Tropos Coach Education Series — Back, Shoulder & Knee Workshops

The Core Angle

Most coach education is theoretical. This isn’t.

Good coaching isn’t just programming and cueing. It’s knowing what you’re looking at when something goes wrong, and having the confidence to act on it.

The Tropos Coach Education Series is built by someone who has lived through the injury, studied the body, and coached through the complexity for 10+ years. Each session goes deep on one of the three injury patterns coaches encounter most.

Injuries and pain do not need to be avoided. They need to be addressed.

Who It’s For

Built for coaches who want to operate at a higher level.

Aspiring coaches

You want to learn from someone operating at a high level, not from a slide deck.

Current coaches & trainers

You want to sharpen your injury literacy and stop referring out on reflex.

Kins, students & career-changers

You have the science. You want the floor. And maybe a pathway to coach at Tropos.

A practical framework for identifying & managing common injuries

Confidence to coach through limitations, not just refer out

Insight into how an experienced coach thinks through complex cases

A potential pathway to coach at Tropos FC (if it’s a fit)

Included with every workshop

A take-home workbook

Yours to keep — the frameworks, screens, progressions and coaching cues from the day, laid out so you can use them with clients on Monday morning.

A 30-minute Zoom call with Liam

A private follow-up session to work through your own client cases and ask the questions that come up once you’re back on the floor.

Three Workshops

One weekend. One injury pattern. Real coaching reps.

01

Part 01

Back Injuries

Overcoming the Fear

The injury most coaches feel least equipped to handle.

The Reality

Most coach education on back pain is purely theoretical. When a client says, “My back is acting up,” most coaches panic, “work around it,” refer out, and lose the client’s momentum. Injuries and pain do not need to be avoided — they need to be addressed.

What We’ll Cover

The Mindset Shift
Moving from fear-based avoidance to confident, safe coaching.
Red Flags vs. Green Lights
Knowing what to look for, what to avoid, and when to keep athletes moving safely.
Modifying the Hinge & Pull
Master the art of teaching anyone — from elite athletes to gen-pop — how to think through movements and establish new patterns. Learn what their injuries are really telling you about root causes, not just symptoms.
Hands-on Coaching
Team breakouts to practice real-time coaching adjustments.

Who It’s For

Aspiring and current coaches who want to build bulletproof confidence in their movement assessments, and kinesiologists looking to bridge the gap between clinical theory and real-world floor execution.

02

Part 02

Shoulder Injuries

Decoding the Upper Body

From rotator cuff issues to impingement and post-op returns.

The Reality

To many coaches, the shoulder is a black box. When a client complains of pinching during a press, the default response is usually “stop pressing.” But unless a client experienced a violent impact, shoulder pain is almost always a wear-and-tear issue caused by faulty movement patterns and muscular imbalances. Restoring shoulder health isn’t about avoiding movement — it’s about teaching proper upper-body mechanics, working through manageable discomfort, and rebuilding the structures around the joint to restore the client’s confidence.

What We’ll Cover

Reading Upper-Body Biomechanics
Read a client’s press and pull patterns in real time. Learn to decipher what shrugging, scapular winging, or an anterior shoulder dump is telling you about lower trap firing, serratus anterior weakness, and rotator cuff imbalances.
Teaching the “Why” (Internalizing Movement)
Go beyond standard verbal cues. Teach clients how to think through upper-body movements, understand how to establish a stable scapular base, and actively feel the correct muscles engage.
The Pressing & Pulling Modification Matrix
Master the specific modifiable factors for upper-body movements. Every injury and every client is unique — learn the different levers we can pull as coaches to adapt movements to the specific issues a client is presenting.
Building Confidence Through Load
How to systematically find a tolerable entry-point exercise and safely progress clients past limitations so they can get back to pain-free pressing.

Who It’s For

Aspiring and current coaches who want to master upper-body assessments, and fitness professionals who want to stop avoiding shoulder issues and start active, structural rehabilitation.

03

Part 03

Knee Injuries

Restoring the Lower-Body Chain

Teaching clients how to move, engage, and trust their body again.

The Reality

Unless there is a direct, violent impact, knee pain is rarely just a joint issue — it’s a movement pattern issue. Telling a client to simply “stop squatting” is lazy coaching that strips away their quality of life. Our job is to teach proper lower-body mechanics, guide clients through manageable discomfort, and rebuild the surrounding structures. By shifting our focus from avoiding pain to teaching movement, we help clients build absolute confidence and keep them in the game of life.

What We’ll Cover

Reading Lower-Body Biomechanics
Read a client’s movement in real time. Learn to decipher what a collapsing knee, a shifting hip, or a lifting heel is actually telling you about muscle engagement, foot stability, and movement imbalances.
The Mindset Shift (Building Confidence)
Knee pain often leads to fear-avoidance. Learn how to coach a client through the mental block of loaded lower-body patterns, moving them from fear to safety and confidence.
The Art of Lower-Body Cueing
Go beyond standard commands. Practice the Tropos training rule of “Show it. Say it. Shape it.” to teach clients how to think through their squats and lunges — rooting their feet, finding their hips, and actively controlling knee alignment.
The Rebuilding Process (Regress to Progress)
Find a tolerable entry-point pattern on the gym floor. Guide a client through progressive, pain-free loading over several weeks, teaching them to listen to their body and earn the right to advance.

Who It’s For

Current personal trainers, kinesiologists, and student-athletes who want to master lower-body movement assessments, sharpen their coaching vocabulary, and learn how to guide clients back to full, pain-free patterns.

Your Instructor

Liam Chisholm

Kinesiologist. Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Former Canada Rugby player. Gym owner. 10+ years on the floor.

KinesiologistCSCSFormer Canada RugbyUltra-marathonerGym Owner10+ years coaching

“In 2012, doctors told me my competitive sports career was over. I refused to accept that. I studied the body, decoded my own movement patterns, and rebuilt my spine from the ground up.”

Liam doesn’t teach this from a textbook. He navigated a career-ending back injury himself, rebuilt from it back to playing rugby and running ultra-marathons, and has since coached athletes and gen-pop through hundreds of injury setbacks.

This series is what he wishes he’d had access to when he was starting out.

Dates & Format

Small. Hands-on. High-touch.

Three Saturdays this fall at Tropos Fitness Club — September 27, October 25, and November 29. Space is intentionally limited so the sessions can stay hands-on and high-touch. Apply below to secure your spot.

Part 0101

Back Injuries

Overcoming the Fear

Saturday, September 27

Part 0202

Shoulder Injuries

Decoding the Upper Body

Saturday, October 25

Part 0303

Knee Injuries

Restoring the Lower-Body Chain

Saturday, November 29