Friday, April 29, 2011

What Makes a Great Coach, Part 1: Education

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who is also a client at the gym. We were talking about the training I had planned for him and it was pretty obvious that my expectations for him were higher than his own. I said "Why do I feel like your health and fitness is more important to me than it is to you?". His response was "Because you're a professional.". Then later in the day I had one of my other clients come and tell me how he just went down to cancel his membership at Globo Gym and when they asked him why, he told them it was because he was working out at Dynamic now, to which they responded, "Oh, what do they have a degree in, history?". He said, "Not sure, I just know I get results at Dynamic, but I don't at your gym.". So all of this got me to thinking about what makes a great coach and trainer, and why I believe, that I have assembled the best group of trainers in the area with the potential to become the best group of trainers in the world. 

Let's start with education. All of the trainers at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning are required to have at least a bachelor's degree. The reason for this is simple, it reflects a commitment to higher learning. I don't, however, require the bachelor's degree to be in one of the many different exercise specialties whether it be kinesiology, exercise physiology, health sciences, etc... The reason for this is also simple. I have yet to meet the person who comes out of college that actually knows anything useful. The day you receive the diploma is the day you start learning. It's much more important to me what a person learns once they're out of college. The exercise science programs at a 4 year university will have some useful anatomy courses and basic biomechanics, but the actual practical knowledge that one comes out of college with in one of these programs is about zero, unless they were able to do an internship with somebody who knows what they're doing. Conor, who is the most recent trainer to join our staff, has a health sciences degree and he will be the first to tell you that he learned more in a 5 month internship with Eric Cressey and in his first 3 months working with clients at Dynamic then he could have ever learned in college. The reason I hired Conor is because he got a glowing recommendation from Eric, one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the world, and his personality and attitude fit the dynamic I am looking for in my trainers. I'm not knocking the exercise phys degrees, I think it's wonderful that there are kids at 18 years old who want to dedicate their lives to helping people get stronger and healthier. I'm just saying that the title of the degree one holds is pretty much at the bottom of the list of what makes a great strength coach and trainer. For what it's worth, the National Strength and Conditioning Association which gives the most highly regarded certification in the country, the CSCS-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, also requires a bachelor's degree.... But it doesn't have to be in an exercise discipline. Go figure. As I will get into in part 2, a coach's commitment to continuing education is one of the single biggest contributors to his effectiveness and success as a trainer, and much more important than what the classes were that he was taking between keg stands and sets of bench presses in college.

Certifications are also an important part of being an excellent trainer and coach. All of my trainers are required to get the NSCA-CSCS. As I mentioned, it is the most highly regarded certification among strength coaches and trainers in the country. It has a curriculum based on scientific theory and practical application, and while it offers little in the realm of functional anatomy or functional strength and conditioning, in order to acquire the certification one must possess a solid foundation in anatomy, physiology, program design and management. The NSCA-CSCS is an industry standard, and each of the trainers at Dynamic either have the credential now, or are in the process of acquiring it within a month's time.

Other certifications are important as well. As an example, we train people with kettlebells because I believe the kettlebell is one of the best tools available to develop full body strength, power, and power endurance. We do not treat kettlebells as the latest, greatest fad because Jillian Michaels is using them (poorly). We use them because they work and they give people results. When swinging a weight like a kettlebell, it is crucial that proper body mechanics and technique is used. So I sought out the best kettlebell instructors in the world and personally trained with them. When I was convinced that these instructors were the ones that would make me the best kettlebell coach possible, I brought them both to Dynamic and had them train my trainers. I have the best group of certified kettlebell instructors in the area, without question. I can not tell you how many people have come into Dynamic, having trained with kettlebells at other gyms, and have had horrendous form. This is what happens when trainers try to train people in methods that they don't understand themselves and haven't taken the time to learn. The bottom line at Dynamic is that if I am going to put it into our programs then our trainers are going to get the necessary training to coach it, if they don't possess the expertise already. And don't confuse the ability to do it, with the ability to coach it. When you step through our doors you are going to be coached at the highest level possible, by educated, certified coaches.

In Part 2 I will go into the traits that separate the good coaches from the great coaches, and why our staff is second to none.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

You Can't Manage It If You Don't Measure It

Are you as fit as you want to be? Are you as lean as you want to be?  Are you progressing in your training? Are you on the right path to achieving your goal? Actually, let's take a step back for a second... Do you have a goal? A real goal, something specific. If the answer to any of these questions is no, then why not? I know this is going to sound like some lame infomercial, but here goes.. I'm going to give you the secret to achieving all of these things and it is only going to take you about 5 minutes a day! Keep a journal. It is the simplest, most effective thing you will ever do and it practically guarantees success.

