This is certainly great advice from Coach Boyle. I always have it in the back of my head as I train and coach my clients. One of the core values at Five Iron Fitness is “Complete Focus” and this is perfectly in line with the idea of “Coach like people are always watching and like it's a direct reflection of your skills.”
But I also have a little bit of a problem with this idea. I have a few clients who I would not want you to be watching…unless we spoke first.
Why?
Because they don't always have the best form, even after training with me for 11 years
Because without truly understanding a person's background, you can't really understand their program.
Because if you don't know that person's injury history, you won't understand why they aren't doing certain exercises.
Because if you don't know their personality, then you won't understand why they can't chew gum and foam roll at the same time. (literally)
Because if you don't know that person's goals, you can't make a judgment about their “skinny fat” belly and say the program is not working. Maybe they're not here to get rid of it.
Because if you don't know what is going on in their personal life, you can't always understand their focus or effort.
Case Study
I train Stan Golden (76) with his wife 2-3x a week for the last 11 years.
Here is what an hour with Stan looks like:
He walks in; I say, “Hey Stan, what's happening, how are you feeling?”
I get the same response every Tuesday and Thursday for the last 11 years, “Ant, I feel like S**t. My neck is tight and I have a headache. I almost didn't make it in today but you know I don't like to cancel.” (he says it good naturedly, it's kind of our little joke, even though he is truly in pain)
He will also add one of the following:
-“I woke up at 4am and couldn't back to sleep”
- “I was up late, we went to the movies”
- “My stomach doesn't feel that great from last night's meal”
- “My back is hurting from golf”
Then he usually says with a big smile, “BUT AT LEAST I'M HERE, ANT!”
Stan's Training Timeline and Peeping Tom the Trainer's reaction:
00:00- 15:00- He will be on the foam roll, talking to me about what movie he saw, what he ate the night before, his golf game or why the economy is not doing as well as people would have you believe.
This is not 15 minutes of foam rolling and talking. Remember earlier when I said “If you don't know their personality, then you won't understand why they can't chew gum and foam roll at the same time.” That was about Stan.
He cannot talk and roll at the same time. So during that 15 minutes, he probably gets 2 minutes of rolling done, and most that is not very mindful.
For so many years, I would say “Stan, keep rolling while you tell me.” It doesn't work. I swear, I tried for years!
This isn't always a bad thing. He is the model for how you should have a conversation with someone. He looks me in the eyes we talk, he's a good storyteller and he is an excellent listener. He is very present when he's speaking with you. It's why he stops rolling when he's talking, he's focused on the conversation.
PEEPING TOM REACTION: If the Warm-up Police were watching through the window, I would get arrested for sure.
15:00-25:00- He does some side-lying stretches, hip stretches, bridging, planks and quadruped exercises. For years I have coached him about the proper way to do each of these exercises but often sleepwalks though them and the form is not great.
He also does a “back stretch” where he put his left ankle on his right knee and brings everything to the left side, while he keeps his upper back on the ground and lets his lower body twist to the ground. I can almost hear his vertebrae cracking. Stuart McGill would have a stroke if he were watching.
I have told him repeatedly not to do it. I stopped about 5 years ago. He won't listen, he says it works for him and it feels good. What more can I do?
PEEPING TOM REACTION: “Oh my Gawd, I can hear his Lumbar Spine cracking from here, doesn't this idiot trainer know about the Joint by Joint!”
25:00-30:00- 2 or 3 Get Ups. He actually has some good form, other than his shoulder being pretty close to his ear and not completely extended.
RUSSIAN PEEPING TOM REACTION: “Comrade, your client does not have the shoulder mobility to do the proper Get Up. Have your client focus on thoracic and shoulder mobility drills 3 times a day for the next month and then try again. As for you, 100 punishment swings, NOW!” (Old RKC reference)
30:00-35:00- Into the hall for some locomotion- running, side shuffles, carioaca, skipping.
