Last week, I was talking with my good friend Zach at IFAST. Zach has not only been a member for the last 7 months, but he’s also going to intern there this summer.
Too often, I think the up-and-coming coaches assume that you need to know absolutely everything about coaching. You need to understand the biomechanics, the physiology, how to write training programs, and a host of other things
And while that’s all true to some extent, it’s not entirely the case.
I remember listening to Dave Tate several years ago, and he alluded to the fact that quite often you’ll never use more than 10% of your knowledge base training clients and athletes.
The more I think about that comment, the more I realize how true it really is.
In fact, instead of continuously learning more “new stuff,” I feel like we should be more focused on the 10 to 20% of the knowledge that we need to use every single day.
Coaching a squat, lunge, or deadlifts may not be sexy, but it’s something that we’re going to use daily in the gym.
Writing a basic fat loss program to help somebody lose 20 to 30 pounds of body fat or body weight, as well, isn’t sexy. But think about it – how often do we get the chance to take an elite bodybuilder from 6% down to 4%?
Quite simply, it doesn’t happen all that often.
When we’re talking about the 10%, these are the staple ideas that we use every single day. This could include (but not be limited to) the following:
- Coaching basic exercises.
- Developing and teaching people proper warm-ups.
- Being able to write a basic fat loss routine.
- An understanding of functional anatomy.
Regardless of who you’ll train, these basic skills and ideas will come back time and again.
Now keep in mind, I’m not saying the more advanced stuff isn’t important. I enjoy reading on advanced topics myself, but I also understand that I’m pretty limited when it comes to the application of those topics and ideas.
So while it’s not as sexy as you might like, really worked to master the 10%. You’ll be rewarded daily for your efforts.