Matt talks to Nate Garrison about strength training with autoimmune disease.  Nate is a videographer and video editor for Barbell Logic that Matt met through Tactical Response. He discusses his journey with autoimmune disease and how barbell training helped his physical and mental health throughout the ongoing process.  Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease Nate's story begin with his older sister, who struggled with and ultimately died from Crohn's disease. He had seen his sister confront Crohn's.  When going through Navy EOD School, he realized that he was seeing symptoms that his older sister has had. Instead of quitting or going to the military medical personnel, he toughed it out and got private medical care as long as he could.  He was first diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Later, the doctors diagnosed him with Crohn's disease.  He has undergone multiple surgeries, and struggled with excruciating stomach pain, chronic diarrhea, and resultant mental anguish.  He had to constantly be aware of where the closest toilet was and bring extra clothes, just in case.  He faced obstacles and pain, and could have easily used his disease as an excuse to not further himself and continue to pursue health and excellence. That's not what he did.  Weight Lifting with Autoimmune Disease Nate was used to difficult military training, but had never lifted weights. Strength training provided an opportunity to build and better himself in an area he had no experience.  He started squatting with 85 pounds, and began his linear progression from there. Strength training with autoimmune disease helped him, but came with voluntary and involuntary hardship.  He did his bet to eat food to support his training, and sometimes had to go to the bathrooms multiple times just during the squats. But he completed his workouts and kept training.  He worked with Matt as his coach to adjust the stress appropriately and dealing with the Valsalva Maneuver and wearing a belt after a surgery that require cutting through his abdomen.  After every surgery he has completed, he has had to reset with a low weight, but he knows it's good for him. In fact, the surgeon asked what he had been doing, as his abdominal wall had grown noticeably thicker after he began squatting and deadlifting heavy.    GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Strength Training with Autoimmune Disease - #422

Matt and Scott finish their talk discussing the coach-client interaction and being coachable.    If you're paying for coaching, your coach is probably erring on not enough stress, especially if you're a general client trying to get stronger for general health and quality of life reasons. You're not training for the Olympics.   If you decide to do 2, 3, 4 more reps than programmed because it's there, especially if you're older, you may have wrecked yourself for a week or more, and then the coach has to completely change the programming. If you do what is prescribed and you have 3 more reps, then it's easy for the coach to increase the stress the next week.  GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

MED Programming when PRs are Behind You Pt2 - #421

Matt & Scott developed the concept of Minimum Effective Dose programming (MED programming) through conversations on the podcast. Today, Matt and Scott discuss how to apply the principles of MED programming when PRs are behind you.    Listen to Scott's podcasts: Online Great Books, Music & Ideas, or Growing Resilience.  This typically occurs for older clients with high-compliance (though even younger clients who have trained consistently for a long enough time run into this problem). If you're a lifter who regularly takes vacations and misses training, you'll continue to return to linear progression, so this doesn't happen.   Eventually, you can't recover from the stress it takes to hits bigger PRs. Older people tend to sleep less well and they cannot eat as many calories without adding bodyfat. Plus, the reality is simply that the body doesn't react as well to things as it ages - it's just a fact of life.   This also applies to those who find themselves suddenly facing a huge amount more stress. Scott, for example, besides being a bit older, is doing manual labor on his farmstead. This stress matters when it comes to his recovery and ability to stress himself in the gym.   Practically, what does this mean? It often means pulling slots - less frequent training and less volume. You may see 5s become 4s become 3s after awhile. More days of rest between training are needed. Eventually, weight will have to come off the bar, though.  Scott has also found that he doesn't program cycles longer than 4 weeks for post-advanced clients.   A disclaimer, though - if you're an officer worker who has never done intelligent training, you need to do this, you need to chase numbers, and you need to get big and strong.     GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

MED Programming When PRs are Behind You - Pt1 - #420

Enjoy the rest of Matt catching up with Scott for this 2-part episode. Matt & Scott discuss some of what Scott has been doing on his homestead, and just chat about things.  Listen to Scott's podcasts: Online Great Books, Music & Ideas, or Growing Resilience. Learn how Scott's reading the book the Restoration of Christian Culture caused Scott to move his family out to the country and start a homestead operation, growing food, planting trees, raising chickens, and living more simply (simple, hard, effective?). Training has changed for him, because he performs much more physical labor in a normal day than he ever did as the CEO of a data storage company.  Training occurs for injury prevention and bone density, mostly. Enjoy this wide-ranging conversation.  GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Catching Up with Hambrick Part 2 - #419

