I’m Making My Comeback. Let Me Help You Make Yours.
I’m Josh Blackburn, a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified coach with 15+ years of training experience. I started lifting at 12 with my dad. Got serious at 15. By 2012, I was coaching clients, running bootcamp classes, and creating fitness content on YouTube through my Elite Lifting channel. That channel hit nearly 200,000 views – including one video on building a DIY speed sled that went to 58,000 views on its own.
I also ran StrengthAndPerformance.net, a blog where I shared training tips and documented my own journey from 128 pounds in high school to 195 pounds, my 10 year bulk.
In 2014, I built AthleticMuscle.net, which received 150,000 – 200,000 visitors a month at its peak. I ran that site for five years creating content, coaching clients, and getting published on some of the top fitness websites: Boxrox, Breaking Muscle, and The Athletic Build. In 2019, I sold the business.
Then I stepped away from fitness completely. I went into construction QA/QC for refineries and power plants. Then digital marketing and SEO. I kept training myself, but I wasn’t coaching or creating content.
Life happened. Sound familiar?
In 2025, I made my comeback. I earned my Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification. I completed a 90 day dad bod transformation while working full-time business and studying nutrition and training. And I created The Comeback — a program specifically for fathers who need to get back in shape without living in the gym.
I’m not some 22-year-old influencer who’s never had to balance real life. I’m a dad. I’ve been in the trenches. I know what it’s like to step away and come back.
That’s why I built The Comeback for guys like us.
The Timeline
2012-2014: Elite Lifting & Early Coaching
I launched Elite Lifting on YouTube in 2012, creating lifting tutorials, supplement reviews, and training content. The channel generated nearly 200,000 views, with my DIY speed sled tutorial alone hitting 58,000 views. I also ran StrengthAndPerformance.net as a blog for my bootcamp business, where I coached clients and shared my training philosophy. I was NASM certified back then and actively coaching, but I was still figuring out what it took to build something sustainable.
Elite Lifting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elitelifting/
StrengthAndPerformance.net (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20130410232338/http://strengthandperformance.net/mystory/
2014-2019: AthleticMuscle.net
In 2014, I built AthleticMuscle.net—a fitness content site focused on strength training and athletic performance. Over five years, I created content, coached clients remotely, and built relationships with major fitness publications. During this time, I was published in Boxrox, Breaking Muscle, and The Athletic Build. These publications weren’t just blog posts. They were vetted by professional editors at respected outlets in the fitness industry. In 2019, I sold AthleticMuscle.net.
AthleticMuscle.net (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20191121190353/https://athleticmuscle.net/author/jblack55/
2019-2024: The Break
After selling AthleticMuscle.net, I stepped away from fitness coaching completely. I worked in construction QA/QC for refineries and power plants. Then I moved into digital marketing and SEO, where I’ve been managing campaigns for professional service firms for the past seven years. During this time I was in and out of the gym. I would make some progress then fall off – this cycle repeated itself for years. During this time, I started soul searching; what was my calling? What would I love to do everyday, what was my perfect day? After finally getting back into the gym, one day it hit me, it felt like a message from God – to share my passion for fitness.
2025: The Comeback
This year, I made my comeback. I earned my Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification—the gold standard for evidence-based nutrition coaching. I completed a 90 day dad bod transformation using the exact principles I now teach. And I created The Comeback, a 4-week training system designed specifically for busy fathers. I’m also training for my NCSF CPT certification (testing February 2025). But here’s the thing: I’m not just selling a program called The Comeback. I’m living it.
Professional Certification
Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified (2025)
Precision Nutrition is the world’s largest nutrition education and certification company, known for their evidence-based approach to sustainable nutrition coaching. The Level 1 certification covers nutritional science fundamentals, behavior change psychology, sustainable habit formation, macro and micronutrient optimization, and long-term coaching methodologies. PN Level 1 emphasizes realistic, habit-based approaches that work for busy people—exactly what The Comeback is built on.
Currently training for NCSF CPT certification (February 2025)
Published Work (2014-2015)
I’ve been published in major fitness outlets—a level of editorial credibility most coaches never achieve.
Boxrox
How To Implement Strongman Training Into CrossFit
Breaking Muscle
6 Accessory Exercises To Make You A Better Crossfitter
The Athletic Build
Incorporating Barbell Complexes Into Your Training
These articles are from 2014-2015, but editorial credibility doesn’t expire. Editors at respected publications vetted my work and deemed it valuable enough to share with their audiences.
My Recent Transformation
I don’t just coach this stuff—I live it. While running a full-time business, homeschooling my kids, and living the RV lifestyle, I completed this 90 day transformation using the same principles I teach in The Comeback. No extreme diets. No excessive cardio. No fake natty claims. Just compound lifts, sustainable nutrition, and the honesty to admit I’m on TRT—so you know exactly what results to expect naturally versus with hormone optimization.
Why Trust Me?
I’m not the guy with 10 alphabet soup certifications and 1,000 clients. I’m the guy who:
✓ Built a fitness business and sold it
✓ Got published in major outlets
✓ Created content that reached 200,000 people
✓ Stepped away and came back
✓ Recently transformed my own physique
✓ Am transparent about what’s realistic
Most coaches are either 24-year-old influencers who’ve never had real life get in the way, or they’ve been grinding continuously for 20 years and forgot what it’s like to start over. I’m neither. I’m a dad who stepped away for a while. Who understands that life gets busy. Who knows what it’s like to look in the mirror and think, “I need to get back.” That’s why I created The Comeback.
The Comeback Program
The Comeback is a 4-week training system designed specifically for busy fathers looking to eliminate the “dad bod.” Built on 15+ years of training experience, Precision Nutrition’s evidence-based principles, compound lifts with no cardio required, and sustainable approaches over extreme methods.
What makes it different: it’s focused on fathers, not general fitness. It emphasizes strength, not just weight loss. It’s built for guys with limited time. It’s honest about what’s realistic. No fake promises, no extreme diets. I’m not trying to turn you into a bodybuilder. I’m helping you make your comeback.
Let’s Make Your Comeback
I stepped away for a while, but now I am back. I know what it’s like to come back. I know the obstacles. I know what works and what’s just BS. If you’re a father who needs to get back in shape—not through extreme methods or living in the gym, but through a sustainable approach that actually fits your life—The Comeback is for you. I’m making my comeback. Let me help you make yours.
Connect with me on social media: Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, or Linkedin
Train To Win,
Josh Blackburn