Dutch Lowy

Aw Crap! You are thinking. Is Dutch really going to talk to us about setting goals? What is this a high school assembly with your counselor?
No , No, its not. I am not sure i really understood the importance of goal setting until just recently. Maybe its maturity or quite possibly something else i don’t even realize but lately i have been hammering my clients to set goals.

Lets back track a bit. In order to set goals, you need to know where you are currently. I call this testing or assessing. So your goal is to add weight to your deadlift? We will talk about why thats not the best way to state a goal in a minute but can you tell me what your deadlift is right now? No not what it was 6 months ago or the last time you lifted. I want to know what it was yesterday. With that info i can create a program for you and we will be able to measure your success.

This brings up the first point about setting goals.
Measurable: Is what you are trying to accomplish measurable? Can you put a number to it? Is it a realistic number?
For example, i wanted to snatch 110 kgs by the American Open in December. That is a specific number along with a specific date. make it measurable.

Attainable: Is it realistic? I talked in the last post about having expectations and purposely setting the high as a coach. Understand that just because i have high expectations doesn’t mean they are unrealistic. Set the bar high but allow yourself to succeed.

Now with this info. Sit down and set some goals. Limit yourself to 1-2 at a time and really focus on them. Post them here and let the world keep you accountable.

All too often as coaches we miss a vital part of training. The mental side.
I have watched as people have thought so hard about a lift that they have to step back, look me in the eye, and ask what they were supposed to be doing. Depending on the person i either try to control myself and patiently explain what i was looking for or simply laugh in their face (not the best approach as my fiance will tell you). Most of the best coaches in the world won’t try to tell you they have the best training program, in fact its likely they will have something that works for them because in all reality there is not much difference in programming. As weightlifters, we all snatch and clean and jerk, squat and pull. The Chinese aren’t out there doing some magic exercise that puts them consistently at the top of the world rankings. Football players all run sprints and lift weights so what is it that makes such a huge difference?

A couple things:
1: The mental strength of the athlete. First and foremost the athlete has to want to achieve. If there is no desire then there will be no result. Especially if you are working at a high level. There has to be some form of strong internal drive to succeed. I am not sure if this can be taught. I have played with guys who had far more natural talent than me but would not apply themselves to being successful. Its horribly frustrating to be around people like this but no matter how hard you try, its almost impossible to get in their mind.

2: Expectations. These are both internal and external. The internal expectations come from the athlete themselves and gives them a purpose to win or accomplish whatever it is that they are working towards. External expectations come from coaches, fans, etc. I like to set high expectations for my clients as i am convinced that if they believe that i think they can do something, then they will be convinced of it as well. For example i have a guy who when starting with me could barely snatch 135 lbs. 6 months later he is up to 175lbs and i expect 185 this weekend. When i first told him that 185 was doable within the year he looked at me like i was crazy. I simply looked back and smiled knowing he could do it especially if i showed him confidence. Did i believe he could make jumps this fast 6 months ago? Maybe but that doesn’t even matter. What matters is that after a couple months he started talking about 185 like HE knew he could get it.
Set your expectations high as a coach.

3:Work ethic. Its not cool to go into the weight room, do “a couple squats” and call it a day. If you are truly working towards a goal make an effort to get the most out of your training everyday. I understand that not everyday will be something you tell your grandkids about but please put conscious effort into everything you do so its not a waste of time. Why be there if you aren’t going to get something accomplished?

4: Coaching. This piggy backs well with expectations but as an athlete, buying into a program 100% is crucial. If you are struggling with why your coach is having you do something, then you are less likely to put 100% effort into it. With total buy in up front you will feel less stressed about your program and more focused each day you put in towards your goals.

5: Goals. Knowing where you want to end up is half of getting there right? Need i say more?
More to come on goals later.

Simply said, get your mind right! Whatever that takes for each individual will be different but remember, we succeed first in our minds.

Lately post have been scarce on here. I want to take a second to explain why and what i have been up to.