Enjoy the return of Scott for this 2-part episode, where Matt & Scott catch up, discuss some of what Scott has been doing on his homestead, and just chat about things.  Listen to Scott's podcasts:  Online Great Books,  Music & Ideas, or  Growing Resilience. Learn how Scott's reading the book the  Restoration of Christian Culture caused Scott to move his family out to the country and start a homestead operation, growing food, planting trees, raising chickens, and living more simply (simple, hard, effective?). Training has changed for him, because he performs much more physical labor in a normal day than he ever did as the CEO of a data storage company.  Training occurs for injury prevention and bone density, mostly. Enjoy this wide-ranging conversation.  GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Catching Up with Hambrick Part 1 - #418

Are fitness certifications worth it, worthless, or does it depend? Niki & CJ walk you through how to consider the value of a fitness certifications as a barbell coach or personal trainer.  Are Fitness Certifications Worth It? Personal trainers and barbell coaches have proliferated as the health and fitness industry grows. Fitness certifications also abound, and you can probably find a personal training certification for any niche or skill you would want to learn. Are they worth it?  It depends. Thinking about certifications practically and personally, ask yourself "Do I need this certification?" This shifts the focus to YOU, your needs, and your situation. This question also tends to relate to two other questions that new coaches tend to think (even in subconsciously). Am I ready to coach, and do I have permission to coach?  If you can provide value to a lifter, you can coach, and we've talked and written about coaching spouses and friends first, what that might look like, and how to not suck as a coach.  Regarding permission, the personal training industry does not require a legal certification. You may coach our of your garage. If you're looking to coach at a gym, you may need a certain certification.  Many fall into the trap of trying to collect certifications but failing to coach. We love and encourage academic study and are not anti-certification, but if you want to coach you must coach.   Furthermore, your appreciate and the value of the certification becomes clear when you begin to coach (do I need to know this? does this help me)? As you learn the academic side, you have more to bring to the platform.  Which Personal Training Certification Should I Get? We return to "Do I need this certification," with stress on the word need.  Will this certification get you clients? Will this certification improve your coaching? Is an employer or potential employers requiring this certification?  You might not know the answers to this. Consider getting one of the study guides or books meant to help prepare you for one of the more common certifications. Start reading it as you coach people. Does the information provide you useful information? Examine what type of information you're finding valuable - maybe there is a certification that focuses more on those areas.  Are Fitness Certifications Worthless? The incentive of a credential can help motivate one to study and learn. Furthermore, a certification can provide a standard from which employers - gyms and online coaching companies - can evaluate coaches.  Similar to the personal training industry in general, you have to sort through much chafe to get to the wheat. Fitness certifications signal to employers and potential clients you have a baseline level of knowledge. They may be required to get personal training insurance.  Lastly, some may get you clients (or prevent you from getting clients). This is rare in either case, but if a certain brand is well-known and that certification is considered

Are Fitness Certifications Worth It? - #417

Matt & Niki discuss visual cues for lifting: how to best use them in-person & online, common mistakes to avoid, & some helpful examples.   Visual Cues for Lifting When used properly, visual cues can reduce the time & words needed to get the lifter squatting or deadlifting or pressing with proper form. Used incorrectly, they can confuse and get lifters trying to mimic something inappropriate for them.   Visual cues help with stationary, simple technique elements that can often be difficult to explain. For example, "take a shoulder width stance" actually requires a bit of thought. If you take the stance and toe angle they need, however, you've probably saved time and confusion.   Similarly, showing the proper wrist, and elbow position for the squat helps the lifter see the "straight wrist, close grip, elbows forward."   These visual cues, of course, don't occur in isolation. Combining different means of communication (verbal, tactile, visual) hammers home important points, allowing multiple senses to receive and comprehend the technique information. Visual cues for lifting can thus simplify and quicken the learning process.  Visual Cues for Online Coaching In-person coaching typically uses visual communication during the teaching progression, when the coach shows the lifter what he's looking for. When the lifter is lifting, you have to be in the lifter's vision or peripheral vision to communicate with the lifter (necessary for coaching a deaf lifter, which Matt has done).  In online coaching where the coach breaks down the video, the lifter gets to watch her own lifts and hear the coach's commentary.  Additionally, the coach can pause or slow down the video. The coach can draw and many coaches include video of themselves, where they can use their upper body or arms to add a visual cue.  Thus, the best online coaching provides verbal & visual cues, combining the auditory and visual senses.    GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Visual Cues for Lifting #416

