I’ve long stated that the largest “gap” in knowledge for most fit pros isn’t the area of program design or the “x’s” and “o’s” of how to improve scapular upward rotation.
It’s the soft skills of coaching.
I.e., what’s going on in your head.
In more sage words…
…what’s really lacking in most fit pros’ repertoires is how to leverage your own way of thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to maximize your effectiveness as a coach, your rapport & working relationships with clients, and your own resilience and mental health.
This November my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be hosting Part 2 of her Psych Skills for Fit Pros course: Inside the Coach’s Mind.
Volume One covered motivation & behavior change.
Volume Two will go deep(er) into the coach’s psychology.
This live event will be held at Ethos Fitness & Performance in Boston’s beautiful South End district and it is NOT necessary to have gone through volume 1’s material in order to follow along. While everything is “connected” when discussing psychology, this will be new, stand-alone content covered.
I’m excited to announce that I will be part of the Raise the Bar Conference. An event focused on the missing links in our industry: Communication, collaboration, connection, behavioral psychology, business & marketing skills, and much more.
As always, Erica comes in hot (but in a way that makes a lot of sense and is hard to argue with). The excuses most young female athlete make (but really, it’s mostly the parents) as to why they shouldn’t strength train are just that…
It’s the one thing I feel most everyone needs to address before they utter the words “ice baths” or “organic acai berry extract” when it comes to recovery (and overall health in general).
Improving sleep hygiene is undoubtedly the “x-factor” for most people, and this podcast sheds a ton of light on it.
Full disclosure: I personally use Athletic Greens on an almost daily basis, and have so since 2010. That being said, I DO NOT push them onto my clients or athletes.
I also eat a metric fuck ton of broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, spinach, and other “real” greens.
There’s no doubt some brands out there more nefarious with their marketing that others; some claiming improved body pH levels, detox properties, or, I don’t know, X-ray vision.
My good friend Bryan Krahn and I are going to be drumming up a little sumthin, sumthin in the coming months. It’ll be a training program for dads (and moms) that’ll take into account that:
1) Your time is limited.
2) You’re not 25 anymore.
3) You still want to be the most diesel looking parent at your kid’s daycare/school.
Before he and I dive into the nitty gritty, though, we’re interested in what YOU want to see from this sort of program. If you have a few minutes to kill can you maybe take some time to fill out THIS form?
It’ll only take the amount of time it takes to warm-up your kid’s Hot Pocket and it’ll help us tremendously.
Thanks!
Copyright: conneldesign / 123RF Stock Photo
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
Not sure what irritates me more:
1. Client not showing up at 8:30 am (when they were the only one scheduled and I came in early just for them).
95% of lifters – at some point or another – will have a cranky shoulder to work around. This article provides some valuable insights on how to re-introduce pressing when your shoulder hates you.
Today’s EPIC guest post comes courtesy of TG.com regular (and fav), Erica Suter. Working with young female athletes isn’t solely about Q-angles and the x’s and o’s of a proper depth jump landing.
It’s also about recognizing that they’re not delicate snowflakes and that they very much can train just like the boys (and oftentimes excel exponentially). Too, coaching young, impressionable female athletes is about recognizing our own biases and being more in-tune with the words & phrases we use around them.
This is a stellar piece from Erica and I encourage every coach to read it in its entirety.
It’s a 15 module video course on training the young female athlete to perform at her best, as well as be resilient to injury.
The video modules include proper warm-up, nutrition and the menstrual cycle, growth and maturation considerations, and LIVE training sessions on movement quality, plyometrics, total body strength, speed, and agility with coaching cues and break down of technique.
To get it on sale for $100 off regular price, go HERE.
If You Are a Coach to Female Athletes, You Need to be Walking the Walk Right Now
No one cares how many wins you have, trophies you’ve stacked, Twitter followers you’ve acquired, coaching licenses you’ve gotten, and acronyms you laid out like the alphabet behind your name.
What young female athletes need is coaching.
This encompasses more than the x’s and o’s, the tactics and the formations, the wins and the rankings, the certifications, the strength and conditioning programs, and the ACL reduction training.
Speaking of ACL, I don’t want to write a dissertation on it in this article.
Of course, ACL reduction is a serious issue that you need to understand and be able to execute in a practical setting.
But what you need to know is coaching the female athlete extends far beyond the ‘oh, well females just have wider hips’ comment.
Yes, anatomy and physiology play a role when customizing strength and conditioning and programming, there are multiple layers, mental and emotional, when working with girls.
With that said, I’m going to gloss over the tip of the iceberg, so here is what you need to know as far as physical training for the female athlete:
1. Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual cycle is something to be aware of in terms of oscillations in sleep quality and energy levels. An excellent tracking app to use is FitrWomanthat helps you to understand what phase of the cycle they are in, and if they need an extra push to recover harder and dial in on nutrition, as well as sprinkle in any extra supplementation.
To that end, training won’t necessarily have to change, but I recommend finding ways to optimize their physical and mental recovery during the pinnacle times of fatigue, depletion of iron, and oscillation of hormone levels.
Meditation is just one way to navigate the hormonal storm, and ensure there is physical recovery as well as mental clarity.
What is so cool about this app, is individual athletes can track their cycle and take notes on consistent symptoms they experience during each phase.
It bodes well to help girls be more aware of how their bodies are feeling, and provide guidance as far as recovery strategies, whether it’s through better sleep, or recovery methods like extra meditation or nourishing with more calories during times of fatigue and depleted focus.
The menstrual cycle is something you shouldn’t shy away from, but rather, a conversation we should be open about to better serve your female athletes.
