For a change of pace this week, IFAST intern Sean Griffin offered to turn the tables and interview me. Enjoy!
Mike, let’s start this off with a focus on interns, since that’s what I know best.
What are the top 3 qualities/characteristics you look for in a new intern, and what makes each critical for success?
The three things I tell all applicants on the phone are this:
- Work Ethic. You’ve got to be willing to work your ass off and put in a solid day’s work. Every single day.
- Curiosity. You have to constantly be asking questions. Why does this work this way? Why do you do this? What does that mean? If you’re not asking questions and constantly wondering “Why?,” you probably won’t succeed.
- Personality. We work with everyone from failed rehab patients, to fat-loss clients, to athletes young and old. You need to be able to work with and relate to anyone.
If you have those three “tools,” I feel I can teach anyone our system.
Last week, my fellow interns and I had the pleasure of taking a custom-MR-written, in-depth, 75-question pop quiz on anatomy, programming, assessments, and coaching. It took us about 90 minutes to get through this “quiz,” and it wasn’t easy, to say the least.
Can you provide a bit more detail about just how much knowledge you expect your interns to have when they start? Do all interns need to know on day 1 what three muscles attach to the coracoid process (please note: I was asked this on two separate occasions in my first week!)?
I don’t think you need to know those things up front, but it definitely helps!
Look, as I mentioned above, I can teach people our system and why it works. I can also teach people anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, etc., it just takes a hell of a lot more time!
If someone comes in with at least some semblance of an ExSci background, then they’ll be ahead of the game.
If not? That’s still ok – it’s just going to be a slower process.
As a follow-up, what does successful completion of the IFAST internship mean? I’ve heard you say, “you’ll be able to go to any big-box gym in the country and be the best coach.” Can you elaborate on the knowledge base and skillsets you develop in your interns?
Our internship process is different than most.
I’m not going to throw you to the wolves on the first day and expect you to coach. But I’m not going to stick you in the corner with a broom the entire internship either!
While I can’t expect someone to know everything we know in 12-16 weeks, I can expect the following:
- You have a basic understanding of functional anatomy and how to apply it.
- You can coach all of the major exercises, as well as progressing and regressing them on the fly as necessary.
- You can get someone through an assessment. You may not have Bill Hartman’s skills, but you can see some of the major issues and know how to address them.
- You can write a program based on the assessment. This would include the ability to marry their goals (fat loss, physique, strength, etc.) with what you have determined to be their major needs or limitations.
Bottom line? I expect a lot out of my interns. They are a branch on my “coaching tree,” and I want them to represent both me and IFAST to the fullest.
My final internship-related question is geared more toward coaches interested in starting an internship program at their own facility.
I must say you’ve done quite the job putting together awesome learning experiences for my internship class. How have your teaching skills evolved over the last four years, and what methods do you find most effective in developing quality coaches?
The biggest difference is when we started an intern was with me from the start of the day, to the end of the day. At the time, Bill and I were running IFAST all 60+ hours per week we were open, so it was a little bit different and I could teach things “on the fly” a lot more.
As we’ve grown as a facility and my role has changed, I’m not currently on the floor as much as I used to be. Obviously I could have Jae and Zach do this, but it’s like a second-hand source; I trust those guys implicitly, but I’m somewhat anal-retentive about how I want things coached and cued.
Along those same lines, we’re a lot busier with clients so the “on the fly” stuff simply wasn’t working.
What I’ve been doing more and more of are “in-services” with my interns. You guys are the guinea pigs, as going forward it’s going to be even more streamlined on a week-to-week basis.
Each week, we try to either cover a major topic, group of exercises, or something along those lines. For instance, in the last 2 weeks, we spent a ton of time covering program design, because I know that’s something you guys need to work on.
This way, I make sure you all are up to speed on how I want things done, and you guys get to hang out with me and learn all the little quirks that make me unique!
(By the way, if you’re interested in applying to be an intern at IFAST, please check out Intern Application Information!)
Let’s switch gears just a little bit and talk about full-time coaches. At IFAST, we’re pretty lucky to have two of the best young coaches around in Zach Moore and Jae Chung. As a matter of fact, both were former IFAST interns.
If I said to you, “Hey Mike, what makes a freaking awesome strength coach?” what would you say?
I know you don’t want a repetitive answer, but the same traits that make a great intern are the ones that make a great coach.
In fact, I’ve often said the only people I will make full-time coaches at IFAST are former interns. I know they know the system, we get along on a personal level, and they’re obviously dedicated to our system and our success as a team.
As I alluded to in my guest post a few weeks ago, we as coaches are almost always more than program-writer/bad-form-correcter. Oftentimes, we need to “upgrade” client behavior and overall lifestyle to see optimal results. What behavior issues do you see most often, and what strategies do you employ to address these and still deliver signature IFAST results?
Damn, this is a loaded question!
It all starts with knowing what they want to get out of coming to your gym.
Are they rehabbing an injury?
Are they looking to build muscle or lose fat?
Do they want to be a better athlete?
I love to talk about the 23:1 rule with my clients and athletes. I have exactly 1 hour per day, maybe 3 days per week to make you better.