Niki & CJ discuss what makes a bad strength coach and how to avoid the pitfalls of bad coaching. Being not bad, a very good place to start.  Bad Strength Coaching  Let's face it, we've all experienced a bad professional at one time or another. Whether they were unprofessional, rude, incompetent, sleezy, inattentive, we can all relate to the experience of knowing we're dealing with a bad professional.   So what makes a  bad strength coach?   Bad barbell coaches fall short in at least one area of coaching.  professionalism competence integrity client-centeredness   Professionalism, Integrity, Competence You can be professional and have integrity on day one as you coach your friend. Take what you're doing seriously and commit to learning. Show up on time. Wear appropriate clothing. Honest and integrity go toward professionalism, but as a coach people are trusting you with their time, body, goals, and money. Respect these. Furthermore, tell the truth about your current experience & competency level. If someone asks you a question about something outside your expertise, be honest that you've never dealt with that but you can look into it. If it's completely outside your scope or something you don't want to deal with, you might look up some sources or professionals they can look to to learn more. For competence, of course, tell the truth about your competence, but if you've never lifted and have no direction to provide for a lifter, you probably shouldn't coach. Learn some teaching progressions and cues, have some understanding of common programming adjustments and problems you'll encounter, and commit to learning. Client-Centeredness You can't coach without clients, and you're ultimately working to accomplish your clients' goals. It may be true that more well-known coaches can be selective about who they coach and can say "my way or the highway." If this is you and you're doing okay for yourself, then great, but more than likely you haven't developed "a way" and you need to understand and appreciate your clients' needs and goals. If you never examine your coaching and always blame the client, you're not improving. Don't do this. When a client asks a question or suggests they're not quite happy with how things are going, don't dive into defensiveness. Embrace the discomfort, and consider what you could have done better. What can you learn? Take it as an opportunity.   GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Bad Strength Coach!? Bad Coaching & How NOT To Be Bad

Matt & Niki explore tactile cues: different types, how & when to use them for in-person and online coaching. Oh, and how do you pronounce tactile? Is it like "tactical?" Tactile Cues vs Verbal & Visual Cues Tactile cues, as you may have guessed, involve you as the coach or an object touching the lifter.  Visual cues show the lifter how to properly lift. Visual cues explain (hopefully clearly) how the client should move. Tactile cues use the sensation of touch to deliver information to the lifter.   You as the coach may physically move the lifter into the correct position. This avoids the lifter having to understand your verbal or visual directions, and allows the lifter to feel proper form. An example is bringing the lifters elbows up & forward in the press set up.   Similarly, you may pace your hand or finger on a body part you want the client to focus in on. For example, you may touch the lifters low back to get the lifter to extend her lumbar spine.   Lastly, you may have an object impose a physical indicator that limits the range of motion. Examples of this include using a foam roller or 4x4 (often called terribly useful block of wood (TUBOW) to prevent knee slide in the squat or setting up a band so the lifter knows proper depth in the squat.   Some carryover exists between verbal and tactile cues. You may give your lifter a verbal cue for her to feel a physical sensation. "Pressure on midfoot" is a great example where you're trying to create tactile feedback for the lifter through a verbal cue.  Tactile Cue Challenges You need to build trust with your lifter, so ask if it's okay to touch the lifter to correct their technique, and touch them professionally. There are some situations where you may simply want to avoid touching lifters. Matt, for example, used to coach junior high females. What physical cues can you use in online coaching? Adjusting the lifter into correct technique is impossible. You may recommend the lifter gets an in-person session with a coach if you trust. There are ways, however, to bring attention to a body part or impose a physical limitation. The lifter or person close to the lifter may touch the lifter to bring attention to a body part. You don't have to be a coach to touch someone's low back or mid-sternum. Setting up a band or TUBOW, as well, can be done with online coaching. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Tactile Cues for Correct Technique - #414