Period. See what I did there? ;-O
2. Girls Grow Too
Studies say the growth spurt can happen as early as age 10, so female athletes can begin to learn movement patterns and progress with strength training monitored by a professional.
According to Stracciolini et al, such programs will enhance muscular fitness, improve sport performance and reduce the chance of sports-related injuries.
Ensure to expose young female athletes to a variety of movement during this time to develop basic motor skills, such as balance, coordination, and stability. Executing a program with a diverse template also inspires development of the neo-cortex, tapping into the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Since I work with mainly soccer players, the more I can get them to use their upper bodies so they aren’t over-training their lower extremities, the better.
Strength of the upper body, from the back, to the shoulders, to the torso, creates a chain reaction to how the lower body operates. If the shoulders and back are weak, the glutes are inhibited, thus making the knee joint more unstable. If the chest is tight, the hip flexors are tight, causing more anterior loading the patella tendon.
Growing pains, anyone?
Remember: During the growth spurt, female athletes need their entire muscular system to be built.
3. Growth Spurt Continued
The time when females are growing the most rapidly in terms of height can cause disturbances in coordination. The growth spurt can be a tough time for young athletes, as accelerated growth leads to disturbances in coordination and overall movement, and can impact performance negatively (Quatman-Yates, Quatman, Meszaros, Paterono, et al. 2012).
You as the coach must be patient when this happens, and be careful not to program a practice with full field squat jumps and suicides, or worse yet, endless high impact runs on the concrete stadium steps.1
Joint kinematics tend to be more precarious during the growth spurt, so when it comes to more technical movements like single leg training and plyometrics, be sure to not get wild.
Focus on technique and quality reps.
Then add speed as they get more advanced
4. Growth Spurt & Body Image
After the growth spurt (PHV), female athletes experience more weight gain and an increase in fat mass (Peak Weight Velocity). It is critical coaches understand this as it can hinder speed and other factors of performance.
A study done by Tønnessen et al. states it may be beneficial for female athletes to have a greater focus on neuromuscular training during this period. Things like movement patterns (i.e. Squat), balance, mobility and stability are nice to revisit during each session.
Increases in fat mass and reductions in relative strength often occur alongside reductions in coordination and neuromuscular control (Tønnessen 2015).
So here’s a hint: Be patient and meet them where they are, focus on the controllables, and fill them with empowering phrases that don’t allude to body image. (i.e. “you’re not fit and need to drop weight” can be turned into “let’s make you even faster and stronger!”)
Check out this article on female athlete body image HERE, and how you can encourage them to chase performance and not the number on the scale.
Girls are just as competitive as boys, so reinforcing things like change of direction ability, speed development, and acceleration empower them to be their most explosive selves on the field.
5. Girls Won’t Break
Generally speaking, female athletes have similar strength and conditioning programs to boys. Yes, you want to consider differences in physiology and look at athlete assessments before writing their programs, and tweak with accessory movements accordingly.
But I will say this: Just because they are females doesn’t mean you tip-toe around their fitness programming and treat them like fragile little snowflakes.
Female athletes will also lift weights like the boys.
They will strengthen their bodies.
They will do explosive work.
They will do push-ups.
They will do pull-ups.
6. Focus On What You Can Control
Telling young girls, “yeah, you have wider hips, so you’re more susceptible to ACL” is defeatist, and doesn’t present a solution.
Since anatomy is out of a girl’s control, it’s best to empower her and focus on what she can control to reduce chance of knee injury.
You can mention things like working on core stability to handle high forces in the game, the ability to pump the brakes for better deceleration and rapid change of direction, building powerful hamstrings and gluteals for speed production, or bolstering explosiveness through the hips with Olympic lifts.
Let’s Talk Emotions
Now that the physical training is out of the way 1,000 words later, let’s dive into the meat and potatoes of this article.
Here’s the thing: I love teaching physical training, writing strength and conditioning programs, understanding the impact of physiology on performance, and solving the ACL injury puzzle.
Truthfully, though, these all should be a bare minimum requirement for anyone working with female athletes – strength coaches and team coaches alike.
If you’re a team coach, you don’t need to have a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist slapped behind your job title…you just need a passion for executing the basics of injury reduction. Too, you need to show great care for putting your girls’ health first.
After all, being an athlete is truly a lifetime pursuit. We want these girls to put their bodies in the best position possible so they can go through their career unscathed.
Even when the final whistle blows, these girls are athletes for life who will want to be resilient for new, adventurous hobbies down the road.
You have the opportunity to inspire the power of movement and health with your words, your actions and example.
Here are some skills that are non-negotiable:
– Active listening
– Empathy
– Relationship building
– Respect
– Trust
– Encouragement
– Human and character development
Let me say this: It’s a blessing to be a coach to female athletes – to be able to inspire the next generation of girls, and turn them into women as confident as Beyonce, as fearless as Sansa Stark, and as strong as Serena Williams.
You have the opportunity to empower, Coach.
I’d be remiss not to mention what I’ve found over the past eight years of being a strength and conditioning coach to female athletes is, I play a pivotal role in their lives mentally and emotionally.
The girls who have been with me the longest, who fell in love with the process, and who still, are hungry to be better women today physically, mentally and spiritually, are the ones who I connected with beyond the pitch and weight room.
Truthfully, I don’t believe sports teach life lessons.
Coaches do.
With that said, here’s a friendly reminder:
You are in the human business.
How Well Do you Know Your Female Athletes?
