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Old School Strength with a New Age Twist

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About Dean

Oh hello.

I KNOW, right? You DO look exceptionally good today. Are those new pants? No pants? Well, you smell terrific so you have that going for you. Give yourself a high five.

Dean Somerset

If you've come this far you know I'm a guy who has his own website, and in this crazy mixed up world, that says something. I don't know exactly what it says, but it's right there being said. If you need more information, I'm happy to oblige, but it's going to be kind of weird, me sitting here telling you stuff about me while not knowing anything about you, other than you aren't wearing pants and smell amazing. If you're into that sort of thing, I don't judge. At least not out loud.

I'm a personal trainer from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Well, technically I have some more impressive sounding titles, but they all just mean the same things. I help people get strong, fit, flexible, and enjoy fitness as much as possible.

My clientele has included clients with post-surgical joint replacement rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation & wellness, sports injury post-rehabilitation, neural impairments and spinal cord injuries, cancer patients and even elite athletes in various sports. Training is easiest once you know where to start, which is why I try to incorporate a lot of different assessment techniques, some common, some I've made up on the spot, but in each case the goal is to see what that person uniquely brings to the table and how I could help them get more from their workouts, however that may be. Everyone has a raging beast of an athlete inside of them, and deserves to feel what it's like to push their limits with a safe and effective program.

In addition to working with people in person like a real human, I have clients I work with all over the world on a host of different goals, be they injury recovery, athletic performance, weight loss, or just enjoying their time in a gym with a gameplan for success. I've written for major publications like Men's Health, Women's Health, T-Nation.com, Bodybuilding.com, and a slew of other websites and print media.

I've managed to teach seminars all over the world. Most of my talks focus on using humour and hands-on application to keep people engaged and entertained. This has been shown to be a successful method of having participants retain key information versus just speaking and instructing, and lets me make ruthless fun of anyone who shows up to a hip or mobility seminar wearing tight jeans.

If you've read this far, I'm sure you've come to realize that I don't take myself too seriously and have an idea of what I'm talking about. I drop a lot of free content on this blog, and have some other resources that cost a few bucks where I go into more detail on some topics, plus I offer coaching services. In the end, you don't have to spend a cent to be here, and I'd actually encourage you to read all the free stuff you want and try stuff out to see what you think. I'm here to help, entertain, and make you feel awesome about fitnessing stuff, heavy lifting, and getting the most out of your workouts.

In the end, I'm just a meathead. Come and be a meathead with me. We have cookies and free Netflix, plus we tell way cooler stories and look way hotter with our clothes off.

Coaching

Train With Dean

Whether you're in Edmonton or somewhere with worse winters, there's a way to work with me. Pick in-person sessions or online coaching — both start with an assessment so your program actually fits you, not some generic template.

Train In-Person

From$70/ semi-private session

Real coaching, in real life, in Edmonton. Semi-private or one-on-one sessions built around an in-depth assessment — because guessing is for horoscopes, not training.

  • Available in Edmonton, AB
  • Customized programs
  • Based on in-depth assessments
  • Coaching specific to you
  • Semi-private & 1-on-1 options
  • Virtual coaching now available!

Online Coaching

$259/ month

Coaching that travels with you. Custom monthly programming, video demos, and direct access to me — delivered through the app so your gym can be anywhere.

  • Customized monthly workouts through the app
  • Technical analysis
  • Direct messaging and email
  • Video exercise demonstrations
  • Take your workouts anywhere

The Somerset Fitness app

Your whole program, in one app

Online coaching runs through the free Somerset Fitness app — your workouts, demo videos, and our conversation all in one place, whether you train at home, at the gym, or on the road.

Scheduled sessions.
Book appointments and check in right from your phone, so you always know what's next.
Custom programming.
A fresh plan every month, built around your assessment — not a recycled template.
A direct line to me.
Message me with questions and form checks and get real feedback, not a canned reply.
Video demonstrations.
Every movement comes with a demo, plus exclusive training-tip videos when you need them.
Progress you can see.
Log every set and watch your lifts, records, and progress photos stack up over time.
Train anywhere.
Follow your plan in the app, on the web, or from a printable PDF. Your gym travels with you.
Download on the App Store.
Free for iPhone and iPad.
Get it on Google Play.
Free for Android phones and tablets.
The Somerset Fitness app on the Apple App StoreUpcoming sessions in the Somerset Fitness app

The Book

Rock Solid Resilience

An Evidence-Based Guide to Preventing Injury, Optimizing Strength, and Enhancing Performance

Rock Solid Resilience — An Evidence-Based Guide to Preventing Injury, Optimizing Strength, and Enhancing Performance by Dean Somerset and Dan Pope

Yes, I wrote a book. Well, Dan Pope and I wrote a book — he handled the injury science parts and I handled the parts about how to not be broken while trying to be awesome. It's a solid team effort, and by that I mean we're both very pleased with ourselves.

If you've ever wondered why your shoulder hurts every time you try to press something overhead, or why your hips feel like rusted hinges on a 1970s screen door, this book has answers. Evidence-based answers — which is a fancy way of saying we looked at actual research instead of just making stuff up. Novel concept, I know.