The coaching transition can be hard, as you have to budget time, money, or both with a steep learning curve & avoid potential pitfalls. Niki & CJ help you learn how to make the coaching transition to become a good coach. Also, learn the correct pronunciation of CJ's last name! Coaching Transition - Let's Go So, you want to be a coach!? Awesome. You'll have to move from your current non-coaching state & bring coaching into actuality. Of course, there's the leap of faith method, where you quit everything, metaphorically burn all your ships, and decide you'll be a coach one way or another. Let's try another path, a more deliberate path, where you learn from the wisdom and mistakes of others. Even if coaching become your primary means of income - you find yourself coaching at a big box gym or CrossFit gym, you have to ensure you coach, learn, and avoid burnout. If you're in this position, we can't recommend enough our (completely free) Coaching Kickstarter eBook. Check it out! Avoiding Pitfalls During Your Coaching Transition  Whatever path you follow, you must coach. Coach your spouse, your friends, your mom, your kids. Just coach. You need the reps, just as someone who wants to lift needs to get started - even if they have a 1" bar with concrete plates, no lifting shoes or belt, and are searching correct form during the workout. Begin. You need a deliberate learning method. This not only includes the basic academic knowledge - anatomy, physiology, principles of programming, physics - but also a way to reflect on and learn from every coaching session. Just as a novice may not be all that strong but can enjoy the rapid growth of a linear progression, a beginner coach can similar improve quickly through deliberate practice. Ensure your business model is sustainable - and sustainability primarily means in terms of money and time. CJ, for example, knew he had four months of runway before he or his wife would have to begin to earn additional money outside coaching. Similarly, someone who keeps their main job and coaches in their free time will either need to put a time-limit on this practice or ensure that their combined main job and coaching job does not lead to burn out (too much time) or resentment (not charging clients enough). A major pitfall is going professional too early. Example include buying or renting a huge gym space, getting a professionally-designed website, or purchasing some administrative or backend support when you only have a couple paying clients. As you grow as a coach, a more professional website, a bigger space, and other marks of an established, professional coach will come - but don't do the coaching equivalent of buying a treadmill when you've never run a day in your life. Start today, keep learning, know your coaching VIP, and - seriously - download that Coaching Kickstarter eBook. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No dis

Making the Coaching Transition - #413

Today, Matt & Niki delve into verbal communication - our primary means of communication as a coach, both in-person & online. While this may seem straightforward, many steps occur to correctly communicate to our clients & get them to move correctly. This begins & 3-part series of sorts where Matt & Niki will explore communication, beginning with verbal & touching on tactile & visual (and the differences between in-person and online). No video this week for YouTube viewers. We tried a new recording platform & lost the video. Bear with us while we try to improve our logistical & technological systems. Thanks! Verbal Communication on the Platform What has to occur for effective communication to occur on the platform? The coach must first see the lift, process that information, and compare what he sees to the model in his head (which may be imperfect). Following this, he must understand any deviations from the model, prioritize them, understand how to correct them, and deliver information to the lifter in the form of a cue (e.g. "knees out"). That's a lot. But communication involves two people and is a two-way street. Hearing the cue, the lifter must then understand it (each word and the words together). The lifter takes that information and use it to attempt to change her movement in light of that new information. Then the lifter moves. The coach returns to the picture, and the process is repeated. Did the lifter fix the error (and potentially additional errors)? Was there an overcorrection? Did nothing change at all? Don't worry, though, while much is involved, we can simplify this process and  accelerate your effectiveness as a coach. Teaching Versus Cueing  Typically, a coach takes in information regarding new lifters, to understand those lifters' backgrounds. This helps the coach determine his approach with their first interaction. Coaches may perform a teaching progression, which both gets the lifter moving correctly while including certain words & phrases that will likely inform cues that the coach may use during the lifter's sets. It can be a good idea to walk lifters through the teaching progression, especially if you're a newer coach. For online coaching, teaching may involve some how to videos demonstrating proper form. Articles and podcasts that address lifting basics may begin to deepen the lifter's understanding. Understand that in order for a cue to be effective, it must be understood. Teaching should first focus on the "how"s. Teaching enables better understanding of cueing and coaching during the sets. As teaching progresses - as the lifter & coaching relationship lengthens and deepens - the focus of teaching moves from the "how"s to the "why"s, and this is often why good coaches are born as clients, because as they improve as lifters and learn the "why"s from a good coach, they consider coaching themselves. Practical & Effective Verbal Cues  Let's move past the theoretical and come to t