Do you know how their grades are in school? Do you know what other talents they have? Do you know if they have siblings? Do you know if they had a solo at the band concert? Do you know if they are president of the student government at school? Do you know if they love baking? Do you know if they have good or bad sleep habits? Do you know what their stress level is before training begins?
This stuff matters.
Things like stress, sleep, hormonal oscillations from the menstrual cycle, relationships, family life and so forth impact how they show up for you at practice and in games.
Whether this is on the pitch, in the weight room, or outside of sports, are you amplifying their talents? Let alone, are you encouraging them to dig out the gems inside of them and believe in themselves? Are you showing them the light of lifetime health and fitness? Are you allowing them to vent about school stress so they have more focus at training?
I’m passionate about the soft skills of coaching, to say the least.
My cat, Sergio, is too.
So soften up.
It pains me to still see abusive coaching run rampant today. Worse yet, it’s terrifying to know girls are in the hands of leaders who are narcissistic and downright un-empathetic, who say “f this!” and “f that” and “you suck” and “you’re messing up!”
To add, these same people claim they love coaching girls because “girls are easier to coach!” or “girls do whatever you say!”
Let’s unpack these dangerous quotes for a second.
For one, be careful when you utter that girls are easier to coach and will listen to everything you demand of them.
As Krista Stoker from S2 Breakthrough Performance alludes to in this webinar, your words matter, given the woman you’re trying to build.
This brings me to a profound question: Do you want to build strong, empowered women?
Because if so, the last thing you want to say out loud is “girls do whatever you say!” which implies you’re creating doormats who don’t stand up for themselves, who don’t set boundaries, and who say “yes” to everything.
As these girls blossom into professional women, it’s critically important they know to stand up for themselves in the work place, set boundaries with colleagues, and stand confident in their crafts.
Your words, your actions, your habits must be in alignment with the type of women you want to build.
Even when you speak to other women, especially a female colleague or coach, are you treating them in a way that comes from love and respect?
Your young female athletes are watching.
Are you undermining her, or uplifting her as a professional?
Your young female athletes are observing.
Are you berating here, or encouraging her?
Your young female athletes are analyzing.
Taking the conversation back to the opening line, if you’re a coach to female athletes, you need to be walking the walk right now.
And this doesn’t just go for male coaches. It goes for everyone across the board.
Women must build other women up, too.
I’m a female coach and in no way am I exempt from this discussion.
I, too, have to uplift my female colleagues and share their work not just because they’re women, but because they are excellent at what they do.
I, too, have to re-evaluate the way I behave, talk and listen to young girls.
I’m not perfect, in fact far, far from it.
Being a coach to hundreds of female athletes is a job as hard as destroying the Ring of Power. It’s a burden you definitely don’t want to screw up, but there’s bound to be battles along the way.
With that said, the art of coaching female athletes is a journey that lasts a lifetime – to deeply understand what ignites them, what inspires them to fall in love with the process, and more importantly, what they need from you to become the best human they can be.
Maybe it’s an ear.
Maybe it’s encouragement.
Maybe it’s telling them you believe in them.
Maybe it’s discussing the Hayley and Justin Bieber wedding.
Admittedly, I remain critical of myself, which is why I have an insatiable desire to study human psychology, behavior change, leadership theory and motivation. (Motivational Interviewing and Inside Out Coaching are my favorite books I recommend for all coaches).
Becoming deeply self aware of my actions and words isn’t an easy pursuit, but it makes me a more authentic, inspiring leader with a growth mindset.
Expounding further, taking inventory of my actions off the pitch, and ensuring I build other women up in my respected field is a behavior that translates onto the field in a leadership role.
Who Are You When No One is Watching?
Though it can be a punch to the gut when you examine yourself and how you’ve fallen short, your young female athletes need you to grow, too.
If you aren’t a good listener and offer unwanted advice when a girl is crying, can you listen and make sure she feels heard without saying a word?
If you are treating other women in your life with disrespect and asking them for favors in return, can you treat them like professionals and promote them as talented at their crafts regardless of if they give something in return or not?
If you show other women in your life jealousy, can you show them support and come from a place of love?
If you are scared of other women becoming too powerful and successful at what they do, can you stop operating out of a place of fear, and work on pouring love into yourself and mastering your craft first?
If you aren’t empathetic and are quick to dismiss others’ feelings, can you hold space for your young female athletes to express their worries and frustrations?
If you are shouting profanity and talking down to adolescent girls at 120 decibels, can you act like a professional who can speak eloquently and calmly?
If you are only focused on the wins and rankings and the numbers, can you find a way to develop the character of your girls who will blossom to be driven, confident and empowered professionals one day?
What is your end goal as a coach to female athletes?
Last I looked, no one remembered a coach only for their rolling list of wins and championships.
They also remembered them for their impact and life lessons beyond the game.
The memories infused with laughter and joy.
The training sessions that were competitive and taught grit.
The drills that were fun and taught levity and inspired creativity.
The workouts that allowed them to battle and push each other into becoming strong women.
Female athletes need human-centered coaching.
They need you to set the example, be a leader, and have your actions speak louder than words.
As I alluded to earlier, it’s a blessing to be able to bring out the jewels of the next generation of young girls – to show them that they are multi-dimensional, amazing humans with beauty and strength.
And too, to show them that they are capable of so much magic in sports, school, and career.
I urge you, let your female athletes shine, as you cheer them on in the shadows. Sure, you won’t get the limelight, but you’ll allow them to sparkle.
So continue to learn.
Master your craft of coaching girls, both physically and mentally.
Be a constant student.
Admit your faults.
And do better.
Most critically, though, leave your ego at the door because building strong women starts with you, Coach.
