I periodically get inquiries from prospective gym members asking whether or not we offer personal coaching. In almost all cases the answer is NO simply because it is not necessarily the best way to learn weightlifting or develop proficiency as a weightlifter. Now some people have the disposable income and have come to believe that personal coaching is a more elite manner of approaching the issue, but this is not necessarily the case.
A little history…
The whole concept of personal training got started here in Los Angeles sometime in the 1980’s when actors saw a need to get some coaching to get themselves in shape for action movie roles. The first guy to make it really big was Jake Seinfeld (Body by Jake) who was charging $295.00 for a half hour of personal coaching back in the late 1980’s. It wasn’t long before rich people felt that they had to have a personal trainer, just as they felt the need to have a chauffeur, gardener, maid, agent, hair stylist, nutritionist, you name it. So personal training never got started as the best way to train but as a marketing tactic.
The big box gyms have gotten into the game and have found that they can offer gym access at fairly cheap rates, but that the greater income can be had by offering personal training. There is a little bit of exclusivity attached to personal training and so it is not unrealistic to expect that people might ask for it at every gym they encounter.
Anyway….
I thought it might be helpful to go over the process we employ here at Takano Athletics to deal with the progression of our athletes.
We have Coaching Sessions (not classes) scheduled at 6:00 AM, 12:00 noon and 5:00 PM each weekday and 9:00 AM on Saturdays. All except Open Gym members are welcome to attend any and all of them. So there is a gathering of athletes at the aforementioned times. Most of them are competitive lifters, some are athletes from other sports and a few are just interested in learning how to correctly perform the lifts.
We intentionally set up these gatherings so that the individuals can develop a common culture. The culture reinforces the values we want our athletes to follow. These values include everything from gym demeanor, feeding habits, sleeping habits, time management and any other behavioral norms that will facilitate competitive performance. This saves a lot of energy for the coaching staff.
We are also hopeful that mimicry takes place. We want the newcomers to be able to watch competent practitioners and then to mimic them as they attempt to develop technical proficiency. Mimicry can only take place if you have proficient technicians to model, and mimicry is one learning pathway that many individuals can pursue.
Now within a session we have four levels participating—newcomer, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The week’s workouts are posted on the computer at the sign-in table for the last three groups. So not everyone is doing the same thing. Furthermore when newcomers first join the group, they are given individualized instruction to get them up to the point where they can embark on the beginner training programs. Once a newcomer has reached a level of proficiency where he or she can perform a biomechanically sound snatch and clean & jerk, they can then follow the posted beginner training programs. So we do have one-on-one coaching, but it is best implemented in a group setting.
Let’s Differentiate Wisely
For all too long the ignorant public has lumped activities together by the implement being used. At one point (prior to 1965), there were weight trainers, bodybuilders and weightlifters. They all used barbells and the barbell manufacturers marketed to all three in the same manner.
Currently outsiders are willing to lump the fitness practices together with weightlifting sport because both activities use barbells. They also lump together all activities that take place in a “gym”. We can do better.
Consumer Education
What we’ve got here is a consumer education issue. For some unfathomable reason the fitness industry is not interested in developing a more sophisticated clientele. They prefer to keep the issue muddled and the clientele ignorant.
Their presumption is that weightlifting sport operates in a manner and style similar to the fitness industry because both use a barbell.
Almost all of the athletes I have transitioning from another sport to weightlifting are very clear on the concept.
Hopefully someday we will have an educated public capable of doing research and asking intelligent questions. A dream? Perhaps. A vision. Hopefully.