Verbal Communication (Let's Talk) - #412

Nerd out on pain science, what it's like doing scientific research, getting papers published, and what we understand about pain interventions for humans. Jayson Ball, staff coach & PhD student, rejoins the podcast with CJ Gotcher. The Pain of Scientific Research What does science look like from the trenches of laboratories, where experiments are designed and executed, papers are submitted and defended, and knowledge is furthered? Jayson is mid-way through a PhD program. He has transitioned from spending most time in the classroom to now spending more time in the laboratory. Research takes much time, and some studies end with apparent dead ends (though knowledge & benefits to those involved can always be gleaned). He enjoys the process, and conducts as much research as possible to learn as much as possible. Nerding Out On Pain Science Jayson & his colleagues focus their research on rats. Rats enables some methods & interventions that are not possible with humans, but how much can be gleaned from experimenting with rats is always an issue. Rats love exercise. Put a running wheel in a container with a rat, and you will get high compliance. Put a treadmill in someone's house, and the same result does not follow. Pain and exercise research focuses on mechanisms, not interventions. Psychosocial interventions best serve humans (at least for now). Biological interventions (e.g. pain killers) come with serious side effects. Psychosocial interventions such as not catastrophizing  help people deal with pain and recover from injuries. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Nerding Out on Pain Science - #411

How do you end your cooking rut? What do you do when your go-to foods bore you? Niki Sims & Nikki Burman have tips & tricks to re-energize your cooking & meal preparation, so you don't turn to unhealthy, convenience foods that take you away from your goals. End Your Cooking Rut It’s easy to grow sick of the same meals, get burnt out by cooking, meal preparation, grocery shopping, and all the other steps (including eating) that go into healthy, sustainable nutrition. Tackle this thorny issue from both sides: remember your goals & enliven the steps to crush your goals. Remember Your Goals – Know Your Why  What are your nutrition goals and why do they matter to you? Reminding yourself of why you’re cooking, preparing meals, and eating healthy foods matters. Ruts happen. Don’t forget why you’re doing this in the first place. Nikki enjoys seeing her family happy & healthy. The physical manifestation of her goals is her family, so she not only looks toward her personal goals but her loved ones for motivation. Taking time to write your goals, post them, and investigate why they matter helps. Now, on to reenergizing meal preparation. Find New Recipes Finding new recipes can reenergize your nutrition, but doing this requires work (find the recipe, purchase the food, try it out, see if people like it). Unless you absolutely love trying new recipes, look for simpler recipes. Look at the ingredient list and the number of steps. Double-check that you’re comfortable with the cooking options (if it requires an air fryer and you don’t have one, move on). Beyond finding all new recipes, you can tweak go-to recipes to make them fresh and prevent boredom. Try cooking vegetables or meat, for example, with a different method (if you typically roast, try the air fryer or grill them). Change out meats and vegetables to find a different flavor profile. The basics of the recipe will remain, but the result will taste much different. Vary the spices and see what works and what you like. Make Cooking Fun If you’re cooking for your family, make it a family event. Have your family join you, so you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing family time for food time. This is also a great way to teach your family how to cook and what is involved in making healthy food. If you’re meal prepping for yourself, listen to music or your favorite podcast. Have it be – like training time – a time away from work and that is all about you and moving toward your goals. Preparation & Planning Have healthy meats & veggies frozen & on-hand. Maintain a well-stocked spice cabinet. Keep necessary & go-to sauces in your refrigerator. If you made too much of something, freeze part of it so you have a ready-to-go meal. Schedule your grocery shopping. This might mean having it delivered to your house, delivered to the car, or going in yourself, but ensure you have your grocery list complete & ensure the time works for you and your family.