  • How to assess your own movement before something expensive breaks
  • Real programming that builds strength without quietly destroying your joints
  • Evidence-based injury prevention (spoiler: it's more than "just stretch more")
  • Why training around pain is a terrible long-term strategy — and how to fix it instead
Grab It on Amazon

By Dean Somerset & Dan Pope

Testimonials

Trusted by Professionals and Athletes World-Wide

Dean Somerset is a psychopath. Or sociopath. Anyway he's some sort of path. If this were Egyptian times, he'd somehow have me whipping myself as I built a damn pyramid, with my abs braced and imagining I was breathing through my eyelids. I mean, sure I'm stronger than I've ever been and sure, I'm more mobile than I've been since I was a teenager and sure I'm not in pain anymore but the damage to my fragile ego of sneaking into the aerobics studio for some pink weights because it's all I can control for half-kneeling baby reverse amoeba squats just isn't worth it. Probably.

Andrew Moore
Black belt and distance coaching client

Rarely in this industry do we find individuals who seamlessly mesh passion with knowledge. Dean is one of those rare cases. There are very few trainers who are as well-rounded and research-based as Dean. Anyone who can learn from him can consider themselves lucky.

Jonathan Goodman
Author & head of thePTDC.com

I came to Dean a hot ghetto mess of sadness and confusion, having for the first time in my life found a sport that I love and questioning if I could continue due to injury. Not only did Dean create a specific program to address my injury, but he also made my training enjoyable with variations I had never done on my own. Most importantly, Dean's bedside manner is that of someone who actually cares, plus his e-mail response time and banter are hilarious. The only way you could go wrong with Dean is if you don't go with Dean.

Roger Lawson
aka Rog Law

Dean Somerset Is a Movement Genius. What does that mean? He is the opposite of why most people become frustrated with fitness. He will make you better and remove your pain–all while helping you see more results. It's what the best coaches know how to do, and Dean is part of an elite group.

Adam Bornstein
New York Times best selling author

Learn

Courses & Digital Downloads

Years of assessments, coaching, and a mildly unhealthy obsession with why people move the way they do — boiled down into self-paced courses and digital downloads. Go deep with a course, or grab a download and put it to work before your pre-workout wears off.

Post Rehab Essentials course banner with Dean Somerset.

Post Rehab Essentials

$97 CAD

A workshop covering the basics every trainer should know about injury post-rehab before working with clients. It covers the most common conditions of the shoulder, hip, knee and spine, with direction on what to do — and, more importantly, what not to do. Each section walks through the relevant anatomy, the adaptations that occur with each injury, how to assess who can and cannot begin training, and how to train it safely and effectively.

View course
Advanced Core Training seminar banner with Dean Somerset.

Advanced Core Training

$57 CAD

Core strength and stability is something everyone needs to produce forceful movement — from tying your shoes to lifting your max in the gym. Core stability means preserving the position of your spine while your shoulders and hips do the heavy lifting. The spine acts like a buffer, driving force from one end to the other without bending or breaking in the process.

View course
Complete Trainers Toolbox logo.

Complete Trainers Toolbox

$197 CAD

This online seminar-style education system is like having some of the brightest minds in the industry coaching you through your biggest hurdles, so you can feel confident growing your business.

View course
L2 Summit: Assessments and Hypertrophy Training banner.

L2 Summit: Assessments and Hypertrophy Training

$147 CAD

A deep-dive summit on assessment-driven program design and hypertrophy training.

View course
Scientific Application of Mobility Training course image.

Scientific Application of Mobility Training

$97 CAD

Understand the needs of each client or patient you see, plus direct ways to address their specific mobility concerns — identifying limitations and how they affect the individual's goals, applying the right tools (long-hold static stretches, contract/relax modalities, eccentric overloads, loaded end ranges, positional isometrics), and coaching them effectively for shoulder and hip function. Includes programming considerations for when to progress to more advanced strength & conditioning and when to return focus to mobility work.

View course
Independent Trainers Success Series banner.

Independent Trainers Success Series (Course Only)

$1095 CAD

If you're a fitness professional who knows what they're doing when coaching a client, but don't have any idea how to build a successful business — and may not have any interest in opening your own facility or existing exclusively online — then this is going to make your day.

View course
Independent Trainers Success Series mentorship banner.

Independent Trainers Success Series

$1995 CAD

This business mentorship gives you the direction and accountability you're looking for, with help to improve your business systems, generate more revenue, and finally get that special project you've been thinking about out into the world.

View course

Somerset Superset Newsletter

Superset

Every couple of weeks I send out the Somerset Superset — a quick hit of training ideas, movement nerdery, and the occasional bad joke I'm legally obligated to include. Here are a few recent issues worth letting into your inbox.

How Important is Sleep?

My wife and I are kinda opposites in a lot of ways. She likes Kacey Musgraves, I like Tupac. She does a lot of Pilates, I lift heavy things and occasionally throw them at or over…

Read this issue

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