Great coaches don’t just write a program, and tell their athletes good-luck! Great coaches take notes on their athletes daily. They notice the warm ups their athletes perform. They notice how certain programming affects the athlete. They notice their attempts, and make note if the athlete should take small or big jumps. They look at their movement patterns. They look at how the athlete is designed. They look at the strengths and weaknesses of each of their athletes. My friend and partner Ox Mason wrote a blog about cookie cutter programs, and I am in total agreement. Let’s look at two of my athletes, and I will show you the differences.
First I have Caleb Tilson a 94 KG Weightlifter. Caleb has strong legs, and he can take all the volume that you throw at him. His weaknesses are movement and mobility. His thoracic spine and ankles are his biggest enemies. Caleb must have more warm up time, and his programs must be high in volume. Low volume programming wouldn’t trigger the adaptation response required to get stronger and more efficient in the lifts. The more he practices the more his body learns the movement patterns, and therefore adapts with a more efficient movement pattern. His Front Squat is 350, but his Clean & Jerk is only 300. That tells me that he needs more time practicing the lifts.
Eze Onwurah is also a 94 KG lifter. Eze has great movement patterns and mobility, however high volume wrecks his body. Eze Clean & Jerks 325lbs, and he Front Squats 350lbs. This is fairly efficient, so he needs equal work in both the lifts and squats. Eze is better off with slightly higher intensity and lower volume workouts. Keeping Eze healthy is the ticket to success for his weightlifting career, so his warm up must be substantial. Our goal is to keep him optimally mobile, and to stabilize any weakness that we find.
I recommend that coaches keep a pad close by to make note of all the questions that I names earlier. Coaches get to know your athletes inside and out! They are looking for you to help them reach their goals, so it is up to you to do the little things that other coaches won’t. For a list of my upcoming Learn 2 Lift Seminars go to:
www.MashElitePerformance.com
Or if you are interested in hosting a seminar, you desire online programming or you want remote coaching via Skype, email me at:
Travis.Mash@MashElitePerformance.com