Walter White and Strength Coaching

I got a random ear infection this week and was laid out Monday through Wednesday. No, it was the Coronavirus. I got tested. Twice.

When I was laid up and literally had zero strength to do anything, I decided I'd watch some TV shows. I busted in to Breaking Bad. The first episode was absolutely amazing. I resonated with Walter White's character -- career frustrations, personal stagnation, relational purgatory. I mean, my life wasn't near as bad as Walter's but, I could relate to what he was feeling.

He also felt helpless to do as he pleased with anything in his life. He lacked Agency - the ability to act on one's own discretion. This resonated as well, but I didn't go start making meth.

When I'm coaching someone, I don't let my vision crowd their comfort level. I don't let my "perfect program" and my dreams become what we're striving for. In fact, I have an onboarding document that helps people think through and write out their goals. We go over it to make sure we're clear on expectations, goals, and metrics. We both sign the document and get to work.

This onboarding document is essential, because we can both look back on them and be accountable to THEIR GOALS, not my goals

A while back I had a client who said they wanted to put on size on his shoulders, back and arms. OK, easy enough, let's get to deadlifting because that is one of the sure fire way to hit all those muscle groups at once (plus really good for core strength and hip health, but I digress). We did deadlifts after building up to them for a month or so.

The next session he came in and said he absolutely hated the deadlift and didn't want to do them ever again. I kid you not. He was scared of hurting his back.

So, instead of listing out all the reasons why he should, I just said OK and we moved on. We stopped deadlifting. He still got bigger, felt better about everything. But not only that, he felt like he had agency in his own health journey. He didn't have to dread coming on deadlift. He didn't have to fret about everything that could go wrong. He felt more in control and happier overall. He could enjoy his lifting experience WAY more and would be more willing to workout in the future with me or with anyone else -- he didn't have alarm bells blaring.

We still did hip hinge type movements, likes DB RDL's, single leg reach, heck even goblet squats, but we never did deadlift. That's fine with me and was better for him.

What do you say Tennessee? Looking for a strength coach that actually takes time to listen, to work with you on all your goals, not just have you be a cog in their wheel, doing their plan on their terms? Let's get to lifting, I'd love to train you!