A good April to everyone and I hope everyone has themselves ready for a good week. Today, I'm talking about getting personal as coaches/trainers and clients. I imagine many will relate somehow, so enjoy!

Anyone getting into this line of work that doesn’t like people, seriously you know THAT type of person, is never going to make it in the end. This job is all about relationships, when done right. Not every client that comes to you is going to be a perfect fit, it’s still important to try to connect with them.
 
For myself, I’m all about having a conversation with the person the best I can during their session. Sometimes I’ll let some awkward silence work its magic, but for the most part yeah let’s chat. No, it doesn’t have to always be about training, because I want to know the people that come through the door to as deep of a level as they allow me. If all I’m allowed if surface level stuff with bare minimum conversation, it’s just probably not going to be a good fit in the long run.

There are people that want to come in, get their stuff done and leave, they are probably to a level that they can train on their own without me. Nothing wrong with that and again, likely wouldn’t be a good fit for training with me anyway.
 
All this to say is we coaches, that are in this game for the long haul and the right reasons, we care. We want to know you as much as you’ll let us, and we want to celebrate all parts of your life with you. I’ve mentioned this before, think about how much time coaches and clients spend together in the long run. It’s more than most of our family members get, so yeah, as corny as it sounds, you become family too.
 
In summary, the right types of coaches will get to know you, you won’t be a good fit for everyone (that’s both coaches and clients) and it all makes for a better experience for everyone involved. Happy Monday everyone, enjoy the first full week of April.

Happy Monday everyone, hope all are feeling good after their weekends and are ready to attack the week ahead. Today’s babbling discusses training to help cut down injuries and still finding a balance so to stay in the game, not on the sidelines.
 
For those that are often injured or find themselves dealing with some sort of nagging issues, especially of the soft tissue variety, they’re often told to “just take it easy”, especially athletes (youth or otherwise). Most strength coaches and physical therapists that have been around the block more than once will call this absolute nonsense. I personally would say if they are picking up injuries that are constantly nagging, with the previously mentioned soft tissue variety usually being the biggest culprit, the athlete needs to get themselves in the weight room. If they’re their already, up the frequency, especially if it’s less than 3 training sessions a week in the off-season.
 
A balanced strength training program will give an athlete more confidence out on the playing surface (ice, field, court, etc…) and that they aren’t going to just pull up lame for the 10th time in 5 years. More confidence means they become better players and they reach their full potential, to some extent at least, and I don’t see a downside to that. Of course, there is absolutely no way to prevent an athlete from ever picking up an injury, but you want to keep the nagging ones at bay as best as you can.

I do want to say, there is a balance to all this though, because as much as many strength coaches and such, would nod their head to the above, they’d likely also agree with this. Athletes (youth, recreational and everywhere between) need to remember that if you are training to get better at your given sport/activity, you’re there to do just that, not see how much weight you can pile on to the bar before you crumble. I know I’ve had to stare a hole through some of my players to remind them of this when they’re lifting more than their current strength and technique level allows them to.
 
Finally, building on the above, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Coaches and athletes should keep in mind volume and intensity is going to have different thresholds for different people. You’ll often see athletes that are monsters in the gym, but can’t stay healthy because let’s face it, they probably left it all in the gym. All that training doesn’t do you a ton of good if you pick up an injury because your body gave out too soon in the season, no?
 
In the end, train so your body can handle the stressors of your sport or activity, find yourself a coach that’ll help you manage the balance of too much & too little, and enjoy the confidence that comes with having a resilient body that’s not going to give you a new tweak every other contest.
 
Hope this all found folks nodding to some degree and if there’s something you want to discuss, I’m all for discussing and learning from each other. Have a great week everyone!

Happy Monday everybody and a happy spring too. We all have those periods of our life, or at least, the year, where the schedule is jam packed. Training during busy times, and in an athlete’s case in-season, is very important and there are a few reasons why.
 
Stress Management- When you’re in season or in a busy period of your life, you will undoubtedly be stressed out. Unless you are perfect when it comes to managing your stress (no such thing really), then you are going to need a way to relieve it to some degree, before you have some sort of break down. Strength training might not be the cure all, but it does the job well for most. You exert yourself, you get back some of your confidence, release some of those endorphins, pretty good stuff if you ask me.

Keep the Sick Bug Away- Not unlike above, when you train during your busy blocks of life, assuming you don’t train to absolute train-wreck-failure, you can keep that little sick bug away that tends to pop up when we overwork ourselves and our body breaks down. Adjust the weights and your intensity of your training to match your energy, and you’ll keep your immune system in good shape, let alone your body.

Building and Maintaining Strength- Yes, even in busy times of your life, or in-season for athletes, you can build some strength. Even if you’re not quite getting the training in that builds your strength, you’ve likely taken a lot of time and care to build your strength, you don’t want to go back to square one if you can help it, right? Just 1 training session a week, though I’d recommend 2, can help you at the very least maintain what you’ve built.
 
There, now the next time you know the schedule is about to get jammed, whether it be practice, meetings or whatever, you know the reasons to try to keep at your training. Thanks for reading today everyone, have a great week!