How Does Your Coach Stack Up?

Maybe you’re looking for your first strength and conditioning coach, shopping around for a new one, or trying to figure out if yours is any good. But how do you know what to look for? Here’s a checklist of some things to look for to see if your coach is top notch or just another person spewing nonsense.

1) What have they done? Do they currently compete in a sport or have they in the past? Or are they out of shape and can’t actually demonstrate anything they tell you to do? Do they practice what they preach or do they just point and yell? Find a coach that can walk the walk and talk the talk. Find one that trains, competes, and utilizes what they teach.

2) What does your coach do in their spare time? Do they attend conferences, read journals, write articles? Or are they using the same outdated information because they “always know best?” Find someone that is always trying to learn and make themselves better. Better yet, find a coach who writes articles, presents at conferences, and is someone that others in the industry look up to.

3) Does your coach say there is only one way to do things? A good coach knows that training is not a one size fits all approach. Everyone is different. Everyone has different goals, injuries, limitations, and is training for different reasons. Your coach shouldn’t have a cookie cutter approach to training but should know how to individualize everything.

4) Where has your coach learned their stuff? Did they open up a gym after getting an online certification? Or have they had internships and learned from some of the best in the industry? You can’t learn how to coach without getting hands on experience and learning from more experienced individuals. Take a look at your coach’s resume. If they don’t have any real world experience, get out of there. 

5) Does your coach put you through a thorough assessment? If you start a training program before being put through an assessment, RUN. Everyone has different bodies, problems, and injuries. A program should be made to fit your goals based on your strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you have tight hips, a weak left hamstring, or trouble breathing properly. All of those issues should be known before your coach writes your program.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when you try to see how your coach stacks up. If your coach doesn’t fit the criteria above- go and find yourself someone who is knowledgeable, thorough, and experienced. You probably wouldn’t trust a doctor who didn’t have real world experience, so why would you trust a coach who doesn’t have the same? Hopefully this checklist will help you find a knowledgable, trustworthy, and fitting coach.

The Most Important Thing

The Most Important Thing

…is family. 

Sometimes we get so caught up in our goals that we forget about the people who are propping us up. The people who are there to break the bad news and stick around for our reaction. Family doesn’t always mean blood relation, so I suppose the proper word for what I am trying to convey is COMMUNITY. 

This past weekend, I competed at the Lexen Extreme Fall Classic and I got a reminder of what it meant to personally be a part of a community. The profound sense of acceptance and support that I received over the weekend is something I will never forget. This article will serve two purposes: to recap the meet and show you why building a community is so important.

I competed in the 132-pound class and finished the day with a  215-pound squat, 135-pound bench press, and 260-pound deadlift. Though I didn’t achieve a couple of my goals, I was happy to get a feel for the 132-pound weight class and set a PR total of 610-pounds with the support of many great lifters, coaches, and friends. Some of these people I’d never personally met before but corresponded with on social media, and some of them I’ve known for quite some time.  Regardless, when I stepped onto the brightly-lit platform, it made all the difference that someone was there to support me when I really needed it.

When I say I needed it, I really did. After my missing my first deadlift attempt, I thought I was going to have to cut it there and bomb out. My hip-popped during the lift and my entire left leg was throbbing as I swallowed tears. I was told to pull conventional instead of sumo and the thought of that made me extremely nervous. My sumo pull has always been much stronger than conventional AND I’d maxed my conventional pull just a few weeks earlier and it was super slow. Not only that, but the weight I opened with was five pounds heavier than that super slow conventional pull. There was no way I’d be able to pull it off with an injury. Surprisingly, I PR’d my conventional deadliest by 25 pounds.

In all honesty, I started lifting weights because I just liked how it felt. But now it goes much deeper than that. Now I’m little more competitive, I’ve got training partners, and it kind of just feels like training and competing is something productive to do with my pals. We set our own goals, but we also know that we need each other in order to achieve those goals. This is why building a community is the key to achievement.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I started training at The Spot Athletics and at first l felt like the odd-man-out. Constantly getting picked on, making dumb mistakes, and always asking “Will I get yelled at if I do such-and-such?” Now, I feel a part of a family. Going further, I’ve expanded my network of friends and it was this small group that pushed me at the Fall Classic. It was these guys who offered verbal support, shared their ammonia to get me pumped, rubbed baby powder on my thighs before each deadlift attempt, and inspired me to believe in myself.

