What are you doing to get the best possible results from your athletes?

These videos are getting more and more fun to put together. Sorry if you get kind of lost during the video, but this is how my brain works. I jump from here to there quite a bit, but in the end it all kind of comes together. The magic is in the video so grab yourself a Yuengling, kick back, enjoy the video, and get ready to be fired up for this next series of videos from these amazing coaches. On deck: Nia Shanks, Belton Lubas, Joe Carabase, Chris Reed and Mike Rojas.

The topic of the day is "What characteristics separate those who talk about making change in their lives and those who are taking action and getting shit done?"

Nia Shanks put it nicely when she talks about excuse makers & excuse breakers. Keeping things simple and not being overwhelmed complex strategies is key when beginning a journey of self improvement. Use basic drills that have little or no learning curve to eliminate frustration and keep things more enjoyable. She says it is crucial to set yourself up for success with proper planning.

Focusing on the positive & eliminate the negative, says Joe Carabase, can help you gain a perspective that can help keep you in the game. Don't overwhelm yourself with details, whether it's diet or exercise, just get started and you'll see how positive behavior breeds more positive behavior. Exercise is a gateway to more exercise, he says.

Belton Lubas realizes that for people to make serious changes in their life, they need to have a strong reason WHY they want to achieve or change a certain thing. Their goals need to be specific, and under no circumstances allow yourself to fail. You accomplish this by burning the bridges behind you so you have no choice but to move forward, there is no going back. Failure is not an option. Have a vision, have a goal and attack it. His biggest change occurred when his back was against the wall and he was all out of options, he had nothing to lose and something to prove.

We all WANT to drive a BMW, says Chris Reed, but an expensive car is not what we NEED to get us from point A to point B. Sack up and take action, don't fear consequences, and learn that failure is your greatest teacher, so the sooner you embrace it, the more you will learn and grow. We are all going to have tough times, but how you respond in those difficult times is going to measure your character, are you going to fight or will you flee?

The perfect time is never going to come, you must take action now and you will learn more as you go, says Mike Rojas. Find out whats holding you back, make that self discovery, take personal responsibility for your actions and embrace the consequences that you made for yourself.

Everyone should have a personal constitution, and every action you take should coincide with the goals that you set forth for yourself. Everything you do, ask yourself if it is helping you or hurting you. Nobody is going to wipe your ass for you when you shit the bed. Mistakes will happen, clean yourself up and get moving again. Check out the following video and share your thoughts below.

Grab your self a cold beer or two and enjoy this power packed chat with coaches from around the world, from different generations, spilling their guts on where they came from and how they evolved into the coaches and athletes they are today. As always, drop a comment on how and why your training has changed courses over the years and let us know who and what encouraged your new direction. 

Coach Talk - Improving Athletic Development
Coach Talk - What are we missing?

This video interview is a follow up from the "Improving Athletic Development" video we did recently. If you missed it, you can see it HERE. In this segment, we discuss what many athletes are missing in their training programs. See if you are guilty and how you can fix it. 

Every coach's contact information and website can be found HERE. If you feel interested in one or more coaches POV, contact them and find out how to get involved and support their cause. I'll continue bringing you more interviews and videos, please post any comments or concerns you would like addressed or coaches you would like interviewed. 

I recently had the amazing opportunity to have conversations with 10 different strength coaches from all over the world. I recorded the conversations on Skype, and blended the first topic in to this first installment below. There will be  two more installments with this particular group of coaches with two different topics. Stay tuned for that in the near future. I apologize for any technical difficulties with the video, some brief snippets are not perfect, but hang tight and it gets better. Post any questions or comments and let me know what you like, dislike, or possibly what topics or coaches you would like to hear from in the future. Hope you enjoy the video. 

Before we start the video, here are some comment from the coaches that sparked the conversations in the first place. 

Relative Body Strength & Strong Skills in basic gymnastic drills and movements such as pull ups, rope climbs, muscle ups, cart wheels, round offs, tumbling, back extensions (back roll + handstand) and explosive jumping ability.

Overall work capacity - the ability to maintain high levels of strength, speed & explosive power

Mental Toughness - the ability to remain committed and focused when things are tough AND when the chips are down.....

