Co-author · 3rd edition
Practical Programming for Strength Training.
One of the most influential programming books in the industry. PPST3 remains a top seller in the health and fitness category.
Aasgaard Co. · 2014 · with Mark Rippetoe ANDY BAKER · COACH SINCE 2005
Twenty years on the gym floor.
Coach. Author. Gym owner. Co-author of two of the books on your shelf.
Kingwood, TX NSCA · USAW · SSC NASA Raw National Champ, 2010
01 The short version
I'm Andy Baker. I've coached intermediate-to-advanced lifters since 2005, and I've owned my own gym since 2007. I co-authored Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd edition with Mark Rippetoe, and The Barbell Prescription with Dr. Jonathon Sullivan.
The programs on this site are the same ones I use with real clients on the gym floor. No gimmicks. No hype. Just programs that work.
02 · Career
How I got here.
2001
Intern, Texas A&M.
Started in the strength & conditioning industry as an intern while attending Texas A&M University.
2003
Enlisted, U.S. Marine Corps.
Served multiple combat tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom between 2003 and 2007. Continued training student athletes and personal training clients in Orange County, CA. Earned a Health & Sport Science degree from American Military University.
2007
Opened the gym.
Opened Kingwood Strength & Conditioning shortly after leaving active duty. Since 2007 it has been Kingwood's lead personal training facility, working with everyone from Division I college athletes to clients in their 80s.
2010
Raw National Champion, 198 lb.
Won the NASA Grand Nationals in the 198 lb raw division as a drug-free powerlifter. Squat 529, bench 380, deadlift 562.
2014
Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd ed.
Co-authored the 3rd edition of one of the most influential programming books in the industry, alongside Mark Rippetoe. PPST3 remains a top seller in the health and fitness category.
2016
The Barbell Prescription.
Co-authored The Barbell Prescription: Training for Life After 40 with Dr. Jonathon Sullivan. The most comprehensive text available on strength training through the aging process.
2020
Renamed Baker Personal Training.
Shifted the gym's primary focus from sport athletes to adults age 50 and beyond fighting the aging process through barbell-based strength training.
2022
Coached an IPF Masters World Champion.
Long-time client Shelly Stettner won the IPF Masters World Championships at 71 years old, rewriting the record book in the M4 class with her first-place finish.
03 · Credentials
Receipts.
- i Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)National Strength & Conditioning Association · the industry's flagship credential.
- ii USA Weightlifting CoachUSAW certification for the snatch, clean & jerk, and their derivatives.
- iii Starting Strength CoachOne of a small group certified directly by Mark Rippetoe.
- iv Raw, drug-free national championNatural Athlete Strength Association · 198 lb division · 2010.
- v B.S., Health & Sport ScienceAmerican Military University, completed during active-duty service.
- vi U.S. Marine Corps, 2003 to 2007Multiple combat tours, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
04 · BooksTwo on your shelf.
Both are reference books, not throwaway paperbacks. They've shaped how a generation of intermediate lifters trains.
The gym in Kingwood.
I opened the doors to Kingwood Strength & Conditioning in 2007, shortly after my enlistment from the Marine Corps. Owning my own gym has been a life goal for me since the first time I touched a barbell at 12 years old.
During my years as owner I've worked with hundreds of clients from the surrounding communities: dozens of NCAA Division I athletes, high-school athletes, competitive lifters, moms, dads, business professionals. Anyone who wants to get stronger and improve their lives through strength training.
On a given day I'm coaching an amateur MMA fighter, a client in her late 80s trying to stay out of a wheelchair, a triathlete in training, and someone fighting through chemotherapy.
Battle tested
Unlike many online coaches, my programs and methods have been battle tested on the gym floor with real clients.
06 · What's next The programs are
The programs are
where the work
actually happens.
Pick a program, run it, get stronger. If you'd rather have a new training week land in your inbox every Sunday, that's the Baker Barbell Club.