About the Author
Erica Suter is a certified strength and conditioning coach in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as online for thousands of youth soccer players. She works with kids starting at the elementary level and going all the way up to the college level.
She believes in long-term athletic development and the gradual progression of physical training for safe and effective results. She helps youth master the basic skills of balance, coordination, and stability, and ensures they blossom into powerful, fast and strong athlete when they’re older. She has written two books on youth strength and conditioning, Total Youth Soccer Fitness, and Total Youth Soccer Fitness 365, a year-round program for young soccer players to develop their speed, strength and conditioning.
She also just launched a coaching education course on training the young female athlete, Total Youth Female Athlete Fitness, a video course on performance and injury reduction in a practical setting
But for all intents and purposes I’m doing my best to keep weight off my affected side and to not be too (too) stupid. I have zero pain, which is excellent, and the only thing that’s making me go mad is the splint & bandage around my leg. I want nothing more than to rip them off, but I am under strict orders not to touch them until I see my surgeon this coming Tuesday.
I’m hopeful he’ll take a peek and recommend I can start physical therapy as soon as possible. If not, I may have to do all I can to restrain myself from tossing my face into a brick wall.
Updates to follow!
2. Oh, hey, have you checked out my newCORE @ Homeplatform yet?1
It’s designed so that I can deliver workouts you can perform at home – pants optional – using minimal equipment.
You have two options:
1. Subscribe for FREE and receive one workout per week.
2. Subscribe for $29.00 and receive three workouts per week (in addition to special content).2
My hope is that it helps take the thinking out of things and keeps people more accountable to workout more consistently.
It still dumbfounds me that there are health/fitness pros out there who think young kids following a basic, structured, slowly progressed strength program is causing too much harm or stunting growth (<– debunked many times).
Yet, tackle football? WHERE DO I SIGN MY KID UP!?!
I’m actually quite the opposite from him. I have never been the super aggressive type or overly competitive with myself in the gym. The most aggressive thing I’ll do is put on Rage Against the Machine when I deadlift.
That said, I know a lot of guys who are similar to Jay, who place a lot of pressure on themselves to adopt the “training is life or death” mentality.
Currently, in most states, small(er) independently owned gyms are being lumped into the same category as places like Soul Cycle, larger box gyms, and even Casinos.
This…is….absurd.
Jason breaks down how smaller, more boutique studios can open safely and DO IT RIGHT.
I don’t know about ya’ll, but I was the Babe Ruth of wiffle ball as a kid. I was also a World Champion in Laser Tag, hide-n-seek, Burn Ball, dodgeball, and won Kumite.
Today’s youth athletes seem more like robotic one-trick ponies, and it’s unfortunate.
Before you go a head and post your 47th bodyweight exercise of the week on IG or send out another free e-book to your followers, give today’s guest post by Jonny Pietrunti and Erica Suter a read.
If you are a coach, you need to be leading right now. No one cares about how many fitness stories you are posting on Instagram. And I’m not talking about me not caring…your clients largely don’t need this either.
What people really need now is LEADERSHIP.
I’ve been telling you for years you needed to hone your leadership and you thought learning 7,428 different Dead Bug variations and counting reps was more important than learning motivation theory and actually communicating with human beings outside of sales calls.
You mad? Good. I have your attention.
Also: we have a pandemic.
For better or for worse, I’m still in the wellness industry. Though I’ve largely discontinued diet and exercise programming, I still own a massage therapy and bodywork studio, and I still do a fair amount of mindset coaching.
I’m also a Navy Chief Petty Officer, and that’s something that never leaves you. I was trained to lead through change and crisis, embrace adversity, and run toward fires when others were running away. I was trained to be responsible for my actions and those of the Sailors that were in my charge.
The thing is: even if you train for the worst case scenario, you never really know how you will react when it happens, and even if you have a plan for it, no plan ever survives first contact. That’s the reality of it.
When Coronavirus started to make the rounds – and later kick in the door to crash every party around the globe – I began to notice workouts in my social media feeds. This started off innocently at first, with many gyms and trainers powering through, as we really weren’t sure about the severity of this virus.
But this phenomena grew to the point where everywhere I turned, I was seeing this crap in my feed.
Everywhere. From, EVERYONE.
Home workout stories.
Garage workout Facebook Live.
Push your car workouts.
Push up “challenges” and “nomination” chain-letters.
And it continues unabated.
I would make a crude virus analogy, but now is not the time or place for that level of nihilistic snark.
This is all very Kubler-Ross.
Between my leadership and psych backgrounds, it seems like a preponderance of people in the fitness industry are stuck in the middle of the Bargaining Stage of grief. The reaching out, the rationalization, the “if only”.
Much of this is a manifestation of fear.
People aren’t crowding onto Instagram to pump out an array of home workouts solely because they think it will be useful.
Granted, I know plenty of trainers that have clients that legitimately need some workouts, but a lot of people are simply panicking because their way of life is completely uprooted. It’s a coping mechanism.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something to be AWARE of.
People are terrified and are operating out of fear. You and I are susceptible to this, too. I’m not knocking this or even saying that these feelings of fear are things you should repress or deny. Those of you that are familiar with me or are in my Facebook group know that I hate “toxic positivity”.
The world is not all sunshine, rainbows or unicorns, and if there is at all a reason that your mindset sucks, it’s because gurus are trying to tell you to ignore all of the bad things that are happening…and you are listening.
The majority of people don’t need home workouts right now.
Think about this: there are millions of resources for workouts, for both in gym and at-home settings. There are millions of simple books that anyone could buy if they really wanted to get a decent calisthenics workout.
