Principles I Use When Training Clients

Despite my website reading principle based, performance driven, but I haven’t explicitly anywhere on my website what that means. Yes, there are scientific principles of strength training, but there’s more to it than that.

After some time of training clients from all walks of life ranging from highschoolers looking to improve their sport performance, to lead engineers and executives at tech companies I believe I have learned enough to be able to define my principles, and what my standard of excellence is for my training programs.

Identity should be the driver of progress

Your behavior should match your goals, and your behavior should match your identity. If you are striving to lose fat and gain muscle, but have the habits of someone trying to gain weight, you must have the conversation where you ask yourself, is this something I really want to achieve, and do I truly believe I am behaving in the way someone would who is trying to achieve this? The sooner you have this conversation with yourself, the easier behavior change becomes.

You know yourself best, I am just the guide

You are the captain of your own ship, I am your first mate. I will NOT be telling you what to achieve, or what to prioritize. I will ask you what you want to achieve, and build the roadmap to get there.

Your system matters just as much as your talent

Your talent will improve your ability to adapt, and acquire new skills, but your system will dictate how well you can take advantage of that. Maybe you’re an incredibly hard worker with exceptional potential, but your overall stress management, and nutrition is poor. These things will massively affect your ability to recover, and make progress in the gym. Find the system that allows for you to accommodate for these things, whether that’s scheduling your meal prep, protecting your sleep, or building stress management into your weekly routine.

There is no victory too small

You didn’t meal prep, and had to eat out. However, you made a great decision while eating out. Instead of ordering a fatty cut of meat, french fries, and a drink you decided to instead get the leaner cut meat, get a side with less fat and more fiber, and stick with water. This is a  real accomplishment, acknowledge it. 

Find beauty in the mundane

Sometimes training, or life as a whole can get boring. You’re in the same routine day to day, week to week and eventually the things that were once new are no longer as novel. This is where finding the beauty in the mundane is the most valuable. Whether it is establishing a ritual before you even walk in the gym, or before a big deadlift attempt, make the mundane meaningful, and you’ll enjoy the process in times of monotony.

Mindfulness around your thoughts will empower you

Everything went wrong in your day. You didn’t sleep, the flight got delayed, and when you finally found a moment to relax, something went wrong. Instead of neglecting the true feelings of these emotions, acknowledge them, and that what happened was unfortunate. Accept that whatever happened has passed, and redirect your energy towards what you can control.

Have the knowledge to create complexity, but know when to simplify

Studying the greatest minds in sport performance, whether it’s for programming or mindset is incredibly valuable, but know when to use it. Knowing how to take advantage of velocity trackers can be helpful when working with your volleyball athlete trying to peak their  power production, but using the same methodology while working the busy tech executive or mother who needs to get in and out of sessions as fast as possible could easily turn into a hindrance rather than a useful tool.

Keep your head level

Not every training day will go as planned, some will go better than planned, and others worse. You never remember the normal training days, but you recall the great ones and every now and then those bad training days feel as though they are ingrained in your mind. Being able to maintain a level head, and take a deep breath is one of most underutilized skills to have when chasing any big goal. Avoid getting hyped too often, The more you use it, the less effective it becomes. Save that heightened focus for when it really matters.

Know your priorities

You are a human, not a robot made in a lab with the intention of breaking world records. You probably have a life outside of lifting as well, whether it’s family, friends, or work. It is your responsibility to know when and what you want to prioritize more. Only you can decide what deserves the most of your energy right now, and that answer will change over time.