22 Nov
Blog

The Coaching Manifesto: 6 Rules for Achieving Excellence

As in any career, people become coaches and trainers for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are nobler, such as surviving cancer and wanting to help others. Some are more practical, like coaching as a career, because you've always been an athlete. Some more ambitious, like seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and a small gym as a path. Regardless of how you got into coaching, now you are and it's time to make yourself a good one.

As in any career, people become coaches and trainers for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are nobler, such as surviving cancer and wanting to help others. Some are more practical, like coaching as a career, because you've always been an athlete. Some more ambitious, like seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and a small gym as a path. Regardless of how you got into coaching, now you are and it's time to make yourself a good one.

As with your own training, there is no point in coaching half-heartedly. There are far too many bad and mediocre trainers and coaches in the world. The following six rules are not easy, but they are simple. If you accept them, you are ahead of the game.

You will become a better coach and, as a result, your clients will be happier. I call this the coaching manifesto. I've learned these rules in pieces over the years. I'm introducing them to you here as a whole because when I put them together it made all the difference for me.

1. Find out more

This is the first rule for good reason. This rule takes effect the day you decide to become a coach and continues until the day you hang up.

There is not a day in between that you should stop studying.

Attending courses, attending seminars, reading books, watching other trainers, watching videos – learn, learn, learn. New information emerges every day from magazines, from researchers and from working with your own customers. Learn something every day and never stop.

2. Know your customer

Your customers are a resource for your learning, but in order to learn from them you must know them.

How can you teach people until you understand them and their goals? You can't tell them what to do until you know who they are and what they want.

What are your clients' injuries, histories, and motivations? You know your stated goals, but do you know your real goals? Do you know what drives them? How great if you could see your customers so clearly that you could help them see themselves.

Do you know your customer – better than they know themselves – but without judgment. Know their body, know their mind and show them the mirror. Then share your knowledge and show them how you are going to help.

3. Know yourself

We can't really ask others to look in the mirror and make changes unless we're willing to look at ourselves in the cold, harsh light. To really know others, you have to know yourself.

Communication also becomes easier when we know ourselves. When we don't see each other clearly, we take a lot personally. We think a customer's anger is with us when it really comes down to their own frustrations.

When you know your customer and yourself, you know the real root of the problem and its solution is easy.

Knowing yourself also means knowing your weaknesses and solving your own problems. If we educate ourselves every day, we need to know what we don't know. That means recognizing the gaps in our skills and steadily closing them.

Coaching manifesto, coaching training, becoming a better coach, coaching

4. Get over yourself

This is a consequence of "know yourself". Once you know yourself, it is time to conquer yourself.

Yes, it's great that you can do a one arm push up. Do you have to do them in front of your clients for no reason? No. Let go of your ego and need for attention as you coach.

It's not about you The less it is about you, the better you'll be a coach. It's not about you when your customer is upset. It's not about you if your customer is happy. It's just not about you.

You did it. Not you. You are just a channel. The ego adds impurities and makes you a poor guide in learning and progress.

5. Don't be married to the method

Learning and progress are possible with almost any training method. In the fitness industry, it goes without saying that your system is better than others, but it usually isn't. Coaching is good or coaching is bad.

You're a good teacher or a bad teacher whether your dumbbell is pink, you're wearing an undershirt, or you're using sandbags.

If someone says their system is the best, they are probably trying to sell you something. Don't worry about the best system; Just be the best coach in everything you do. In general, people should work a little harder, pick up a little more, and move a little faster.

You should exercise strength, cardio, and flexibility. Call it what you will, but the body is the human body and there are only a limited number of useful things you can do with it and with it. Be committed to the results, not to a guru or method.

6. Do no harm

Everything you do with your customers should lead to something productive and positive. People don't come to you to hurt themselves. They come to you for higher goals – sometimes these goals look like world championships, and sometimes they look like they're going to run a mile without stopping. Regardless of their fitness level, it is your greatest responsibility to your customers to protect and train them.

When you know your customers, you know what to do and what not to do. If you know yourself, if you are honest with them and they get upset, you won't take it personally. When you let go of the method, you will find ways to customize the workout for you. Further education can help explain why this is the best path for them.