THEY, on the other hand, have 23 hours out of the day to either continue that momentum or stop it in its tracks!
When it comes to behavior modification and/or change, that’s a really hot topic these days. I think the best thing you can do to elicit long-term change is to tap into what motivates them.
If you know why they’re there, it makes this a lot easier.
One other tip that I think you’ll enjoy. Let’s say they come to you for “Goal X” (whatever that is). You need to be thinking, or even asking them out right:
“You want to achieve Goal X, so that….”
The “so that” is huge!
For instance, they don’t just want to lose 10 pounds – they want to lose 10 pounds so that they feel more confident, or fit into a dress, or look better in their swimsuit for their upcoming vacation.
When you move past just the goal to the emotion or feeling behind the goal, now you’re on to something.
You’ve talked a bit on your blog about getting burned out as a coach. Certainly we’re all guilty of just not feeling it some days. What strategies do you use to stay out of this mindset, as well as to get yourself out when you’re in the thick of it?
Thinking back, coaching is the #1 thing I’ve done for 12 years now. I’ve backed off a bit here recently because there are other things that have demanded my time and attention, but it’s only a matter of time before I get back into things hard and heavy again here soon.
I think the best thing you can do is to sit back and enjoy the process. There’s a grind to it, but you have to learn to enjoy the grind.
Recognize that if it were easy for clients to be in shape, or bigger, or stronger, everyone would do it.
The person standing in front of you wants to get better.
They want to achieve their goals.
And most importantly, they trust you over everyone else to help them achieve that.
When you think about it in those terms, it makes getting up in the morning to coach every day a lot easier.
Last but not least, it really helps if you try and connect on an emotional level to your clients. Again, what makes them unique? What makes them tick?
How can you best help them?
When you have that deeper level of connection, everything is a lot easier.
This question is one I’m really curious to get your thoughts on, and something you addressed previously on your blog.
As strength coaches (not PTs!), should we train people in pain? Additionally, what are the base-level pain-management skills you expect from a “good strength coach”? (In other words, should a good strength coach be able to handle certain types of back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, etc. without having to refer out?)
Feeling a little boxed in with this question Sean, but I’ll do my best!
I’m going to throw this out there, and if it pisses some people off, so be it. Keep in mind I’m only speaking for myself, not Bill (who is a physical therapist, and a damn good one).
I’m not a physical therapist, or any sort of medical professional. People who come to me with knee back, back pain, etc., know that going in. Many of them have been to numerous other practitioners with little to no success.
They no about my background, knowledge base, etc., and they choose me – so yes, I work with them.
Now if you’re an up-and-coming coach or trainer, or you don’t own your own facility, or you don’t know about the issues you’re up against, don’t bother.
Do the smart thing and refer out. In fact, 99% of the time this is the right call.
I’m only speaking to my own situation and my own thoughts/feelings there.
One final thought: I think every coach/trainer should know the difference between pain that’s induced by poor exercise technique, versus some sort of actual pathology.
Case inpoint, someone is driving their knees exceedingly far over their toes when squatting and that causes “pain.”
They may indeed have a knee issue, but you should at least be able to coach/cue them into a better squat to see what’s going on.
If their “pain” disappears, they don’t have a pathology as much as poor exercise form. Hopefully that makes sense.
I’ll end this the same way you end every interview… What is one big mistake you’ve made as a coach and what lessons were learned?
I think everyone who has a fair degree of success gets a little full of themselves from time-to-time. I know I’ve been guilty of it myself.
What I’m working on right now is what philosophers would call “Beginner’s Mind.” I’m not assuming I know anything any more.
Instead, I’m trying to dive in and learn as much as possible, without preconceived notions and biases.
This is allowing me to look at a lot of different styles and systems, take what I like from each, and then assimilate it back into what I already know works.
I really feel like I’m onto some cool things, especially with regards to my knowledge of anatomy and program design. Hopefully those will come to light in the coming weeks and months!
Mike, thanks so much for your time. Since it’s your website, I don’t think it’s necessary to tell your readers where they can learn more about you. So, as a bonus, do you care to share one big thing that’s going down in your life in the next year that you’re super-excited about?
Can I do two things, Sean? 🙂
As everyone who follows my blog knows, I’ve been a little lax in getting new stuff out there. The problem is it’s hard to run a consistent blog AND get big projects done.
The two projects I’ve been working on are Bootcamp in a Box (BCIB) and The UnBodybuilder Project.
BCIB is a product I’m co-authoring with Molly Galbraith and Jim Laird. In this product, we teach bootcamp instructors safe and effective ways to train their clients.
It comes with progressions and regressions for all the major movement patterns, ideas for safe (yet challenging!) conditioning, as well as 6 months of done-for-you bootcamp workouts.
The UnBodybuilder Project is getting close as well. This product is geared toward the end-user who is maybe a little beat up, doesn’t move well, or wants to develop an awesome foundation going forward.
Over the course of 4 months they’ll go from foundational mobility/stability work, to the point where they’re probably looking and feeling as strong and athletic as ever before.
I’m going to start my Beta test in a few weeks.
And one final thing, Sean – thanks for being awesome and interviewing me! I really appreciate it!