In all of our quests for knowledge the more we learn the more we know we don’t know. I have been doing boatloads of reading and studying and just recently been feeling like i have no business trying to teach people. It is not a fun feeling to have but it all depends on how you approach it. For a couple weeks i dove into all the info i could find and as you know, went into radio silence. I fully intend to come back and pass on the best info i have.

As a teacher or coach its rare that we come up with original ideas. We merely act as conduits for the info that we believe is correct at the time. As i have played that role for over 5 years now i have seen that info change quite a bit. This is neither good nor bad it just is. As a coach you have to believe in what you teach and be able to support your ideas. This is what i have been spending my time searching for lately. It has been fun and i am excited to continue passing on as much solid info as i can to you.
Thanks for sticking with me!!
Dutch

You all know that i love Pr’s so i thought i would toot my own horn and post some of my recent PR’s.  I hope you enjoy.

Dutch @ CFDC x Dallas Barbell Club from dean xu on Vimeo.

This past weekend i had the pleasure of competing in the Oly Athlete Open. It was a great experience… At least most of it. More on that later.

The event consisted of a olympic lifting meet (3 attempts at the snatch and clean and jerk) and an AMRAP (5 thrusters 135lbs, 10 burpees, 20 double unders). It is my hope that in the future events like this continue to be simplistic. Many of the CF competitions popping up become excessive and overall exhausting for everyone included. Spending a whole day focused on competing with multiple workouts and many heats just gets kinda old. I think it would be really fun to have 1 maybe 2 workouts in a competition and allow people to go all out once rather than having to go on an all day slugfest of workout after workout. Not only are the competitors more at risk of fatigue injuries but its just hard to watch as a spectator. I think it would be more exciting to just watch one workout and possibly some sort of tie breaker at the end.

Back to the Oly Athlete open. I must say that i had a blast. I am excited that olympic weightlifting is gaining momentum in the CF community. There were actually quite a few pretty good lifters competing. I was impressed by everyones willingness to compete in something they had never tried before.

I am pleased with my performance but at the same time a bit annoyed. I finished second in the lifting portion and had a chance to take the victory with a PR Clean and Jerk of 133kg. I missed the jerk and reviewing the video i was much closer than i thought. It felt like a million kgs. I also took the first loser spot in the AMRAP which absolutely Crushed me. I won the overall event by 1 point. The aftermath was a bit scary since i spent about 45 minutes on the floor followed by another 45 in a chair not moving and trying to understand where i was. Needless to say, i don’t currently feel like my fitness is “Elite.”

I have been asked a couple times if i was going to the CF/USAW event in CO Springs and i won’t be going. I think it would be a fun event, however i am not looking forward to the beat down i got last weekend. I am excited that it will get more people interested in weightlifting which is a damn good thing. I hope that this event can get people fired up and spread the good word about weightlifting. Good Luck to all of you that are going and have fun!!

I have talked alot about giving you and your athletes tools to get better rather than just serving them up some fitness for the day. I want to talk today about a conversation i had this weekend with Matt Murski. A long time friend of mine and mentor. He never ceases to amaze me when i talk to him.

Recently we were talking about longevity or sustainability in CF and clients in your gym. As Cf is currently i don’t think it is sustainable. Give me a shout out if you have modified your training from an all out CF model to something either more specific (sport focus) or more sustainable (lower intensity, or less frequent). In case you haven’t noticed, i have shifted to a more specific focus (weightlifting).
Sorry i got off the point for a second. back to our conversation. We were talking about what Matt is doing in his gym. He started talking about giving people abilities vs workouts. He said something to the effect that he wants people to walk out the door everytime they come in thinking “Damn i never knew i could do that.” In this way he is able to keep things fresh and exciting while developing abilities. He doesn’t just dose them up with a workout and send them home to lick their wounds, he teaches them something new…Every Day! Do you do this?

As a side note, and i totally agree with this, if his people want a body comp shift he directs them to nutrition and lifestyle advice instead of giving them a workout. If this is your goal, check in with the Whole 9 Crew.