End Your Cooking Rut to Overcome Food Boredom - #410

Are there too many coaches!? Learn how to stand out, find clients & provide value as a coach in a seemingly flooded coaching market. The Flooded Fitness Market Are there too many coaches!? Learn how to stand out, find clients & provide value as a coach in a seemingly flooded coaching market. With social media & the internet, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the quantity of personal trainers, content creators, and coaches trying to find a piece of the fitness market. Niki & CJ can help. Think about your Values, Identities, & Priorities (VIP) & consider the market. Ideally, these two circles are aligned perfectly. They won't be, and you're not looking to coach everyone in the fitness market. You are not in the same pool as the expert, online coach who has been doing this for decades. While you may look up to this coach and learn from him or her, comparing yourself to him or her is ultimately counterproductive. Plus, these people didn't begin with huge social media followings or large online coaching companies. Finding Clients as a Coach  What comparative advantage do you have over a Matt Reynolds, Louie Simmons, or whatever coach you look up to? You know your co-workers, friends, and family and can help them meet their goals with a relatively low knowledge level and for much cheaper than a professional barbell coach. The people around you should know that you lift and coach. Like any other hobby, talk about it in person and on social media. Start coaching friends, family, & co-workers. Do it now. Start coaching. Don't worry about finding a niche. Don't worry about marketing, having a website, starting a podcast, getting a certification, or getting articles published. These are all great. They don't help you coach. Providing Value as a Coach It doesn't take much experience or knowledge to be able to help those around you. Having some teaching progressions, knowing some cues, and understanding the basics of programming a novice means you can people meet their goals. It is not a big gap between posting videos of your friends and family hitting PRs on social media and posting videos of your clients hitting personal bests on social media. You don't need to know how to program DUP or Conjugate programming to help someone get stronger. You don't need to have 10k followers on Instagram to double someone's squat. You don't have to have a personal training certification to teach someone how to deadlift. Find Clients & Provide Value as a Coach The low barrier to entry should not discourage you but encourage you. To find clients & provide value as a coach does not require intensive study and years of experience. You can start now. This also means there are many bad coaches and personal trainers out there. You can quickly surpass them by acting professionally now, by developing and maintaining an academy study habit, and by coaching now. Certifications, content creation, and finding social media followers are great. Do these al

Find Clients & Provide Value as a Coach - 409

Online coaching is better than in-person coaching. It provides more value to the coach and client, enabling greater flexibility, personalization, and effectiveness.  Online Coaching is Better Since Barbell Logic began providing online coaching, we have offered it almost apologetically, only as a backup if you lacked in-person access to a great professional barbell coach. We have changed are thinking on online coaching's value. Online coaching is better than in-person coaching for most people most of the time. Online coaching provides greater flexibility, personalization, consistency, and effectiveness for coaches and clients. We still love in-person coaching, and most of our coaches offer both online and in-person coaching. Effectiveness of Online Coaching   We used to believe in the extreme importance of the first few sessions and first few months for novice lifters. Coaches correct technique errors in the initial sessions, getting lifters moving in the most biomechanically efficient way possible (with proper form). Clients needed to get as strong as possible in those first few months. While we still value correct technique and getting clients stronger in the beginning months, these are rather the initial steps in a longer transformative process of building strength to improve quality of life. Numbers on the bar increase drastically in the initial months of training, but the true value comes from how strength training and health habits become a part of their life, which ultimately creates the effectiveness, value, and lifechanging changes the clients are looking for. Flexibility of Online Coaching Online Coaching provides flexibility to coaches and clients that in-person coaching cannot compete with. Clients train when and where they want, and coaches coach when and where they want. This flexibility has led to greater consistency and higher consistency to more effectiveness. If you have an in-person session and something comes up so you can't make it, the chances that your coach has the flexibility to modify his schedule are slim. Whereas if you typically train before work and something arises where you have to train after work, it's not a problem with online coaching. This also leads to greater compliance. As a client, you can maintain your training habit through a gym closure or a vacation while still receiving coaching from your coach. As a coach, you can continue to retain your clients as they move. If you want to live in small town USA or in sunny southern California, you can and coach people around the world. This also enables better coach-client pairing. Clients with specialized needs such as postpartum or pregnancy training, training for military requirements, or training around injuries can find coaches with that knowledge. Coaches can be paired with more clients who they are better-equipped to coach. Value of Online Coaching Online coaches earn more money per hour and can have more clients than the limitations of a daily or weekly sch