I was in the military for over a decade, what do you think we did on the grinder? What do you think we reverted to while deployed to austere locations?
I’m not saying this to gloat, but to prove a simple point: people aren’t coming to you as a coach for simple information like bodyweight workouts. Rather, they are coming to you for leadership and the transformation that you provide.
They are coming to you for COACHING, Coach.
Your primary job is to lead. If you are in a panic mode and are unable to step back and provide sound leadership and guidance to your clients, whether through text, skype, zoom, or email, then you have essentially had a major gap in your skillset revealed to you.
I’m not immune to this, either.
This was a time of reckoning for me. My massage studio for athletes is closed until god-knows-when, and when I took stock of my mindset coaching options, I realized that I have middle and high-ticket coaching options for people, but I DON’T have entry-level offerings for mindset and goal setting.
Not even a lousy eBook!
If you are in the business of coaching, training, programming…you are also in the business of leading. Period.
You cannot have one without the other.
If you are training without leadership, you are an overpaid, glorified rep counter.
If you are coaching without leadership, well, that’s actually not possible while simultaneously being effective.
Social media, specifically in the fitness and wellness industries, breeds the exact behavior that ISN’T needed right now.
FitPros, by and large, exhibit a ridiculous amount of attention seeking behavior. This is great for marketing – I mean, you need to have a certain amount of flash and “it” factor in order to stand out from the sea of carbon copies and make a living.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the process of content creation as a marketing tool.
But…
The problem is that this isn’t the time for “Look at Me! Look at Me! Look at Me!”
Now isn’t the time to bask in the limelight of being an “influencer.”
People aren’t going to feel safe and at ease by watching you do a workout.
People don’t need to be giving you attention.
You Need to be Giving THEM Attention
You need to be LISTENING. What are your clients saying? What do they really need? Are you hearing this? It is very easy for us to get caught up in the cacophonies in our own minds during times like these and completely disregard what others are saying.
Pay attention.
Listen.
You need to be EMPATHIZING.
Some people are getting hit with this harder than others. Some have lost jobs. Others have lost loved ones. Do you understand this? Or are you just waiting for the smoke to clear so you can get them back on their normal billing cycle?
You need to be setting an EXAMPLE.
Show people that you are concerned, and that you are taking it seriously. For my part, I have been very candid about the fact that I have certain anxiety about this, and I have been using this as a way to educate followers on the importance of mindset training so that fear does not paralyze you, but rather drives you to positive action.
You need to be LEADING.
Pure and simple.
Some people don’t realize that when they sign on to be a trainer, they are also signing on to be a leader. Hell, leadership was something I didn’t want initially, it just came with the territory of being in the military. But I rose to the occasion. It wasn’t about me. It was about people that depended on me.
It’s time for all of us to rise right now. We don’t have a choice. It’s game time and the stakes are simply too high.
Let’s Get This ‘Free’ Thing Out Of The Way
Hi all, Erica here now.
^^ Erica ^^
Thank you, Jonny for opening this piece.
Of course, there were so many mic drops above, that he could’ve just exited stage right, and I could’ve gone home with my take-out pizza and called it a day.
But yo.
He fired me up and I’m ready to light this fire further.
In fact, let it burn.
So.
First and foremost…
Just like New York, it’s bad here in Baltimore, MD.
People are breaking into people’s cars. Ambulance sirens are going off every minute. Helicopters are hovering over my house. Crime rates are rising. Crab cakes are running low.
It’s scary times, no doubt.
The last thing I want to discuss are personal finance and spending more money in the midst of a global crisis.
Oh! And how “free services” are real freaking stupid.
However, I feel it’s necessary to unpack what people need during this time.
To kick things off, in the past week, I’ve seen more fitness influencers offer free workouts and programs than ever before. People who have been quiet in the online space are now suspiciously bubbling to the surface, and screaming, ‘get my FREE bodyweight workout at-home eBook!’
Look. I get it. People are scared out of their minds, offering free stuff with the hopes of retaining (or getting new clients) when this all blows over.
Or, on the other end of the spectrum, they’re financially privileged and are already in a good position to blast out free stuff. It doesn’t harm them to send out free coaching to the masses, as they sit comfortably in their abode, with a glass of wine, their spouse, a wearable blanket, Netflix, and a fully stocked refrigerator.
It is what it is.
Whatever the reason – fear or privilege – the fitness industry continues to be infused with people who don’t view themselves as valuable professionals with something high level to offer.
If you’re scared and offering free services, you’re devaluing yourself.
If you’re privileged and offering free services, you’re also devaluing yourself.
OH, And PRIVILEGED WITH NO CONCERN TO PAY BILLS AND FEED YOUR KIDS.
It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Let’s go over this first: I don’t want to be inconsiderate of the handful of people this might be helping now. Your free stuff is benefiting some…maybe.
Chances are, though, if these people are struggling to make ends meet, pay rent, and pay credit card bills, as they homeschool their kids, and argue with their spouse about taking the trash out, the last thing they want to do is your 100 burpee, 100 air squat, 100 push-up free workout.
Instead of taking into account people’s emotional needs, they’re blasting out general, cookie cutter templates.
Moving on…
We’ve All Been Giving Free Stuff for Years, Anyway
This isn’t a novel concept.
At least, I’d hope.
Whether this has been through blogs, podcasts, email newsletters, Tweets or Instagram posts, or continuing education “office hours” we’ve been overdelivering the free content.
And then guess what? If your audience enjoys it, respects you, and wants more access to you as a professional, you tell them about your coaching services.
