Articulate

3 Jun 2009

When we give thought to what we are trying to say before we express ourselves, we can more easily convey complex and challenging ideas. Our words not only carry more weight when articulately communicated, they also stand less of a chance of being misunderstood.
-Dailyom.com-

This is one of my favorite sites for daily words of wisdom. Recently they talked about communication. How does this relate to crossfit and training?
Great question!

It is important to understand that there are many way to communicate. When you are coaching someone you need two way communication. If there is not a constant dialogue between the coach and the client then there is no way to know what response you are getting. A good trainer or coach will be able to tell how their athlete is feeling as soon as they walk in the door and be able to dose them accordingly.

By watching closely how the athlete warms up a good coach can also know the right questions to ask. Many times people, usually your type A’s, will try to tough it out and not tell you about aches and pains. It is important to get this info out of them in order to maximize training. People like me have no qualms complaining about what hurts so be ready to wade through the BS from some people.

When you are actually coaching the importance of being able to articulate exactly what you want an athlete to do is of the utmost importance. The more precise you are with your language the easier it will be for your athlete to understand and adjust accordingly. This is important for me especially when i am training my girlfriend. Simple verbal cues don’t work from me because i don’t think she listens to me. I have to give tactile and visual cues so she doesn’t have to stop the workout and shout at me…

It is important to understand what works for one set of people may not work for another. Keep a couple cues for each movement in your back pocket in case someone just doesn’t get it. You will build your ability to work with many differnt people this way and only become a better trainer.
Remember this: Say more by saying less.

3 Responses to Articulate

Craig

June 4th, 2009 at 6:31 am

“…i don’t think she listens to me. I have to give tactile and visual cues so she doesn’t have to stop the workout and shout at me…”

Man oh man did I laugh at this when I read it. I feel your pain Dutch.

You’re absolutely right about communication. One of my crew is a total genius computer programmer and hence has the compulsion to over think everything he does to the point where you have to give him the bare minimum of instruction otherwise he’ll focus on each aspect of a movement rather than the movement as a whole.

If I successfully turn his brain off, he moves well, does great work and goes away psyched. If I have him thinking too much, he just becomes frustrated at being unable to get something dialled in – usually because he focusing excessively on the minutia.

My girlfriend is the total opposite. If I leave no stone unturned she will smash a workout. If I correct something during her workout, she’ll stop and I get my ass handed to me for not explaining it in enough depth in the first place.