consequence of what he enjoyed and what he was good at. He became successful coaching masters athletes in CrossFit because masters often have limited volume tolerance and can't afford injuries. That environment rewards precise program design and careful health management.

Both coaches come back to the same idea: principles transfer across populations. The expression changes, but the base stays.

Brandon uses a tree analogy that lands well. The roots and trunk are the principles and foundation. The leaves are the expression. Leaves can look different (MMA athlete, lifestyle client, masters competitor), but they grow from the same structure.

Daniel adds a practical coaching filter: find a set of principles, use them until you know them deeply, then adjust with intent. He recommends OPEX principles because they can apply to many client types. When you know what you're changing and why, then you're coaching, not guessing.

If you want to build that foundation with guidance, the OPEX Method Mentorship is one way coaches develop a consistent framework before they personalize it.

If you still want to start remote first, do this

Some coaches are hesitant to work in person. Others don't have access to a facility right away. Daniel and Brandon still offer practical ways to start, as long as you accept the learning curve.

Build a "remote coaching lab" with people close to you

Daniel suggests starting with a small group, even five people, from your close circle. Coaching friends or family gives you reps in communication and client management. You can test onboarding, check-ins, and program structure with real humans, not theory.

Find a workspace that reduces friction

Brandon shares a simple but powerful idea: create a dedicated space for your remote work. When you coach in a gym, the environment helps your brain lock in. When you coach online, you need a "command center" that creates the same focus.

Daniel agrees and connects it to reducing friction. A clean, professional workstation helps you start work faster and stay in rhythm. He compares it to a chef needing a clean kitchen.

Consider mentorship, internships, or shadowing

Kandace also adds a strong reminder: many coaches grow faster when they work under someone else first, even for free. That can look like an internship, mentorship, or offering to shadow a remote coach for a set period.

Daniel mentions he doesn't see other coaches as competitors. He sees them as colleagues, and he's open to conversations that help elevate coaching standards.

Closing thoughts: the value is fixed, the method changes

In-person and remote coaching both demand the same outcome. You still need to create clarity, consistency, results, and trust. The difference is that remote coaching forces you to build systems that replace what you used to get from being in the room.

If there's one mindset that can keep a coach in the game, Brandon shares his: think in years, not weeks. He committed to a 10-year timeline, and that helped him ride out the ups and downs without quitting early.

Build your principles first, then earn the right to get creative. Over time, your specialization will show up, not as a box, but as a direction you're excited to keep walking toward.

For coaches who want to see how programs are delivered and tracked, OPEX also shared a CoachRx free trial and details on OPEX Method Mentorship.

The best question to leave with is simple: does your plan help the fighter recover, repeat high output, and keep improving, or does it just make them tired? That answer usually tells you whether the peak is heading in the right direction.

Connect with the coaches

• Brandon Gallagher: Brandon’s Instagram (@bgperform_)

• Daniel Persson: Daniel’s Instagram (@danielcapersson)

Join us live on Tuesdays mornings 10:30am EST on the OPEX YouTube Channel

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