Mistakes Coaches and Trainers Make 3-29
I'm definitely not perfect.
As a trainer and coach, I can't possibly tell you how many mistakes I've made over the years.
But like most coaches out there, even though I've made a lot of mistakes, I continue to learn from them to become better.
The following is going to be an ongoing blog series where I discuss common mistakes that trainers and coaches make on a daily basis. Maybe they apply to you, and maybe they don't.
But hopefully even if you aren't making these mistakes, you'll take away some tips that will make you a better trainer or coach in the long run.
One of the most common issues I see (especially with young trainers/coaches) is giving too much feedback to their client/athlete. If they're coaching the squat, every rep sounds like this.
"Okay get your chest out. Set your back. Push the hips back. Knees out! Keep going. Deeper. Keep your chin tucked. Keep pushing your knees out! Chest up. Tight. Don't lose your air."
The problem herein is that you lose the client. They feel overwhelmed, like they're doing everything wrong, and there's no way they're going to get it right.
Trust me, I've seen this time and again with clients who are getting over coached.
Am I saying not to coach? To let them do things wrong?
Not at all.
What I am saying is this - at most, your clients can probably handle about two cues from per set - although one is even better. For instance, make it a goal to find the two most glaring mistakes and really work hard to address them.
If someone's squat is looking absolutely atrocious, maybe start with two big cues like "Chest up, knees out." Remind them of this throughout the set.
At the conclusion of the set, I always like to give one piece of feedback for them to work on during the following set. It could look something like this:
"Great set. Next time, try and set your chest even before you start and it will be that much easier to hold that position throughout."
After they've finished up with that exercise for the day, maybe give them one thing to think about for next time. It could look like this.
"You squats were much better today. Next time, we're going to work on sitting back more from the start. Don't worry though - they are already looking a lot better!"
While I don't consider myself a motivator in the "Rah-Rah" sense, I am definitely a motivator when it comes to feedback. Tell them that they're doing better, what they did well, so they have something positive to build on from set-to-set and session-to-session.
Let's start to wrap this up. As a general rule, with lower-level clients/athletes, not only will they need more instruction up front, but more coaching overall. They don't have a great movement foundation, and as such, need more help to develop it.
With high level and elite athletes, it could be as simple as one cue prior to the initiation of the set or rep.
Next time you're in the gym, try to be short, sweet, and to the point when it comes to your coaching cues. Not only will your clients appreciate it, but they'll get a lot more out of it to boot!
Stay strong
MR
Comments on This Entry
Posted by Roland at 01:26PM on March 29, 2010
Good post Mike! They keep getting better and better.
Next let's work on using an almost overlooked, simple design trick. Research shows us, and folks report, that using a text size of 1.4 times normal is the most readable size for web.
Just kidding... sort of.
I made this mistake (coaching cues, not css design) for so long. In fact if I could go back in time and watch myself I'd be in pain.
Posted by Mike at 02:40PM on March 29, 2010
Great coaching point, Mike! Would love to hear your thoughts on more!
Posted by Patrick Ward at 09:20PM on March 29, 2010
Great article, Mike. Those of us that have been in the business for a good amount of time can always look back and see what mistakes we have made along the way.
The idea over coaching exercises is DEFINITELY a mistake that most have made at one point or another. I like the idea of giving simple cues and then adjusting things from there, rather than overwhelming them. Two really great things about doing it this way are:
a) You get to see how the client instictively puts together the movement. If you show them something and give them a few cues, and then allow them to perform the movement, you get to see their initial ability to put together the pattern. Can they put it together decently? Do they lack body awareness? Etc....This is where exercises become an assessment in and of themselves, and every training session is its own assessment.
and
b) You leave the door open for a little bit of guided learning. The client sees you perform the movement, they get a few cues, and then they get to learn to put it together. A lot of times, after a few reps, clients can put together the movement pretty well without a whole bunch of coaching, The coach just needs to be patient and allow the client sometime to learn what is supposed to happen and "feel' the way their body moves.
Patrick
Posted by Sam Leahey at 01:18PM on March 30, 2010
Mike, this was an AWESOME post. I can't WAIT to intern with ya at IFAST man. I nearly said the same exact thing in my blog post for Cressey Performance.
http://ericcressey.com/cressey-performance-internship-blog-by-sam-leahey-simplicity
Simplicity, simplicity, simplity, its all about not talking peoples ear off and getting to do one thing right after another.
Again, great post Mike. Im definatley looking forward to the rest of the series!
Posted by Jaison Naiker at 09:27AM on April 02, 2010
Thanks for the post Mike. The first time I started thinking about this was when Sam Leahey (Thanks Sam!) put up a video on Coach Boyles strengthcoachblog. It was a video of the cook hip lift and rotational squat. That was one of my "ah-ha" moments....way too many cues.
Thanks again for the post!
Posted by Sam Leahey at 03:08PM on April 02, 2010
wow, i cant believe someone actually remembered that post Jaison :)
http://mboyle1959.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/mbsc-internship-with-sam-leahey-week1-of-14-hour-work-days/
I think it just stands to reason all the more so that guys like Mike R. Eric C, and Coach Boyle have all gone down that path before us and us young dudes take for granted many times the "non-sexy" aspects of coaching, like giving too many cues.
Im SO looking forward to the rest of the series!
Posted by Monica at 11:59AM on April 09, 2010
great tips. looking forward to your next article!