Overall, a blend of athleticism means a balance of strength, explosive power, movement ability (gymnastics) and mental toughness. 

Zach Even-Esh - Underground Strength Coach
Underground Strength System Deluxe

Fundamentally, we must be able to breathe properly as a precursor for all movement. Unfortunately, immobility and poor posture, along with inefficient clavicular breathing, sets up the less than optimal scenario for stability through a desired movement pattern. If we can improve our posture, mobilize our hips and upper back, and re-establish deep-belly breathing - we will develop the foundation needed to create strength, power and optimal movement for any athlete.

James Smith - Diesel Strength & Conditioning
Accelerated Muscular Development

Mindset - Intensity is a byproduct of a strong mind. Perseverance - It takes more than a handful of workouts to get real word results. FAT? - Healthy Fats = Healthy Fuel = Improved Performance! 

Coach Hembree - Gladiator Garage LLC

Stay healthy and injury free with smart training and recovery methods.

Obvious - For me the first and foremost thing is safety. Safety is number one, and it doesn't take too many youtube clips to realise a lot of coaches don't agree with me on this one. The way I see it, what's the bloody point if a client can deadlift 200kgs today, but has a herniated disc 6 months from now because he wasn't taught properly. So what that translates into is focusing on basic body mechanics first. Teaching them how to move and actually use their body correctly. i.e. tight abs, sqeeze glutes, flat back, thorasitc spine extesion. This foundation is imperative.

Non obvious (for some) - The most boring principle of any endeavour to improve; Patience! Yes some people that come into Outlaw Strength Gym are what you would call gifted athletes, and will progress rapidly. But the reality is, most are not gifted and need to learn patience if they are to succeed. Personally I fall into this "non-gifted" category, and have had to fight hard for anything I have. I know first hand about being patient and not quiting while striving towards my performance goals. 

John Wayne Legg - Strength Outlaw

The most important factor to training for improved performance is setting the stage for the organism/athlete to succeed. If they're not mobile enough then they're going to be held back. If they're not strong enough, then they're going to be held back. If they're injured, they won't train optimally. If they don't understand what and why they're doing it, then they aren't going to train optimally. Obviously a lot of these things can be worked on as part of the process, but if there are glaring holes in the foundation then the entire plan will be hindered.

The next important factor, which somewhat aligns with the above point is to constantly be making weak points (which will vary widely depending on the specific athlete and the demands of their sport) into strong points while forging ahead with basic strength. In 95% of athletes, continuing to improve base strength will improve performance. To take them to the next level, both in strength and performance, will be "playing weak point leapfrog".

Isaac Wilkins - Beyond the Barbell

The #1 thing a beginner or younger athlete needs to be able to do first and foremost, is learn to move, control, and be aware of what his/her body is doing at all times.

This is accomplished by performing movements and exercises such as animal walks, tumbling exercises (i.e. shoulder rolls, cartwheels, handstand holds, etc), and basic bodyweight exercises that should be performed exceptionally well.

Only after they are aware of how their body moves and are able to control those movements with some sort of strength and consistency, do we allow them to progress to loaded movements using kettlebells, dumbbells, and sandbags.

The last thing an athlete should touch is a barbell, and for the most part, by if they have been trained correctly, by the time they need to touch a barbell to produce results, they are already a pretty big badass. Just because an athlete is strong in the weight room, does not mean that they are good on the field or have any clue what their body is or needs to be doing at any time during their training or sport. This is why all of our athletes (from the college level down), begin by at least demonstrating their proficiency in animal walks, tumbling and bodyweight movements, before we allow them to train in a loaded state.

We always include these movements in every warm-up no matter an athlete’s age, and believe that it is the quickest way to make any athlete better.

As an example, our warm-up this month includes bear crawls, crab walks, shoulder rolls, handstand holds, and cartwheels.

