Remind athletes and coaches to focus on what's important and tune out all of the noise. We are constantly inundated by this and that new gadget which claims to help our vision, or reaction, or make our feet faster, or our recovery better. The problem is much of what we are being sold on is unproved, invalid or outright dubious.
"DO WORK. NO EGO" This is written on the board in the gym. A reminder that we all are there for a purpose and that purpose has nothing to do with making others feel inadequate, or comparing our progress to others. Applying this mindset to our training environment allows us to recognize strengths and weaknesses freely, as a way to improve collectively,
The third tell tale sign that a clean or snatch needs some attention is through excessive lateral displacement of the feet during the catch. Or as I like to call it, the Starfish.
Olympic lifts are great for developing lower body power. Many athletes will lose a large part of this opportunity to develop the lower body drive by never fully extending the hips and basically jumping from the ankle and then pulling with the upper body, never 'getting out of' their hips.
Athletes, are you taking responsibility for your own development, or are you relying on external factors? What tools and processes have you put in place to make sure your are maximizing you performance and recovery?
For coaches this means going beyond the textbooks. Beyond the blogs. Beyond the YouTube and Instagram videos. This is understanding the practical implications of what you've learned in theory about periodization, energy systems, force production, etc., and how to best adapt and apply it for the benefit of the athlete. Want your athletes to Olympic Lift? Go learn HOW to properly execute and coach the lifts. Want to incorporate sprinting into your programming?
The number one complaint I hear from hockey players and coaches regarding the clean is, "we/I don't do them cause they hurt your wrists." This is the by-product of a poor upper body catching mechanics, which leaves the elbows down at the sides, and places the full momentum of the bar down onto a flexed wrist.
"It'll stunt their growth," "only do bodyweight," "they will get hurt!" Ultimately whether or not to incorporate traditional 'resistance' training depends on the individuals emotional maturity, NOT biology.
My contention is this: why is it ok, even encouraged for men to pursue sport with every fiber, regardless of the toll on their body, scars, weight gain, injury; but women are only expected to do so as long as they remain "feminine"?
As a coach my job is to identify the factors that are going to have the greatest impact on each individual and then CONSTANTLY reassess and reprioritize in order to facilitate maximal training effect for each athlete!
THE ATHLETE DEFENDER! 