For those of you who might not follow me on Instagram (@Smashby1), I posted a video yesterday as a part of my “Drive Time with Smashby” series.
In this video, I shared how I am planning my Personal Training workload in 2020. Given that I coach a variety of athletes in a multitude of disciplines, explaining my thought process of client selection, communication method, and training location, allowed me give some insight as to how this crazy mind of mine works. It was also a helpful exercise for me to really think through what I’m hoping to do, and why!
I hope you like this video, and if you want to chat about anything I discussed, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Do you know who it favors more than tall people, though?
Fit people.
It’s only workout one of five. There are still four more to go!
To people who consider themselves “short”… build that tiny little bridge for our tiny little legs, and get over it. You’ll be “graced” with Thrusters (a traditionally non-tall-person friendly movement) before you know it.
(Then you’ll probably complain that Thrusters were programmed, too! No? That’s just me that’ll complain? Ok, cool.)
Tall people… enjoy your 15 minutes of CF Games Open movement selection glory! I bet Burpees and Air Squats will be here soon! (Short people, rejoice!)
We can’t control everything that happens to us in life. We CAN, however, control how we respond to the things that happen to us!
Instead of letting minor issues weigh you down, choose to view life through a lens that leaves you happier and more appreciative in your day to day life. This includes choosing to spend your time with individuals who bring you up instead of tear you down.
If you’re trying to live a happier life, start by working on those two things. It works. Trust me.
There are thousands of people around the world who are “certified” to coach CrossFit. Does that mean they’re all good at it? Absolutely not!
Like any other profession in the world, you’re going to have some variation of a bell curve: A small few who are really good at what they do, some who are really bad at it, and the majority of others falling somewhere in between the two on that spectrum.
The difference with CrossFit coaching and other professions, however, is that a bad cue from a coach in the middle of class could potentially lead to an athletes injuring himself/herself, or others around them.
Let me be clear, this post is not about whether or not you like a cue a coach gives you. It’s intentionally about what you think should be done if a coach gives you BAD, and wrong, advice!
I’d love it if you’d watch my video below, and let me know what you think. Do you agree or disagree with me?
What would you do, or advise others, if they found themselves in the position of being given bad advice. Let’s chat!
Did the 2018 CrossFit Games get you fired up and ready to improve more by next year’s Open?
Do you have an intelligent plan in place to get there? You should.
You don’t need a personalized coach to help you create that plan, but if you do it yourself, I suggest at least running over your plan with someone else that you know and trust. Let me know if I can help you in any way.
“Oh man, that workout looks like fun! Let’s do it!”
“I think they all look fun. Let’s see how we’d stack up against the best in the world and do a row a full marathon!”
Does this sound like a conversation you, or anyone you know, has had in the last few days? If yes, please watch the video below, or pass it on to someone who needs to hear this message.
What are your thoughts on my advice? Do you agree or disagree with me?
Thousands of athletes around the world are laser-focused in their desire to get better at certain movements/skills in our sport of CrossFit. Whether their goal is to improve strength, endurance, mobility, or any other aspect of fitness, there will always be a laundry list of skills to choose from at any given moment. While I love how CrossFit inspires and motivates people to want to make themselves better, it also leads to people trying to do too much, too often.
If they want to get stronger, they’ll add a squat program to their weekly programming. To improve their ring muscle-ups they’ll spend thirty minutes every day practicing transition drills and kipping technique. When the goal is to improve aerobic capacity, multiple 3-6 minute sprint workouts and a few track workouts will get tagged onto the end of an already brutal training week.
By themselves, those scenarios are not necessarily a problem. What is a problem, however, is when people do so much work that their bodies are constantly beat up and are never given a chance to recover properly. Being sore and tired is part of the game, I get that. Anytime you train hard as an athlete, those feelings come with the territory. It becomes counterproductive, however, when athletes constantly live in that state of fatigue.
Prioritizing rest and recovery is the biggest missing piece in the puzzle for so many athletes to achieve their next training breakthrough. When you take care of yourself (through stretching, massage, and other forms of self care), you’re giving your body a chance to repair all of the damage that intense training puts on your muscles.
Take a look at my video below and see if you agree with me. Regardless, let me know your thoughts, and let’s talk about this together. Happy Thursday!
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines an Ivory Tower as “a secluded place that affords the means of treating practical issues with an impractical often escapist attitude; especially: a place of learning.”I think there are a lot of trainers out there making statements about fitness from a very similar place!
They read in a book that the back squat is taught one way, or learned a skill from a coach in a particular way, and from that moment on they live and die by the concept that no other way of teaching that movement could possibly be correct! Well, if you’ve ever coached actual humans in an actual gym, you quickly learn that no two people learn things the exact same way. If you only have one way of explaining, you will miss connecting with a variety of athletes.
In my opinion, as long as your athletes are safe, there is no right or wrong way to teach something. I believe it was Matt or Cherie Chan who once said to me, “the best cue to give an athlete is the one that works!” Instead of sitting back and commenting on how other people are teaching things incorrectly, open up your mind and consider that some people just need to hear the same thing explained in a different way for it to click for them!
Check out this episode of Drive Time with Smashby, and let me know whether or not you agree with me…. and why! Happy Thursday!
When a workout is programmed (or created), there is almost always an intended stimulus in mind. This means that the coach writing it likely expects the work to be completed within a certain time frame. When athletes complete workouts, they’re not always aware of these goals, or given specific things to strive for in their efforts. Does this matter?
If you walked in the gym and saw the workout of the day was Helen (3rds of 400m run, 21 KB swings, and 12 pull-ups), what would you think? Would you look at the movements and decide whether or not you could them, and do them at the weight they’re prescribed? Would you think about your previous PR and whether or not you’d be able to beat it? Would you simply think about whether or not you like the movements in the workout?
Does the thought ever entire your mind about how long a workout “should” take an athlete? Maybe some days are more or less important than others to scale up (or down) in order to finish within a particular window of time?
Should coaches play an active role in explaining those types of things to athletes, or is our role simply to make sure no one gets hurt?
These are questions that are really important to me, and I’d love to hear what you think about this topic. Check out the video below, and then…. let’s chat!
I am one of those people who gets really fired up when music I like is played at the gym. Yet, as a coach, I’m hyper-sensitive to trying not to play music that people could find really offensive due to profanity or subject matter. If I wouldn’t sing the lyrics out loud in front of my family, or a complete stranger, I’ll likely think twice about whether or not to play the song in class.
There are clearly exceptions to the rule here, and I think coaches just need to know their audience. If I ask a class what they want to hear and in unison everyone yells, “WU TANG CLAN!!!,” then I’ll probably “Return to the 36 Chambers” with the squad. But if I feel that anyone in the group might not be too excited about what the songs are going to talk about, I’ll audible and play something else.
Whether you’re a gym owner, a coach, or an athlete, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
If there’s enough interest, maybe I’ll do a follow up post soon where I can share some of the music I like, and some of the playlists I’ve created over the years.
Smashby's Training Blog 