David Claiborne - Genesis Strength & Conditioning

If I could build a Universal SWOLEdier, I'd start from the ground up. We apply force into the ground through our feet. So I'd make sure I had an athlete with as relatively strong of feet as any other part of the body. Barefoot training as much as possible. Big time!!! From there we'd focus on the powerhouse that allows you to apply maximal force and power output. Your hips and thighs! I don't want any athlete that resembles a lightbulb! All upper body and no lower body will score you a spot on the Jersey Shore, but it will GUARANTEE you will be on your ass too! Whether riding the pine or getting planted by someone who took the time to focus on deadlifts, squats, and plyometrics, if you don't have the size, strength, and power output that these exercises deliver, you're S.O.L.!!! Same thing applies to the upper body...Don't just focus on building size with bodybuilding. Work on max strength and increased power output in your core lifts as well. If you combine for size, strength, and speed in both the upper and lower body, we're getting somewhere!!! But you still need these last 3 items in order for you to learn how to REALLY donkey stomp your competition...one would be grip strength...yea, grip strength! Whether you're latching down on an opponent or shaking someones hand, make sure you make them remember who you are by doing a lot of grip work. Two would be just to increase your stamina...It's not enough to be strong and explosive in the first half of your competition. You have to be just as fresh at the end as you were in the beginning! You gotta be a finisher!!! Lastly, you gotta make sure you are mentally tough. I'd rather have a 7 that gives me his all than a 10 that half asses and quits when things get tough...Put all of these variables together and you have yourself a merchant of death!!! Someone that will beat the competition into submission then steal his girlfriend!!! A WINNER!!!

Chandler Marchman - Swole Patrol

Mental toughness Is an important factor and quality with performance training. There's gonna be time you want to quit and days you don't want to do it. But if you are mental tough and have the intestinal fortitude you show up and ght it done every damn day.

Jeremy Werner - Fit Body Bootcamp

What the 5 reasons FAIL to achieve success in the gym?
-LACK of personal knowledge to design an effective program
-They FAIL to be held accountable for skipping workouts 
-They FAIL to push through their comfort zone
-Their nutrition SUCKS BIG TIME!
-EXCUSES!

James Blackburn - Blackburn Training

Train Optimally Not Maximally- ( You need to put in the work, but many advanced athletes run themselves into the ground. They either do too much too soon, workout too frequently, have too much volume or they train so intense that form goes to shit. Use just as much intensity that is need to achieve the desired training result in order to maximize recovery. Always quality over quantity. Work hard and smart to get the best results) 

If you run with the lame you will develop a limp- (Quote from Louie Simmons. You need to surround yourself with people who are bigger, stronger and smarter than you. Your crew will elevated you to a whole new level. They will call you out when you aren't working hard enough, tell you if you are using shit form, and keep you on track. On the flip side if you are the strongest and smartest in the group you won't be pushed to the next level.Another similar quote I heard which is more applicable to business is if you are the smartest person in the room you are in the wrong room.) 

John Gaglione - Gaglione Strength

Most important factor in improving performance? A willingness to suffer. Some may confuse this quality with mindset but I believe that to those of us engaged in combative or contact sport would go one step further and, on perhaps a more maniacal level, actually say that a purposefully measured amount of suffering becomes a requisite to a GREAT workout.

Now, don't mistake SUFFERING for PAIN - there is a difference. The difference, in my opinion, is in the intelligence of programming. Pain is the body's way of warning of the possibility of impending injury and is a warning to be heeded. 

Sufferable workouts are the kind of workouts that challenge you to become better in mind, body and spirit once you emerge out the other side.

Chris Reed - Empire Fitness

1 - Concentrating too much on making the exercises too "fancy" or too "functional" and forgetting about the performance impact of basic core movements. 

2 - Knowing the definition of YOUR (or your client's) performance, and programming accordingly. Programming for a swimmer is different than performance for a powerlifter.

3 - (depending on sport) Including some sort of hypertrophy training. Coaches tend to get so wrapped up in strength by itself, that they forget about training for mass, which in most cases CAN increase strength/performance as well.

Chris Lopez - Jersey Strength Pit

I hope you enjoyed the article and the video. If you are interested in gaining more specific knowledge on strength and athletic development, check out our Membership Area - The Consummate Athlete, or check out our Awesome Strength & Conditioning Products available at our store. 

Be sure to leave a comment for the coaches for our follow up interviews. Next up, 

"What are we missing?"