Smashby's Training Blog

Today’s thought of the day is about “knowledge”. Many people (in our context, let’s say personal trainers), will make claims about knowing “more” than someone else, and state that their value which they can offer you is more than that of another trainer or gym.

Now while I 1000% believe in the constant expansion of a trainer’s knowledge base, and I think we should learn and try and read and consider other and new ideas constantly, I do not believe in ever trying to compare yourself to anyone else. There are so many different things that we can learn about and focus on, yet quite frankly, those things have little to no bearing on one’s effectiveness as a coach/trainer of actual people.

I know some INCREDIBLY knowledgeable individuals with allll sorts of letters after their name (Certifications, Degrees, etc) who couldn’t teach someone in layman’s terms how to pick something up off of the ground. Conversely, I also know people who have watched a 4-minute how-to video on the YouTubes, yet could probably lead a complete newbie through a safe clean and press after a few minutes.

The key for me, is to be someone who knows how to safely teach movements we perform, and do it in a way that makes sense to each individual athlete! Some people can hear and adapt concepts to their own actions. Other athletes need hands-on instruction of the “trial-and-error” sense until they can FEEL the movements themselves. That is what I love about coaching so much. You may need to explain the same concepts in 20 different ways to 20 different people in order for the message to get through effectively.

So it’s not about how much you know. Once you can ensure that your athletes are being as safe as possible, then it’s about your individual ability as a coach (and human) to communicate with whoever it is that’s in front of you. So to get better at coaching, I would absolutely recommend reading and learning more. At the same time, however, spend time in front of your athletes and focus as well on improving your craft. In that sense, we are all our own unique people. No two coaches will ever be the same.

This all ties into our video below somehow, believe it or not! Read the summary, which is copied directly from the TED Talks description for the video:

“Gravity. The stars in day. Thoughts. The human genome. Time. Atoms. So much of what really matters in the world is impossible to see. A stunning animation of John Lloyd’s classic TEDTalk from 2009, which will make you question what you actually know.”

John Lloyd opens the clip by, basically, telling us that we (as a people) actually know very little… about anything! Check out the video below, and try to put “knowledge” into perspective a little bit after watching. Hope you like this one!

Thoughts?