10 Ways To Maximize Your Coaching Experience

10 Ways To Maximize Your Coaching Experience
Written by Invictus Intern Ben Middleton

As passionate and helpful coaches, our goal when you enter into the gym is to pass on as much knowledge, information, and encouragement onto you as possible. Unfortunately, the communication process and knowledge disbursement can often be interrupted on both the coaches’ and athletes’ ends by various things, such as group size, distractions, time constraints, etc.

Below are ten ways that you, as an athlete, can get the most out of your coaches and your time in the gym:

1. Show up 10 minutes early. Take a look at the workout and watch the previous class finish. Chat amongst a group of members and coaches and ask for tips prior to the workout. You can get a glimpse of the scaling options, target times and goals, and give yourself a little transition time to mentally ramp up for the class.

2. Feed your coach with information they need to know. Before the workout, or if possible, before the warm up, is a great time to bring to the coach’s attention any special needs or considerations you might have. Maybe you have an injury, or maybe you are scared, or maybe there is something that is especially challenging for you in the workout. Before class is a great time to address those things.

3. “Get in tight!” When coaches are briefing a workout or going over ways to attack a workout, bring it in close like it’s cold and the coach is a campfire. Listen to every word the coach says and the cues they are using to help with technique. Their tips on choosing an appropriate weight to use or different scaling options can be very helpful. Having to repeat things takes time away from athletes and the workout, so get it in close, even if it gets a little weird.

4. Slow it down when we go over progressions. We are after quality, not quantity, when it comes to learning movement. Don’t be in a rush; quiet your mind and concentrate on the concise cues the coach is giving. Work on improving little details, and retain those little improvements, so they can accumulate over time.

5. Get eyes on you. Ask the coach to watch your movement. It doesn’t have to be every rep, but the coach should see a few good reps for each athlete and regardless of your ability you should walk away from every class with at least one cue. Wait for the coach to finish with other athletes but it is ok to ask for attention. This also puts pressure on you to perform with an audience.

6. Remember the cues. We need technique before intensity. If your coach has told you to “drive your knees out” or “butt tight, abs tight”, remember these important cues. Not only will they keep you in safe positions, but the cues will also make your workout more effective. Remember them in the future. If you have trouble remembering everything that was said, of course ask your coach, but don’t hesitate to write things down!

7. Stay after class. Talk to the coaches. If they are not instructing the class that is directly after yours, let them get into more detail regarding the fixes or recommendations they made for you. This is a great chance to get the “why” of the actionable cues you received during class. This is also a great time to do “goat work” and work on your weaknesses and the things that challenge you. Get in reps of kipping pull-up progressions or work on double-unders. It is often the accumulation of this time that facilitate breakthroughs.

8. Ask questions. We love questions! Help us help you! Not just questions about the workout and maybe what you could have done better, but questions about how to improve certain movements or skills. We also love questions that relate to life outside of the gym, whether it’s nutrition, sleep, mobility or something else. Do not be shy to ask for help!

9. Log your workouts. There is nothing better than looking back at lifts you completed six months ago and seeing that you are much stronger today! Logging your one rep max lifts or times on workouts can be a huge help. Not only does it help you with math if there are percentage sets in a workout, but it also can bring you a lot of self confidence and show you that hard work pays off. This is a great way to connect with a coach and share your progress as well. Show them how far you’ve come and ask what you can work on. If you’ve found something that you have not improved on as much as you would like, ask questions.

10. Share your goals with a coach. As mentioned earlier, coaches are here to help with anything, inside or outside of the gym. Share your goals with a coach or write it on the “goals whiteboard” so you have some motivation and support to accomplish it. A coach can give you new ideas and keep pushing you harder every day. Helping our community grow closer together and supporting our athletes is what we love to do.

These are a just a few ways to maximize the athlete/coach experience. Understand that communication is a two-way street; we can provide cues and try to communicate with you in a variety of ways, but there are some types of communication that are not physical. If there are any emotional considerations or things that we need to know about to get you to work at the threshold of your physical and mental capacity we have a very approachable and empathetic staff waiting to help. Come talk to us!