How to Tell a Good Coach From a Bad One

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Tell a Good Coach From a Bad One:

 

1. A good coach will always supply you with a reason why; he will be able to give you–at any time–a sound explanation for why you’re doing what you’re doing. A bad coach says “because I said so.”

 

2. A good coach uses plain English and the words of everyday. A bad coach tries to impress others and inflate his ego through the use of meaningless jargon.

 

3. A good coach communicates clearly, and always uses the Right Cue. A bad coach, in his never ending quest to get his client to move a certain way, will use the whole of the Right Cue’s extended family, but never quite get the one he needs.

 

4. A good coach has a system and a method for producing predictable and repeatable results, and is forever refining his process. A bad coach makes it up as he goes along, records and monitors nothing, and only gets his clients progress very rarely and by accident.

 

5. A good coach is direct, telling her clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. A bad coach panders.

 

6. A good coach challenges his clients progressively and systematically. A bad coach delivers a long series of relentless and senseless beat downs, because he doesn’t know any better.

 

7. A good coach understands progress is made through consistent efforts, so she maintains a narrow focus and keeps in her own lane. A bad coach occupies the entire road, tries to get everywhere at once, and arrives in a ditch.

 

8. A good coach mitigates all risk as far as practicable; she assesses her clients from top to bottom, and avoids prescribing any exercises that may be potentially injurious. A bad coach doesn’t give a shit.

 

9. A good coach makes the complex simple. She can show you the quickest and easiest path to your goals. She removes clutter, and her programs are tidy and neat. A bad coach overcomplicates everything, and cannot get you anywhere succinctly because her exercise programs look like a teenagers bedroom.

 

10. And perhaps most importantly, a good coach doesn’t promise miracles or feed delusions. He sets proper expectations from the start, tells it to you straight, and puts the burden of effort on YOU. He can show you The Way, and does, but that’s it (he can’t do the exercising for you).

 

We live in a nation where bad coaches are abounding and promises of The Quick and Easy are everywhere.

 

Being a coach myself, having studied under many of the best, and having been lured in by some of the worst, I can tell you this: The best coaches are the ones who are not afraid to experiment with new ideas, but also understand and utilize the simple fact that everything we need to know on how to be strong, fit, and healthy is already known and right under our noses.

 

– = +

 

– Pat

 

ATTN: 2 Male Clients Wanted for Summer Case Study

If you’re a male, and interested in working with me for the next three months through private online coaching, email me at PatFlynn@ChroniclesOfStrength.com with the subject line of “Summer Case Study”.

 

I am looking to take on two new male clients who meet the following criteria:

 

•  Specifically, you want to put on lean muscle mass and strength using solely kettlebells (and bodyweight), and…

 

• …You have ONE very specific strength-based goal that you want to achieve (a heavier deadlift, a muscle up, one arm chin, whatever-it just needs to be one specific and measurable thing).

• OR…You want to lean out this summer (I would be especially interested in somebody who is already relatively lean, but looking to take it into the single digits safely) and are willing to commit to an intermittent fasting, 2-3 days a week of intense metabolic conditioning, and 4-5 days a week of moderate to heavy strength training.

 

Online coaching is expensive, but whenever I take on new clients in this form, I offer a pretty big case study discount. Serious folks only. No schleppizoids. And the deadline to apply is this Sunday (I’ve extended this two days).