The author does have a few indicators that his teacher was in the top tier; the teacher trained special forces troops, the best mountain climbers, and ski racer

The author does have a few indicators that his teacher was in the top tier; the teacher trained special forces troops, the best mountain climbers, and ski racers. These are people who you can trust to be among the best trained in general fitness. And in the end the author was vastly more fit than the majority of people trying to be fit. The majority of people trying to be fit go to the gym once in a while, do a few cardio exercises, and go home. He was among them before meeting with this guy. He's still well below a lot of people, like professional athletes, but the people he is still below only represent a small fraction of the population. I get your point though. He still can't say whether or not his trainer is the best or if his ideas are the best. What he can say, though, is that his trainers ideas are much better than those of the typical gym trainer at a franchise gym. This article is clearly not targeted at Michael Phelps. It's targeted at the average gym-goer.