Not just any coaching, but quality, intensive, detailed coaching.
It’s hard to give this out for free, especially if people want to make it tremendously transformational and life changing.
With that said, I urge fitness professionals to sell away during this time.
For one, selling doesn’t have to be this greasy thing.
Two, selling during times of crisis isn’t out of integrity.
Three, there will always be people appreciative of your expertise and willing to invest in you and themselves.
For the past eight years, I’ve given out so much free content with a smile on my face.
And I’m going to say this right off the bat: I’m incredibly happy that this free content has been life changing for some, especially my most motivating and empowering articles HEREHERE and HERE. And not to mention, creating this content has truly been passion, in-my-flow work that doesn’t take the brain power it takes to solve backwards calculus equations.
To that end, customized programming to the athlete takes an immense amount of brain power. And for me, I’m so incredibly picky with how I coach and write workouts, and want to bring the juice, if not, overdeliver it. It takes energy, man. And admittedly, I lose sleep over it at night.
Too, the people who have seen the most sustainable change, the consistent habits, the daily routines, and the best results, have been my paying coaching clients. For years.
Let me backtrack before the “money is the root of all evil” crowd comes at me.
Last week, I offered a free email campaign to my email list. I sent out two at-home exercises a day from the kindness of my heart. I ran this campaign for 10 days, and initially, I was only going to do it for 5 days.
Not only did it take me 30 minutes to draft these emails in the midst of my most chaotic work schedule of 12+ hour days, it left me with a jarring outcome.
The open rate of my free workouts was immense. A boasting 600 opens.
On the other hand, the click rate on my exercises was disappointing. A meager 15 clicks.
OUT OF 600 OPENS.
That’s Pathetic, to Say the Least
Especially for a woman who truly wanted to provide and service people with some free stuff during a crisis.
The click rate on the free exercises started strong (I guess) with an average of 50 clicks, then 30, then 25, then 20, then 15…
Now this isn’t to discount the folks who actually did my workouts. Shout out to you! You rock. I appreciate you and I’m so proud of you for doing them.
But this begs the question to everyone else, what do the majority of you need during this time to stick to something meaningful? It sure isn’t a library of free workouts.
No.
Right now, humans need leadership and accountability – two things that empower you to stick with something for the long haul, and be inspired to take action on consistently. As Jonny mentioned, you need to feel safe and connected to another human in times of isolation.
And it shows in my private coaching groups. With my in-person and remote athletes, they are committing to a program as a community, with weekly check-ins, training sessions, added resources, personalized teaching videos, mental journaling habits, and accountability from group exercise video uploads.
People thrive on engagement within a community. The lazy, once-a-month check-in, or quick email blast, or free circuit on Facebook LIVE are not going to suffice.
People are in turmoil more than ever before, so high level coaching – from accountability, to motivation, to community, to meticulous programming, to technique teaching, to direction, to done-for-you-outsourced-work, to connection, are all needed.
Good old-fashioned leadership.
Transformational leadership to be exact.
I’m sure some of you are exclaiming now, ‘well no one needs more people selling right now!’
Listen, Bunky, selling is a service.
It’s a service to tell people what gems you will bring into their lives.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to help them maintain a routine.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to track and measure progress.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to weave them into an empowering community.
It’s a service to tell people how amazing you are to hang out with.
Selling. Is. A. Service.
Also, here’s your stimulus package for your crashing economy: PAY YOUR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
And surprise! Training is a service. Coaching is a service. Mentorship is a service. Programming is a service.
Pay.
These.
Professionals.
To take the conversation away from the fitness industry, would you not pay your hair stylist now?
Your accountant?
Your maid?
Your babysitter?
Your gas station?
Your Uber eats delivery man?
I digress…
Why do trainers work for free? It’s unprofessional.
And why do people expect we work for free? It’s disrespectful.
And why does the fitness industry laud that we work for free? It’s degrading.
Now more than ever, I’ve had to adapt so hard to be able to deliver for my athletes. Even in the online space, prices stayed the same, too.
Why would I drop them? Why would I offer for free?
It’s not like I became a bad coach overnight as soon as the apocalypse happened.
It’s not like I lost my Master’s Degree as soon as I went into quarantine.
It’s not like my strength coach certification disappeared as the toilet paper supply ran out.
I’m still the same coach, offering the same service, if not more quality than ever before. Virtual coaching has its way of pushing my creativity, channelling my infectious aurora through, as well as forcing me to sharper and more articulate with verbal cues.
Mind you, it’s a tremendous amount of work to deliver the passion through a glowing screen and ensure your clients feel your energy x one billion.
So it’s business as usual.
And then some…
I’m adding more value, more service, more energy than in person training – from extra Zoom calls, to articles, to private YouTube videos for my paying clients, to guest trainers, to customized training phone apps based on equipment access at home, to technique coaching Google Drive folders, to community with group messages, to mental coaching with accomplishment journals.
Truthfully, I’m happy to do so.
Yes, I go hard as an in-person coach, but I’m going even harder as a virtual coach, doing more than what is expected of me…multiplied times 100. Again, people need connection now, and better yet, personalized coaching videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhlLfbhS6Xo
So I’m pointing at you, trainers, who are offering a free service. I ponder if you are working this much overtime?
I wonder if you are paying for advanced systems?
I wonder if you are writing painstaking, personalized programs?
I wonder if you are working 12+ hour days to go above and beyond for your clients?
I wonder…
Coming back to Jonny’s point, ‘if you are coaching without leadership, well, that’s actually not possible while simultaneously being effective.’
