I would be ineffective as a swim coach because i swim like a rock and don’t have an extensive background in competitive swimming outside of sleeping on the lifeguard stand at 530am. The point is that it would be irresponsible as a coach not to pass someone off that was looking for something outside of my experiences.

It is important to seek new experiences as a coach so you are more versatile. I have attacked this problem from two sides and there is a clearly better and worse way to do it.
Better: Find a new category of exercise/training/sport, find a coach yourself and learn from their experiences and get some new ones yourself.
Worse: Pretend to be an expert and learn as you go guiding someone through a long and winding road to their goals.

Like i said there is clearly a better way to gain new experiences to be used in your coaching. My recommendation is to go find someone that knows very well what you want to accomplish and sit at their feet and soak up all their knowledge. Ask questions and observe how they handle certain situations and you will be a better coach for it.

Apologies for the pause in posting real content. I have been a bit busy to say the least. Thank you for your patience, i’ll be back soon!

Meet Kilo!

This is Kilo. He is a terror but he is our dog. Little does he know we are messing with his mind. Recently we had a meeting with a “dog trainer.” I put that in quotes cause the guy didn’t really train Kilo, he trained us. Understanding what goes on in a dogs head in any given situation will help you control that situation and end with a favorable outcome. For us the main outcome we were looking for was when we want Kilo to come, he needs to come. We have been failing miserably the last couple months and were really at his mercy.

After the first 3-4 weeks i gave up on treat training because i didn’t want kilo doing things for a treat, i wanted him doing things because we are the leader and he listens to us no matter what. I got this idea one day when i was walking around Lowes and saw a couple with a dog that walked with them through lowes and only stopped when the owners stopped and would wait patiently till the owners moved on. After stalking them for a couple isles i decided i needed to get my dog to do the same thing.

I am a huge follower of Ceasar Milan (The Dog Whisperer). I respect his ways his thought processes and reasons are spot on. Train the owner and the dog will act like a dog. Its totally natural and easy if you know how to do it. We learned it this weekend and have seen a noticeable difference since.

I have nothing really meaningful to teach here, i just wanted to invite all of you into our home and have you meet Kilo. If you ever get the chance to meet him in person please do me a favor and greet me first. Even if you didn’t come to see me.

Oh and by the way, if you are in Fort Worth, keep an eye out there will be a new gym opening soon. Ready for the first weightlifting Club in Fort Worth?!? You can come meet Kilo as well…

While i was getting in my car i started to think more about the last couple days of training and eating and if i had any intestinal issues… I had, and pretty severe. I won’t go into details but it was one of those days were you get out of bed, then get back in bed, and repeat a couple times till the world comes back into focus. I simply can’t handle the booze like i did in college. That day i vomited twice and was not normal till after 6pm that evening.
That was Sunday and my meeting with Dr. Dan was on Wednesday after i had hurt my back training on monday.

Ok, here is what i am trying to get at. The reasons we take care of our bodies as athletes is driven towards performance. Do i understand the link between intestinal issues and thoracic spine issues? Kinda. Its a spinal reflex from the stressed stomach but more importantly it taught me that i can’t trash one part of my body and expect the rest of it to perform at normal capacity. Simply understand that we are not many pieces functioning together (much like modern MDs treat) rather one big machine working, hopefully, in harmony.

I have found that for me, if i am thinking of something other than the task i am about to perform, i tend to perform better. I remember singing a certain song in my head during a specific game that i played really well in but can’t remember the details of the game. So for me if i am prepared for something and can displace my apprehension about something then i tend to perform better.

Let me caution you that this is certainly an individual preference. If you perform better when you are very emotionally present in the task you are trying to perform then don’t listen to what works for me.

We need to re-test you. Whether this is a planned competition or a weeks worth of testing you should be ready to give your all to prove the work you have done has gotten you to your goals.

Structure this in a way that you will be as fresh as possible which usually means taking a week or a couple days to taper your training. Following the taper set the environment to help you succeed. For me that is dreaming about being successful and allowing myself to be placed in a positive atmosphere where success is awarded. I do well in competitions so thats where i do most of my testing.

Competitions are not necessary so don;t feel that you have to compete to hit goals. I do however recognize the value in competing and suggest it to all my clients. It is fun to work towards something and have a final point in which to express your training.

Now, Go train and let me know how things progress!!

If something does come up that forces you to miss some training days, my suggestion is to sit down and determine what you missed that was crucial to your program and try to fit that into a modified plan. Here is when a coach comes in handy. Provided you have trust in your coach you should just be able to say,”hey coach, i got sick and missed a couple days, what should i do moving forward?”
Your coach should have something witty and motivating to say to get you back on track.

You must realize that its not the end of the world to miss a couple days and also realize that getting back to training even after 2 days off will not be fun. Once you are back into a routine things should level out and you will be back on track to hit your goals!