For Anyone, Not for Everyone
By Gus
Yesterday I was talking with a new acquaintance and she was surprised to hear that I wasn’t an athlete growing up. It got us thinking about how different people need to hear different messages to achieve a healthy training habit.
When I was young, I felt like I got little instruction past what I’d call “cheerleading” and “rough” coaching. A mix of “c’mon you can do it” and “try harder, you can do better than that.” If more was given, it didn’t get through to me. The result was that by junior high I didn’t have respect for coaches. As best I could tell, they were babysitters for kids that were already athletes. When in high school physical education I enjoyed my experience in the weight room, I was told that after our week in there was done in class it was off limits unless I wanted to join the football team.
Growing up and now seeing the coaching side, I have sympathy for their attitude and actions. Public education is hardly the optimal environment for training, for one. And the emotional-based coaching they relied on is actually very effective for a lot of people – especially those already with an athletic base – and if they can get some kids a college scholarship or a sense of purpose then they serve as good mentors. I just found my mentors in other paths is all.
It did unfortunately leave me struggling with fitness until I was into my 30’s, but that’s fully my responsibility for not continuing to experiment and research.
My new acquaintance used to play field hockey and tennis and admitted she actually still prefers that “rough” approach to coaching mid-workout and she goes to group classes to get it. But in talking with me she realized that such a small thing by itself could be what keeps some of her friends from being willing to go to her gym.
The style at Gus’s Barbell Club is much more about instruction, problem-solving, and calm confidence. We pull out the big emotional tools after a lifter is established in their habits and need to learn some aggression going for heavy weights. But an athlete looking for a coach that yells might mistake that calmness for lack of intensity.
So both styles can work for anyone. The coaches still do their best to help the person in front of them. But no coach is the right fit for everyone, myself included.
If you’d like to talk more about what coaching is like at Gus’s Barbell Club, I invite you to visit for a free “no sweat” intro.