Be a leader.
People need you during this time, Coach.
Sure, some people you train may go through the motions and get by with free workouts thrown together on the web. And some people you train may be going through lay-offs and income cuts. Fine. This article isn’t for them.
This is for people who need connection, accountability, and leadership, and who can afford it, which is most of your clients right now.
In times of chaos, it’s a disservice to yourself and others if you play small and scared.
Play big.
Value yourself.
Rise above the noise.
But more critically, be a leader.
About the Authors
Jonny Pietrunti is a former Navy Chief Petty Officer and the owner of Brooklyn Body Mechanic in Brooklyn, New York. He specializes in massage and bodywork for athletes as well as mindset coaching. He holds a BA in Applied Sport Psychology, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and has numerous other letters after his name that no one cares about. In his spare time you can catch him rescuing pitbulls and playing video games.
Erica Suter is a certified strength and conditioning coach in Baltimore, Maryland as well as online for thousands of youth soccer players. She works with kids starting at the elementary level and going all the way up to the college level. She believes in long-term athletic development and the gradual progression of physical training for safe and effective results. She helps youth master the basics of balance, coordination, and stability, then ensures they blossom into powerful, fast and strong athletes when they’re older.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
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Assessment. Yes, note posture, but don’t put all your eggs into that basket.
Remember: posture is task AND load dependent. If someone can get out of a “bad” posture when you ask them to, it’s likely not a big deal.
Coach them up! But try to avoid corrective exercise purgatory.
Luke and I did this workshop last summer in London and figured it’s only fair to bring it State side.
Combined we have 30+ years of coaching experience (I.e., one Mike Boyle or Dan John) and this workshop will be two days where we uncover every nook and cranny as it relates to how we assess our clients/athletes and how we best prepare them for the rigors of every day life/sport.
This will be a unique opportunity for people to learn from myself, but especially Luke, who is one of the best and brightest coaches I know.
For more information and to register you can go HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
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Bio hacks are garbage.
No one ever got strong/shredded/whatever jumping into a Cryo tank for 37 seconds 2-3x per week or eating acai berries that have been meticulously washed with unicorn tears.
No.
It happened b/c they trained CONSISTENTLY, hard, for YEARS.
All our cues we use ad nauseam to help prevent our client’s knees from buckling when performing squats. There’s actually a simpler way. It takes a degree of up-front coaching, but it’s time well spent.
I’d like to sit here and say I have something cool planned today – like watching a Jason Bourne marathon, or, I don’t know, going to Sears – but, honestly, it’s just a normal Friday for me today.
Writing programs, writing this blog, training, and then maybe a celebratory pizza…;o)
Tomorrow, however, is the real show. My wife and I have a date at Del Frisco’s and then we’re going to go see Widows.
Holla.
Nonetheless, lets get to this week’s stuff to read (and don’t be afraid to send me a Happy B-day note).
Dean Somerset and I have placed our flagship resource – Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint 1.0 – on sale all this week at 60% off the regular price.
As if learning anything and everything about shoulders and hips wasn’t enough, I’m going to donate $5 of every sale (from my links) to a local animal shelter here in Boston called Kitty Connection.
This was the shelter my wife and I adopted out cat, Dagny, from when we first moved in together and I like to donate to their cause each year.
The sale only last though this Sunday (12/2), so act quickly.
If I had a nickel for every time a woman said she gets all “big-n-bulky” from strength training and then she was able to produce picture evidence of said “big-n-bulkiness” I’d have zero nickels.
Regardless of the choices we face or the events that happen throughout the day, we have two lenses we can choose to view them from. In one hand is the lens that distorts events as being “bad luck” or “shit” or “unfortunate.” In the other hand is the lens that homes in on what has happened, what is — free from distortion or distraction — and gives us the power to glimpse and choose to see “beauty” or “good” or, at the very least, reality. Without any messy extrapolation.
I’ve got a guest post from Baltimore based strength & conditioning coach, Erica Suter today. She’s someone I respect a lot not only for her writing prowess (she gives me a run for my money with Lord of the Rings references), but also for her steadfastness in sticking to her guns.
She could easily train professional athletes given her own athletic background, but more to the point because she’s a gifted coach.
However, her preference is to work with youth athletes
And she crushes.
I am always impressed with Erica’s content and commitment to serving our younger generation of athletes. She’s recently released her first product – Total Youth Soccer Fitness – and it’s fantastic.
It’s really a manual for all young athletes and not just soccer, and I think it does a superb job at bringing the pendulum back to the middle. It provides a detailed strength & conditioning component, of course, but emphasizes something sorely lacking in today’s culture…
….fun!
It’s on sale for $67 for the next three days and then jumps to it’s full price of $97. Coaches, parents, Nazguls, act quickly. You won’t be disappointed. Get it HERE.
Besides J.R.R. Tolkien book themes, snowboarding trips, and triple shots of espresso, nothing lights me up more than youth fitness.
After seven years of coaching kids, I guess I have a lot to say on the topic. As a self-proclaimed introvert, my extrovert side certainly shines through any time strength and conditioning for youth athletes comes up. Here’s a common conversation I’ve had countless times:
Parent: “Can you do conditioning for my 10-year-old?” Me: “Like take them to the playground?” Parent: “No, like suicides, laps, timed miles.” Me: “Find another coach.”
Okay, okay, maybe it’s not this dramatic, but you get my point.
Look. I love working with kids. There’s something magical about teaching a beginner the ropes of training and seeing them all the way through their athletic development to college and beyond.