Online Coaching is Better Than In-Person Coaching - #408

Burnout can occur in any pursuit or career path, but can be particularly noxious for careers coming from passion. Coaching fits that bill certainly, as no one comes to coaching to make billions. So, acknowledging that burnout exists and can happen, how do we avoid it (or stop it if we find ourselves burnt out). What is Coaching Burnout?    Burnout isn't being tired. Maybe the analogy in training is that it's not the soreness or exhaustion that one hard workout can create, but rather the buildup of stress unrecovered from (overtraining). Coaching burnout will feel like emotional exhaustion, and symptoms may include:   not training not attending nutrition dreading work feeling like you're putting on a show resentment  Burnout is a signal that something or many things are wrong. This is an opportunity to right those wrongs and grow as a person and  professional barbell coach.  Causes of Coaching Burnout What causes burnout? The reasons to feel exhausted differ, but it likely comes from a violated boundaries or a lack of priorities. It ultimately comes down to not knowing and pursuing what you want. You may not know what you want as you begin to coach. That is okay. Those desires may change, and probably will. You may begin to say yes to every coaching opportunity that presents itself, as you want coaching experience. As you gain experience and expertise, you will likely need to know how to choose opportunities, which means saying no to things that do not bring you closer to your goals. If you allow your in-person sessions to regularly bleed over their allocated time, you are not only providing more than you agreed to but you are likely stepping on your training time, family time, personal time, or lunch time. Similarly, if you retain old clients that are paying lower rates when you were a less-skilled coach, you likely need to tell those clients that your rate has increased and be prepared to justify why. You'll likely be surprised at their response. Avoiding or Ending Coaching Burnout Know your boundaries. You may not know them as you begin as a coach, but identifying them and communicating them to your clients and other clearly sets expectations up front. You may (and likely will) have to defend them at some point. Identify what you want and work toward your goals. This will require checking in, as your desires and goals will change. Keeping your goals in mind helps you evaluate opportunities and know which to follow and which to avoid. Know your scope of practice. You cannot be all things for your client. It can be helpful to have other resources or experts you can refer your clients to, but you are not and should not be a therapist or other professional. Take the time to check-in with how you feel. How do you feel after a call with a client, an in-person coaching session, or how are you feeling in general? Just as slower bar speed and lower desire to train can indicate you're heading toward overtraining, seeing repeated negative emotions can hel

Avoiding Coach Burnout - #407

How do you set yourself apart as a coach? One way is knowledge. Understanding the fundamentals that underlie anatomy, physiology, programming, technique, and platform coaching will differentiate you from the typical personal trainer. Set yourself apart with knowledge.   It's easy to get a personal training certification. Even earning a degree in exercise science offers no guarantee of competence as a coach.   Have a basic understanding of science. Anatomy & physiology are key here. Get a high school textbook on anatomy and physiology and read it and understand it. If you acquire this level of understanding, you stand head and shoulders above the vast majority of personal trainers.   The real goal of education is to learn how to learn effectively. There are an endless number of educational pursuits, so learning HOW to learn is more important than WHAT you learn. By learning how to learn you enable yourself to continue your pursuit of knowledge to whatever you want or need to learn.  Learning should be a lifelong pursuit, no matter your career, and if you want to be an excellent coach, you have to be a lifelong learner. Continue to improve and learn and get better.  The Academy Principles Course is targeted at barbell enthusiasts who love to learn more and geek out on barbell & barbell-related topics and those coaches looking to master the fundamentals (or principles).     GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Knowledge: How to Set Yourself Apart - #406

Niki & CJ discuss overcoming imposter syndrome as a coach. The address what it is, why it's normal, when you may be beyond your abilities, and practical tips to deal with it. Learn more about overcoming imposter syndrome as a coach.  Doubt, fear, and anxiety is normal. With coaching, or really any venture, you will likely experience internal self-doubt but may also have a fear of being discovered or exposed as a fraud or imposter. This appears and persists despite evidence to the contrary. Regardless of accomplishments, success, credentials, you still have a feeling of not being qualified. You're in good company, as this feeling is nearly universal. This is a sign you care, and literature suggests that those who face these feelings are less likely to cheat and  more likely to work harder to improve. These feelings have become so prevalent that an entire industry has arisen to overcome imposter syndrome. These feelings appear or heighten especially around 2 phenomena: challenging obstacles & stress accumulation. When a client quits, you get a client who is a bit outside your comfort zone, or you're asked to do something novel but generally within the realm of your skill set, these feelings will likely arise. Obstacles are opportunities for growth. If you successfully overcome a novel challenge--heck, even if you fail but try your hardest--you will learn and improve as a coach. It is true, of course, that there are challenges that are truly beyond your abilities. How can you think about these? You can ask yourself: Am I as qualified and ready as I can reasonably be? You could also add a "...yet." For example, "I'm not qualified to coach professional powerlifters...yet." This allows for the possibility for growth. Stress can accumulate, create heightened negative emotions, and leave us with feelings of being a fraud or imposter at work. You may feel like you're in a "trough of despair." What can you do? First, think about the immediate stressors. You the helpful HALT acronym. Are you any of the following:  Hungry Angry Lonely Tired  As Niki says, you can deal with these through lunch with a friend and a nap. You can think about conditions generally in your life. CJ discusses how as an early coach he took on too much work, which prevented him from addressing his own nutrition and training. He felt worse physically, and that carried over to how he saw himself (plus, he actually didn't look the part of a physical trainer or coach). Lastly, there may be actual medical issues like anxiety or depression, outside of coaching or your professional pursuit, that can be addressed and improve this element of your coaching. This is hard to discuss. You can't and really shouldn't address this with your client. That being said, you should admit when you don't know something and look it up. You can admit to not feeling great and that you're not 100%. Consider your coaching more of a collaboration than a mechanic working on a car. Explain your thought proce