Not only can you follow one of these rules and be an excellent trainer or coach. If you follow them all, you will be excellent, your customers will be excellent, and you will be the health and fitness channel you want to be. Try to take number one to heart now and see how it works out for you.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

30 Sep
Blog

Wrist curls: Your key to achieving “THE ARMS”

If you are a person who wants to improve their forearms both aesthetically and powerfully, this is the place for you. Wrist curls are an exercise that is often recommended for building strength and muscle. Unlike compound workouts that work multiple muscles at the same time, wrist curls are isolated movements, meaning that this exercise is intended for a specific set of muscles, in this case the four-arm muscle.

Isolation movements are usually effective in correcting weakness and improving the strength of a particular muscle. Because of this, they can be modified in amount and focused on one area of ​​the body, as opposed to compound movements that act on muscles.

While wrist curls can be used to increase forearm strength, they can also go a long way in improving your grip strength, which is often not adequately considered. A strong grip is very important and useful in our daily life as well as in the exercises in the gym. Increased grip strength helps you to have a firm grip on weights and bars and to support your body in many sports and exercises.

How to make wrist curls

While doing wrist curls may seem an easy task, it does require accuracy and the correct body shape to avoid injury or strain. It requires very limited equipment, including a seat and portable weights.

Steps:

  1. First, take a sitting position. Kneel on the floor, sit up straight and put your forearms on the bench. You can extend your arms beyond the width of the bench for better wrist movement.
  2. Keep your shoulders further back as you kneel to add extra strain to the affected muscles.
  3. Keep your palms up to raise and lower the weights in full motion.
  4. You can use either a barbell or two dumbbells. Dumbbells are recommended for beginners to help focus on one forearm at a time.
  5. The grip on the weights should be firm but comfortable.
  1. Keep your legs shoulder length apart and your feet on the floor.
  2. Place the back of your arms on the chair and place your arms up.
  3. Adjust your arms so that your wrists hang over the edge of the armrest.
  1. Slowly move your wrists in an up-and-down motion to grip the forearms. Make sure that every movement is controlled to avoid putting undue strain on the forearms.
  2. Inhale as you curve your wrist down and exhale as you roll it up. Make sure your forearms do not move and stay stationary.
  3. To finish the exercise, return to the starting position and slowly keep the weights back on the floor.
  4. A set should contain 15 repetitions for each arm. Take small breaks between sets.

Wrist curls: common mistakes we make a lot

Wrist-curls-common-mistakes-we-often-end-up

  • Improve your grip strength

An immense amount of grip strength can be created by simply incorporating regular forearm exercises like wrist curls into your daily exercise routine. A stronger grip is also extremely helpful with other compound movements like the deadlift and bench press, including all three steps of preparation, execution, and recovery.

Strong forearms make all of these activities easier, from lifting heavy shopping bags to grasping objects in general, to playing games. Wrist curls work on the forearms, which in turn makes the wrists and hands stronger, and are very beneficial.

Exercising the forearms tends to strengthen the wrist flexors, which in turn helps put strain on the forearms during certain compound movements. Wrist locks help prevent injuries.

  • Advanced athletic performance

Many sports require good grip, and working your forearms would help you get the upper hand. The stability and strength that the forearms provide really improve an athlete's performance.

Dumbbell wrist curls

Dumbbell wrist curls are recommended for beginners or for people looking to correct muscular imbalances in their forearms as some of us tend to have one arm stronger than the other. With dumbbells you can train one arm at a time so that both arms are equally strong.

To do this, follow the instructions given above. The only change would be the weight used and the reps that would apply to each individual arm. Make sure to hold your arms tight and avoid overstretching them by not letting your arms relax completely in the middle of the reps.

Conclusion

To sum it up, you should now have more than enough reason to exercise your forearms as quickly as possible. From making your daily activities easier to providing targeted support during exercise, wrist curls are extremely beneficial. It is important to keep an eye on the right technique in order to avoid unnecessary injuries or stress. Appropriate form and equipment are required to avoid mistakes. For beginners or those with muscle fluctuations in both arms, dumbbell wrist locks are recommended for isolated and specific movements.