Muscle Quality: Weightlifting
10 years ago I was a know-it-all, rebellious, punk of a coach. I look back at my first coaching gig at Fort Hays State and cringe for the coaches that worked alongside me. The only thing I had going for me was my thirst for knowledge and the talent to influence a group of athletes for better or for worse.
My “talent” got me into trouble. In fact, it sent me out of my specialty (which at the time was middle distance training) into working with sprinters (about which I knew nothing, but I pretended).
3 Mistakes in Sprint Training
1. Drills
I don’t know how many times I have heard coaches say “I have found the perfect drill." "The drill to surpass all drills." "The drill to enhance speed and technical mastery!"
Yet at high speeds their athlete’s biomechanics resemble being thrown out of a 30 story building rather than correct sprint mechanics.
Drills do not carry over!
The Full Clean – Only If You Need It.
Do You Understand the Words
Do you understand the.words.that.are.coming.out.of.my.mouth?
NOPE!
Your words, no matter how correct mean nothing to at least 75% of your athletes (and I’d guess more). I have been messing with people’s lifts for a long time. I have been successful and I have failed miserably.
You might be thinking this is a load of shit. I learned to lift by listening to my coach!
But did you?
Creating Flow
What is Flow?
Flow is...
“Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Dealing In Stress
You’ve seen the picture above. Jogging with butterflies – where all your problems melt away into a world of beautiful sand beaches and ponies. Girls see that picture and they think that could be me. Guys see that picture and they fall in love. (Although, you’d of course have to ask if she squats)
But, bigger than this picture is the idea that working out is a stress relieving pursuit.
“I’ve had a horrible day. I need to work off this stress.”
“The kids don’t stoppppp yelling, I gotta hit the gym. NOW.”