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome - #405

Niki & CJ Gotcher discuss how to determine your values, identities, and priorities (VIP). These underlie WHY, HOW, WHAT, and FOR WHOM you coach. Learn about what these are and how you can more consciously develop and refine these over time (they aren't set in stone).  Whether we do so consciously or not, we have some notion of our coaching VIP. Something brought us to coaching our friends or family or diving a bit more deeply into why we might train a certain way or how training can be more effective.  Approaching these more systematically and really thinking through them can help us better understand ourselves, potentially reinvigorate our coaching practice, and help us know what to say no to.   What we say no to can tell us much about what we value and what our priorities are. Why? Well, it's easy to say yes to things. Early on as a coach, you'll probably say yes to every possible opportunity to coach someone. You need the experience, and a priority early on might be simply get as much experience as possible.   As you progress as a coach, however, you'll start to prefer certain types of clients or gravitate toward certain types of activities. Some may love the challenges of programming for competitive athletes, who constantly try to squeeze the most our of their performance. Others may like hybrid athletes, who try to elevate multiple physical attributes. Some may simply find joy from helping older clients regain capabilities they thought they had lost forever.   Beyond finding a niche, the stakes go up for us as coaches when we transition from hobbyist to professionals. We're asking for money and ultimately making a promise that we can provide more value to the client than the money they paid us. More responsibility can often lead to more introspection and why we're doing coaching at all.        GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Find Your Coaching VIP (Values, Identity, Priorities) - #404

Consistency leads to PRs and meeting your goals, more than any other factor (form, programming). Nikki Burman, Director or Client Experience & Exclusive Coach at BLOC, discusses how as a coach she helps others and how a lifter she personally achieves consistency. Learn how to never miss a workout.    Nikki often talks to clients who are considering quitting training and online coaching with BLOC, and her approach is "let's find a way to make this work." What this means if not forcing the way on the client, but rather examining and looking to improve two main things.  The first item she considers is the lifter's support system. Not, as a coach, she cannot necessarily improve the support system BUT she can help be a support system of sorts by encouragement and accountability. She can also see if there are some sources of support that might not be underused or unused in the coach's life.  Secondly, she asks "is the plan realistic?"   Missing workouts can lead to a accumulation of discouragement and a sense of failure. The lifter is often following an unrealistic plan.   Programs can be unrealistic for many reasons. A lifter may begin a block program that is realistic, but a life event occurs that makes that program no longer realistic. A client may feel burned out, get injured, get bored, or reprioritize activities in her life.   How can lifters more easily accumulate workouts? Shorter workouts, potentially with optional exercises, can make it easier to get in the gym, and on those days where the motivation is there, you can do the extra work, on the other days just get the meat and potatoes done.   Shifting how the workouts feel can help. That might mean getting a pump, getting sweaty, changing exercise selection, or doing things like AMRAPs, myo reps, or other means that can provide quick, different workouts that still enable productive stress.   A misalignment of how important we think an activity is in our life versus how important our effort or time suggests it may be can lead to guilt. Niki suggests the following exercise, which can help you see that misalignment.  List important activities and pursuits in your life. Give them an importance from 1-5. Then think about how much time and effort you put toward those activities, and identify the misalignments. Can you make that 5 a 4 and truly live it out as a 4?   Build consistency, ensure your program is realistic, and learn how to never miss a workout.    GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!  Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/  Connect with the hosts  Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram  Connect with the show  Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

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