Lawrence Hosannah – One of my former coaches.
In all my experience regarding strength and conditioning(almost 9 years), my coaches have impacted me most of all. All of them differed in one way or another but every good coach I’ve ever worked with all shared one common trait: objectivity. The advice and influence of a great coach can be invaluable to your development.
My Story
If you have read my bio page, you have a decent idea about where my training experience originates. I have been involved with strength training since the age of 14(22 now) and had the luxury of being immersed into a great competitive football(American) program at a young age. I was surrounded by great coaches who all had a vested interest in my development. My coaches made sure I learned the fundamentals early on to set me up for further success as I approached varsity athletics.
During my athletic career, I was always one of the stronger guys in the weight room. I attribute this to being very interested in strength development and spending a lot of my spare time learning about it and pestering my coaches with questions. I was more so interested in strength training than actually playing football but all my friends were playing and I was a decent athlete. I also admired the cheerleaders.
However if my school had a power lifting team at the time, you could bet your sweet cheeks I would’ve been there after school as opposed to being on that football field. The air always smelled of overcooked chicken as our practice field bordered a poultry factory. Nothing like taking a hit in the gut, only to suck in that nasty aroma. Memories, I reminisce.
Long story short, by my senior year, I was in the top ranks for strength, pound for pound, out of the entire football organization. I remember squatting with the chubby offensive linemen who outweighed me by 70-80lbs at the time. We used to do 315lbs for 10-12 reps on the squat like nothing. I don’t say this to brag. Heck I don’t really care anymore, nor do I have an ego like I did back then.
I say this to prove a point. My peers and I succeeded because we were under close supervision of coaches with more experience. We didn’t really have a firm understanding of what was happening to our bodies or exactly why we were progressing so rapidly. The only thing we knew to do was eat and lift heavy things or die.
Experience
A great coach brings experience to the table when we are lacking. In my case, I had no experience, therefore I had to lean on my coaches understanding and trust in their guidance to ensure my success. If I were left on my own, I guarantee I would not have progressed as rapidly as I did. I may have even quit due to information overload.
Another wonderful facet of a great coach is their ability to evaluate another with an objective viewpoint. It’s often hard for us to assess our own situation due to self-bias and lack of proper knowledge. This brings me to my next point.
Objectivity
According to the dictionary, a definition of objective is
not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased: an objective opinion.
As we can see there are few key phrases we need to look at.
not influenced by personal feelings
A coach is not emotionally attached to an outcome as we are. We may be very emotional about reaching a certain goal such as losing body fat, building muscle or gaining strength. We are, at times, so attached that we often sabotage our efforts subconsciously by making a lot of irrational decisions. This is where the beauty of having a coach comes in. They do all the thinking for you and leave the emotional trickery at the door.
Another phrase:
based on facts; unbiased
A great coach will make his/her decisions about your training and diet protocol based on their assessment of your needs and goals. A good coach will be able to make certain judgments that you might not be able to pick up on or understand. For instance, a great coach can take a look at someone’s current development and construct a program designed to bring up their lagging body parts or to correct certain muscle imbalances etc.
Getting to the Point
Most people do not have the proper knowledge and need guidance from someone who has been where they are and knows how to push one past a certain level of development. Some people have all of the knowledge but fail to succeed because they suck at remaining objective about their own personal situation.
A great coach can only make you better if you lean on their experience and trust they are taking care of you. I have had worked with many different coaches but two coaches I am most proud to have worked are Lawrence Hosannah and Martin Berkhan. Lawrence taught me the value of keeping my training simple and to stick with the basics. Martin instilled in me solid nutritional principles that I follow to this day. They in turn have helped me develop my personal approach to training and diet which allows me to help others who are in the early stages as I was many years ago.
Should You Hire a Coach?
If you are a newbie who has been spinning your wheels endlessly, if you are struggling to progress or are lost in the sea of information, it would probably be a good idea to consult someone with more experience.
Does this mean you are weak willed and incompetent? Not at all. It simply means you lack the proper experience and knowledge to succeed on your own and that is okay. None of us became experts over night. It took lots of time to learn and develop.
You can either choose to learn by trial and error or shorten the learning curve by leaning on someone else to guide and teach you along the way.
Hey JC,
Another great article! Best advice I got from my Football coach back in the day was not only about lifting and sport but about life as well! He actually talked me out of specializing in football and to continue playing other sports, and I became a better football player due to developing my GPP. Some are great and like you said they are the ones with impact.
Thanks Pete. I agree with you as I had some coaches in high school that made a huge impact on me, even regarding decisions I made outside of athletics.
Hey JC–Thanks for addressing a hot topic for me. In fact, I wonder if our conversations didn’t serve as a little impetus to write this? In any case, I’m pretty much working the self-coaching through research route, but my daughter might be able to use the assistance of a coach. A good coach, not a hack coach. I think I’m wise enough to know the difference, so I’m sure we’ll find someone to work with in time. Meanwhile, Bill Pearl has taught me the majority of what I practice now.
Actually, this article has been floating around in my head for some time but after our recent conversation, I decided it was time to put it out there.
Yes, take your time finding a coach for your daughter. You’re smart so I think with a little research you will get her on the right track in terms of training.
Whats up JC,
Wow, thanks for the kind words man, you’ve been a great student, one that I’ve learned a lot from as well.
No problem Law.
The “coaching” I’ve received over the last 4 years has involved reading reading reading, trial & error, and filtering through the bad information. I actually think I’ve learned more this way because I had reinforcement through research / trial & error.
But I definitely do see the value of a good coach, especially when you’re young. However, there are some “hack” coaches out there that aren’t worth a damn and give bad advice, especially on my son’s former basketball coach. He taught improper fundamentals, didn’t know what he was doing. Terrible.
I understand that. A lot of what I know is self-taught but then again a lot of it has come from working closely with others with more experience. I would say it’s about 50/50.
And yes, their are some hack coaches out there. I had a few during my basketball career.