Our very own Nic Bronkall, or Coach B, took the time out of a beautiful Saturday to be cooped up at a powerlifting meet to handle me, because here at The Spot Athletics, we have something that not a lot of gyms have: a family. We want everybody to achieve their goals and be motivated to be the best person they can be. 

Savannah Steamer

Don't Reduce Someone Else's Success.

If I hear someone say "Well, [insert fit person's name here] can afford a trainer and supplements," one more time, I am probably going to have to punch a wall. Yes, I am talking about people who reduce someone else's success by pointing out that they can "afford" it. In their minds, people who can afford a personal trainer, healthy food, and various other health related things have no excuse to not be in shape. This mentality reduces an extraordinary amount of hard work and dedication to dollars and cents, as if you can go to the store and buy a ripped body

When it comes to fitness, as with any goal, there is a certain level of investment needed for achievement. Sometimes that investment is monetary. In fact, if you look at anybody who has named fitness or performance as one of their goals, they have most likely spent money on a gym membership or on accessories, workout clothes, etc. It's just a fact of life. Am I saying that being fit or an athlete means you have to drain your whole paycheck on fancy gadgets, gourmet food, and supplements? Nope. In fact, you don't need any of that stuff. But when someone else has set a goal and aimed a significant amount of resources towards that goal, let's try to be positive about their success. Let's not soak ourselves in our own bitterness. Focus on YOUR life, what YOU can do to reach your goals, and what kinds of resources (time, money, mental) you can allocate to them.


Savannah Steamer, Intern

Motivation

Lately I have seen people being ok with mediocrity. Which if that is what you want then great be mediocre. Be like everybody else.

Sometime it's hard to get motivated to train or to do anything. It's easier to be lazy and just sit on the coach and watch the world turn. The body wants to be lazy. Honestly it is science. The body likes to maintain homeostasis. In other words it doesn't mind being weak. So it's up to your mind to get your body in check. Your mind is what is keeping you from the body that you want. Don't sit there everyday and watch motivational videos and listen to speeches of people motivating you. You don't need that, what you need is to set your mind right. You have ZERO excuses. And whatever you're about to say is just another lie you're telling yourself as to why you can't accomplish what you want.

We all have days where we don't want to train. Where we don't want to get up and go to the gym. Body feels tired and weak. When the body feels tired and weak go lift! Stop being afraid of overtraining. If your mind continuously tells the body that you're overtrained or that you need a deload your body will begin to believe it. Stop saying "well science says I need to deload every 4th week or I'll get weak and overtrained." Stop it. All you're doing is finding a fancy way to say you're lazy. Being lazy is being lazy. The body isn't weak and lazy it's your mind that is.

Get in the gym and get some blood pumping in the body. Once the blood starts pumping and the nervous system gets dialed in it will make you feel better. Human nature wants you and I to be lazy. To conform and be weak. To be mediocre. Don't be normal. If you get the mind right the body will follow. Your mind sets the standard for everything that you do.

What gets you motivated everyday? Let me know in the comments below!

Coach B

Easter training at The Spot Athletics

Today was about family, friends, celebrating our faith and of coarse training.  I came in at 8 am to train today and Robbie had his dad bring him in so that he wouldn't miss his Sunday workout.  Champions never rest and our athletes are champions.  Come train at The Spot Athletics and become a champion!

JL 48'' box jump

This is a video of me doing a 48'' box jump today.  In the picture you can see that my hips are at or a little above Stephen's head.   Stephen is 6'2'', which means my hips were at about 74'' or so.  I should be able to land a 65'' box, but because I have had 7 knee surgeries my knee flexion is very poor and I must land box jumps with mostly straight legs.   This shows how important mobility is for athletes and the ability to box jump high as well.   We work a ton on mobility with our athletes and ourselves because being strong isn't very helpful if you cannot use it properly in competition.