I have every workout I've done in the gym or on the bike for the past 4 years logged in spreadsheets and training journals. Since I've been doing this, I have gotten, leaner, fitter, faster, stronger than I have ever been at any other point in my life. This is not magic, it is simply keeping track and staying focused. I was at a seminar yesterday and Martin Rooney nailed it, "You can't manage it if you don't measure it". 

Last week at Dynamic I had a workout up for our training groups that included 6 sets x 3 reps of the one arm kettlebell push press. I watched person after person pick up weights that I knew were well below what they could push press. Part of this is that my expectations for my athletes, in almost every case, is higher than their expectations for themselves (this is a good thing for you, as you will understand in a minute). These clients were not picking up lighter weights than they could handle because they were people who don't like to push themselves, on the contrary, these people always give incredible efforts. The problem was they haven't been keeping track. They don't know what they can handle for 3 reps because they don't keep any record of what they do in the gym on a daily basis. As I pushed person after person up in their weight selection I watched as at least 20 people put up personal best kind of numbers on the 1 arm push press. Looks of amazement on their faces after realizing how strong they've become. Now, they can see that their own expectations can match the level of my expectations. But here's the point I am getting at, if any of these people had been keeping a training journal they would have known exactly what weights they should be using already because there would have been a history of what they've done in the past. If you don't measure it, you can't manage it..

Here's how it works for me, and honestly, this takes me a total of 5 minutes a day.. Every day I get out of bed, I grab a cup of coffee and my journal. I write down my goals. First thing every day. I write the exact same goals day after day. Why? Because it focuses me. It reminds me what I want, what's important to me, what I'm going to do for the rest of the day to help me to achieve my goals. I write down 2 goals. One is a training goal, and it's specific. One is a personal/professional development goal, also specific. My goal is not "I want to be more fit".. If your goal is "I want to be more fit" then I want you to do something for me right now. This very second. Step away from the computer, do 25 jumping jacks, and come back... There, you're more fit. Now what? So make sure your goals are specific. It's also important that they are measurable. Always remember, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Let me tell you something, if you write down a specific goal every day, dedicate yourself to it, and focus on it, then you will achieve it. And I don't care what that goal is. The hard part is doing the work, but if you're willing to do the necessary work you will achieve whatever your mind sets out to do.

The rest of the journal entries for my day include how much I slept (the importance of the amount of sleep you get can not be understated, anything less than 8 hours is not enough, and I don't care who you are, if you are one of those that say "I'm good on 5 or 6 hours sleep", then try to get 8 or 9 and see how much better you are), nutrition intake (everything I ate and drank for the day), what recovery practices did I do (for example, foam roll, stretch, ice bath, massage, acupuncture, meditate, yoga, etc...), what was my workout, and then I finish the journal up with a few notes on the day.. I'll comment on energy levels, stress levels, what I did to help achieve my personal/professional development goals. Everything I write in the journal either helps me get closer to my goals or limits me in my ability to achieve them. If I sleep more than 8 hours it helps. If I make a couple bad nutritional choices it hurts. My workouts always help (as long as I also do the right amount of recovery). If I have an exceptionally stressful day it hurts. Everything is relevant and everything has an impact and as long as I keep track of everything I can do a much better job managing, measuring, and staying on track.

From a pure training perspective, the journal is invaluable. Going back to the example of the 6x3 push press we did earlier this week, you would know exactly where you were last time you did something like this, how well you handled it at the time, and what weight you should expect to be able to use this time. This is how you continue to make progress.

Like I said, this takes about 5 minutes a day, but the amount of information you're going to start logging is incredibly useful. You will have clear goals you're working towards. You will be writing down everything that is relevant. There will be things in there that will help you towards your goals and things that work against you. You'll have days in the gym or on your bike or on your run where you feel invincible. Take a look at your journal entries for the week or so leading up to that day and I guarantee you will see a combination of sleeping well, eating well, taking care of your recovery, low stress levels.. Have an awful day, on the verge of illness, feeling fatigued? Take a look at the days leading up to that. Too many intense workouts without the proper recovery protocols, poor nutrition, high stress, lack of sleep; all of these things could play a role. For a $2 investment in a notebook and 5 minutes of your time a day this could be the biggest life changer you've experienced in quite a while. 

For what it's worth, I'll share with you one of my goals.. For all of the people that come to train with us at Dynamic my goal is to be a bigger influence on your life during the 165 hours a week that I don't see you than I am for the 3 hours a week that I do. This is something I work on every single day because it's important to me. Thanks for reading.

Kevin