Leo Totten has impacted the field of strength training and conditioning in so many ways, including the development of high school athletes and particularly with the use of Olympic weightlifting. He was named in 2012 as one of the 65 most influential strength coaches of all time.
Coach Totten has spent more than 40 years training high school athletes and elite college athletes, as well as more than 40 years as an Olympic weightlifting coach and clinician for USA Weightlifting. As head coach of the East Coast Gold Weightlifting Team, he has coached 22 national team champions, and has served as USA Coach and/or Weightlifting Team Leader on two Olympic teams, three Pan Am Teams and five World Teams.
Leo enjoyed a very successful career as a high school coach, athletic director, and teacher at Francis Scott Key High School in Maryland. In addition to directing the strength and conditioning programs for all sports at the school, He coached wrestling and a variety of other sports, and coached the girls volleyball team to the Maryland state championship in 1995, and was named the Baltimore All-Metro Volleyball Coach of the Year that year. He also served as the school’s athletic director, was selected the MSADA District 5 Athletic Director of the Year in 2003, and was inducted in the Francis Scott Key High School Hall of Fame in 2019. Totten selected the Carroll County Outstanding Teacher in 1992 after being nominated for the award in 1991, 1992 and 1997, and he was named to the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
The owner of Totten Training Systems since 2012, Leo is a member of the USA Weighlifting Hall of Fame, the World Strength and Power Legends Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Strength and Power Hall of Fame. He is currently the Chair of the NSCA Weighlifting SIG Executive Board and serves on the Pennsylvania NSCA Executive Board. Totten is also an adjunct professor at West Chester University and Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.
What do you enjoy most about being a strength and conditioning coach?
There are so many things I enjoy about being a strength and conditioning coach, it is really hard to pin down one thing. The satisfaction that comes from helping students grow not only as strong athletes, but also as strong individuals, is very rewarding for me. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have had excellent mentors, coaches and role models. To give back in that same way feels awesome.
Please describe your training philosophy.
Some coaches only like to work with top-level athletes. For me, it doesn’t matter whether the athlete is beginner, intermediate or advanced––I have the same expectations for both the athletes and me. I want the athletes to work hard, stay focused and be consistent. In terms of myself, I want to be consistent in how I treat the athletes, work hard to make every athlete better, and continue to learn and grow. I set the bar high for everyone involved and hold myself and my athletes accountable.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishments as a strength coach?
When I first arrived at my high school, the weight room was virtually non-existent. We had only one bench, one Olympic bar, a couple of plates and two Universal machines. When I left, we had 16 platforms with racks, full barbell bumper sets as well as a much larger area to accommodate all of the programs developed over the years. From no weightlifting or weight training classes, we ended up with a full day of classes and lifting programs to be held before school, after school and during the summer.
You’ve been a trailblazer in Olympic weightlifting.
How have you used this area of strength training to best train high school student-athletes?
There are many ways to train athletes in the weight room, and they all have beneficial aspects. Training the Olympic lifts is an important “tool in the toolbox” for all athletes. The Olympic lifts and their variations are a fun, challenging way to increase strength and power for a high school athlete. We always did a variety of types of training but the students/athletes loved how powerful and explosive they became doing cleans, snatches and jerks. The results showed on the field or on the court.