Russell Scaringi

Yo! Coach Russ here.

I was a three sport athlete in high school, but I didn’t start lifting seriously until after I graduated. Like a lot of people, I started with all the classic “bro split” routines: Planet Fitness membership, every pre workout and supplement under the sun, and every program I could find online.

Then in 2012, a friend invited me to try a CrossFit class… and that was it. I was hooked.

Later that year, I deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where I started coaching and even qualified for the Asia Regional as an individual. In 2013, I competed in Seoul, South Korea. After returning home to New York, I earned my CrossFit L1 and set my sights on becoming a Games athlete.

Along the way, I qualified for Nationals in Olympic Weightlifting (2015), made Regionals with Team Coliseum Strength (2017), and competed at Wodapalooza and Granite Games. I moved to San Diego in 2017 to train at Invictus, chasing that Games dream, and while it didn’t pan out the way I hoped, I learned a ton along the way. Eventually my body told me to slow down.

Since then, I’ve focused on longevity and sustainable fitness. I rejoined the Army, spent nearly a year at schools across the country, and had to rebuild from scratch more than once, but that gave me a new perspective on training, recovery, and life balance.

Now, after 13 years of coaching, my motivation is simple: to help others avoid the mistakes I made and find what truly works for them. There’s a ton of noise online, and it’s easy to fall into the wrong traps. I want to be the kind of coach I wish I’d had, someone who cares about your long term well being, not just your next PR, and have some fun doing it along the way.

Four athletes at a fitness competition holding a sign that reads 'Coliseum Strength' inside a gym with ropes and people in the background.
Man lifting a heavy barbell in a gym with other people in the background.
A male weightlifter performing a lift at the Dallas Texas USA Weightlifting competition, with the event banner behind him and a scoreboard displaying the event details.
A man in athletic clothing is squatting while holding a weight above his shoulders at a CrossFit competition. There are other competitors and spectators in the background, with a digital timer displaying 8:13 at the top of the image. The event is part of the CrossFit Games East Regional.