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 Or are they using the same outdated information because they “always know best?”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.

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