PEEPING TOM REACTION: “Ok, this trainer might not be so bad after all”
35:00-37:00- (Five Iron has a putting green and a hitting bay) He moseys his way over to the hitting bay. “I'm just gonna hit 3 balls Ant.” 15 balls later…
PEEPING TOM REACTION: “Isn't this a gym? Why is he hitting balls in the middle of the workout? Does this trainer think he's a golf pro? He should stick to training.”
37:00- 42:00- We throw the football around, running patterns all through the gym, acting like we're in the Super Bowl, narrating each throw, screaming when we “score”.
42:00-43:00- Rest
43:00-45:00- Putting practice
45:00-47:00- “I'm just gonna hit 3 balls Ant…”
PEEPING TOM REACTION: “WHAT THE……..This guy is robbing his clients!!”
47:00- Stan says, “OK, I need to pick up some weights. Not those black round things Ant, you know I hate those. And no carries, they compress my spine, it can't be good for you.”
48:00- 60:00
2 Med Ball throwing exercises
1 Plyo
TRX Row
Goblet or Bodyweight Squat
1 Arm row or Kneeling Pulldown
Some kind of lunge
Airdyne or Rowing for 1:00
Stretch
Repeat if there's time
PEEPING TOM REACTION: “OK, not a bad sequence but those throws need to be more explosive, his butt is sagging on the bottom of the TRX row, he's not sitting far back enough in his squat, he needs to add some more weight, his lunges are not deep enough, his effort on the bike is very poor, and why is he doing the Lumbar Cracker stretch again?!!”
Program Review
If we look at what he did, it really was not that bad. We did:
- Foam roll
- “Floor core” and mobility exercises
- Got up and down off the ground 2-3 times
- Did some running, skipping, side shuffles and carioca
- Got the heart rate up playing football
- Laughed
- Got a basic program of upper body and lower body “explosive”, knee dominant (double and single leg), 2 Pulling exercises, some light cardio and more mobility work
Ok, so the form wasn't that great all the time, he wasn't always focused and the effort is certainly not 100% all the time.
Is it really the end of the world?
Should I hand my trainer's license back to InstantTrainerCert.com?
I don't think so.
The loads are low, so we are minimizing the risk and it's not like every rep is bad.
He has had dealt with golfer's/tennis elbow, neck pain and back pain for 40 years, you can't tell that when you look into my window.
He wakes up with a headache everyday and sometimes he has trouble sleeping, but he still comes in. You won't know that when you look into my window.
He deals with family issues, running a household, and the declining health of a family member. It makes it hard to focus on the workout sometimes. Many times, the fact that he showed up is a testament to his discipline and determination. You won't know that when you look into my window.
In my opinion, in this case, something is better than nothing. For him, the effort was good enough and he doesn't feel the need to sweat in order to have a good session. He's moving and that's something he doesn't do all week. You won't know that when you look into my window.
He's been pretty consistent for 11 years, 2-3 times a week.
He has fun.
He believes it's doing him good. I believe it's doing him good.
Best of all, when he leaves and I ask him how he's feeling, he says “Better than when I walked in, Ant. You're keeping me alive.”
What more can I ask for? Music to my ears, it's what gets me up everyday.
If you came and looked in my window, you would be getting a look at one of the trees, but you would be missing the forest. I still believe that we should “Coach like people are always watching…” but I want to remind those who are watching that there are so many factors that go into program design.
Don't always be so hard on yourself or your clients and don't always try to match up to other programs. Programming is an art and we all have different interpretations of art.
Not everyone wants six-pack abs or to finally get to a 20 inch vertical jump or even to do a push up.
Some people just want to workout with friends and use a resistance band, that's ok too.
Some coaches put a sign by the door on the way out that says, “YOU JUST GOT BETTER.”
I'm going to get one that says, “AT LEAST YOU WERE HERE.”
Anthony Renna owns Five Iron Fitness in White Plains, NY. He is also the host of The Strength Coach Podcast.