How to Get Strong on the Mat (According to a Professional)

Interview with the founder of Electrum Performance, Alex Sterner.

Today, I have another interview for you all.

This article is a 10-question interview with Alex Sterner.

Alex is an entrepreneur, strength coach, and Jiu-Jitsu brown belt. He’s been working as a strength coach since college, he helped Atos win team IBJJF World Titles in 2017 and 2018, and he’s the founder of Electrum Performance, a one-of-a-kind strength and conditioning facility in San Diego, California.

I’ve been working with Alex for all my strength and conditioning since January, and since doing so I am stronger, faster, more injury-resilient, and more fit than I’ve ever been. If it wasn’t for his programming and guidance I don’t think I’d have been able to go up to 88KG and have success.

There’s a lot that you can learn in this article. Alex will teach you something about business, content creation, and of course, a ton about strength and conditioning (there’s even a free, minimalist lifting program inside this article!).

Without further ado — let’s dive in:

Electrum Performance — San Diego, CA — Photo by MJ

Tell me a little about your background. How did you become a strength coach?

When I was in school for Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, we had to complete 200 hours for our internship.

Access to the Division I weight rooms was such an incredible opportunity that I ended up accruing over 1500 hours under two different coaches (and working with 8 different varsity teams).