A Happy Tuesday to everyone, hey at least it's not Monday right? I've got a quick one for you all today, mostly aimed at other trainers and coaches out there. I think it's worth the read for all though. This is a message to fellow strength coaches, trainers and other fitness pro's out there that I think we all need to remember. We are each other’s allies not enemies here. I am lucky enough to reside in the Boston area where, I believe, there are a metric shit-ton (technical term) of great coaches and facilities to train and coach out of. With all of these great facilities you would think that each one wants to take down the other. I think when you’re doing it right, and this is the unique thing about this field, none of them really see it that way. Yeah we all need business because if we're broke we won't keep the doors open. When we lose business to another facility, regardless of how good they are, it still sucks. In the end most of us in the area are usually pretty good about saying how great the other facility someone might be going to is, not trying to trash it for the sake of holding on to the client(s). We have got ourselves quite the little pocket of the industry. We may disagree slightly on our programming a bit, I know I have my thoughts and the guy's an hour down the road have their own. I doesn't mean we're both not right, it just means we prefer to do things differently. The small changes in our programming isn't worth any amount of infighting, we're still trying to do it right and accomplish the same if not similar goals. This is what makes this area in my humble opinion, so damn great to become a coach. Most of the facilities and coaches are really striving to put together good internship programs, seminars and workshops make anyone that wants to be a better coach, well...be a better coach. For those of us in this industry trying to do it right and for the right reasons, the enemy is not those of us that might be a 10-30 minute drive from one another.The enemy for us is the mass media and celebrity trainers, who I shall keep nameless (*Cough* *Cough* Jillian *Cough* Michaels *Cough* *Cough* ) Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, the opposition are those out there that are preaching the next hot thing that this TV show said or that this random study someone pulled from between their butt cheeks said. The ones that are all about the scale and not about how you look or feel. Those that try to out ab-train their pizza, bagels and wine diets. That is our competition right there, because that is what we have to work extra hard to change in the minds of many first time clients. Those of us that have been helping each other out, both in Boston and beyond, should continue to do so. The ones that would rather try to sabotage another coach or facility in order to make a quick extra buck, remember that you are feeding into the problem. Perhaps not directly, but if you bad mouth a facility that preaches good movement, lifting heavy things and good eating, it'll keep people focused on what the mass media is saying instead.
Those that are already out there trying to help nudge the rookies in the right direction, keep it going. Those that are new to this world, I ask you to contact me or any of the coaches that I've mentioned previously for guidance. Most of them will give you the 5 minutes of their time it takes to reply to an e-mail. Thanks for reading this and giving me your time to let me do a little preaching myself. Go out there and get after it!
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It's been a great week for content being generated, here's some of the better ones out there. Hope everyone enjoys todays pieces.
My Switch to Strength: The Tale of a Former Cardio Queen- This is especially for those ladies that feel cardio (or group fitness) is the end all be all for training. Jen Comas is a bad ass coach and GGS Co-Founder, so you could say she knows what's up. Her tale of going from all cardio all the time to learning to love the iron hopefully can nudge a few more over the proverbial fence. 3 Laws to Master Coaching Youth Athletes- I deal with kids both in the weight room and on the field so this one hit home for me. Nancy "Nancinator" Newell, from CSP-Mass has some great things to be sure to follow for coaching the youths of today. Keeping it simple is where it's at! 11 Thing I've Learned Coaching Elite and Professional Athletes- A list that's easy to read? Check. An article about pro athletes we watch on the screen on the reg? Check. Sounds like we got winner here. Alright let's be real, it's not that simple, but JB (Dr. John Berardi) Co-Founder of Precision Nutrition has a nice piece oozing with lessons to take away for everyday coaching. Happy NFL opening day all! I know not everyone is thrilled for this, and might even hate the sport, but just try not to kill the buzz for the rest of us, please? At the very least wait a few days before you gripe about it for other's sake. Let's jump into the topic of discussion today, accountability. Everyone needs it and it’s always something that people think they can get the better of on their own for 12 months of the year. *Buzzer* wrong kids, nobody can do that I promise you. Even professionals like me need some form of accountability, whether it’s a training buddy or just simply someone else doing their programming for them and checking in on their progress, we all need it. The every day Joe out there will put some form of monetary accountability out there. They pay someone (like me) to be there waiting for them at the gym or studio to get their workout in. Knowing someone else is waiting for you is itself a form of accountability also (like a training partner). I have one client, I’ve lost count how many times they have told me that they probably would not have gotten their workout in that day if I was not waiting for them at the facility. This works two-fold when you know there are others there you see every day expecting you to show up as well (like in semi-private training). A note on the opposite side of things money wise. I can tell you that there’s at least 2 dozen free (and some not so free) programs I’ve written that probably lay very much unused in people’s e-mails and on their desks. It's amazing what it does to your brain when some bucks are attached to those programs and sessions, they get used pretty fast. That’s not all it ever is of course there are exceptions. Believe me I had probably the mother of all exceptions to this rule as a client for a couple years. They knew I was waiting for them and would still bag on me the morning of (sometimes multiple times in a week). Some people just simply cannot be helped, it will take something greater than the almighty dollar make them accountable. No this isn’t some shameless plug to get you into the new CORE Essentials program (YES IT HAS A NAME!!!), because that is something we are promoting with it, or to buy a package. The point is if you haven’t moved far into that autonomy stage, something I also want for people in this program, then you need to find a way to hold yourself accountable.
I've also found that garnering an army of supporters for your training is helpful too. Tell your friends, tell your coworkers, tell your family, hell tell the most random person on the train if you want. The point of this is if they know you are suppose to be going to the gym or a session, they're going to ask you about it. When you tell them you went, they'll high five you or smile and say good, if you didn't they'll ask you why the hell not! In the end folks, if you are struggling to stay on track with something, nutrition, training, salsa lessons or whatever. Find a way to hold yourself accountable, just pick one. There's more methods than the few I've listed here even. You’ll find more success with you consistency, then you'll start seeing that outcome you're desiring. It's magic isn't it? Once you've graduated to autonomy (read autopilot) then you can move on to mastering the next kung fu move of your desire. I really do hope everyone found this quick little post today helpful. There are ways to get accountability without dropping those hard earned dollars in any case, but if you've tried it all you except that, consider it. Have a good Thursday everyone, see you tomorrow with Things I've Found (I promise). Go out there and get after it! |
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AuthorJarrod Dyke, CSCS Archives
April 2024
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