I want to talk about something that i sometimes overlook but can be very useful as a coach/trainer and a client/athlete.

Action Steps

Recently i did a poll of my clients/athletes about what i could do to better their training and my coaching.  Among other suggestions and complaints action steps arose.  This is not exactly the term they used but i like this term.  I actually stole it from an author that i really like Ramit Sethi of I will Teach you to be Rich.com.  At the end of each chapter of his book he has 5-10 action steps.  many times i read things and think Damn!  Thats a great idea and nothing comes of it.  With action steps you have no excuse to do exactly what is listed.

To shift this to training:  I find myself telling people “ok, today i want you to snatch, clean and jerk and the do some pulls.”  Why is this hard to understand?  I think its difficult for two reasons:

First, when i tell someone with a type A personality they are likely to report back that after 100 snatches, 50 clean and jerks and 100 pullups, 60 deadlifts and 50 barbell rows, that that was the hardest workout they have ever done.  Whereas; a person with a dispensation more like mine would come back after 10 light snatches, 5 medium clean and jerks and a couple clean pulls that they aren’t getting any stronger.  What is a better way to get someone to do what you really want?

Tell them exactly what you want:  I want you to snatch 5 sets of 2 from the high hang position working on speed under the bar then clean and jerk a medium weight (75-85%) for 6 singles the do 5 sets of 3  clean deadlifts with perfect technique with a weight just over 105% of their clean.  Focus on the positions.

For any personality or training background this should be comprehensible.  It may require some actual coaching but thats a good thing for both of you.

Lets expand for a second and look at you as a trainer.  For those of you that struggle with getting clients to either take care of themselves outside the gym or to shift their nutrition i would highly recommend dishing out some action steps.  For example, I want YOU (insert name of client) to go home find a tennis ball or baseball and roll for 2 minutes on each body part, your quads, glutes, thoracic spine and lats.  Or, when you get home i want you to eat 5 oz of steak with 1/2 cup of green beans and a glass of water.  If you get hungry later in the evening you can have a handful of almonds. Sounds pretty controlling but in my opinion thats what people are paying you for.

The more specific you are, the easier it will be to understand and the more compliance you will have.  I struggle with this weekly but i am working on it and you should be as well.  If you leave your instructions up to interpretation, they will be interpreted differently than you intended.  As an athlete, if you don’t understand the action steps, ask questions.  You fail if you leave the gym misunderstanding exactly what is asked of you.

Now, Go get better!!