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garretaby98
Oct 16, 20234 min read

How to be a better client (part 3)

In this final installment, we discuss the last and maybe most important component of becoming a better client: active engagement. Why is active engagement important?

As mentioned in part 2, there is a huge time commitment in powerlifting and in part 1, there are lessons that every powerlifter eventually learns. Actively engaging with your training helps decrease the learning curve and expedite the “growing pains”. As much as coaches love the clients who operate on “tell me what to do and I’ll do it”, there is a process of collaboration and problem-solving that clients must partake in. Can you imagine if Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan just listened to everything Phil Jackson told them to do? They would not be who they are today without engaging in their craft. They put in countless hours reviewing film, dissecting their opponents game, and constantly asking themselves how they could become better basketball players.

(It's a joke.) Moreover, in the world of online coaching, this engagement is even more important. You will not have immediate feedback on your technique, questions, or thoughts. So it is important to collect data and learn how to make conclusions from it. As noted in our previous Instagram post, “you have to drive the car”. You become a better client when you understand that the onus is on you. At the end of the day, you are responsible for lifting the most weight on game day, so you are equally responsible in everything it takes to get you to that day (nutrition, technique, mindset, etc). Coaches, undoubtedly, should guide you every step of the way, but you must execute. The following are two examples of how to engage with your training: Reflection The best of the best always carve out time to reflect on their performances. Outside of competitive sports, the most successful businesses, relationships, and personal endeavors require dedicated analysis of performance. This process can sometimes be avoided because it forces us to be honest and open with ourselves and thoughts. It requires us to fixate on our strengths and weaknesses, which oftentimes is not the most comfortable. However, more often than not, it is a practice that allows us to make leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. To make it more powerlifting specific, you should be reflecting on these major components:

  • Week to week performance

  • Block to block performance

  • Meet prep/peaking performance

  • Post weigh-in rehydration performance

  • Meet performance

  • Nutrition and recovery

  • Personal psychology and feelings about training

Ask yourself these following questions:

  • How did your week/block/competition go overall and what general thoughts do you have (without any positive or negative talk)?

  • What went well? Why do you think they went well?

  • What things can be improved on? Why? How can you improve on it? (see blog part 2 on how to process-ify things)

  • Compared to last week/block/meet/year, how have you improved? Are you closer to your goal and why or why not?

Admittedly, as you mature in the sport, you don’t need to sit down and ask yourself how last week was compared to this week. Much of it will just be more of the same. However, the small details you review with yourself and your coach will serve as more data you have to work off of. My best clients always reflected and evaluated their performances. This automatic practice, if done often, will make you a better client and get you closer to your goals. Become a student of the sport When we all started powerlifting, there was a moment in time where everything was new. Like a toddler learning to crawl for the first time, we acclimated to benching 3 times a week, applying RPE 6.5 training, and going to our first meet performance. Won’t I get injured if I bench 3 times per week? If I don’t hit RPE 10 every set, how will I grow? I have to strip down to my underwear for weigh-ins?! But, as the toddler learns to walk and eventually run, we too find our footing. We bench 4 times a week after finally learning what our RPE 6.5 truly is, finding the balance between over and undershooting. And we eventually internalize the anxiety and fear of game-day performance into a motivational desire to walk out on the platform and execute. However, for some of us, we lose the allure of powerlifting and the spirit of learning. While the other kids learn how to high-jump, sprint, tackle, and kick, some grow-up with two left-feet. To be a better client, you should continue to learn. Within powerlifting itself, there is so much knowledge to gain: the basics of strength training, programming, cueing and biomechanics, the science of strength and conditioning, injury prevention and rehab, pain science, etc. There are even other topics that are not necessarily specific to weightlifting such as sport psychology and nutrition, which is a huge topic in and of itself. To leave you with something practical to use, here is a plethora of resources to expand your knowledge base in hopes that you never stop learning. Programming, Basics of Strength Training, Current Science (shoutout Taylor Shadgett for the resources):

Injury Prevention/Rehab, Recovery and Pain Science

Nutrition

Sport Psychology

  • The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive, Afremow


  • The Inner Game of Tennis, Gallwey

You don’t necessarily need to become an expert in any of these fields. But understand that your engagement in learning these topics, make you better equipped for making the right choices and asking the right questions from day to day. To conclude this series, we highlighted the various aspects of becoming a better client. Firstly, remember to communicate well and communicate often, work hard, and stay coachable. Understand to be a better client, you have to do the above over and over and over again. And lastly, as you continue on this journey, don’t stop learning and engaging in your craft. I hope you have gleaned some applicable knowledge from this series. Goodluck! Attachments area Preview YouTube video 4 Steps For Managing Pain In The Gym - Austin Baraki 4 Steps For Managing Pain In The Gym - Austin Baraki ReplyForward


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