But what I love more is teaching everyone involved in youth fitness that there are safe, fun, and effective ways to get kids better at their sport.
Still, some of these kids are in the wrong training hands. With overuse injuries, sports drop-out rates, lack of passion for sport, and sedentary lifestyles on the rise, I fear the future of the youth athlete.
More often than not, kids are trained wrong.
Whether a coach is misinformed, parents are Googling Messi workouts for their 10-year-old too much, or a new trainer wants to grow his social media following, kids are doing some ridiculous things (most that are unsafe) in the gym and on the field.
With that said, besides sitting at the DMV, there’s nothing worse than perusing Instagram and seeing these things:
– an 8-year-old sprinting up a hill carrying a medicine ball.
– a 10-year-old attached to a sled while dribbling through cones.
– a team of 8-year-olds running sprints around the field as punishment.
– a high school kid doing CrossFit box jumps without mastering jumping and landing mechanics.
Of course, I could make a laundry list here, but instead of complaining, I want to shed light on some of the biggest problems in youth fitness as well as provide actionable solutions.
Let’s do this:
1. People Aren’t Keeping Youth Fitness Simple.
When it comes to training kids, I like to be guided by this mantra: keep it simple, stupid.
A training session with kids should focus on 1-2 skills or performance components you want them to improve, then progress from there. There’s no need to be all over the place and complicate things. If you’re a coach who is trying to teach speed and jumps right into the speed resistance bands, harnesses, sleds, and unicorns to look flashy, who the hell are you?
Worse yet, the kid’s reps are terrible, form is weak, and coordination is non-existent.
So.
I have an idea: tell kids to skip or march and see the whacky coordination show. If they can’t do these simple tasks, what makes you think their linear and multi-directional mechanics will be clean?
Besides asking yourself what skill you want to teach that day, I’d also argue you should ask yourself: “am I developing athletes or social media stars?” before you jump to posting flashy videos on your Instagram.
*drops mic*
2. Youth Athletes Don’t Learn the Basic Motor Skills Enough.
Speaking of keeping it simple, always start with the basics.
Here are some staples to my youth fitness programs:
What’s funny is, these basics set youth athletes up for the “cool” things they get to do later on in their development, like power cleans, deadlifts, pull-ups, lunge variations, and more. Behind every healthy, athletic youth athlete is someone who masters the basics.
Relentlessly.
Vertical Jump Tutorial
Because this much I know: motor skill learning is REAL. Like anything else in life, such as learning math, an instrument, or a soccer skill, this stuff takes a long time frame to master. Like as long as it took Frodo to trek across Middle Earth time frame.
Reflexive Strength
Being able to be coordinated (contralateral) is critical for not only developing optimal speed mechanics, but also for blending the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Kids who can connect across their bodies through movements like Bird Dogs, Crawls, and Marches can tap into their logical and creative sides. A great book to check out on the benefits of coordination for brain development in youth is Smart Moves.
Here is a fun drill that touches on coordination, balance, and core stability to try:
3. Youth Athletes Aren’t Strength Training Enough.
Let’s get this out of the way: youth strength training does not mean throwing a kid under a barbell right off the bat.
Here are several things that could mean “strength training” for kids:
Now that you see you don’t have to sign your kid up for CrossFit to become the next Lebron, how should we gingerly go about strength training?
Taking the conversation back to the basics, always start with bodyweight first to ensure the kid can move well and execute good form.
Split Squat
Then, once bodyweight looks as pretty as a Starbuck’s peppermint mocha, you can progress to more crazy shenanigans like this:
Bulgarian Split Squat
Here’s a rough template I like to use as far as when to strength train:
– Girls 11-years-old and up
– Boys 12-years-old and up
– However, this may vary based on physical maturity and mental readiness.
How do we know a kid is mentally ready to enter a gym setting with clanking barbells?
– Ask them why they want to go in the gym.
– Notice their body language (proud, head up upon leaving gym)
– If they can’t stop talking about how awesome Coach Erica’s Pull-Up competitions were, they’re a green light. ;-O
4. Youth Athletes Aren’t Having Fun.
While structured training and coaching should done in a controlled environment, sometimes we need to set the seriousness aside and have some fun.
After all, don’t we want kids to fall in love with fitness?
Not just to get better for their sport, but to be inspired to move for a lifetime. In the midst of today’s Fortnite culture, it’s pretty freaking scary how little kids move nowadays.
Think about it: most sports teams practice a few times a week, amounting to a total of 2-4 hours a week of activity. This is meager compared to what we did back in my day. By “my day” I mean the 90s.
Shout out to those of you who played Dodgeball, Capture the Flag, Four Square, and Tether Ball.
Alas, I digress.
We don’t see this anymore. So to inspire kids to move, let’s lean into our creativity as coaches and make fitness fun. Here are several examples of games I’ve come up with over the years:
Example #1
Example #2
Example #3
Of course, these are just glossing over the tip of the iceberg. The good news for coaches is that yes, keep things simple, but sprinkle in creativity as you go to keep kids passionate and engaged.
Teaching must be done to some degree so kids learn, but we have to be cognizant of peppering in the fun.
To that end, let kids be kids.
Total Youth Soccer Fitness
If you’re a coach of young athletes this is for you.
If you’re a parent of young athletes this is for you.
Kids aren’t professional athletes and they should NOT be treated as such. Erica has provided a stellar resource that will help guide you step by step on how to build a well-rounded athlete, but remain cognizant that kids are kids.
Erica Suter is a certified strength and conditioning coach in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as online for thousands of youth soccer players. She works with kids starting at the elementary level and going all the way up to the college level.
